Ben Model’s blog


  • It was fun getting to play for as a charming a picture as The Blue Bird is. Today’s matinee was part of the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s “Dance on Camera” festival. The show was introduced by film critic and historian Elliott Stein. Elliott’s a long-time supporter of the Silent…

  • Today was a “marathon” — three shows in one day. Unlike running a marathon, though, I felt a little exhilarated instead of wiped out. Playing organ for two of the three shows was a factor, and so was playing for four Douglas Fairbanks pictures. The day started at 12:30 with…

  • The Film Society of Lincoln Center’s “Dance on Camera” fest includes Maurice Tourneur’s The Blue Bird, with yours truly at the 88’s. The show is listed in today’s “Spare Times: For Children” section in the New York Times. Click on the image below of the Walter Reade Theater’s site page…

  • Here’s the first four mins of my performance at tonight’s show at MoMA of Douglas Fairbanks in “In Again – Out Again”: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WHIpvtj8G8&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1]

  • Here are some online articles in the NY Times, Daily News, Village Voice, Flavorpill.com and Jossip.com that posted today (1/5/09) plugging tonight’s PopRally “Silent But Deadly” event.

  • Happy new year! Tuesday’s show of Chaplin Mutuals – programmed by silent film comrade Bruce Lawton, who also introduced the show – was a big success. We arrived at the Burns film center to discover the show had been moved from their medium-sized theater to the big one because of…

  • Here’s the 2-page spread for Kids/Family film programs at the Jacob Burns Film Center, from their Nov/Dec printed calendar. My parents gave me their copy (since the Burns Center didn’t send me one). The photo of me was taken when I was up at the JBFC in September to play…

  • An article appeared on the Comedy Central Insider website this afternoon, plugging the “Silent But Deadly” PopRally event. Love the headline: MoMA to Get Let Artsy, More Fartsy. This article came from a tip from the blog of Max Silvestri, the comic who will M.C. the evening. His blog entry…

  • My Google alert that I’ve set for “Ben Model” caught this listing in the New York Times for the Chaplin shorts program Bruce Lawton and I will be doing on Dec 30th at the Burns Film Center. I wasn’t sure if it was just online or not, but when I…