Ben Model’s blog
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Jack Newlon may have been hoping lightning might strike twice in 1952 when he composed and recorded Oriental Rag. His former piano student Tony DeSimone’s recording of his Oriental Blues was now being heard fairly regularly on Ernie Kovacs’ popular shows on WPTZ. Why not capitalize on its (qualified) success?…
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Alice Howell – Comedy Creator
Usually, the baking mis-hap in a silent comedy film involves glue or cement or an explosive or carpet tacks etc. You know, the one where the person baking is distracted and an ingredient from a shelf above falls into the batter. The confection served in the next scene either has…
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Alice Howell – Front and Center
One of the things that struck me about the “Slapstick Divas” program of silent comedies that I’ve presented with Steve Massa over past year or so was the type of roles the funny ladies in them had. It reminded me of a thought I’d had about Mary Pickford’s child roles…
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The Ripple Effect of Stan & Ollie
There are a number of opinions about the new Stan & Ollie movie flying about on social media. It’s a well-made film, with great performances, lovingly told. It’s a very nice introduction to Laurel & Hardy for folks who don’t know them, and a nice re-introduction to folks who do.…
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The Further Adventures of Jack Newlon and “Oriental Blues”
Thanks to a number of comments here and on FB in response to yesterday’s post, I now am a little further down the Jack Newlon rabbit-hole. For one thing, it turns out Oriental Blues was written much earlier than Kovacs’ first TV show, and also there’s a connection to Tony…
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Ernie Kovacs’ Theme Song
Throughout the various iterations of Ernie Kovacs’ television shows over different networks, time slots and formats from 1951-1962 there was one thing that remained constant — his theme song. And like much of Kovacs’ humor, there was an element of Dada to it. “Oriental Blues” by Jack Newlon is neither…
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Silent Era Movie Theater Music Libraries Covered All the Bases…Except One
About eleven years ago I was hired to compile a book of vintage silent film mood music. To make my selections, I went through inventories of a handful of collections of music published and used during the silent film era — some that were in special collections at libraries around…
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Knuckles O’Toole Can Sit This One Out
I don’t know how it got started that 12th Street Rag became the custard pie stereotype of silent comedy music, and I’ll bet it goes back before Joe Franklin’s TV show. The tune has now been replaced by Yakkety Sax for TV clip compilers for running silly-looking footage, often over-sped,…
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Is a Spinning Flat Plastic Disc Preservation?
I’ve been complimented on my work by fans, show attendees, people who’ve supported my Kickstarter’s and/or bought my DVDs. It’s gratifying, although my reason for doing what I do has nothing to do with the “has the ‘Thank-you-masked-man Man been here today?”** aspect of it. One such thank-you I receive…
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The Ninety-Seven-Percent Solution
What “Window-Boxing” Is, and Why I Do This For All My DVDs When I produced my first DVD release, Accidentally Preserved: Volume 1 in 2012, I was concerned about fans being able to see the whole image. I was, after all, showcasing films that only survived in 16mm prints from…