September 15th news updates...

September 15, 2008 - Comedian Wonderful Smith dies at age 97. more>
"When Charlie Chaplin saw Smith rehearsing, he suggested the comedian refine his material in private, said Patricia Willard, a writer who interviewed Smith for a 1988 Smithsonian audio recording that documented parts of "Jump for Joy."

Chaplin said, "If he rehearses out in the open, Bob Hope's and Jack Benny's legmen will steal his material, and his routine will be stale," according to Willard." - LA Times


Rainbow Orchid officially listed at Egmont UK and Special Guest
September 15, 2008 - If you followed my sites over the years, you know I am a huge fan of The Rainbow Orchid, by the talented UK artist and writer, Garen Ewing. Today, The Rainbow Orchid has its own official page on Egmont site.

First volume of The Rainbow Orchid will be published by Egmont in 2009.

UPDATE APRIL 1, 2009 - The Rainbow Orchid by Garen Ewing is schedule to release August 4, 2009. more>

I am truly looking forward to this book, featuring the adventure of Julius Chancer, along with silent film star Lily Lawrence, on their quest to find the mythical flower (The Rainbow Orchid) to help save Lily's father from the 'villainous' Urkaz Grope. (Follow this link to learn more.)

Set in the 1920s, this beautifully drawn story would make a great addition to anyones collection.

I will be placing updates on this project.

Also, you can catch Garen's work in future editions of the UK comic The DFC. He will have a series called 'Charlie Jefferson and the Tomb of Nazaleod'. Garen is scheduled to be part of The DFC panel at the Birmingham International Comics Show, the weekend of Oct. 4-5. (Interview about The DFC.)

Update March 2009 on the DFC: Sad news about The DFC. The comic publication has been put up for sale by Random House. If not sold by March 27, 2009, the comic will stop publication at issue #43.

Update: Garen Ewing Special Guest at Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, October 24, 2008
September 16th, 2008 - Garen Ewing will be discussing graphic novels and getting an agent as part of the New Writing North Roadshow event at Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Friday, October 24th, 2008. See this LINK for more on the event and PDF program.

37 day countdown has begun...

37 Day Countdown to Edna's birthday
Watch this Edna link and/or Edna's Place blog for daily updates
This is only the beginning...

News Bits for September 14th

Sept. 14th - Fred Karno's boat home of Pink Floyd's recording studio. more>

"The boat was built a century ago, at the then-enormous cost of 20,000 pounds, for Fred Karno, a music-hall impresario whose protégés included the young Charlie Chaplin. Gilmour bought it in 1986, seduced by the Edwardian elegance of its mahogany-paneled cabins, marble bathrooms and mother-of-pearl light switches."

Follow-up on above story: Pink Floyd founder, Richard Wright, has died. He was 65. more>
_________________

Sept. 14th - Edward Steichen: In High Fashion - The Condé Nast Years, 1923-1937. more>

"And Steichen's legacy is made evident in a sumptuous new book and touring exhibition (Edward Steichen: In High Fashion), filled with glossy portraits of everyone from Charlie Chaplin to Winston Churchill, and seductive shots of Katharine Hepburn, Gloria Swanson, Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford, alongside a host of other movie stars." - Telegraph

Countdown to Edna's Birthday begins Sept. 14th

Links will be here and on Ednapurviance.org home page. Also, here is a special link to the daily countdown page.

This week, see our latest post below, as preparation for the 37 day Edna event is getting ready to launch on Edna's site. What is 37 days of Edna? A special countdown to Edna's birthday and it comes very soon, starting September 14th...

Latest Post?
The Irish Film Festival of Los Angeles
A night stay at Hearst Castle planned to be auction off at eBay.

September 14th is the beginning of 37 days of Edna!

Also, if you have not gotten your copy of The Sea Gull, and finding the budget tight this fall, sign up for a chance to win a copy! All part of our celebration of Edna's birthday on October 21.

Silent Film star, Anita Page, has died

Anita Page, who played with Buster Keaton, Lon Chaney, and who was good friends to Jean Harlow and Marion Davies, died at the age of 98, at her home in Los Angeles. Anita did star with Joan Crawford in Our Dancing Daughters and recently filmed a cameo in Frankenstein Rising. more>

L to R - Carrol Nye, Lon Chaney and Anita Page
While the City Sleeps - 1928

Chaplin in a Victorian workhouse

September 13, 2008 - Written records of Charlie Chaplin's childhood has been released. more>

"Chris Blackwood, a spokesman for the LMA said: ‘People have been speaking of Charlie’s time in a workhouse for a long time but this is the first actual concrete proof. As the record shows, he was put on a diet for very young children and it would have been the worst diet.

‘He would have had the bare minimum to keep him alive – gruel, porridge or basic cereals." - Daily Mail UK

A Night a Hearst Castle coming to eBay near you

Like to spend a night at Hearst Castle? Well, if you have the right amount of 'dough' you could spend a night where Chaplin once slept!

As a fund raiser, William Randolph Hearst's art collection is auctioning off a night stay. The auction will start on eBay September 17th, LA Times reports. more>

"The winning bidder can fly into Hearst's private airstrip, ring his carillon bells to call guests to dinner and watch a movie in his theater.

Then, after their friends retire to a nearby luxury resort, one fortunate couple can head to what is believed to be the former room of Julia Morgan, the castle's architect."

The Irish Film Festival of Los Angeles

October 2-5, 2008
The Irish Film Festival of Los Angeles
Clarity Theatre

Beverly Hill, California
Two Silent Films will be shown

From the: THE IRISH FILM FESTIVAL OF LOS ANGELES

October 2-5, 2008
The Irish Film Festival of Los Angeles celebrates Ireland's most recent artistic revolution - cinema. During the four day festival it will present contemporary and classic Irish features, documentaries and shorts and will feature panel discussions and other special events. The festival is designed to act as a launching pad for Irish films and filmmakers by bringing them visibility within the Hollywood community.

The festival will showcase two programs of silent films – a classic directed by John Ford, and the Closing Night special event screening two silent shorts with live orchestral accompaniment of a score composed for this event.

Sunday, October 5, 2008
1:00pm - THE IRON HORSE. Directed by John Ford (born Sean O'Feeney). B & W, Silent, 1924. One of the great silent screen epic-scale westerns, portraying love, treachery and revenge, John Ford's film about the building of the transcontinental railroad was one of Ford's first major successes and was hugely influential on outdoor films that followed. Shot on location in Arizona in Ford's beloved Monument Valley. 133 min. Tickets $11

7:00pm – Closing Night Special Event.
Classic silent films will be accompanied by a live orchestra with a contemporary score composed by Eimear Noone, conductor of the L.A Ballet. THE LAD FROM OLD IRELAND, directed by Sidney Olcott. In August 1910, the Kalem Company of New York City sent director Sidney Olcott and a film crew to Ireland to make "The Lad From Old Ireland."

The film is the story of a boy who emigrated to America to escape the desperate poverty of Ireland. After becoming successful in his adopted country he returns to retrieve his sweetheart just as her destitute family is being forced off their land. Plays with IN THE DAYS OF ST. PATRICK, directed by Norman Whitten (1920). The story of 4th Century Saint Patrick - the prince who became a slave, the slave who became a priest, the priest who converted a nation. Followed by Closing Night Reception. Program running time 60 min.

All screenings take place at the Clarity Theatre, 100 N. Crescent Drive, Beverly Hills CA 90210. Ticket prices $9-$40. For information visit www.lairishfilm.com or call 310.933.1439

Post - September 9, 2008 - We are currently getting ready for our special Edna 37 day event, so new posting below, at this time.

BFI Southbank Chaplin Programme #6

September 11 and 13, 2008 - "Chaplin is an actor in a film studio in the Masquerader, alongside a host of fantastic Keystone regulars including Arbuckle and Charley Chase. They also appear in His New Profession and The Rounders." - BFI Southbank

Don LaFontaine, the voice of movies, has died

You may not know him by sight, but you know his voice, for his voice has introduced more films than anyone in the last 30 years.

Don LaFontaine, who has been seen in the car insurance commercials the last couple of years and recorded over 5,000 trailers, died Monday from complications from a long illness. He was 68 years old... more>

UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 4, 2008 - Bill Melendez has died
Bill Melendez, Peanuts animator (and voice of Snoopy) has died at the age of 91. more>

"In 1948, Melendez joined UPA, whose innovative approach to animation delighted him.

"The animation we were doing was not limited, but stylized," he recalled in an interview in 1986.

"When you analyze Chaplin's shorts, you realize people don't move that way--he stylized his movements.

We were going to do the same thing for animation. We were going to animate the work of Cobean, Steinberg--all the great cartoonists of the moment--and move them as the designs dictated." - Los Angeles Times

The Sea Gull film is mentioned in Point Lobos

We had another mention of the film arrive in the mail this week. Pat Bova (Whalers Cabin Museum near Point Lobos) has updated their movie board at the museum to included The Sea Gull. Lita Hill met Pat at her museum in 2005.

Pat got her copy of The Sea Gull spring of 2008 and mentioned their plans to update their information at the museum about films in the Monterey area to included The Sea Gull. The film has been on the Monterey County Film Commission list.

Below is the article written by Pat and published in their local publication, The Point Lobos Docent, for September 2008.

September 14th... well, something will start...

It's Politics month at TCM

With conventions, debates and a very important election coming in about eight weeks, TCM is showing a series of films dealing with politics. While there are many interesting ones, here are my pick of four to see: The Best Man, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Abe Lincoln in Illinois and Gabriel Over the White House.

See this link for more films on this topic each Wednesday night in September, and be sure to be ready to vote come November 4th.