The 100 Greatest Silent Film Comedians

James Roots

doi:10.5771/9781442236509

Summary

The silent film era featured some of the most revered names of on-screen comic performance, from Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton to Harold Lloyd, Douglas Fairbanks, and Laurel & Hardy. Besides these giants of cinema, however, there are other silent era performers—both leading actors and supporting players—who left an enduring legacy of laughter.

In The 100 Greatest Silent Film Comedians, James Roots ranks the greatest performers based on a scorecard that measures each comic’s humor, timelessness, originality, and teamwork. Far more than just a listing, this is an idiosyncratic and entertaining review of the men and women who created the golden age of comedy. As a critic and deaf viewer, Roots brings a truly unique perspective to the evaluation of these performers and their work. He has viewed thousands of silent comedies and offers some assessments that run contrary to the standard list of performers. While many obvious names are placed in the top echelon, the author also champions performers who have been neglected, in part because their work has not been as visible. Each entry includes

a filmography
a scorecard
an evaluation of the artist’s overall work
an assessment of representative films
DVD availability

With the increased availability of films on DVD, as well as Internet access, more and more silent performers are being discovered by film fans. Supplemented by an appendix of comedians who missed the cut, as well as an annotated bibliography, The 100 Greatest Silent Film Comedians will be an invaluable resource to anyone wanting to know more about the brilliant entertainers of the silent era.

Search publication

Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2014
ISBN-Print: 978-1-4422-3649-3
ISBN-Online: 978-1-4422-3650-9
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 434
Product type: Book Titles

1. CONTENTS No access
2. PREFACE No access
3. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS No access
4. INTRODUCTION No access
1. Ch01. and Ch02. CHARLIE CHAPLIN (1889–1977) ↔ BUSTER KEATON (1895–1966) No access
2. Ch03. STAN LAUREL (1890–1965) AND OLIVER HARDY (1892–1957) No access
3. Ch04. CHARLEY CHASE (1893–1940) No access
4. Ch05. HAROLD LLOYD (1893–1971) No access
5. Ch06. HARRY LANGDON (1884–1944) No access
6. Ch07. MABEL NORMAND (1894–1930) No access
7. Ch08. ROSCOE ARBUCKLE (1887–1933) No access
8. Ch09. DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS (1883–1939) No access
9. Ch10. RAYMOND GRIFFITH (1887–1957) No access
1. Ch11. SIDNEY DREW (1864–1919) No access
2. Ch12. PHYLLIS HAVER (1899–1960) No access
3. Ch13. OUR GANG/LITTLE RASCALS No access
4. Ch14. and Ch15. and Ch16. JOBYNA RALSTON( 1901–1967), ANITA GARVIN (1907–1994), AND BEBE DANIELS (1901–1971) No access
5. Ch17. TON OF FUN No access
6. Ch18. MAX LINDER (1883–1925) No access
7. Ch19. FORD STERLING (1880–1939) No access
8. Ch20. MAX DAVIDSON (1875–1950) No access
9. Ch21. LUPINO LANE (1892–1959) No access
10. Ch22. LARRY SEMON (1889–1928) No access
11. Ch23. EDGAR KENNEDY (1890–1948) No access
12. Ch24. MACK SWAIN (1876–1935) No access
13. Ch25. AY TINCHER (1884–1983) No access
14. Ch26. SUPPORTING LADIES AND GENTS No access
15. Ch27. GALE HENRY (1893–1972) No access
16. Ch28. MAE BUSCH (1891–1946) No access
17. Ch29. BEN TURPIN (1874–1940) No access
18. Ch30. CHARLEY BOWERS (1889–1946) No access
19. Ch31. LLOYD HAMILTON (1887–1935) No access
20. Ch32. LOUISE FAZENDA (1889–1962) No access
21. Ch33. JOHN BUNNY (1863–1915) No access
22. Ch34. HARRY GRIBBON (1886–1961) No access
23. Ch35. VERNON DENT (1900–1963) No access
24. Ch36. HANK MANN (1887–1971) No access
25. Ch37. ALICE HOWELL (1888–1961) No access
26. Ch38. POLLY MORAN (1883–1952) No access
27. Ch39. JACK DUFFY (1882–1939) No access
28. Ch40. CHARLIE MURRAY (1872–1941) No access
29. Ch41. JIMMY FINLAYSON (1887–1953) No access
1. Ch42. HARRY MCCOY (1889–1937) No access
2. Ch43. ALICE ARDELL (1902–1996) No access
3. Ch44. WALLACE BEERY (1885–1949) No access
4. Ch45. MONTY BANKS (1897–1950) No access
5. Ch46. CHESTER CONKLIN (1888–1971) No access
6. Ch47. BOBBY VERNON (1897–1939) No access
7. Ch48. PAUL PARROTT (1897–1939) No access
8. Ch49. SNUB POLLARD (1886–1962) No access
9. Ch50. MARIE PREVOST (1898–1937) No access
10. Ch51. SYDNEY CHAPLIN (1885–1965) No access
11. Ch52. AL ST. JOHN (1893–1963) No access
12. Ch53. DOROTHY DWAN (1906–1981) No access
13. Ch54. VICTOR MOORE (1876–1962) No access
14. Ch55. JOE ROCK (1891–1984) No access
15. Ch56. MADELINE HURLOCK (1899–1989) No access
16. Ch57. BILLY BEVAN (1887–1957) No access
17. Ch58. DOROTHY DEVORE (1899–1976) No access
18. Ch59. MINTA DURFEE (1891–1975) No access
19. Ch60. ALICE DAY (1906–1995) No access
20. Ch61. SLIM SUMMERVILLE (1896–1946) No access
21. Ch62. ANDY CLYDE (1892–1967) No access
22. Ch63. GLENN TRYON (1894–1970) No access
1. Ch64. FRED MACE (1878–1917) No access
2. Ch65. BILLY DOOLEY (1893–1938) No access
3. Ch66. BILLY QUIRK (1873–1926) No access
4. Ch67. JOHNNY HINES (1895–1970) No access
5. Ch68. VICTOR POTEL (1889–1947) No access
6. Ch69. MONTY COLLINS (1898–1951) No access
7. Ch70. AUGUSTUS CARNEY (1870–1920) No access
8. Ch71. BUD JAMISON (1894–1944) No access
9. Ch72. PHIL DUNHAM (1885–1972) No access
10. Ch73. CLYDE COOK (1891–1964) No access
11. Ch74. BUD DUNCAN (1883–1960) No access
12. Ch75. MACK SENNETT (1880–1960) No access
13. Ch76. LEE MORAN (1890–1961) AND EDDIE LYONS (1886–1926) (AS A TEAM AND AS INDIVIDUALS) No access
14. Ch77. LIGE CONLEY (1897–1937) No access
15. Ch78. TOM KENNEDY (1885–1965) No access
16. Ch79. JIMMY AUBREY (1889–1983) No access
17. Ch80. NEAL BURNS (1891–1961) No access
18. Ch81. BILLY FRANEY (1885–1940) No access
19. Ch82. GLEN CAVENDER (1883–1962) No access
20. Ch83. DOUGLAS MACLEAN (1890–1967) No access
21. Ch84. MAX ASHER (1879–1957) No access
22. Ch85. BOBBY RAY (1899–1957) No access
23. Ch86. BILLY ENGLE (1889–1966) No access
24. Ch87. SID SMITH (1892–1928) No access
25. Ch88. BILLY BLETCHER (1894–1979) No access
26. Ch89. WALTER HIERS (1893–1933) No access
27. Ch90. PADDY MCGUIRE (1885–1923) No access
28. Ch91. JACK COOPER (1891–1959) No access
29. Ch92. BILLY WEST (1893–1975) No access
30. Ch93. EDDIE BOLAND (1883–1935) No access
31. Ch94. FLORA FINCH (1869–1940) No access
32. Ch95. MILBURN MORANTE (1887–1964) No access
33. Ch96. BILLIE RITCHIE (1874–1921) No access
34. Ch97. EARL MOHAN (1888–1928) No access
35. Ch98. BILLY REEVES (1866–1943) No access
36. Ch99. HUGHIE MACK (1884–1927) No access
37. Ch100. CLIFF BOWES (1894–1929) No access
APPENDIX No access Pages 410 - 417
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY No access Pages 418 - 424
INDEX No access Pages 425 - 432
ABOUT THE AUTHOR No access Pages 433 - 434