The Silent Majority: Everyone was There

A random selection of photos featuring several stars of the silent era.

The Silent Majority: John Gilbert

As I mentioned in the first post of this feature, I had been planning for a while, once I got this blog started, to do a series on my favorite stars of the silent screen.  The impetus to finally do it (as well as the feature title) came from a Facebook friend who has recently gotten very interested in silent films herself.  In particular she's developed a fascination with John Gilbert.  So here, in the latest edition of The Silent Majority, that fine actor will be showcased.
Elizabeth, this one's for you.

The Silent Majority: Olive Thomas, Colorized

This was sent along by Elizabeth (the same friend who gave me the name for this feature) after my latest Silent Majority post about the Pickford family and their associates.

Lovely, wasn't she?  The coloring of this portrait really captures the deep violet-blue of her eyes.

The Silent Majority: Tragedy and Triumph with the Pickford Kids and Co.

Mary Pickford is one of the best known stars that the silent film era produced.  What many fans don't realize is that she was not the only Pickford to make it in pictures; she was simply the one who lasted.  Her brother, Jack, was, for a time, a juvenile heartthrob and might have been a matinee idol of the first caliber had personal problems and alcoholism not derailed him.  Sister Lottie was rated the weakest of the siblings talent-wise, but she still managed an output of around 25 films over the course of several years.  Of course, all three had made names for themselves on the stage before that, touring their native Canada and the U.S. with a number of companies.

Here then, some pictures of Mary, Lottie, Jack, along with Olive Thomas, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Marilyn Miller, and others.

The Silent Majority: Clara Bow and Louise Brooks

I had been wanting to do a semi-regular series on this blog featuring some of my favorite stars of the silent film era; the new interest of a friend in silents has led me to go ahead, as well as giving me a title (thanks, Elizabeth).  So here it is, ladies and gents, the first enstallment of a picture feature I'll call The Silent Majority.

(NSFW due to one instance of what I like to call tasteful nudity!)

Clara Bow is still remembered today by many as "The It Girl," while Louise Brooks was, until recently, often forgotten by all except film historians and a group of loyal, dedicated fans.  Clara and Louise were both influential as far as the "look" of the flappers and jazz babies of the 1920s.  Chances are, if you've seen a film set in the 1920s or 1930s and there are any pictures of then-popular film stars featured, then you've seen both of these ladies.