Silent Footsteps: Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd in Downtown Los Angeles
The silent-era comedians filmed extensively on the streets of Los Angeles, capturing everyday life in the background of their films. Using archival photographs, vintage maps, and scores of then and now comparison photographs, author John Bengtson will lead a virtual tour across the lost-and-found neighborhoods of Bunker Hill, Court Hill, and the downtown Los Angeles Historic Core, as documented in the films of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd.
John Bengtson is a business lawyer, film historian, and author. His latest book, Silent Visions: Discovering Early Hollywood and New York Through the Films of Harold Lloyd, follows Silent Echoes about Buster Keaton, and Silent Traces about Charlie Chaplin, to complete his highly acclaimed trilogy about the giants of silent film comedy, hailed by The New York Times as a “Proustian collage of time and memory, biography and history, urban growth and artistic expression.” Each book features a foreword by Academy Award-winning film historian Kevin Brownlow. Bengtson is a frequent speaker at events hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, and the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and has provided bonus programs for several Keaton and Chaplin DVD/Blu-ray releases. Those unable to attend may access written tours at https://SilentLocations.WordPress.com
L.A. in Focus: Images from the LAPL Photo Collection is a free lecture series presented by Photo Friends of the LAPL • photofriends.org
For information, visit https://events.lapl.org
Parking is available at 524 S. Flower St. Garage (show your LAPL library card at the Central Library’s information desk to receive a validation for reduced rates). Handicap accessibility available.
ABOUT PHOTO FRIENDS: Formed in 1990, Photo Friends is a nonprofit organization that supports the Los Angeles Public Library’s Photo Collection/History & Genealogy Department. Our goal is to improve access to the collections and promote them through programs, events, and online exhibits.
