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From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 11:06 pm
by telical
I know Loretta Young, Alfred Hitchcock, and Buster Keaton all had
TV careers later in their lives. Who else did all three?

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 11:16 pm
by Harold Aherne
Previous thread that you might find relevant:
http://www.nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6785

One person who wasn't named in the previous discussion: Mary Brian, who was a regular on "Meet Corliss Archer" in 1954.

-HA

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 3:25 am
by Donald Binks
Edward Everett Horton
Charles Farrell

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 7:25 am
by Hal Erickson
Lois Wilson was one of several "Mrs. Aldriches" on the HENRY ALDRICH TV series.
Both Carmel Myers and Neil Hamilton had their own TV shows in the early days of network television--and we know where Hamilton went after that.
Francis X. Bushman was VERY busy as a guest-star on television (PETER GUNN, BATMAN, PERRY MASON, 77 SUNSET STRIP, DOBIE GILLIS etc.), as was Jack Mulhall.
Lillian Gish wasted little time getting into live and then filmed TV. Ironically after having "witnessed" Lincoln's assassination in BIRTH OF A NATION, she played Mary Todd in a live dramatization of Jim Bishop's "The Day Lincoln Was Shot."
In addition to his guest work, Eddie Quillan was a semi-regular on such sitcoms as VALENTINE'S DAY and JULIA.
ZaSu Pitts--in films from 1917, still in harness as "Nugey" on THE GALE STORM SHOW in 1960, didn't stop working until her death in 1963.

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 8:29 am
by Harlett O'Dowd
Neil Hamilton on Batman.

La Craw did a lot of TV guest work. Swanson did a fair amount.

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 9:42 am
by telical
I wonder which ones had the biggest talkies career, and then big TV careers.
It would be fun to see a statistically accurate top ten for each domain, in that,
the ranking would be for biggest silent star, moving into a big talkie career, then
a big TV career. One could have different variations of this, like biggest silent
star who had the biggest TV career, etc.

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 10:06 am
by syd
Mickey Rooney

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 10:30 am
by Ann Harding
Ronald Colman

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 1:47 pm
by Flyin' A
Jean Arthur (add stage too)

1 appearance on Gunsmoke and her own short-lived show.

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 2:15 pm
by sepiatone
William Frawley
William Demarest
Ethel Barrymore
Florence Reed
Carroll McComas

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 2:21 pm
by sepiatone
Claude Rains
Alfred Hitchcock(*my bad you did say AH)
Victor McLaglen

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 2:22 pm
by sepiatone
Leatrice Joy

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 2:24 pm
by sepiatone
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 2:26 pm
by sepiatone
Basil Rathbone

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 2:32 pm
by sepiatone
ok I see several of the ones I pulled out of my 'you know where' are listed on a previous thread Harold Aherne has linked.[;)] (*I did list these before I went and checked that link)

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 2:35 pm
by sepiatone
Sylvia Field (Mrs. Wilson Dennis the Menace, though Im not sure if some of her early sound pics were released in silent versions).

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 2:38 pm
by sepiatone
Mary Boland

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 2:38 pm
by sepiatone
Mary Astor

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 2:44 pm
by Wm. Charles Morrow
Andy Clyde. From the Sennett Studio of the '20s to his Columbia two-reelers to "Lassie."

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 2:51 pm
by sepiatone
Doris Lloyd
Joan Crawford

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 4:07 pm
by ajabrams
Donald Crisp and William Farnum both made TV appearances.

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 7:18 am
by Jim Roots
We could make a shorter list of silent film stars who lived into the television era but did NOT appear on TV.


Jim

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 8:33 pm
by Donald Binks
As television started with regular broadcasts in 1936, I am sure there could have been plenty of silent screen actors and actresses who appeared on it. The other point I have just though of is - how many of the silent actors and actresses appeared over the air on the wireless - and so shattered their audience's allusions as to what their voices sounded like?

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 4:48 pm
by Roseha
I've become a regular PERRY MASON show viewer the last few months, having not really seen the original show before, METV seems to be running all of them without too many cuts. Anyway, I did see Francis X Bushman in one show as the blind family patriarch, and just saw a very enjoyable performance by Zasu Pitts as the flighty landlady of a murder victim. I hoped she'd get her turn on the witness stand and she didn't disappoint naturally.

Anyone remember any other silent stars showing up on the show? I've started renting the early seasons.

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 5:12 pm
by boblipton
Neil Hamilton

Bob

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 5:31 pm
by Roseha
Thanks Bob, I had forgotten - I saw Hamilton in one of his appearances:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0673242/" target="_blank

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 6:02 pm
by LouieD
El Brendel appears in "Case of the Borrowed Baby"

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 11:16 pm
by Roseha
Thanks Louie!

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 11:40 pm
by odinthor
Billy Barty. Walter Brennan. Hedda Hopper. Reginald Denny.

Re: From Silents to Talkies to TV

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 12:12 am
by odinthor
The Marx Bros. supposedly made a silent "in 1921 that was never released, and is believed to have been destroyed at the time" (quoth Wikipedia). Jumping over sound films into TV: Groucho of course had a well-known presence on TV; Harpo had his TV appearances; Chico's last appearance in show biz before his death was on a TV show playing cards. No TV for Zeppo, though.