I recently made a video with Rudy Vallee singing A Girl Like You, in which I included photos of actresses from the silent film era.
In order to be balanced and fair to the sexes, I just made another video. This time Rudy Vallee is singing If I Had You, and I included photos of actors from the silent film era.
I actually have better things to do than make these worthless videos, but I thoroughly enjoy it. It quenches my creative urges. Sort of.
There is (perhaps) a mundane "sameness" about the actors of the 1920's - the hair, the look, the style - but they are intriguing nevertheless. Not to mention sexy.
I'm definitely no prude, and I'm consistently unshockable - - but I am surprised at how many of them were gay. Out of the fifteen actors I've chosen, only seven were straight.
Who are the "straight" ones"? you ask.
Hugh Allan, Francis X. Bushman, Douglas Fairbanks, Wallace Reid, Antonio Moreno, Lou Tellegen, Harold Lloyd.
And don't let the marriages fool you. Many actors married simply as a cover-up to save their careers. Charles Farrell, Richard Barthelmess, and Valentino come to mind. And perhaps Buddy Rogers.
Rudolph Valentino was married twice - both times to lesbians. His first marriage to Jean Acker lasted less than 24 hours. Acker locked him out of their hotel room before the honeymoon began.
While I'm on a roll, here are a few more random facts about some of these actors:
George O'Brien (the first actor on my video) was the son of the San Francisco chief of police. O'Brien started out as a nude "art" model before getting into films. He had a sexual fling with Rudolph Valentino (so did Richard Barthelmess).
Lou Tellegen was a popular actor of the 1920's, but in 1929 his face was disfigured in a fire. He fell asleep smoking in bed. After undergoing extensive plastic surgery, he became deeply depressed. In 1934 he committed suicide by slashing himself with a pair of sewing scissors and attempting to cut his heart out.
Wallace Reid - known as "the screen's most perfect lover" - became hopelessly addicted to drugs and died at the age of 31.
William Haines - very popular in the 1920's - was so obnoxiously gay that he was eventually fired and banished from making films. He later became a highly successful interior decorator.
Douglas Fairbanks was married to actress Mary Pickford for sixteen years. He deeply regretted their divorce in 1936.
Mary Pickford subsequently married Charles "Buddy" Rogers, who was much younger than her. Rumor has it that Buddy Rogers wanted a mother, not a wife.
Ramon Novarro was notoriously gay and had affairs with more actors than I can remember.
Novarro was brutally murdered by two male hustlers on Halloween night in 1968. I saw the house where he was murdered - and it's supposedly haunted.
More about Novarro in a future post.
Hopefully this wasn't too boring.
I have always loved Rudy Vallee's songs --especially when he used the megaphone-- and appreciate all the excellent performers in your photomontage. I knew of most of them. Biggest pleasant surprise was Charles Farrell, who I remember from childhood --an excellent tv series called "My Little Margie", and yes I had a crush on Gale Storm. I had no idea Farrell's career was so long, but I'm glad it was.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that Charles Farrell was in "My Little Margie". His movie career (unfortunately) seemed to wane after the silent era. The last picture I remember him in (and one of his last films) was "Just Around the Corner" (1938) with Shirley Temple.
DeleteI think Farrell lived to be nearly 90.
appreciate the info. i enjoyed this video of the men with rudy singing. nils asther was my favorite. what else can you tell me about him.
ReplyDeleteNils Asther was born in Copenhagen but both his parents were Swedish. I always thought he was incredibly handsome but I had no idea he was gay. From what I heard he was an extremely private person who loathed publicity (kinda like Garbo). He made at least one film with Garbo, "The White Orchid". I saw it so long ago that I can't recall much about it. Around 1935, Asther was blacklisted from making films in Hollywood due to an alleged breech of contract.
DeleteI have to confess that I too enjoy these "worthless videos" you make. Rudy Vallee was an inspired choice to capture that era. Another song from that era came to mind - "Anything Goes" - sung by its composer, Cole Porter. What you could do with that.
ReplyDeleteThanks to TCM, I have developed a love of silent film and the stars of that era. It appears that you and I share a love of Ramon Novarro. He became a favorite when I saw his "The Student Prince In Old Heidelberg" - that absolutely beautiful face of his. Btw, watch "Ramon Novarro Takes A Bath" on Youtube - soo gay.
Paul - I haven't yet heard "Anything Goes" sung by Cole Porter, but I'll check it out. I did, however, watch "Ramon Novarro Takes a Bath" and enjoyed it. I've never seen that scene before.
DeleteI've always been completely fascinated by Novarro, and - long ago - I published at least five articles about him in movie magazines and gay publications. I was smitten when I first saw how charming he was in "The Pagan". I also love "Ben Hur", which I think is far superior to the 1959 remake with Heston.
TCM is where I was first able to see lots of silent films (I no longer have TV but I recorded a lot of them). A lot of the silents are now available on YouTube.
I will (hopefully) do a blog post on Novarro in the not-too-distant future. Thanks for your comment.
Hi Jon - interesting video you put together. Seems to me that most ( if not all ) of these gentlemen lived a very sad life despite their silent film careers. There's something about Hollywood that messes people up to some degree or other. Hard to believe that another summer is nearly done with - Autumn sounds good though. Take care.
ReplyDeleteI've read a lot about Hollywood and published many articles about the "stars" and what I've learned is that the "glamour" is minimal. Most of these celebrities were emotionally screwed up to begin with, and fame and money only made things worse.
DeleteThe weather is cooling down here and we will have rain for the next few days (the aftermath of the hurricane). I always look forward to autumn. I hope those big fires are dying down!
I'm always interested in reading what your thoughts are on a variety of Hollywood stars - Novarro being one of them.
DeleteRain sounds wonderful since we haven't had a drop for months now. The Elephant Hill fire ( close to us ) is still burning, but it's 50 percent contained now - so they're slowly making progress despite the hot dry weather conditions. I guess we can't complain too much since Houston sure got clobbered ... terrible for the folks who didn't have insurance. One in five didn't they said on the news. I hope that isn't the case.
Not boring at all! Tell us more!
ReplyDeleteThey really do look so similar--dark hair, chiseled features. Seem even more alike than the ladies. But handsome devils, to be sure. :)
I'm sure that the male stars of the silent era would have looked even better without the plastered hair and pancake makeup. They didn't start looking more "natural" until around the end of the 1920's.
DeleteI'm glad you weren't bored. I have a passion for the silent film era!
That's entertainnnnn-ment! I, too, am anxious to learn more, Jon. Love these smidgens!
ReplyDeleteI could go on forever talking about Hollywood and revealing juicy tidbits about the "stars" - - it takes a great deal of effort for me to condense and restrain....
DeleteMorning Jon: Your research on the history of Hollywood is epic. That IS your next book. Success seems to have been so destructive for so many. I always remember the Robin Williams quote paraphrased to 'Cocaine is God's way of saying you have too much money'. Bit later then your subject matter admittedly.......regards, MaggieB
ReplyDeleteHey, Maggie, that's a great quote from Robbin Williams. I've never heard it before, but it's so true. I've always had an obsession with Hollywood history (undoubtedly because I lived there) and especially the silent film era.
DeleteThanks for your input!