Harry Langdon’s “Clown Topics” & Other Filmmakers’ Comic Strips- Semon•Tashlin•Hellinger.................

[Fred M. Stevens]

Over at Silent Comedy Mafia, Edward Watz has been providing a wonderful selection of Mark Hellinger “Broadway” Comic strips - fumetti, or “photo comics,” featuring NYC stage performers from the 1920s and 1930s. Here’s one he posted.

Some of the many others he’s unearthed can be seen here. Collected, they’d make a great book.





H•a•r•r•y• L•a•n•g•d•o•n• did a short series of comic panels for Australian papers during his Anything Goes live stage run. Below, out of order, are many of them— I added the dates. Note how some were reprinted with different art/captions.
WARNING: These images are temporary and will eventually vanish

{APRIL 1, 2020}
I wonder if there is a caption missing from the one of the little girl in the spotlight, and the director named "LUBI..."?
Probably something like, "Just act natural" or words to that effect.

Oops Sorry Thanks

[Brooksie]

Langdon seems to have been well regarded by his fellow black-and-white artists. One of his first engagements in Australia was a dinner with local cartoonists. Some of his caricatures of his fellow castmembers of Anything Goes can be seen at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/152064382.

[Salty Dog]

There are a number of samples of Larry Semon's comic strips and newspaper illustrations at this entry in the Lambiek "Comiclopedia": https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/semon_larry.htm

[William D. Ferry]

The one panel with the stepladder borrows a gag from THE STRONG MAN!

[s.w.a.c.]

I wonder if there is a caption missing from the one of the little girl in the spotlight, and the director named "LUBI..."?

Probably something like, "Just act natural" or words to that effect.

[s.w.a.c.]

Probably a good place to post a link to a Facebook page that posted all of director/animator Frank ("Tish Tash") Tashlin's Van Boring comic strips, supposedly inspired by his former employer, cartoon studio head Amedee J. Van Beuren.

[Gumlegs]

The one panel with the stepladder borrows a gag from THE STRONG MAN!

My first thought on seeing that one is how much the man on the ladder looks like a Gary Larson character.