If you have not seen the movie Hugo yet, go see it. Now.
My boss who is a movie nut kept telling me I had to see it. I finally got around to it today after school, and it was amazing. I am not gonna give anything away on here, just trust me. If you are a silent film fan, you are gonna wanna see this movie. I had tears rolling down my cheeks for half the film.
If you have seen it, what did you think? (Don't give anything away though!)
Well, lets just bring this full circle and look at Grace Darmond. I never knew much about her until I read Dangerous Curves and got to learn about who she was. I used to just look at her picture, but now I can look at it and see it with new eyes.
Grace Darmond was born Grace Glionna on November 20, 1893 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her mother's name was Alice, and her father James was a musician.
When she was younger, she caught the acting bug after appearing in a school play. And lucky girl she was, a member of the audience was a member of the Selig film company who wanted to sign her up on the spot!
She made her screen debut in 1914 and actually appeared in the first Technicolor picture, The Gulf Between, in 1917. Unfortunately, the film was a failure, mostly due to the fact that the color process in the film required a special projector that ended up making the colors look odd. Also, very few theatres actually had the projector. This is sadly also considered a lost film. There are only a few frames that survive.
Although she appeared in quite a few films, she never was a big star. She either was in small roles supporting bigger stars or in films that were lesser known. She bounced from Selig, to Vitagraph, and to Paramount Studios and even some independent film companies.
Her last film role was in 1927. She did make an appearance in a 1941 film, but her role was uncredited. She just didn't make it in the talkies.
After her retirement from film, Grace disappeared from the public eye.
Grace Darmond passed away on October 8, 1963 in Los Angeles.
Grace was reportedly a lesbian since she had a relationship with actress Jean Acker beginning in 1918. However, it seems she was married not once, but twice. So, it seems that she was bisexual. Her first marriage was to Henry Matson in 1926. They divorced later that year. Her second and final marriage was to Randolph Jennings in 1928. I can't find an ending date, so I am not sure if they were married till one of their deaths or if they divorced.
Miss Jean Acker is an interesting one. She is mainly known as being Rudy Valentino's first wife...the one that locked herself in her room on her wedding night. She may not have loved him as a husband, but it seems she loved his name because she began using the stage name "Mrs. Rudolph Valentino." Nice huh?
After reading about her relationship with Grace Darmond (we will get to her later) in the book Dangerous Curves, I realized that her life deserved a deeper look.
Shall we?
Jean Acker was born Harriet Acker on October 23, 1893 in Trenton, New Jersey. I don't know her parents names or their occupations, but I do know they separated when she was still young.
She spent a few of her early years performing on vaudeville in New Jersey before she moved to California in 1919. When she arrived, she met the woman, the diva, the legend herself...Alla Nazimova. Because Nazimova was just a big star, she was able to get her new "friend" a movie contract fairly quickly.
Unlike Nazimova, Jean never made a big splash on the screen. She made about 13 movies all together during the 1910s and 1920s. When the 1930s came around, she usually only made uncredited appearances in film.
Her last screen appearance was in 1955 in a Betty Grable film.
Jean Acker passed away on August 16, 1978 of natural causes in Los Angeles.
She was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. Her grave marker reads "Jean Acker Valentino"
Jean was only married once, to Valentino, in 1919. Like I stated before, on their wedding night she fled to their hotel room and locked him out. She was so upset that she then ran to her then lover, Grace Darmond's house. Rudy tried to work things out, but to no avail. They didn't divorce until 1923. Apparently, years later, Jean confided to a friend that the real reason she flew from Rudy that night was because he told her he had gonorrhea. I don't think so...
Rudy obviously wasn't her one true love. She found that in a former Ziegfeld Follies girl named Chloe Carter who she met soon after divorcing Rudy. They remained together until Chloe died. They are even buried next to each other.
As I stated before, Jean Acker was also in a relationship with actress Grace Darmond and most probably with Nazimova. They were all part of what were calling "sewing circles." This basically a term for women who were lesbian or bisexual. Who was part of the group? Well supposedly...Jean, Nazimova, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford, Patsy Kelly, Louise Brooks, Greta Garbo, Dolores Del Rio, Peggy Fears, Janet Gaynor, Katharine Hepburn, Lena Horne, Hattie McDaniel, Barbara Stanwyck. *whew*
Jean actually sued to be able to use the name 'Valentino' in her stage name. This pissed Rudy off (obviously), and he didn't talk to her for years. In 1923, she even toured with a little show of her own called "How She Won the Sheik," where she talked about her life with Rudy. The two eventually reconciled shortly before his death. She even visited him on his death bed and brought him linen and pillows she had made and embroidered herself.
"It was simply a case of California, the glamour of Southern California moonlight and the fascinating lovemaking of the man." ~~ Jean Acker (when asked why she married Valentino)
As some of you may or may not know, I work at a library and am an avid reader. I have loved to read ever since I can remember. My parents used to read to me before bed almost every night, and I still do that to this day. Well, my parents don't, but I do. I can't really sleep unless I read something! Thank goodness I work at a place where books are EVERYWHERE, and free at that.
I like to read a lot of different things, but one of the genres I enjoy are biographies about silent/classic film stars. I thought I would share with you some of the titles that I would recommend. And some that I would say not to waste your time on.
The first of course is the book I finished reading over a month ago called Dangerous Curves Atop Hollywood Heels by Michael Ankerich. Oh how Jessica loves this book! The research done by the author was just incredible, which I definitely appreciate. Another plus, it covered some ladies who have been almost forgotten like Lucille Ricksen and Martha Mansfield. Go out and buy it now, if you cannot afford it at this time (especially with the holidays) I will let you borrow my copy for sure. I love it that much. And you, of course ;)
Next would be Silent Players by Anthony Slide. Slide is a film historian, and I love hearing him talk because he is so knowledgeable, and also because I love his accent. This book has wonderful biographies that are just enough to give you a real taste of the actor he is writing about. From the top of my head, I can recall that he covered Mignon Anderson, Gladys Brockwell, and of course the greats are covered too. The copy of this book that is in the library system I work at has a plate in it dedicated to me. It has my stamp of approval!
Silent Lives by Lon Davis is another one that contains little biographies of a number of stars. Problem is, I know I read it and liked it, but I can't really remember much else! I do remember really liking it though, so check it out.
Silent Movies by Peter Kobel is a beautiful book. It has a lot of information in it and beautiful pictures. It is a great coffee table book, which is where mine is sitting right now. Trust me, it is hard to read while laying in bed cuz it is a big one.
As far as star biographies go, I cannot recommend enough David Stenn. He wrote Clara Bow: Runnin' Wild and Bombshell about Jean Harlow. I read both books and absolutely loved them. He includes a lot of information, and you can tell he admires these ladies because he writes very sympathetically towards them. The Jean Harlow book had me crying when he was talking about her final days and how she suffered. Now, I don't cry easily, especially at books, so that is something. Two great books about two of my idols.
Vamp by Eve Golden was a good one too. It is about Theda Bara, if you couldn't already tell by the title. I am so happy someone wrote a biography about her, and Eve Golden is such a great author anyway, so I think she did Theda justice. I don't remember much about the book since it has been a few years since I read it, but I do remember I finished the whole thing, which again means something coming from me. If I don't like a book, I don't waste my time finishing it. Make sure to check out Eve's other books as well.
Nazimova by Gavin Lambert. I was kinda scared when I requested this book and it came in because it is a thick one. And normally when a book is that thick, it can read very much like a textbook and not be very interesting. That is not the case in this book. I was captivated from beginning to end. I don't know if it was the subject matter or the writing, but I would like to believe it is both. Alla Nazimova was such a dynamic force so her story itself is incredible and I grew to love her even more after reading Lambert's work.
Okay...now I gotta be careful talking about these next books because I found out the hard way that a Facebook friend of mine is a friend of the author and I made my opinions known on his wall. Not in a thrashing, bad way, but it wasn't completely positive either. Michelle Vogel wrote biographies about Olive Thomas and Olive Borden, and, well, they are not my favorites...which sucks because I love the Olives!! The Olive Thomas book was kinda boring and choppy and the quotes from magazines was overwhelming to the point where I felt like I was reading a bad research paper that I had written the night before. It wasn't the worst book that I have read, but it wasn't my favorite. The Olive Borden book was a little bit better, but not by much. I ended up skimming through the rest of it because I couldn't just lay back and read the whole thing. Vogel also wrote a book called Hollywood Blondes that has so many mistakes, it will make you cringe. Which, again, sucks because it has some of my favorites in it and could really be a good book!
As far as autobiographies go, check out The Times We Had by Marion Davies. Her life in Hollywood and with Hearst in her own words is very endearing and I thought it was a good read. I of course recommend My Wonderful World of Slapstick because it is by Buster! Duh! He was such a humble and funny man, that is a lovely view of his life by the man himself.
I do remember picking up Life of a Star by Pola Negri, but I don't remember what I thought of it. Oops!
These are just a few of the ones I have read, but it gives props to the best. What about you guys? Read any good books lately? :)
As many of you may know by now, one of my dreams/aspirations is to either be in a movie about silent or classic film stars or to make documentaries about them. What is our mission statement here? We don't want these wonderful actors and actresses to be forgotten! So, until that time comes...I like to watch tribute videos on Youtube, and luckily enough, two of my favorites were made by one of my readers. She has beautiful ones about many beautiful actresses, but I want to share two of them with you because they are about two ladies who I think were too beautiful to even look real! Florence Labadie and Maude Fealy. Watch and enjoy!!
I wanted to squeeze in an entry about Peggy because I was showing my grave photos the other day, and came across hers, and no one knew who she was (understandable). They just saw she had died fairly young. I just kept saying, "Look up her photos, she was an absolutely beautiful showgirl and actress." I wish we could have seen more from her, but like so many others, she became too friendly with the bottle.
Peggy Shannon was born Winona Sammon on January 10, 1907 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Her parents were Edward and Nannie Sammon. She was later joined by younger sister, Carol.
When she was still in high school, she went to New York to visit an aunt. It was while on this visit, she was hired to be a Ziegfeld showgirl. She stayed with Ziegfeld and other Broadway shows until 1927 when she was discovered by B.P. Schulberg, the production head of Paramount. She packed her bags and followed him out to Hollywood.
She was already being hyped up as the next Clara Bow, the next "It Girl." It was prophetic almost, because just two days after arriving in Hollywood, she was offered a role that had been Clara's in the film, The Secret Call. Clara had suffered a nervous breakdown, and couldn't continue with the film, so she was replaced.
Peggy, to put it gently, worked her ass off. She would sometimes work on a film 10 to 16 hours a day! And other times when she would finish one film, she would have to go right into making another one.
In 1932, she signed a contract with Fox. Unfortunately, she was already getting the reputation of being difficult and fussy on set, and it was also around this time that her drinking problem started to be come, well...a problem.
In 1934, she went back to New York to appear in a few more Broadway shows. She only lasted about a year before dropping out to what she claimed was a tooth infection, but others knew was really her alcoholism.
She soon couldn't hide the fact that she was an alcoholic, and so the job offers got fewer and fewer. She made her last film appearance in 1940 in the film Triple Justice.
Peggy Shannon passed away on May 11, 1941. Her husband and a friend of his had come home to find her slumped over the kitchen table with a cigarette still in her mouth and a glass in her hand. She had been dead for about 12 hours when he got there. She was only 34. The autopsy revealed she died from a heart attack, a liver ailment, and just being generally worn out.
Peggy was married twice. Her first husband was Alan Davis in 1926. They divorced in 1940. Her second husband was cameraman Albert Roberts who she married months after her first divorce. They were married until her death. Sadly, three weeks after Peggy died, her husband shot himself in the same spot where she had died. His suicide note read, "I am very much in love with my Peggy Shannon. In this spot she died, so in reverence to her, you will find me in the same spot." He was not buried next to her though. He was buried at Forest Lawn in Glendale.
She was interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
She was not the only one slated to replace Clara Bow. She shared that honor with actress Sylvia Sidney.
In July of 1938, apparently she and her sister were both injured in a car accident when they hit another car head on.
While she was a film actress, Peggy was quite the fashion plate. She liked to sport the newest styles before they came into fashion. Fans looked to her to find out what the new looks were.
After her daughter died, and then her son in law, she demanded a police investigation into the matter. She wanted private investigates to really look into how her daughter died.
"[Hollywood] is a sort of Looking Glass Town. They do everything backward. If you try desperately to get somewhere, you find yourself further away from your goal, but if you decide it's impossible and stop hoping, there you are at the winning line." ~ Peggy Shannon
On Saturday, I went to the Redford Theatre to go see the 1923 version of Hunchback of Notre Dame starring Lon Chaney. I LOOOOVE the Redford! It is such a beautiful theatre, is volunteer run, AND still has the original organ from 1928 when it was first built. My favorite part of the theatre is the starry night ceiling they have. It feels like you are watching a movie outdoors. Check it out on their website...Redford Theatre.
Anyways, I had never seen this movie the whole way through and was pretty excited because Lon Chaney is the master of horror. Also, I was really excited to see Gladys Brockwell in a film finally!
With that being said, it wasn't my favorite film of Chaney's. The movie introduced so many characters in a span of a few minutes that it took me a little bit to get everyone figured out. Also, I didn't really understand the pathos of the hunchback. I mean, I get that he was a tortured soul cooped up in the bell tower but really did have a soft spot inside, but still I was kinda lost on that part. And it didn't seem like he was really in the film that much.
Patsy Ruth Miller did a wonderful job as Esmeralda and she was so beautiful in the role. She reminded me of Olive Borden at times. My only nitpicking with that role was her t-shirt looking costume. When I think of a gypsy, I think of someone letting some skin show like a Vilma Banky or Theda Bara, but Patsy looked like she had a t-shirt with a gold vest sewn on. It was really odd. Also, Norman Kerry as Phoebus...he looked like my dad when he was younger, and that was cracking me up.
Gladys Brockwell was amazing. She played a younger woman in a flashback scene, and for the rest of the movie she was an old, haggard woman. I thought she was wonderful and I am so happy I got to finally see her in a film. She died 6 years after this film was made.
I had the 'pleasure' of listening to different people's remarks about Lon Chaney and the film itself. While standing in line outside to get my ticket, I learned that Lon died shortly after this film was made.........which, um, if true...what a hell of an actor! He came back from the dead and appeared in about 20 more movies! Incredible. The gentleman also said that a movie was made about Chaney starring James Cagney called, "Lon Chaney's Make Up Kit." *face palm* I didn't want to to but into his conversation because I didn't want to be THAT person, but thankfully another guy filled him in...which made me smile.
I did learn some interesting things about the film though when I got home and did some research about it. One of the first things I noticed was how the film was in kinda rough shape. And I am not talking about the usual scratches and such on old film, I mean it looked kinda worn. I found out by reading online that the condition isn't the best because it only exists in a 16mm format. And there is actually still about 15 minutes of the film that is considered lost.
Lon Chaney was a man who really became his characters. He kept one of his eyes covered with putty for the film everyday, which eventually led to him having to wear glasses for the rest of his life. He also developed some leg problems from the brace he wore to perfect the walk of the hunchback. What a guy!
The set for Notre Dame was so big and intricate, they decided to keep them up on the lot for all to see. Unfortunately, a fire during the 1960s destroyed the set. :(
There are reportedly some famous faces who worked as extras in the film. Gilbert Roland, Charles Farrell, and Elmo Lincoln are perhaps somewhere in there...I am just not Eagle Eye enough to spot them. Maybe you can! Let me know!
