Ben Model’s blog
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Ernie Kovacs’ ”Albert Gridley” sketch is one of the better-known ones. Its simple premise, a talk-show guest who can’t remember details of the very story he’s being interviewed for, is coupled with Kovacs’ unique, dryly sarcastic prompting. It’s deeply funny, and quotable, since it’s just two people talking for 3-4…
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Whither the Virtual Silent Movie Theater
Virtual Cinema, for most art-houses and film viewers, was a stop-gap measure during the pandemic. It was a way to keep going while everyone waited for it to be safe to re-open and to return to movie theaters. It also built a new audience, one best served by virtual cinema,…
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Estey Pipe Organ at Epsilon Spires
This is one of a series of posts I’m doing on organs that I’ve had the honor to be able to accompany silent films on. In August 2021, as things were starting to re-open, one of the shows I was booked to play was at Epsilon Spires, a new performing…
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Episode 46 show notes: The Silent Film Music Podcast
The Kansas Silent Film Festival 2022 and other Adventures in Returning to In-Person Performance The Kansas Silent Film Festival 25th Anniversary The Silent Comedy Watch Party at Ben Model’s YouTube Channel Augmenting one’s accustomed patterns of accompaniment The joy of editing recorded scores End of scene: resolve or bridge? Ben accompanies…
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ep. 46: Kansas Silent Film Festival…and Other In-Person Shows, plus some new Undercrank Projects
Ben talks about: being a guest accompanist at the 25th annual Kansas Silent Film Festival; playing for Edward Everett Horton in a Cathedral, and the use of a “Bowery waltz”; introducing Marcel Perez to fans at the KSFF; playing for William S. Hart in Brooklyn; being able to turn on…
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Ernie Kovacs on Game/Contest Shows
Sitting in the theater of what used to be called The Museum of Broadcasting in 1985 (it’s now the Paley Center), I was transfixed by the interview I was watching. The 1961 television program on screen was an episode of “The Lively Arts”, a program on the CBC. The guest…
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Episode 45 show notes: The Silent Film Music Podcast
Video releases, Kickstarters, Marion Davies, and MOMA Ben’s live appearances seem to be increasing in Winter 2022 Festivals are announcing schedules, such as TCM Classic Film Festival in April, Capitolfest in Rome, NY Edward Everett Horton’s silent shorts are breaking out Effective as a silent film performance Harold Lloyd’s company provided…
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ep. 45: Home Video Releases, Kickstarters, Marion Davies, Wesleyan and MoMA
Ben talks about: the process of scoring “Zander the Great” and “Beverly of Graustark” for home video release; a recent Kickstarter that funded super-quick; Marion Davies’s talents as a silent film actor; teaching in-person and on-campus again after two years; accompanying Edward Everett Horton shorts and “The Fire Brigade” at…
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ep. 08 (re-posted): “A Trip to the Moon” in Tromsø, an Organ in Oslo, live comedy show “Everybody Gets Cake”, Marcel Perez
This is a re-posting “flashback” of episode 8, which originally posted on February 4, 2015. Welcome – News from January: composing and performing music for Parallel Exit’s “Everybody Gets Cake”, running off-Bway thru Feb 8, 2015 – Recording: instrumental from “Cake” show: “A Shakespearean Smoke Break” – the restoration of…
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ep. 07 (re-posted): News From the Road, “Peter Pan”, Hitchcock’s “Blackmail”, physical comedy show “Everybody Gets Cake”
This is a re-posting “flashback” of episode 7, which originally posted on January 21, 2015. Welcome – News from the road – December 2014 recap: the Silent Clowns Film Series, Chaplin Mutuals, Library of Congress holiday party, the Powers kids in “The Skeleton” – Recording: live performance, accompaniment to “Peter…