The Good Witch
When the Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, first appeared in the movie The Wizard of Oz you could see and feel the glamour of the lady who played the part. What many may not have realized about Billie Burke was that at the time she was 53 years old. Billie Burke was born [...]
The Barrymore Family
Georgiana Drew (July 11, 1856 – July 2, 1893) She was the daughter of actors John Drew and Louisa Lane Drew. She made her theatrical debut in 1872, in the play The Ladies’ Rattle. She acted in many Broadway’s hits, like As You Like It and Pique. In 1876 she married Herbert Arthur Chamberlayne Blyth, [...]
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were established in 1927. It was decided that they would create a ceremony to publicize and reward fourteen individuals and movies that were the best artistic examples of film making. The first award ceremony was in 1929 for the period August 1, 1927 to July 31, 1928. [...]
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore was born on April 28, 1878. He was the eldest of the children of actors Georgiana Drew and Maurice Barrymore. Maurice Barrymore legal name was Herbert Arthur Chamberlayne Blythe and Lionel’s birth name was Lionel Blythe. His siblings Ethel and John as well as Georgina Drew’s parents, brothers and sister all were actors. [...]
Uncle Miltie
He was the first Superstar of Television and in the late 40s/Early 50s he was the one of the most watched, with people scheduling their evening around his show. Uncle Miltie was Milton Berle and June 12 is the anniversary of his birth. He was born Mendel Berlinger in New York in 1908. He spend [...]
A Keystone Girl
One of the many silent film stars who appeared in films made by Mack Sennett and Keystone Pictures was Louise Fazenda. Fazenda was born in Lafayette Indiana on June 17, 1895 to a merchant broker named Joseph Fazenda. He moved his family to Los Angeles when she was a young girl. Louise Fazenda got her [...]
Silent Comedy Queen
Mabel Normand was born on November 9, 1892, in New Brighton, Staten Island, New York. Her parents were Mary Drury Normand and Claude G. Normand. There are accounts that give her birth as November 10, with the year given usually being 1894 or 1895. Of their children, only four survived childbirth: Ralph, Claude, Jr., Gladys, [...]
The Tramp’s First Appearance
Whenever anyone speaks of Charlie Chaplin, the image that will come to mind is his signature character, the Little Tramp. Chaplin himself called him The Little Fellow. The character rarely was referred to by any name onscreen. The Little Tramp was first seen by the public when Keystone released the comedy short Kid Auto Races [...]
Silent Horror Movies
Scary movies have been around for nearly as long as there has been movies. In some ways the film that is credited with being the first film to tell a story Edwin S. Porter’s 1903 film The Great Train Robbery featured a shot of a gunslinger firing his gun into the camera. Scary today so [...]
The Man of a Thousand Faces
Lon Chaney was called ‘The Man of a Thousand Faces, because of his diverse roles and his use of makeup and the art of pantomime in silent films. He is most known for his horror silent films The Hunchback of Norte Dame and The Phantom of the Opera. The silent film actor, was born on [...]
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