This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(November 2011) |
Michael G. Ankerich | |
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Born | March 21, 1965 |
Occupation |
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Language | English |
Years active | 30 |
Notable works | Dangerous Curves a'top Hollywood HeelsMae Murray: The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips |
Michael G. Ankerich is a biographer whose work focuses on American silent film and early twentieth century actors and actresses. Ankerich's interviews with the last remaining silent film stars were featured in Broken Silence: Conversations With 23 Silent Film Stars (1993) and The Sound of Silence: Conversations with 16 Film and Stage Personalities Who Made the Transition from Silents to Talkies (1998). His biography of silent film actress Mae Murray, Mae Murray: The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips, was named one of the top 10 must-read film books of 2012. [1]
"Mae Murray was everything a movie queen in the days of silent films was expected to be: extravagant, vain, eccentric, egotistical, and temperamental," Ankerich told Southern Views Magazine in 2016. "She was a biographer's dream." [2]
Dangerous Curves atop Hollywood Heels, Ankerich's book about the tragic lives of 14 silent film actresses, was named by the San Francisco Examiner as one of the top ten silent film books of 2010. [3]
In 2014, Ankerich appeared on Lifetime Movie Network's The Ghost Inside My Child to discuss his research into the life and death of actress Lucille Ricksen. He was guest speaker at the 86th annual Valentino Memorial Service in 2013, which included videos acknowledging the 100th anniversary of Rudolph Valentino’s arrival in America and Valentino's friendship with Mae Murray. [4]
Hairpins and Dead Ends: The Perilous Journeys of 20 Actresses Through Early Hollywood, Ankerich's latest book, was released in 2017.
A former newspaper reporter, Ankerich has written extensively for Classic Images,Films of the Golden Age, and Hollywood Studio Magazine, which featured his exclusive interview with Butterfly McQueen (Prissy) on the 50th anniversary of the release of Gone With The Wind.
Mae Murray was an American actress, dancer, film producer, and screenwriter. Murray rose to fame during the silent film era and was known as "The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips" and "The Gardenia of the Screen".
Agnes Ayres was an American actress who rose to fame during the period of silent films. She was known for her role as Lady Diana Mayo in The Sheik opposite Rudolph Valentino.
Guadalupe Natalia Tovar Sullivan, known professionally as Lupita Tovar, was a Mexican-American actress best known for her starring role in the 1931 Spanish-language version of Drácula, filmed in Los Angeles by Universal Pictures at night using the same sets as the Bela Lugosi version, but with a different cast and director. She also starred in the 1932 film Santa, one of the first Mexican sound films, and one of the first commercial Spanish-language sound films. At the time of her death, she was the oldest living actress and one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema and from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Olive Mary Borden was an American film and stage actress who began her career during the silent film era. She was nicknamed "the Joy Girl", after playing the lead in the 1927 film of that same title. Borden was known for her jet-black hair and stunning overall beauty.
Olivia Joyce Compton was an American actress.
Grace Darmond was a Canadian-American actress.
Lucille Ricksen was an American motion picture actress during the silent film era. She died of tuberculosis on March 13, 1925, at the age of 14.
Natalie Joyce was an American actress.
Laura La Varnie was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 80 films between 1913 and 1930. She was born in Jefferson City, Missouri and died in Los Angeles, California.
Patricia Avery was an American silent film actress of the 1920s.
Peacock Alley is a 1922 American silent drama film starring Monte Blue and Mae Murray. The film was directed by Murray's husband at the time, Robert Z. Leonard. Set design for the film was done by Charles Cadwallader. The film premiered on November 9, 1921 at the Hotel Commodore in New York City.
Idols of Clay is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Mae Murray and David Powell. Location shooting for the film was carried out in Miami, Florida doubling for the South Seas.
Sweet Kitty Bellairs is a 1916 American silent romantic comedy film based on the 1900 novel The Bath Comedy, by Agnes and Egerton Castle. The novel was first adapted for the stage in 1903 by David Belasco which was a huge Broadway success for lead actress Henrietta Crosman. The film version stars Mae Murray and was directed by James Young.
The Big Little Person was a 1919 American silent romantic drama film produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. Based on the novel of the same name by Rebecca Lane Hooper Eastman, the film was directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starred his then-wife and muse Mae Murray. Rudolph Valentino, who was credited as M. Rodolpho De Valentina, had a supporting role. The film is now considered lost.
On Record is a 1917 American silent crime drama film starring Mae Murray and directed by Murray's then-husband Robert Z. Leonard. Based on a story by John B. Clymer and Paul West, the film's scenario was written by George D. Proctor. On Record was produced by Jesse Lasky's production company, Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company and was distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film's status is currently unknown.
The A.B.C. of Love is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by Léonce Perret and starring Mae Murray, Holmes Herbert, and Dorothy Green. The film tells the love story between playwright Harry Bryant and an orphaned girl, Kate, whom he meets while driving through the countryside.
What Am I Bid? is a 1919 American silent romance film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring Mae Murray, Ralph Graves and Willard Louis.
The Scarlet Shadow is a 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring Mae Murray, Martha Mattox and Frank Elliott.
Fashion Row is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring Mae Murray in a dual role, Earle Foxe, and Freeman Wood. The film involves two Russian sisters emigrate to America. One tries to hide her peasant origins and rises in high society, while the other remains closer to her roots.
Hervey Libbert (1901–1953) was an American art director. He was employed by Tiffany Pictures in the late silent and early sound era on films such as Lucky Boy and Peacock Alley.