Louise Brooks booksigning at San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Thomas Gladysz, the director of the Louise Brooks Society, will be signing copies of his "Louise Brooks edition" of The Diary of a Lost Girl (PandorasBox Press) at the historic Castro Theater in San Francisco on Thursday, July 18th. Gladysz is one of three taking part in this special Louise Brooks themed book signing, which is set to start around 9:00 pm, following the screening of the recently restored 1930 Louise Brooks' film, Prix de Beaute, the opening film of the 18th annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Admission to this book signing is by Festival ticket.

The Festival will screen the silent version of Prix de Beaute, which was  restored in 2012 by the Cineteca di Bologna in Italy. The film's running time is given as approximately 108 minutes. Accompanying the July 18th screening is British musician Stephen Horne.

Also signing is the celebrated legendary cartoonist and comix artist Kim Deitch, whose new book, The Amazing, Enlightening And Absolutely True Adventures of Katherine Whale (Fantagraphics) includes a silent film storyline. Little known is the fact that Deitch's father, the Academy Award winning animator Gene Deitch, once met Louise Brooks. Kim himself almost did! Attend this special event to find out the story.

Also signing on this Louise Brooks themed triple bill is the Emmy nominated filmmaker Hugh Munro Neely, whose documentary Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu is widely acclaimed and much loved by silent film fans far and wide. Produced in 1998 for Turner Classic Movies, this documentary is nearly as exceptional as its subject and just as fascinating.The narration for this must see film was scripted by Barry Paris.

Additional information about this upcoming event can be found on the San Francisco Chronicle / SFGate website at http://events.sfgate.com/san_francisco_ca/events/show/337239983-louise-brooks-booksigning-at-silent-film-festival.


Excitement is building, and word has been getting around. Here are listings for this signing on SF Station and SanFrancisco.com, as well as on the Lodi News Sentinel and the Riverside Press Democrat (in Southern California).

UPDATE: Listings have also shown up in the Vacaville Reporter and Sacramento Bee and even in the Akron Beacon-Journal (Ohio) and Charlotte Observer (North Carolina).

A little bit of Louise Brooks

Though no Louise Brooks films were shown at yesterday's San Francisco Silent Film Festival winter event, the actress, I'm happy to report, was well represented just about everywhere.

Yesterday, I did my last formal book signing for the "Louise Brooks edition" of The Diary of a Lost Girl. To promote the my booksigning and others, an image of the book (with Brooks on the cover) was shown on the big screen of the historic Castro Theater. And afterwords, more than a few fans, as well as old friends like Bob Wilkins (pictured below), lined up to get a copy of the book. I was also pleased as well to have sold one of the rare hardback limited edition copies of this recently published book (a copy can be spotted on the table in front of me).

Sitting next to me was Karie Bible (pictured left, above), co-author of Location Filming in Los Angeles (Arcadia). Though we've emailed and are Facebook friends, this was the first time Karie and I really met. She is also the official tour guide for Hollywood Forever Cemetery and the creator of FilmRadar.com, a website dedicated to Los Angeles repertory and revival films. Karie has also spoken about film at various venues including the RMS Queen Mary, and has appeared on Turner Classic Movies. Location Filming in Los Angeles is an outgrowth of her interest in film.

Also among those at the event was documentary filmmaker Hugh Neely, whose Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu, should be well known to all fans of Louise Brooks. If you haven't seen this stylish, Barry Paris-penned documentary - go out and find a copy NOW. It is splendid.

I first met Hugh (pictured above with yours truly) at the Cinecon film convention in Hollywood some years ago, before the Emmy-nominated Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu first aired on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) in 1998. Hugh, like many of you, is a big fan of the actress. Thus, I was pleased to be able to present him with a copy of my book. I also told him about cartoonist Rick Geary, whose rubber stamp depiction of Louise Brooks I use while signing books. As the steward of TimeLine films, Hugh Neely has also made an number of other outstanding documentaries, including films on Clara Bow, Olive Thomas, Theda Bara, Mary Pickford, Cecil B. DeMille, Marion Davies and others. Each are exceptional.

The two vendors at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival winter event, Books Inc and the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, each carried a few Louise Brooks items, such as books, DVDs, postcards and art. I spotted a few festival patrons, some sporting Louise Brooks' bobs, purchasing some of each. All in all, it was a good day for silent film and Louise Brooks.