Happy Birthday, Harold Lloyd. Lloyd was born on April 20, 1893 in Burchard, Nebraska. The house where he was born was renovated a few years ago and can be toured. They sell some memoriabilia at the house.
He became one of the three big silent movie comedians. He was on the same level as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. He was very athletic and did his own stunts. In one movie he lost part of a hand in an explosion. He wore a glove after that in the movies but he always did his own stunts--which included climbing buildings and hanging from clocks. His most famous movie was probably Safety Last.
He married his leading lady, Mildred Davis, in 1923. She died in 1969. Lloyd was also a photographer and has a couple of books of his photographs, which include famous movie stars.
A few years ago, I attended the Silent Movie Film Festival in San Francisco at the Castro Theatre and saw many of his movies. What fun to see people lined up around the block to see his films. His movies are also sold in a set for under $100.
For many people today, silent movies sound like they would be boring. However, I have shown them to my nieces and nephews when they were young and they thought they were fun to watch. The plots may be less complex than we are used to but the movies are very entertaining. His movies can also be seen on Turner Classic Movies.
This week I will be attending the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival and two of his movies will be shown there. Can't wait.
Nebraska Nellie
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