Silents, Please

Lon Davis has spent most of his life as a movie buff, with a particular fondness for silent film. He has written several fine books on motion picture history — including the recent Ma and Pa Kettle on Film— often in collaboration with his wife Debra. With Stumbling Into Film History (BearManor Media), he now gives us an engaging collection of essays that not only cover some of his favorite performers, but also serve as a memoir of sorts. 

The opening chapter gives us a vivid portrait of silent film star Beverly Bayne, whom the author met as a teenager. His depiction of her as “alternately charming and imperious, and given to sudden bursts of volatility” is intriguing. I also liked the chapter on Diana Serra Cary (“Baby Peggy”), which provides a detailed account of her career as a child star, but is enriched by Davis’ memories of their longtime friendship. Another strong essay lets us get better acquainted with film historian Kevin Brownlow, author of the seminal work The Parade’s Gone By. 

This melding of the personal and the professional, of movie icons and the fans who love them, makes for an engaging book. It’s hard to imagine that anyone who shares Davis’ happy addiction to movie lore wouldn’t enjoy it. I certainly did.

NOTE: I was furnished a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Penny in Your Thoughts

Penny Singleton (1908-2003) is the kind of performer who may never be the subject of more than one biography. Luckily for her — and us — Steve Randisi’s Penny Singleton: A Biography (BearManor Media) does her justice. Miss Singleton is best-known, of course, for spending a substantial part of her career playing Chic Young’s comic strip character Blondie Bumstead, both in a long-running Columbia B-movie series, as well as a popular radio show. She also voiced Jane in the popular TV cartoon The Jetsons, and, as readers of this book may be surprised to learn, was a labor leader who took on demanding work with the American Guild of Variety Artists.

In a sense, author Randisi has been working on this comprehensive biography and career chronicle for some 40 years. Back in the 80s, he conducted interviews not only with Miss Singleton herself, but with her Blondie colleagues Arthur Lake and Larry Simms. He stayed in contact with the actress for many years afterward, and later spoke with her daughter. That groundwork reaps substantial rewards in the book, enriching it with knowledge and insight, and making it impressively thorough. It also allows Randisi to address issues years after the fact, such as the rumors that “Blondie” and “Dagwood” didn’t get along. Some have held Arthur Lake accountable for his leading lady being fired from the Blondie radio show. Randisi’s solid research allows him to point the finger at another, slightly unexpected culprit.

It should be noted, though, that the book isn’t just for Blondie fans. The entirety of Miss Singleton’s career in film, theater, radio and television is covered, as is her private life, which included four trips to the altar and the birth of two daughters. Satisfying in its content, Penny Singleton: A Biography is also a very attractive volume, nicely laid out and rich with interesting photos, sharply reproduced. 

Randisi isn’t a terribly prolific author; his last book, about Merv Griffin, was published five years ago. But books as comprehensive and lovingly done as this one are worth the wait.

Sweet Seventeen

Happy 17th anniversary to my first published book, The Women Who Made Television Funny: Ten Stars of 1950s Sitcoms. 

I still remember the thrill (along with a little trepidation) I felt when I opened my first letter from McFarland and found a contract enclosed for my signature. (Yes, it was actual snail mail back then).

As a reader and librarian, I’d long admired the excellent books on performing arts published by McFarland. To become one of their authors was a dream come true. It was a joy to write the book, which entailed interviewing two wonderful ladies no longer with us, Gale Storm and Betty White, as well as the likes of TV notables Robert Fuller (about working with Spring Byington) and Sherwood Schwartz (about writing for Joan Davis). 

And what other publisher would not only still keep this book in print 17 years later, but have given me the opportunity to write ten more? I am one grateful author.

“A Recommended Read”

Many thanks to the distinguished film historian Stephen Michael Shearer for contributing this review of Rochelle Hudson: A Biography and Career Record.

And if you haven’t read his fine books on Patricia Neal and Hedy Lamarr, among others, what are you waiting for?