Edna Purviance's bio

June 6, 2018 - Re-editing Edna Purviance's family biography 2nd Draft. Photo: Leading Ladies © used by ednapurviance.org

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Graduate Student Award being Offered by Chaplin Conference

If you are a Graduate Student and a fan of Charlie Chaplin, the 2010 International Charlie Chaplin Conference is offering a $250 award to the winning presenter entry. If you are a student and interested, click this link for more details.

The Sea Gull new printing Experience

Update March 1, 2010 - Thanks for all the weekend orders! Check your emails for details.

In the past three years, The Sea Gull has been printed by at least three different printers. This is because the print-on-demand (POD) company used more than one printer to accommodate their high volume of print jobs.

Working this way presents a real challenge about quality control. This POD outfit is one of the largest operating, and there is a users forum where complaints were often aired. The simple fact is that anyone who markets and sells their POD books without visually checking the product could be due for a horror story.


In order to ensure that everyone who ordered the Sea Gull received a perfect copy, we did what we would suggest others to do, if selling like we are -- have the books sent to you before they are sent to the buyer. This is critical if your book is high quality, contains critical color and photography.

The POD company we were using simply let things go to hell. They had changed their business model to accommodate demands from re-sellers, and their quality control and especially their customer service fell completely apart. Our last order with them was badly printed, and we requested a reprint. They did not reply for over two weeks, then when they sent the reprint, those books were even worse looking than the original. When we contacted them again on the matter, they never replied.

Knowing this could happen at anytime, I had been researching possible printers as a fall back option. We even had a local printer try, but his price was not competitive and there were several aspects of production that had to be sent out of town. The local printer was happy to try, but he knew he couldn't bid competitively.

Now the printer we finally decided to try, after looking at many, has all the items we needed for a book like ours. We actually tried to use this printer before in 2007, but since we didn't have a tried and tested book, and were new to the process, we couldn't get in. The company is Lightning Source in Tennessee, and they are the largest POD printers in the world. Their standards for accounts that they will accept are strict, and we had to jump through a number of hoops before they gave us the green light.

Lightning Source (subsidiary of an Ingram Industries, Inc.) is used by small publishers like Leading Ladies, to the largest publishing companies in the business. So far, we have been treated very professionally, and that is all you ask for in a company. We explained our whole situation, and they were very aware of the problems and looked at our account with interest. We went from terrible customer service with the old POD to being assigned an account team to assist us when we needed. That's professionalism with a capital P!

Through the process of changing the book's digital files to match their POD system, to the proof book, and now with the printing of a quantity of new Third Edition books, everything has been A-OK.

As a side benefit, Leading Ladies now has the option to publish other peoples' projects. Something thought about in the office lately. But right now, getting The Sea Gull back in circulation is our priority.


This most noticeable change in The Sea Gull is the new ISBN bar code under Leading Ladies publishing. That bar code is how you know you have a REVISED THIRD edition. None of the First or Second editions have a bar code.

The inside pages are a bit different, as the paper weight is now 70#, instead of 80#, with not quite as smooth a finish. This does give the images a softer look. The cover paper stock on the new books is slightly heavier and the colors are closer to the first original books we printed in 2007 and early 2008. That pretty much sums up the changes in printing.

I had several people waiting to order books, including one who had ordered The Sea Gull First Edition in January 2008. Here are just two comments from a new fan and one longtime fan:

"I am very pleased with it and have to say I am very impressed with the presentation and the overall look of the book. Yourself and Wes have done fantastic work on this project. Also thanks again for the signatures. I will so treasure this book for years to come." - New fan from Europe

"The photographs of Seagull are great." - from Europe (they bought the first edition in January 2008)

Thanks to everyone's support and interest in this project. Special thanks to Leading Ladies for publishing The Sea Gull, and to Wesley Wada for his time and expertise in getting the new files updated. Our appreciation to Anna and the team at Lightning Source, for their reassuring presence in getting our new book re-launched.

The Sea Gull is published by Leading Ladies and still ordered direct exclusively through ednapurviance.com. We had our book at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum store last year, which they sold out all copies. If you are interested in selling in your bookshop, please contact us for more details.

Other notes: The Sea Gull have been added to the University of Nevada (in Reno), library. Comments from fans and reviewers who have the book.

Note Update: Also, if you think this book will show up on Amazon someday, at some cheap price with free shipping, you are mistaken. It is not easy to get a book like this on the market, one reason being publishers like mainstream stars. But even mainstream silent film stars don't always get their books published. So if you want that unique book for you collection, don't miss out. We have a better price again (at least back to original release price), but printing cost and shipping can change. And no, we have no plans to offer as an e-book. Again, thank to everyone who has ordered this latest edition. While the bio on Edna is still being researched, I have thoughts of doing another book, in between. See how it goes here...

And speaking of e-books, personally, I am not a fan. I love the idea of holding a real book, over holding a piece of plastic. There is something about 'turning the page' over ''rubbing a screen' I guess you could say, I like so much better. While I love working with a computer, I like a break from it, as well. Speaking of which, I read a great article covering this whole matter. By Murray Ewing, it covers many of the same thoughts I have on the whole e-book, ipad, matter.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Anna May Wong - March 2010 UK Screenings


Anna May Wong
Frosted Yellow Willows: Her Life and LegendTwo Screenings in the UK in March

March 21, 2010
Glasgow Film Theatre


March 24, 2010
Bradford International Film Festival

Elaine Mae Woo will be present at the screenings.
Check the links above for times and locations.

Friday, February 26, 2010

The Rainbow Orchid Two coming in July


Really looking forward to the release of The Rainbow Orchid Part 2 coming this July...

Update: Mar. 6th: Interview is now over 5500! Thanks for listening!

(Note: Having a re-think on what to do with the Chaplin Birthday at the moment.)

Thursday, February 25, 2010

From BFI Films First Version of Alice and Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland from 1903 - restored with colour tints.

"The colours were based on what survives in the original print, and what we know about the chemical recipes used at the time for tinting film. This is certainly one of the oldest tinted films in British film history, possibly even the oldest." - Bryony Dixon, BFI

More information at BFI.



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In March the latest version, in 3D, will be opening in theaters. Here is the latest trailer from Disney Studios UK.

Update: London Premiere and Review of Alice in Wonderland

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Updated Trailer for FDR Secret Air Force

Here is the updated trailer for John Schwally's "FDR Secret Air Force." Edna Purviance's husband, Jack Squire, has some of his personal film footage as part of the documentary. (Jack's clip is not in this trailer.) The narrator for the program is David Hartman (former Good Morning America host).

University of Miami new home for Charlie Chaplin & Keystone Cops films

The University of Miami has obtained a $32 million collection of nearly 3,500 high-quality films. These films include the early work of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Mack Sennett's Keystone Cops and early cartoons, like Felix the Cat. More at this link.

"I have always felt that this collection could be very beneficial to a film school or an academic department specializing in film and communications,” said Herrick. “I am thrilled to know that it is in good hands at UM and that a multitude of new generations of film and communications students can access and study it.”

These films and programs, together with a previously donated collection known as the Raymond J. Regis Motion Picture Archives, will allow the School of Communication to offer a rich archive of material to students and scholars. With a total of more than 7,000 titles, the School of Communication will be among a very elite group of schools to provide its students and faculty with such a resource.

“This is a cinematic treasure trove,” said Sam L Grogg, Dean of the UM School of Communication, a producer and executive producer of numerous theatrical and television films. “The Herrick donation will support our motion picture faculty in their dedicated effort to build a vibrant cinema culture on campus. We look forward to the scholarly and creative work that will be inspired by the collection.”

The Norton Herrick collection includes approximately 3,500 high-quality films in the form of 16 mm. and ¾-inch video masters from the golden age of moving pictures spanning the 1930s though the 1970s.Some of the rare films include early silent films featuring Hollywood stars such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Mack Sennett’s The Keystone Cops. Among the animated features, there are early Betty Boop, Felix The Cat and Bosko cartoons. The Golden Age of television is also represented in the collection including programs such as This is Your Life, The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show and The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show." - University of Miami, news release

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Arizona's Little Hollywood by Joe McNeill





Arizona's Little Hollywood

By Joe McNeill

Release at the annual
Sedona International
Film Festival

Available nationwide soon




Sedona, Arizona was a favorite film location, especially for westerns during the early silent film era, to John Ford's Stagecoach, and into the 1970s. This new book covers it all. Over 175 photos, covering over 60 films. Learn more about the book and watch an interview with author at this link.

Events this week for our UK & Mid-West fans


For everyone - BBC 2 Radio
David Puttnam's Century of Cinema Episode 6
Available online for the next 6 days only. Covers today's movies, digital films and their thoughts on the future of 3D.
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If you love organ music,
catch Nigel Ogden's weekly
The Organist Entertains

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February 27-28, 2010

London, England
The Cinema Museum
Weekend Fundraising

Film and Movie Memorabilia Bazaar

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Kansas Silent Film Festival
14th Annual Festival

February 26-27, 2010



Special Guest: Melissa Talmadge Cox
(Grand-daughter of Buster Keaton and Natalie Talmadge)

Monday, February 22, 2010

Illegal


If you seen this DVD set (image) on Amazon, you should know it is an illegal DVD set. Don't buy!

UPDATE: This collection appears to be removed from the Amazon US listings.










COPYRIGHTS ON CHAPLIN FILMS

There are always fans who don't seem to know this, so a reminder on the Chaplin list of copyrighted films.

All Charlie Chaplin Films made from 1918 onward, are copyrighted by Roy Export. Starting with Chaplin's First National contract, he had full control and copyright of his films. These films are:

FIRST NATIONAL
A Dog's Life (1918)
Shoulder Arms (1918)
Sunnyside (1919)
A Day's Pleasure (1919)
The Kid (1921)
The Idle Class (1921)
Pay Day (1922)
The Pilgrim (1923)

UNITED ARTIST

A Woman of Paris (1923)
The Gold Rush (1925)
The Circus (1928)
City Lights (1931)
Modern Times (1936)
The Great Dictator (1940)
Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
Limelight (1952)

British Productions
A King in New York (1957)
A Countess From Hong Kong (1967)

These are NOT in the public domain, but during Chaplin's days in Hollywood, a few of these films were pirated from Chaplin, and today, show up in a few unofficial sets. Today, as in Chaplin's time, pirated collections are removed, like this pirated set pictured. Currently, the official Chaplin collection will be released again in the future. In the meantime, do not spend your money on pirated copies.

Films Chaplin didn't own the copyright
The other Charlie Chaplin films from Keystone, Essanay and Mutual era, were not under Chaplin's copyright control and fell into many hands over the decades. Copyrights vary, so beware. These films not under Chaplin's personal copyright included:

All of Chaplin's 35 Keystone films made in 1914

Essanay
1915
His New Job
A Night Out
The Champion
In the Park
A Jitney Elopment
The Tramp
By the Sea
Work
A Woman
The Bank
Shanghaied
A Night Out in the Show

Released in 1916

Carmen
Police

Mutual - 1916
The Floorwalker
The Fireman
The Vagabond
One A.M.
The Count
The Pawnshop
Behind the Screen
The Rink

1917 releases

Easy Street
The Cure
The Immigrant
The Adventurer

After The Adventurer, Chaplin signed with First National and built his own studio, which he made all this films from 1918 until 1952. All the films made at his studio were copyrighted by Chaplin.

The best of the Essanay and Mutuals collections are with IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT or with BFI if you live in the UK. There is no best for the Chaplin Keystones on DVD, yet, until the newly restored collection is released. Learned more about the Keystones at this link.

Follow-up: A buyer of this set reported today, the casing fell apart, above opening. A picture was left on the site to see.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

My video pick for the day, "Wondermilk"

My animated video pick for the day is called "Wondermilk" by Ivan Ramadan. It is a narrative story about water, fireflies, colorful cows, and the people who didn't understand their world. You can see more videos at this link.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Charlie Chaplin 2010 Conference ONLINE Registration


October 28-30, 2010
Charlie Chaplin in the Heartland
International Conference

Ohio University - Zanesville, Ohio
Online Registration for the event is now open

Update February 2010
Currently scheduled presenters and events:
Much more to come!

Ben Model will be the accompanist for all the Chaplin short films.

Additional information:
March 2007 - WEBO-AM interview with Ben Model



October 24, 2010
"City Lights" with Timothy Brock conducting OU orchestra

Additional information:
A sampling of Timothy Brock's score for Steamboat Bill (1/3 parts)



Scheduled Presenters: More to come

Keynote Speaker and Honoree
Charles J. Maland - author of "Chaplin and American Culture: The Evolution of a Star Image"

David Robinson - author of "Chaplin: His Life and Art"

Additional information: From the Underworld Projector - David Robinson talking about Monsieur Verdoux




David Shepard - Film Preservationist, to show the newly restored "Tillie's Punctured Romance"

Additional information:
June 1998 - BBC WORLD REPORT - "The Silent Clowns Film Series" with Ben Model and and David Shepard.



Kate Guyonvarch - Director of Roy Export and Association Chaplin, Paris

Cecilia Cenciarelli - Archivist and Head of Progetto Chaplin, Cineteca di Bologna, Bologna, Italy

Dr. Alan Parkinson - author of "Charlie Chaplin's South London"

Peter Wyeth - Documentary program called "Charlie Goes to School"


Special showings of many Chaplin films
Including: The Kid, One A.M., The Immigrant, The Pawnshop, The Idle Class, and maybe even A Dog's Life. Possible showings of a few newly restored Chaplin Keystone Films.

Check the official website link. Also, become a fan on Facebook.

Nobunari Oda Free Skate to 'Charlie Chaplin'

Vancouver, British Columbia - Olympics 2010 - Men's Free Skate (Long Program) - Japanese skater, Nobunari Oda, skates to the music of Charlie Chaplin. He had a bit of an issue during the program, but was a real trooper. This link shows the full program (short and long), with no comments.

Music included themes from Limelight, The Kid, and A Countess from Hong Kong.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Little Charlie Chaplin music on 78

I don't know about you, but I remember my parents 78 collection. I actually still have a few 78s left, but my parents didn't collected any Charlie Chaplin. But, some people did, as these two videos from youtube show.

The first one is "The Spring Song" from A King in New York. (There are more 78 recordings of other stars at this link.)




The second one to enjoy is the theme Limelight played on an original 1920s portable Gramphone. What is fun about this one, is the fact Edna Purviance owned a portable player she took with her on long trips to the east coast and abroad. Enjoy a taste of the past, at 78 speed!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

The Sea Gull book is ready to order!


The Sea Gull is BACK!

And ready to order NOW!



The Sea Gull is only available through Edna Purviance .com
This is our Third Revised Edition
and back to our original 2008 release price,
thanks to our new printers.

Update: Live in the San Francisco Bay Area? We now have books at the Niles Essanay Gift shop.

Thomas Gladysz - Writer/Reviewer - San Francisco Examiner
"Had you not known it was self-published, any reader would assume this book the product of a major concern. It’s beautifully printed. The layout is attractive, and the text is informative. And what’s more, it’s the only book on an interesting and worthwhile subject... Obviously a labor of love, this fine book is an appealing look into the past." - Examiner, syndicated nationally, USA

Kevin Brownlow - Silent Film Historian - London, England
"THE SEA GULL is an important contribution to film history, and worth buying for the stills alone. The look of the film, revealed in these marvellous photographs, makes it all the more tragic that it was destroyed. This book provides the nearest experience we will have to seeing it. Thank you for all the hard work. It is much appreciated."

John Baxter - author - Paris, France
"Thanks for sending THE SEA GULL so promptly. It's a fascinating piece of research - particularly since von Sternberg has been almost a lifelong interest. My most sincere congratulations."

More comments and reviews
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Some The SEA GULL Information from the current research
Here is what I found about the titling of this film:

1) The original working title of this film was THE SEA GULL (no 's' on the end). This was used during production (January until mid-June, 1926).

2) On June 19, 1926, The Los Angeles Times reported about an interview with Josef von Sternberg on his new film. It was called "A WOMAN WHO ONCE LOVED." It was being made at the Chaplin Studio.

3) Written in the official FILM WORKING SCHEDULE: Four days after this report was printed, it was noticed in the SCHEDULE the titles were changed.

The film that previewed was called "A WOMAN OF THE SEA."

As the research goes on, learn more now from this nearly forgotten film production of Charlie Chaplin, directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Edna Purviance.

UPDATE: Thanks very much for the orders, to date. All processed orders will be placed in the post today. Check your emails for details. Thanks ever so much for supporting this project.

Update Feb. 17th - Many thanks, again, as more orders have appeared today! Check your emails to confirm addresses, etc. Nice to see all these overseas orders, as well! Again, thanks for everyone support, worldwide!

Update (follow-up on Feb. 17th) - We have all our current orders in the mail. Thanks to everyone in the UK, Europe and USA for your orders. Check your emails for details on your order.

Update March 7th - Here is another updated article about The Sea Gull.

Published by Leading Ladies, author Linda Wada. Re-released 3rd edition February 15, 2010. All design and layout by Wesley Wada.

The Sea Gull book is now launched! Thanks for the overnight orders. Now for a bit of "Magic Fun" in Tenerife (Canery Islands, off the coast of Africa), with Charlie Chaplin look alike. And I say, he is quite good!




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February 17, 2010 - Wanting to keep The Sea Gull info on top for a bit longer, I will place this update here.

BBC 2 Radio re-broadcast of David Puttnam's Century of Cinema Episode 5, is now available to listen too for the next six days. To mark this event, when I was listening, I did this little drawing during the broadcast. This weeks program covers British film making. Episode 6 will be on next Tuesday, February 23nd. LINK


Saturday, February 13, 2010

Feb. 17th - The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom Release

Release - February 17, 2010
The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom

I posted about this earlier, but if you are a video game player, own XBox, and love silent films, you should love this new game based on silent films and one hungry, pie eating chap name P.B. Winterbottom. In reading the reviews, this game will actually exercise players minds to think, instead of using their fingers to just react and shoot everything in sight.

Review about it below. Click on image to see a test play of the game, and link to preview and trailer and interview with creators. Home site for the game. Happy eating!

"Do not doubt that The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom is one of the most difficult games that you will have ever played.

Unlike pure platformers, where most frustration is born out of not hitting the jump button at the exact right moment, in this game you have to contend with the spatial and timing difficulties only once you have actually figured out how to actually get to all the necessary pies in each level. It’s a bit like playing Sonic the Hedgehog inside an M.C. Escher drawing.

But that puzzle-solving element is what keeps the game from getting too frustrating—or at least prevents the specific brand of controller-throwing anger that other platformer games can cause. It’s not necessarily your thumbs that are letting you down, but rather your brain.

Despite the insane difficulty of some of the puzzles contained within The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom, I can’t do anything other than wholly recommend its purchase, which has a price tag of 800 Microsoft Points (or about $10). Smart games should be championed, not feared, and the mental challenges contained within this game are only more impressive once you solve them. Upon completing them, I felt as if I had truly conquered something." - Review from teamxbox

Update February 16 - Latest interview with co-founder of the game, Paul Bellezza

Update February 17 - Let the pie eating begin! If you have Xbox 360, and a chuck of change (don't know the exact price), you can order P.B. Winterbottom, starting today!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Charlie Chaplin Studio early day 3D Film Experiments

With the chat about Charlie Chaplin being animated into a 3D image, it just so happens, 3D is not new to the Chaplin Studio. Back in the late 1920s, Charlie Chaplin's head cameraman, Rollie Totheroh was experiencing with creating 3D images on film, on the back lot of the Chaplin Studio.

The people filmed in this test wasn't Charlie Chaplin, but Edna Purviance's nephew, Morgan Hill and cameraman, Val Lane. Both men worked for the Chaplin film crew.

Morgan Hill worked for Charlie Chaplin starting sometime in 1927 through 1939. (He started to work for Chaplin during the filming of The Circus and worked full time starting in 1928, from the information we have in the Hill collection.)

Morgan use to visit the studio when Edna Purviance was still working there in the early 1920s, clear up to the time when she was filming The Sea Gull "A Woman of the Sea" (in 1926).

Morgan was assistant to Rollie Totheroh during filming, and worked in the studio film developing lab. He used is mechanical talents in repairing film cameras on site, and even invented unique equipment, used in the film industry.

You can see this clip of Morgan in The Chaplin DVD Collection from Warner Brothers. If you have the two disc DVD of The Circus, in the MK2 collection, look up the extras on Disc Two. On the menu, you will see a listing for DOCUMENTS. Click on DOCUMENTS, and you will find a listing for 3D camera test footage.

The footage opens with cameraman Val Lane by a tree. Walking up from the background, is Morgan Hill. The two do hand movements in front of the camera.

It was just an experiment, but interesting to note Chaplin's camera crew were creating 3D, never realizing their boss, one day, would be re-created using that technique for future audiences to enjoy.

This film clip is own by David Totheroh. We actually met David in Hollywood during our Cinecon event. He came especially to meet Lita and see our event. He didn't know Morgan, but remembered an old family joke, concerning the fact, Morgan had a town in California named after him, called Morgan Hill.

Of course, it adds a bit of a problem researching Morgan Hill, on a database, as the town shows up often in searches.

If you don't have the DVD, it is still available from private sellers. The Chaplin Collection DVD set from Warners has been retired. I don't know if this clip will be added to future Chaplin DVD collections, so if you like to have it, should probably get one now, before the price goes higher. It has been increasing in price.
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Added Notes
Morgan Hill was the father to Lita and Ellie Hill, and was the son of Bessie Purviance Hill and Sidney Hill. He was Edna's close friend and pal, while growing up in Nevada. Morgan was seven years younger than Edna, and would remain close to the family his whole life. He use to live with Edna, from time to time, in the late 1910s and early 1920s, until he married his first wife Jean. Jean and Morgan would visit Edna on the set during the time of Edna's last films with Chaplin.

Morgan and his second wife, Helen (Lita and Ellie's mother), helped Edna get into the Motion Picture Home, during Edna's serious illness with cancer in the 1950s.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Trader Joe's Silent Mondays


Trade Joe's
Silent Mondays

March 2010
Seattle, Washington

The Paramount Theatre
Presented by:
Seattle Theatre Group


With organist, Jim Riggs

For Charlie Chaplin fans, a special Trade Joe's Wild Card night. Three Chaplin shorts will be shown, but customers can vote for which films, by visiting there local Seattle area store. Link to more about the programs >

Harold Lloyd Birthday 2010 Birthday Bash

May 1, 2010
Harold Lloyd's Birthday Bash

Burchard, Nebraska
4pm to 11pm
Harold's childhood home
(corner of 4th and Pawnee St.)

Here is Cohen Phillips announcing the 2009 Birthday Event


Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Edna Purviance Website questions

From time to time, I post some of the questions that come by. Here are three for today.

What war(s) were going on during Charlie Chaplin's live?
I will list the bigger ones: WWI, WWII, Korea War, Vietnam War.

What color of hair did Edna Purviance have?
From the color film, still color photos and hand colored photos of Edna we have in the Hill Family Collection (from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s), Edna was a natural strawberry blond. It is why it sometimes looks slightly darker, at times, in black and white film. Red tones do photograph darker in B&W. She did inherited her hair color from her father's side of the family (Madison Gates Purviance). Louise (her mother) had darker hair.

What was the last photo of Edna Purviance?
We have the last known family photo taken of Edna. It was in late 1957. She was at the Motion Picture Home in Woodland, California. Edna was in a wheelchair at the time, with her sisters Myrtle and Bessie visiting, with their family pet dog, Tippy, by Edna's side. I don't know who took the photo, but could have been Bessie Purviance Hill or maybe even her son, Morgan Hill, who visited often with other family members.

This photo was first seen in public at our Hollywood presentation of "Angel from Nevada" the Lita Hill interview, at Cinecon in 2006. I am currently updating this video for the International Charlie Chaplin Conference coming this October, in Zanesville, Ohio.

Watch for more questions in the future, that pass by, on Edna's site.

Monday, February 08, 2010

Hollywood Walk of Fame 50th Year

Edna Purviance's name is not on the Walk of Fame, but I did place her name over Charlie Chaplin's star, as away to have fans envision her name being there one day.

The Facebook Group "Edna Purviance Is a Star" Walk of Fame petition drive has succeed in getting over the 1000 signatures needed, but they are still gathering signatures to help.

The other part is money, who group leader, Mahendra Prasad, will be looking into. It takes lots, as this video from the BBC will show.

The Walk of Fame celebrates it's 50th year and the BBC News has a special report about the Hollywood Walk of Fame from visitors to polishers.

If you have not signed Edna's petition yet, you can sign at this link. Thanks to everyone for your support on this drive! Maybe this image will come true, one day!

UPDATE: February 8, 2009, Ringo Starr received his Walk of Fame Star. Panorama of the event.

The Sea Gull will re-launch in One Week

February 15, 2010: I will re-launch The Sea Gull book. In the meantime, here is how you will know by looking at the cover, you have a revised third edition book. All third editions have a bar code on the back cover with the ISBN number.


I know February 15, 2010 is Washington Birthday in the states, so no books can start to be mailed until, February 16, 2010.

Update: Thanks for all the interest in the book! Fans on the re-launch list will be emailed, once the shopping cart is back up and running on the 15th.

Saturday, February 06, 2010

THE SEA GULL RELAUNCH FEBRUARY 15, 2010


The relaunch of The Sea Gull book will be
February 15, 2010

According to written film records, February 15, 1915, is the official listed date for the release of Edna Purviance's first film, "A Night Out" for Essanay pictures. So, I find it a good date to re-launch the first book about Edna, featuring her last film with Chaplin Studio. More posts to come, but a peek of a nice stack of new The Sea Gull books. Click the image for a video peek of this Revised Third Edition.


A Peek at "A Night Out"
And while this peek at a portion of "A Night Out" is certainly not great, just a short clip to help honor this event. See the whole film at Image. Or better yet, get a nice DVD copy or see in a theater, if possible. Occasionally, Niles Essanay does show this film.

The Cinema Museum Bazaar in London

February 27-28, 2010
London, England
The Cinema Museum
Weekend Fundraising

Film and Movie Memorabilia Bazaar
Guest Kevin Brownlow, Caroline Munro,
Muriel Pavlow and more

Join the fun and help
The Cinema Museum


Weekend Program (from The Cinema Museum)
Saturday & Sunday 10AM – 5PM

Large upstairs hall - Dealers tables, Bring and Buy stall, Refreshments.

Sat 10AM
Official opening by Michael Winner – followed by book signing, The proceeds of which he is generously donating to the museum. Caroline Munro will be signing pictures and talking to guests in the large hall.

Cinema Program – seating limited - strictly first come first served,

Sat 11.30 – 12.30PM
David Cleveland - talks on the history of home movie formats.

Sat 2.30 – 3.30PM
Muriel Pavlow – interviewed about her film career.

Sun 11.30 – 12.30PM
Kevin Brownlow – Talks about the amazing find of original Chaplin outtakes.

Sun 2.30 – 3.30PM
Fenella Fielding – interviewed about her film career.
"The Cinema Museum has been offered a 3 year lease which we are in the process of negotiating with our landlord. They still want to dispose of the property but this will give us some breathing space. We are exploring various possibilities but we need a benefactor, more supporters and help." - The Cinema Museum

Friday, February 05, 2010

The Sea Gull Books are HERE!

COME BACK FOR MORE!!!

Look back at Lon Davis, Silent Lives & Keystone Cops

Today, I hope to experience the same thing as Lon Davis did, as he opened his carton of Silent Lives books. Now there is no interview here and we are re-launching our book, The Sea Gull, but here is the video interview Lon did with KMTR news in Oregon, during the launch of his book Silent Lives.



Also, over at Silents are Golden, Lon and writer, Cheryl Lanning, have one of their first articles ever published, when Lon was 14 years old. This article appeared in Arizona Magazine in 1974. It is a look back at Mack Sennett's Keystone Studio with Keystone cop, Robert Cox.

Lon (and his wife Debra) have three books released,
since Silent Lives was, in 2008.


All these books are available:

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Geraldine Chaplin in "The Wolfman"

I hope some of you in the US got to see Paulette Goddard in the the rarely seen film "Kitty" which played tonight on TCM. Constance Collier also starred in the film as Lady Susan Dowitt. Collier was an old friend of Charlie Chaplin's, as he was captured by her stage work since his early London days.

As for Chaplin's daughter, Geraldine Chaplin, she is about to appear in US theaters in The Wolfman, coming February 12, 2010. Geraldine Chaplin plays in a supporting role as Maleva and Anthony Hopkins plays Sir John Talbot. In this clip (TRAILER), you can see a glimpse of Geraldine in her role in The Wolfman. It is very quick, so watch carefully. Chaplin and Hopkins also played in the 1992 film Chaplin.

Charlie Chaplin's Screen test of Genevieve & Vivian Tobin

Took Film Test Many Years Ago
Genevieve Tobin Owes Part of her
Success in Movie World to Charlie Chaplin

The Centralia, Washington Daily Chronicle
Saturday, November 8, 1930
- pg. 2

By Robbin Coons
Hollywood, Nov. 8th - Genevieve Tobin is a comparative newcomer to Hollywood, but she had her first screen test years ago at the hands of Charlie Chaplin. Genevieve and sister, Vivian, who is still on Broadway, were doing a one-act play in vaudeville, and Chaplin sitting bored in the audience, was startled into interested attention when the two mere children came on stage.

With their mother, there with Genevieve, they were invited to come to the Chaplin's studio next morning for a screen test.

Edna Purviance, the comedian's then leading lady, helped Genevieve make up while himself assisted Vivian --- piquing Genevieve no little.

The test resulted well enough but there was nothing Chaplin had for them to do at the time, and Mother Tobin wanted them to finish school, so that ended the movie idea for a time.

TOO BAD
It came again, to Genevieve, when she was playing the lead in "Fifty Million Frenchmen" on Broadway and received an offer of talkie stardom.

The show, says Genevieve, fairly collapsed soon after she left its cast for Hollywood.

Various triumphs on the stage, she allows no false modesty to underestimate their greatness nor her own worth, as she tells of them--- preceded this offer.

She is, to say the least, very confident not only for herself, but for Sister Vivian, who she says, "is not in pictures but could be any time she wanted to."

__________________
Genevieve Tobin played many supporting roles, including her work in "The Petrified Forest" with Humphrey Bogart and Bette Davis.

Here is a clip of Genevieve Tobin playing Mitzi Olivier in One Hour with You (1932).



As for the Chaplin screen test, where Edna helped, the internet information is a bit confusing, with different birth date for Tobins. Unless someone has this all figured out on the Tobins, it would take me sometime to research.

I am interested, since I have a photo of Edna with two young girls, all in costumes, but dressed in nothing I ever seen in any Chaplin film before. The girls were pretty young looking, so that is why I am most interested in exact birth dates. But from the little information on the web, I would guess this photo we have is not them, because the girls look too young.

This photo I maybe including in the newly updated video I am working on for the Chaplin Conference in Zanesville, Ohio, coming this October, 2010.

Image -
Drawing by Linda Wada - Feb. 2010

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

The Rainbow Orchid interview passes 5000!


Thanks to everyone who have listened to

The Rainbow Orchid
interview with Garen Ewing

as it passes 5000 listens today!

"This needs investigating." - William Pickle, Daily News, - 3rd, Feb. 2010
Sketch of Pickle from January 2010 by Garen Ewing.


Like your own special Orchid sketch?
Check out The Rainbow Orchid Shop


Note to all of you new to The Rainbow Orchid:
Lily Lawrence, the silent film star character in the story,
happens to be a friend of Edna Purviance.

Monday, February 01, 2010

TCM's Robert Osborne "Tweeting" for 31 Days

TCM host, Robert Osborne, is 'tweeting' at Twitter for the annual 31 Days of Oscar in February. Check the Turner Classic Movie site for the Oscar filled lineup for this month. And check TCM Twitter to catch the fun.

Charlie Chaplin The Forgotten Years Online


This inside story about Chaplin's life after 1952, is full of interviews with the family and friends who knew him. It includes film footage from the Chaplin family archive during their years in Switzerland, travels in Europe and the 1972 visit back to America for the Oscar award.

The DVD is still available and makes a great addition for any Chaplin collection. (Click on image or search online.)