Ben Model’s blog

  • 01.06.09 Silent but Deadly: An Evening of Comedy ShortsOriginally uploaded by PopRally Here’s a photo of me at the Steinway in Titus I accompanying one of the slapstick silents during “Silent But Deadly”, from the event’s page on Flickr.com

  • Last night’s showing of Don Q, Son of Zorro went quite well. We had a nice crowd, and a few kids too. Audience members enjoyed spotting Donald Crisp, the original/first Charlie Chan, Warner Oland, and Jean Hersholt (seen a couple months ago at the CAC in Greed). Miditzer sounded great,…

  • 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…