A few bits about Louise Brooks and Tulsa (and Sue Read)

The other day, I was thinking about Louise Brooks and Tulsa.... and whatever connections there may be between the actress and the Oklahoma city. The earliest mention of Brooks in one of the Tulsa newspapers occurred in 1922, when the Tulsa World ran an item about the 15 year old in its "All Over Oklahoma and Neighboring States" column. Under Kansas news, the Tulsa paper reported an item out of Independence.

As a member of Denishawn, Brooks also visited the city. The young dancer and future actress was just 17 years old at the time. The occasion was a Monday, February 4, 1924 evening performance by the Denishawn dancers at the city's Convention Hall - (less than three years after the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre). There was considerable interest in the event, which a local newspaper called one of the "treats of the season." Brooks was one of the company of 26.

Of course, most all of Brooks' silent and sound films showed in Tulsa, Oklahoma when first released in the 1920s and 1930s. One curious piece I came across just the other day appeared in Radio News Guide, a regional publication published in Tulsa about the then new medium of radio. It highlights a young soprano, Sue Read, who bears a striking resemblance to Brooks, a resemblance commented on in the clipping.

[I wondered whatever happened to her, but couldn't find much. Apparently, she continued to sing and make radio appearances throughout the 1930s and 1940s. She also made appearances at local clubs and events in the 1940 and late 1950s in and around Pennsylvania. If she is the same Sue Read, she was a former Powers model and a descendant of George Read, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.] The same picture of Sue Read appeared in The Microphone, a weekly New England publication which billed itself as the "Original Radio Newspaper."

A bit more from Around the World with Louise Brooks via the USA

As I blogged just recently, most all of the material in my forthcoming book, Around the World with Louise Brooks, have been sourced from international publications. The only exception is a chapter from volume one, "Mit Anderen Worten: Louise Brooks en los Estados Unidos," or "In Other Words: Louise Brooks in the United States." That chapter surveys the actress and her career through the voices of America's many non-English language ethnic and emigre newspapers and magazines.

To date, I have come across a handful of Spanish-American and German-American newspapers and magazines, as well as Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Yiddish and Japanese language American newspapers -- all of which carried material of interest. In each, I have found multiple examples of articles about Louise Brooks, advertisements for her films, and other "interesting" stuff. Much of it will go into Around the World with Louise Brooks. I also found a single advertisement for a Brooks' film, Evening Clothes, in a Slovenian-American newspaper, and it to has found its way into my book.

Another single instance find is an article which only mentions Brooks which was published in a Danish-American newspaper. Since it only references the actress, I won't be including it in the book besides mentioning it. Instead, I thought I would present it here, as it has such an interesting backstory.

This article, "Ungdom og Stjernetitler" or "Youth and Stars," was published in Bien, a weekly Danish language newspaper published in San Francisco, California. The article appeared on a page of news about Los Angeles and California, and was penned by Erling Bergendahl, a young Norwegian writer who lived for a short time in the United States. This piece was one of two Bergendahl penned for Bien about Hollywood. (BACKSTORY ASIDE: Bergendahl was mention two other times in this Danish-American newspaper. The first time was in 1925 in regards to a lecture or talk he gave in Minneapolis. The second time was in December of 1927 in regards, apparently, to a party he attended at Jean Hersholdt's home at which Swedish actor Lars Hanson was also present. In this later piece, Bergendahl was described as an author.)

Dated January 1928 (though published in a June issue), Bergendahl's "Youth and Stars" looks at the film careers of a handful of up-and-coming Paramount actors, including Ruth Taylor, Charles Rogers, Nancy Carrol, Richard Arlen, Louise Brooks, Gary Cooper, Fay Wray, James Hall, Lene Chandler, Mary Brian and Jack Luden. Bergendahl assesses each actor. In a paragraph on Richard Arlen, Bergendahl states, "Louise Brooks, Arlens Hustru, har ikke haft nogen særlig optræden endnu, og forfatteren av denne artikel har ingéh ovedreven tro paa hendes stjernefremtid. Det samme gjælder James Hall," which translates into English as "Louise Brooks, Arlen's partner, hasn't had any special performances yet, and the author of this article has no great belief in her future stardom. The same goes for James Hall." Fair enough, as Brooks' best performances - including A Girl in Every Port and Beggars of Life and her three European films, were still ahead of her.

Not long after this piece was written, Bergendahl - broke and homesick, returned to Norway after being lent money for the passage by a friend, the Czech-born American talent agent and producer Paul Kohner. (BACKSTORY ASIDE: Among his various credits, Kohner was an associate producer of the 1930 American version of G.W. Pabst's 1929 film White Hell of Pitz Palu, which was released by Universal and once played on a bizarre double bill in Hollywood with the 1931 Brooks' film, It Pays to Advertise. As a Czech-emigre, Kohner was also friendly with another Czech-born talent tied to Pabst, actor Franz Lederer. Brooks'  Pandora's Box co-star and Kohner were friends in Hollywood in the early 1930s.)

Small world, you might say. But here is where things get interesting all over again.... Kohner was also the future husband of Mexican-American actress Lupita Tovar, one of the stars of the Spanish-language version of Dracula. According to the 2010 book, Lupita Tovar the Sweetheart of Mexico, by Pancho Kohner, when "asked how he could repay the kindness [of the loan],  Paul suggested an introduction to Bergendahl's friend, the Norwegian Nobel Prize-winning author, Knut Hamsun. On his next trip to Europe, Paul and Erling visited Hamsun on his farm, south of Oslo. Hamsun was grateful for Paul's generosity to his young friend, so when Paul ashed if he could buy the film rights to his book Victoria, Hamsun said yes." (BACKSTORY ASIDE: Hamsun is considered a pioneer of literary modernism best known today for his 1890 novel Hunger. It has been reprinted many times, including once in 1998 in an edition which included an introduction by Paul Auster, author of Lulu on the Bridge. Hamsun's 1898 novel, Victoria, has also proved popular; it has been made into a film seven times. The first film adaption appeared in 1917, and the last nearly 100 years later in 2013 in a version produced by Pancho Kohner.)

Bergendahl's friendship with Hamsun wasn't his only literary connection. In the early 1930s, he  worked on a couple of Norwegian features, directing one and producing another. Bergendahl wrote and co-directed Lalla vinner!, a Norwegian adventure story, in 1932. The following year, he produced Cheer Up!, an important but little known avant-garde backstage musical comedy directed by Tancred Ibsen (the grandson of two of Norway’s most famous nineteenth-century writers, dramatist Henrik Ibsen and Nobel Prize winner Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson). Cheer Up!, originally titled Op med hodet, is a fascinating, bold, experimental work well worth checking out. However, it failed upon release in Norway and Bergendahl's film career pretty much ended with it. Later, he went on to become a successful businessman, representing Columbia Pictures and acting as President of the Norwegian Film Producer's Association. (Bergendahl may have also directed or somehow been involved in a film which aided the post-WWII recovery in Norway, as this clipping from Bien seems to suggests.)

I couldn't find a picture of  Erling Bergendahl to include with this blog, but I found his life story an interesting one - one spurred on by an ever so slight connection, a thread really, with Louise Brooks.

Giving it away at a Louise Brooks screening

I suppose we have all heard about how, in the past, theatres would give away things for free in order to lure viewers. I remember my mother, who as a girl and young women went to the movies in the 1930s and 1940s, telling me about the films she went to see where the theatre gave away dinnerware and silverware. The give away was usually one piece at a time, so you had to go to the movies pretty regularly to build a set.

In the past, while searching for yet more material about Louise Brooks and her film, I have run across a few advertisements in which a theatre was giving away a dinner plate or piece of silverware in conjunction with the showing of a Brooks film. Last night I found something wholly new. I found a couple of advertisements for a theatre in Brooklyn which was giving away gold. This first example, shown below, promotes a February 4, 1927 showing of Love Em & Leave Em at which $5.00 in gold would be given away for free every evening.

Today, $5.00 may not seem like much; that amount couldn't get you into a movie theatre. But back in 1927, when ticket prices were either 5 or 10 cents, it was a good deal of money. In fact, $5.00 in 1927 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $73.68 in 2020, a difference of $68.68 over 93 years. Here is another example of a gold giveaway from September 1927.

It seems as though the Monroe theater discontinued its gold giveaway promotion sometime around 1928, as the Brooks' films I found advertised then, such as A Girl in Every Port and Beggars of Life, do not mention the practice.

It's interesting that Brooks is listed first, ahead of the male star, in both of these ads. Especially so in regards to Love Em and Leave Em, where Evelyn Brent - who is not mentioned, was considered the lead star in the picture. It is also interesting that the Monroe really had to sell itself, offering not only gold but also "first class pictures" and a "new orchestra." Both ads date to more than two years before the Depression, when times were still good.

According to Cinema Treasures website, the Monroe was a single screen, nearly 500 seat venue which started as a vaudeville house (in 1915?) and later, by 1926, was showing films. (Check the Cinema Treasures page for photos of the exterior of the building.) The Monroe closed decades later, and has since been demolished.

Richard Sala (1959-2020), friend of the Louise Brooks Society

With much sadness the Louise Brooks Society mourns the passing of Richard Sala (1959-2020), an acclaimed cartoonist, illustrator, and comic book creator and longtime friend to the LBS. Sala was found dead in his Berkeley, California home, having died on May 7th. He was only 61 years old.

One of Sala earliest comics was Night Drive, which he self-published in 1984. Soon afterword, he was "discovered" by Art Spiegelman and others, and he was published in RAW magazine in 1986. Sala's many admirers included his fellow cartoonists, such as Daniel Clowes, the author of Ghost World. Clowes  penned a moving tribute to Sala, a close friend, in Comics Journal. Other memorial pieces include those on Boing Boing, Comics Beat, and CBR.

Sala loved all manner of popular culture, where it was pulp illustration, silent movies, German expressionism, science fiction and horror, or mod music. I first became aware of Sala around the time he published Peculia (Fantagraphics, 2002), whose plucky heroine was loosely inspired by Louise Brooks. (Peculia is a mysterious girl whose name is a reference to a childhood misspelling of the Spanish word "pelicula," or "movie"). In a 2007 interview with Comics Reporter, Sala stated:

So, I sat down and began to create model sheets for characters -- the kind you see that are done for animation -- just so I'd have a guide to what my characters would look like from every angle. The more I drew women, the more they evolved into whatever it is they've become. I really like the way women were drawn in old comic strips and early "golden-age" comic books, so I was looking at those. I also referred to photos of silent movie actresses like Clara Bow and Louise Brooks -- women who were spunky and sexy and cute and strong and innocent and smart -- all at the same time. And I looked at vintage illustrations of flappers, which captured that same spirit -- often in drawn in what seems like a single graceful, gently curving line from head to foot. So that became the basic type for many of the female characters.

Around the time Peculia was published, I was managing an author event series in San Francisco. Enthused by Sala's new book, I begged his publishor for an event with the artist, but Sala wouldn't do it. I never understood why until later, when I learned of his crippling anxiety and agoraphobia. We exchanged a few emails back then (more senseless begging for an event by me, and chat about Louise Brooks), and a few years later, with the rise of Facebook, we connected once again, occasionally liking and commenting on each other's posts. It has been a long time, but I think I sent him a copy of my first book, the Louise Brooks edition of The Diary of a Lost Girl. I guess Louise Brooks is my Peculia.

For more about this singular talent, check out his Facebook page, or his blog/website titled HERE LIES RICHARD SALA. Though we never met, I consider you a friend, a kindred soul. Good passage Richard.

Some Charlie Chaplin news, and a bit of Louise Brooks too

First off, let me thank long-time friend Rena Azevedo Kiehn of the Niles Essanay Film Museum for sending me a pair of Louise Brooks face masks. What an unexpected delight. They should help fend off the coronavirus. I think they are very groovy, and they are much liked in this stay-at-home, go-out-very-little California household. Here are the two, modeled by yours truly.

 

Speaking of the Niles Essanay Film Museum. . . . the Fremont, California museum will be hold their annual Charlie Chaplin Days on June 26 through June 28, about a month from today. Unlike the real world events of the past, this year's event is going virtual due to the you know what. There are a bunch of activities planned, and I would encourage everyone to check things out come June.

And speaking of Charlie Chaplin . . . . author and Chaplin authority Dan Kamin has a new interactive presentation available called Red Letter Days Live. It is a complement to his superb book, Charlie Chaplin Red Letter Days, which I wrote about for Huffington Post back in 2017. (Read that piece HERE.) Red Letter Days Live is a multi-media work which looks at the public and private worlds of the comedic legend and how the great comedian affected the WWI and the "war to end all war" affected him. What follows is a short video by Kamin about his new work.

Video Diary of a Lost Girl - Louise Brooks homage from Pandora's Talk Box Productions

Here's something unusual from, a Louise Brooks homage titled Video Diary of a Lost Girl from a indy film group called Pandora's Talk Box Productions. This 2012 video, which I only recently came across on YouTube, described itself as "A rock and roll horror fantasy where we meet the immortal Louise and her beloved Charlie. Unfortunately due to Louise's supernatural origins, every man she sleeps with must die so that she can survive! A heart felt love letter to 80's horror, punk, VHS and German expressionism." 

I think most fans of Louise Brooks will pick-up on the various allusions relevant to our favorite silent film star. The cast includes Priscilla McEver as Louise, Chris Shields as Charlie, Casey Puccini as Michael, Monica Panzarino as Jane, and Erica Gressman as Emily. Video Diary of a Lost Girl was named  given an Audience Award at the Chicago Underground Film Festival, and named an Official Selection at the Brisbane Underground Film Festival, an Official Selection at the South Texas Underground Film Festival, and an Official Selection: Dark Carnival Film Festival. Here is the trailer, which should give you a taste of the film:

I understand there has been a video release. Also, Video Diary of a Lost Girl screens on TruIndie TV. However, back on March 19, the film's Facebook page announced "While everyone is quarantined for the next few weeks (or months?), Video Diary of a Lost Girl will be available to watch for free on Youtube! The link below is unlisted, so all I ask is to share the link with a friend who is bored and needs a good laugh and/or scare! Happy Apocalypse my fellow demon babies!" The link to the temporary free full version on YouTube can be found HERE.

As seen on TV - Louise Brooks the Persistent Star gets screen time during LA news story.

My book, Louise Brooks the Persistent Star, received some screen time the other day during a news story on Los Angeles TV.  The 2018 book can be seen over Jeff Mantor's right shoulder throughout the short news segment on Larry Edmunds bookshop. The online text version of this news story can be viewed HERE, while the video can be viewed HERE.

The Larry Edmunds Bookshop has been a Hollywood landmark since 1938. Now, it is the last of its kind. Like many small retailers, including and especially bookstores, the Larry Edmunds bookshop is struggling to make ends meet. Just recently, they launched a GoFundMe campaign to make ends meet. It is a worthwhile cause -  especially if you love books & film, and one I would suggest everyone contribute at least a little to. Already, everyone from director Steven Soderbergh to screenwriter Marti Noxon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) to film historians James Curtis (W. C. Fields) and Donna Hill (Rudolph Valentino) to and the czar of film noir Eddie Muller and have made donations. And seemingly, so have the spirits of Fred Astaire and Rock Hudon. As well as the Louise Brooks Society.

If you would rather order a book, why not do so? Chances are, the Larry Edmunds bookshop has the film book you are looking for. Some of their current selection is how below. Check out their website HERE. Or check out their Facebook page HERE.

At the end of February, I did one of the very last events put on by the store before the Covid-19 pandemic closed things down. It was a book signing in conjunction with the showing of Pandora's Box at the American Cinematheque / Egyptian theatre in Hollywood. I left some autographed books with Jeff which were put on sale. And that's why Louise Brooks the Persistent Star is on display at the bookshop. Jeff should have autographed copies of each of my recent books. See this EARLIER BLOG.

Speaking of my books, I want to thank the CMBA (Classic Movie Blog Association) for featuring my titles on a recent April blog post, "Books, Books, Books, 7th edition." Be sure and check it out.

Update on Around the World with Louise Brooks

This blog post is my first this month. Instead of blogging regularly, I have been concentrating my efforts on my two volume book project, Around the World with Louise Brooks, which I hope to finish by September and publish by November. Volume one is subtitled "The Actress." Volume two is subtitled "The Films." I have completed about eithy percent of the books. And can say both volumes will contains hundreds of images and ten of thousands of words of text. New information will be revealed, some of it a bit startling (at least to those deeply interested in Louise Brooks). I expect each 8" x 10" volume will run between four hundred to five hundred pages.

Around the World with Louise Brooks is something different, even unprecedented. This is not the story of Louise Brooks, Kansas-born American silent film actress. Rather, this is the story of Louise Brooks, international movie star. Most all of the images in each book have been sourced from international publications - and all together, they tell Brooks story from a  different perspective.

Lately, I have broke new ground in unearthing material for the first time from Uruguay, Costa Rica, and Bermuda. Here is an image I just came across from Argentina, which I would like to share. It was colorized, and appears below as it did in 1928. I am not sure if it will appear in my new book, but if it does, it will appear in black and white, as the interiors of Around the World with Louise Brooks are in black and white.

In fact, Around the World with Louise Brooks will feature material from more than 50 countries including The Ukraine, Vietnam, Poland and Iceland. There is material from a few nations which no longer exist, like The Free State of Danzig, and a few countries yet to be born, like Indonesia.

Did you know that a portrait of a young Louise Brooks first appeared in Europe nearly half a year before she made her first film? Or that the uncredited actress was pictured in film stills published in South America which were used to promote The Street of Forgotten Men, her first film? Or that her sensational 1929 film Diary of a Lost Girl was shown in Japan under a different title not long after its release in Germany? Or that the French-made Prix de beaute was shown in Haiti on a number of occasions in the early 1930s? Or that Brooks name appears in advertised credits in New Zealand for King of Gamblers, a film from which her role was cut? All this and more in Around the World with Louise Brooks.

As mentioned, most all of the images in each book have been sourced from international publications. The only exception is a chapter from volume one, "Mit Anderen Worten: Louise Brooks en los Estados Unidos," or "In Other Words: Louise Brooks in the United States." It surveys the actress career through America's many non-English language ethnic and emigre newspapers and magazines. Just lately I have added a few "exciting" pieces from Hungarian-American and Slovenian-American newspapers. They join Russian, Polish, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish-American publications. Want to know how the German-made Pandora's Box was promoted in the German-American press when it first showed in the United States? You can find out in Around the World with Louise Brooks. Admittedly, there are a few English-language clippings in this chapter, but they hail from American territories like the United States Virgin Islands, and a Japanese-English newspaper serving the population of pre-statehood Hawai'i. Here below is something remarkable, a bilingual English-Yiddish clipping about Brooks' marriage to Eddie Sutherland which leads off "Mit Anderen Worten: Louise Brooks en los Estados Unidos." It appeared in the Jewish Forward, which was published in New York City.

A cleaned-up version of the above piece appears in the book. A Yiddish piece that won't appear (there is too much other material) which is shown below is this remarkable conglomeration of 1928 advertisements featuring Howard Hawks' A Girl in Every Port, William Wellman's Wings, and an early stage adaption of Dracula, with immigrant Bela Lugosi in the title role.

Besides "Mit Anderen Worten: Louise Brooks en los Estados Unidos," other chapters in the first volume include "New Zealand’s Shaped Text Ads" (a visual delight for typographers) and "Louise Brooks as Modan Gāru" (which looks at Brooks' popularity in Japan in the 1920s). There are also individual chapters featuring vintage postcards from around the world, trade ads, and magazine covers - each with dozens of examples. There is also a chapter of magazine portraits, one of curiosities and odds 'n ends, and another looking at Brooks' long running relationship with Canada. Did you know that Canada was the first foreign country Brooks ever visited, as well as one of the last she ever visited....