Silent Screen Legend Has a New Home in Gonzales

Douglas Fairbanks Sr. (Left) in his final film, "The Private Life of Don Juan" (1934)

SILENT SCREEN LEGEND HAS NEW HOME IN GONZALES

By Nikki Maxwell

News Editor, The Gonzales Cannon

January 22, 2010

Story link: http://gonzalescannon.com/features/story/2010/01/silent-screen-legend-has-new-home-gonzales

The city of Gonzales is known for its history and museums.  Now there is a new attraction to add to the list of tourist destinations.

“I have been a silent movie fanatic since I was about five years old,” said Keri Leigh, curator of the Douglas Fairbanks Museum, scheduled to open March 1 in Gonzales.  “I remember falling in love with The Hunchback of Notre Dame, starring Lon Chaney — that was my first favorite film.”

Leigh recalls fencing with the boys in her neighborhood as a child, and watching the films of legendary actor Douglas Fairbanks.

“I used to reenact his stunt scenes from his movies when he played Robin Hood, Zorro and a pirate,” said Leigh.  “I grew up but I never fell out of love with silent movies.”

As a musician, Leigh toured the globe for several years, but in 1998 she decided to make a change.

“I was getting tired of life on the road living in a suitcase,” she said.  “It’s fun to do when you’re in your twenties, but I was finally ready to do something else.”

Silent films went through a revival in the 1990’s.  Old reels were turned into DVDs and cleaned up in the archives, so Leigh returned to her love of old films and the stars that made them shine and her life became engrossed in the world of Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Gloria Swanson and Douglas Fairbanks.  It was then that she decided to preserve his memory.

“I saw a growing interest in old films, with museums and libraries being dedicated to other stars, but then I thought, ‘What about Doug?’” said Leigh. “Doug, Mary and Charlie were known as the big three, and I wanted to make sure their contributions were not forgotten.”

In 1999 she held film screenings in Austin to raise money for the Douglas Fairbanks Museum.  With her former bass player Greg Jackson (now the museum’s live-in caretaker) they set up the museum in their home for two years, and eventually moved it into another building. 

In 2007 the museum was flooded by rain water from a hurricane. “We moved it upstairs and then into storage because of mold damage on the first floor,” said Leigh. They were renting the building and the owner sold it after flood damages were repaired.  Leigh said that’s when she realized that it may be time to take her friend’s advice and consider moving to Gonzales.  She admires the history of the city and its appreciation for the arts.

“This is one of the few small towns I’ve ever seen with two theaters – the Lynn and the Crystal – and I think we will fit right in,” said Leigh.

Leigh and museum mascot "Jack," her current leading man.

DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS

His real name was Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman Fairbanks, Sr., and he was raised in Denver, Colorado. Fairbanks was a serious stage actor, and according to Leigh that is exactly what Hollywood producers were looking for when silent films became popular.

“They wanted someone respectable to be on the screen to legitimize movies. At the turn of the 20th century, it was  mostly immigrants and lower income people who went to the movies. They could watch a film and get lost in another world, a better world, for 20 minutes.  And it only cost a nickel! Nickelodeons operated out of shop fronts in seedy neighborhoods. So-called “respectable” people wouldn’t go anywhere near them. The producers essentially wanted to attract a higher class of audience, so they had to start bringing in a higher class of star.”

In fact, Leigh said the job of a film actor wasn’t really respectable at all in the beginning.

“There would be signs in boarding houses that said, ‘No dogs or actors allowed!’”

The stage to screen theory paid off, and movies began to make huge profits.

“Doug was skeptical at first, but his attitude changed and he was taken by the technology of the movie camera and the freedom of film, he was no longer limited to the stage,” Leigh said.  “Movies made it possible for him to be famous all over the world, not just in New York City.”
In the late 1910s, when Fairbanks was the #1 male box office attraction, Mary Pickford was the world’s most popular female star, affectionately known as “America’s Sweetheart.” They married in 1920, and together they ruled the film industry.  Leigh describes them as the first Hollywood power couple.

“Back then, a celebrity was usually a president or politician, but they were something different. The world had never seen anything like it before. They truly were the first great Hollywood stars.” Leigh said.  “The crowds that came out to see them when they traveled were outrageous mobs. It was like Beatlemania.  In one case, Doug had to carry Mary on his shoulders through the crowd to protect her from their own fans.”

Museum curator Leigh

Fairbanks was truly a pioneer in the film industry. He earned enough money to start his own production company and was a founding member of United Artists. Fairbanks was also a founding member of The Motion Picture Academy, served as the Academy’s first president and hosted the first Oscars Ceremony in 1929.

His debut film was “Martyrs of the Alamo” in 1915, in which he plays five separate uncredited small characters.  One of the few movies about the Texas stand-off against the Mexican Army which includes the town of Gonzales in the story.  Leigh hopes to screen the film in Gonzales in the near future.
Fairbanks was part German and Jewish.  His family had moved to the United States in the 1800s.  Leigh said she often wonders how he felt in the years preceding World War Two, when his family’s homeland and people were under siege from Hitler.  In fact, she said if she could ask Fairbanks one question it would be about that.

“I would ask him why he didn’t use his celebrity to make a difference and stand up against Hitler and what was happening,” Leigh said.  “He must have been terrified, but he had the power – if he had made just one film about what was happening in Germany, and presented it the right way, who knows what impact it might have had?”
She has written and edited several books, including Douglas Fairbanks:In His Own Words. She carefully preserves the treasures she has gathered through the years, from film set props to books and photographs, Leigh, Jackson and museum mascot Jack the Cat are very excited to share the accomplishments of Fairbanks with visitors at the museum.
Leigh believes it will draw students and silent film fans from all over Texas and the country to Gonzales.

“I’m a steward of history and I feel like I work for him (Fairbanks). I’m merely taking care of his things for a few years, then the collection will be passed along to someone else one day who will continue to care for them and share these important pieces of history with others.

“I want to make sure he is not forgotten.  He was always a crusader and a defender of freedom and liberty, and that’s a very important part of his message. To this day his acting, writing, production skills and amazing stunt work are still looked at in awe,” said Leigh. “He was a force of nature, and an all-American hero.”

Silence Is Golden: Museum Pays Tribute to Fairbanks Sr.

Keri Leigh and Greg Jackson show off this extremely rare urn which was part of the movie set for Douglas Fairbanks’ “The Thief of Bagdad.” (Photo by Greg Little) Silence is golden: New museum pays tribute to silent film star Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. By GREG LITTLE   The Gonzales Inquirer     January 21, 2010   Story link: http://gonzalesinquirer.com/articles/2010/01/21/news/news03.txt If you have never heard of the famed silent movie star Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., before, chances are you will be hearing about him more and more if you live in Gonzales County. “We were looking everywhere,” said Keri Leigh, curator of the Douglas Fairbanks Museum. What she was looking for was a place to relocate the museum honoring the life and times of actor and movie pioneer Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. In 1998, the museum was founded in Austin. But a flood and other circumstances has meant it didn’t have a permanent home for nearly the last three years. That has all changed now. The museum has found a home in Gonzales. It’s located at 209 St. George Street, just across the street from the downtown clinic. And Leigh couldn’t be happier. “We needed a home and community,” said Leigh. She gave a lot of credit to local resident Mike Hanson, who she has known for many years. “He found this house,” said Leigh. He also helped get the house into shape so Leigh and her fellow curator, Greg Jackson, could move in and get it ready. It serves as both a private residence and museum. In the beginning For Leigh, she never dreamed of being a museum curator. Her life as a journalist, musician, author and radio host seemed quite fulfilling and, well, rather hectic. She was on the road almost all of the time. But in the back of her mind, there was something there. “I have been a silent movie buff since I was a kid,” said Leigh. She remembers a PBS series called, “Silence, Please” which aired every Saturday night. She was hooked at a young age. In fact, one of her favorites was “Robin Hood,” which starred Fairbanks. She keenly recalls being age seven, armed with a sword, and recreating the scenes in her backyard. Yet for Leigh, silent movies were more of a hobby, a passion. Then came the 1990s when silent films suddenly made a comeback. They were becoming all of the rage. “They were being rediscovered,” said Leigh. “The movies are amazing. To see the production quality.” Because silent films have no sound, Leigh said the actors and filmmakers really had to paint a picture of what was happening on the screen. It made them really concentrate. Fortunately, since it was a new phenomenon, Leigh said the references for the filmmakers and actors was art. They were used to seeing artwork and fine detail. “Film was new,” said Leigh. “There were no rules and no boundaries.” But this budding new industry was not accepted for quite some time. At that time, Hollywood was nothing more than a small farming community. When the industry began, Leigh said the locals weren’t pleased. Some signs read, “No dogs or actors allowed.” “They were not accepted back then,” said Leigh. A passing fad? In fact, many critics of the day said movies would be nothing more than a passing fad; that live theatre would remain king. When the Nickelodeon theatres became popular in America, it appeared the critics may be wrong. People could watch a short film in just minutes for five cents. They’d watch on their lunch hours or just about any time. “The profit margin was phenomenal,” said Leigh. Because of that, early filmmakers were able to lure away some of the top Broadway talent with good salaries. “They took giant steps to legitimize the industry,” said Leigh. One of those steps involved signing a contract with Fairbanks, a star of the stage. In 1915, Fairbanks signed a contract worth $100,000, a huge salary at that time. Though he was skeptical of this new medium, Leigh said Fairbanks “took the deal.” One of his first roles, ironically, was in a film called, “Martyrs of the Alamo.” Not surprisingly, Gonzales is featured prominently in the film. For Fairbanks, he was little more than a bit player in the movie, though he did play five different roles. One was even in black face, where he played the slave of Col. Travis. Sadly at that time, African-Americans were not allowed to appear in films. A new approach Another huge advantage for filmmakers at that time was how quickly and cheaply a production could be completed. Leigh said for about $2,000 they could make a movie and it would be finished in a week. But that didn’t mean there was anything cheap about this new craft. “They had a creative and original approach,” said Leigh. “They were experimenting with the equipment.” Another big advantage, said Leigh, was the “title cards” which were used. Those are the frames with text in the movies. Leigh calls it the first “closed captioning” in the world. Because that was the only text, she said those title cards could be made into any language, meaning the films were meaningful around the world. What it did was lead to a huge industry, and Fairbanks was in on the leading edge. Leigh said he was a Hollywood leader in making sure the film industry was successful and lucrative. He helped found many of the hotels and other staples of Hollywood which still exist today. He was a pioneer. Fairbanks helped start the very first film school at the University of Southern California. “He saw a need for this,” said Leigh. He had helped found the Motion Picture Academy, with the hopes of having the school as part of that organization. But that turned into a group which basically handed out industry awards, and Fairbanks was not satisfied. One day while on the golf course, Fairbanks had a discussion with the dean of USC, who he said “loved the idea” of a film school. That school is still going strong today, producing some of the top filmmakers in Hollywood. Yet much of the past may have been forgotten had it not been for the resurgence of silent films. Ironically, it was new technology which led to silent films in the first place and the resurgence had a lot to do with today’s new technology. With the internet and so many other mediums, Leigh said fans around the world can communicate and enjoy silent films. “Studios began pulling them out of the vault,” said Leigh. Today, screenings of silent films play to sell-out crowds around the world. A change of direction For Leigh, she thought her life would revolve around her chosen career of journalism. “I thought I would be a journalist my entire career,” said Leigh. But that turned into a musical career, which meant traveling all over the country and sleeping in hotel room after hotel room. Her band, Keri Leigh and the Blue Devils, found great success. But that success can also lead to burnout. “I was ready to sleep in my own bed, ready to settle down,” said Leigh. And then came the silent film revolution. In doing research, Leigh said she found that many of the silent film stars had museums dedicated to their lives. “They all seemed to have them,” said Leigh. But, she said, to “my amazement,” there wasn’t any such museum for Fairbanks. As she began studying Fairbanks more and more, she learned just how crucial he was in getting the new industry off the ground and turning it into what many of us know as Hollywood today. She said in his writings, Fairbanks predicted cable television and video on demand. He also envisioned a ratings system for movies. All of that came to pass. Yet there still was nothing permanent to honor one of the true pioneers of Hollywood. Leigh said she and Jackson, along with “other like-minded folks,” decided they should come up with a plan. They pooled their resources, built some exhibit space and launched the museum effort. “It was a community effort,” said Leigh. In 1998, the museum found a permanent home in Austin. But in 2007, massive rains struck the Austin area. Though they didn’t really understand exactly what was about to happen, Leigh said they did know enough to move all of the exhibits to the second floor of the building which housed the museum. The flood came and wiped out the entire downstairs. “The problem was the mold,” said Leigh. They were renting the building and the owner decided he wanted to go in a different direction. “We began looking elsewhere,” said Leigh. That search started in Austin but she said it was “cost prohibitive.” They even looked in Denver, the hometown of Fairbanks, as well as Los Angeles. She said real estate prices were “astronomical.” Leigh said they weren’t exactly sure what was going to happen next. It seemed like the museum might not find a home. Then came contact with Hanson, who told Leigh she should seriously consider moving her museum to Gonzales. Leigh, a Texas history buff (you’ll have to ask her the reason for that little fact), decided she would come and take a look. What could it hurt? “I love old, historic Texas small towns,” said Leigh. It didn’t take much time in Gonzales for Leigh to make the decision and take the plunge. The museum would be located in Gonzales. A new beginning Because of limited space in the house on St. George Street, Leigh estimates they will be able to handle about 10 visitors at a time. But there’s plenty of space on the big porch and in the yard, so larger groups should not be a problem. The museum will be open from 2-6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Visitors must call in advance to arrange tours. To do so, you can call the museum at 830-444-0523. You can also send an email to DouglasFairbanksMuseum@gmail.com. The web site is www.DouglasFairbanks.org. They will officially be open Monday, March 1, just in time to celebrate Texas Independence. A major grand opening is set for Sunday, May 23, which is the birthday of Fairbanks, who was born in Colorado in 1883. Leigh said they have about 1,200 artifacts which will be displayed. Those include movie posters, stills, autographs, programs and film props. In fact, the “crown jewel” of the museum is a 1924 urn which was featured in the film “Thief of Baghdad,” a movie many say was the best work of Fairbanks. In those days, sets were built with “real materials,” said Leigh. You can tell by the urn, which has intricate details and is extremely heavy. Leigh said there is another place named after Fairbanks now, and that is at the Academy in Hollywood. She said Fairbanks’ wife had kept a lot of items in storage, some of it very delicate film, and when it was rediscovered, the Academy took it in and now has it on display. She works with that group, as well, to keep the Fairbanks name alive and well. Leigh also said they have talked to members of the Fairbanks family. In fact, they were able to let his son, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., know about their plans for a museum. However, he was in his 90s and suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. But Leigh said he did understand what they were doing and was happy his father was being honored. As for Leigh, she’s happy to have a new home for her beloved museum and hopes the people of Gonzales will stop in and see what they have to offer. She said their visitors come from all around the world and she estimated they were getting 300 to 400 per year when the museum was open in Austin. Hopefully, she said, that number will increase in the new Gonzales location. That location is something which thrills Leigh, as she feels like she has found a home in Gonzales. “I really do,” she concluded.
Copyright © 2010 The Gonzales Inquirer. All rights reserved.

Opinion: New Museum Is Positive Step For Gonzales County

Our Opinion: New museum is positive step for Gonzales County

 By Greg Little

Publisher, The Gonzales Inquirer

January 22, 2010

Story link:
http://gonzalesinquirer.com/articles/2010/01/21/opinion/editorial03.txt

On the front page of today’s newspaper is a story about a new museum in Gonzales.

It’s the Douglas Fairbanks Museum.

Sure, some might just blow this off as another fly-by-night thing in Gonzales.

They are completely wrong.

Museum curator Keri Leigh is anything but fly-by-night. In fact, she’s about as legitimate as they come. Her writing, her music, her history all show that Leigh is sincere in anything she undertakes. Okay, how many are asking about Douglas Fairbanks? First, let’s get this clear, we’re talking about Douglas Fairbanks, Senior. That’s a crucial point in all of this. Leigh fell in love with silent movies as a young child. In particular, she fell in love with Fairbanks and what he meant to the founding of the movie industry in America. The naysayers can continue to rant all they want, but the fact remains the movie industry provides billions and billions of dollars to the American economy. Just think about it. How many people go to movies? Millions and millions. How do they get there? By spending money to make the trip. What do they do once they get there? Buy popcorn, candy and everything else. (Orville Rendnbacher’s relatives appreciate this very much.) Entertainment in America, and in particular the movies, has changed all of us. We all have that favorite movie or movie star. Even the naysayers have that, though some might not admit to such a feeling. Interestingly, in our economic recession of the past year or so, the movie industry has actually grown. It makes sense if you think about it. The money is tight and people are trying to find affordable things to do. Movies provide such entertainment. Many of us might not know this, but a lot of the impact of the movies can be traced back to Fairbanks. He had a vision, a purpose. And he put his money toward that purpose. People can talk all they want, but until they provide the financial needs, it’s just talk. Fairbanks didn’t just talk. He was a visionary, a soothsayer, so to speak, when it comes to what would eventually come to pass. His visions have come to pass, and now Gonzales is a beneficiary. Will this museum be the end-all for Gonzales? Absolutely not. Will it help things out? Certainly. But there’s a more important point in all of this. That point is Leigh and Greg Jackson, her co-curator. These are human beings who have chosen to make Gonzales their home. That’s the real story about this museum. That these folks have taken the leap and want to contribute to the growth and future of Gonzales is the real story. They want to make a difference and we should all welcome them with open arms. We don’t have to understand the contributions of Douglas Fairbanks, though that would be good for us all. What we need to do is welcome these folks and tell them we appreciate them coming here and wanting to make a difference. The baby steps taken by folks like this and many others might not make a huge impact all at once. But as they add up, just like the new clinic just down St. George Street from the museum, they all make a difference. As Gonzales continues to evolve and grow, it’s going to take people like Keri Leigh and many others to make this a positive transition. We’re thrilled to have Keri and Greg in Gonzales. We wish them well and will do whatever it takes to make their venture a success. We hope everyone will join us in that effort.
Copyright © 2010 The Gonzales Inquirer. All rights reserved.

We’ve Moved!

The work begins on our new location...

MUSEUM MOVES TO NEW LOCATION

We are pleased to announce that the Douglas Fairbanks Museum has completed our move from Austin to Gonzales, Texas. Please update your records to reflect our new contact info:

The Douglas Fairbanks Museum

209 Saint George St.

Gonzales, TX 78629

*NEW* Phone: (830) 444-0523

*New* Email: DouglasFairbanksMuseum@gmail.com

Website: http://DouglasFairbanks.org

We are working fast and furious to uncrate our collections, build exhibits and get the museum ready to open our doors again!

The museum will re-open to the public on Monday, March 1, 2010.

Our *NEW* hours of operation are:

2-6 p.m. Wed-Sun (closed Monday and Tuesday)

Tours are by appointment only. Please call 830-444-0523 to schedule your tour.

The museum is now located in a historic 1890s home just 2 blocks off the town square, within convenient walking distance of all the local attractions. We are thrilled to be a part of the community here in Gonzales and hope that our visitors will take the time to explore this amazing little town when they come to visit.

Gonzales has two local newspapers, The Gonzales Inquirer and the Gonzales Cannon. Both will be running front-page feature articles about the museum’s relocation to Gonzales next Friday, Jan. 22nd. We will post links to the stories online for you soon so you can read about all the exciting changes in store for the Douglas Fairbanks Museum!

Museum To Re-Open in 2010

GOOD NEWS!

More than two years after the flood that totaled our old building, The Douglas Fairbanks Museum will re-open in 2010!

Our long search for a suitable site to house and display our collections led us to look at relocating outside our original home of Austin, Texas, where we have been for more than a decade. We considered sites as far away as Denver, Los Angeles, New York and Boston before discovering the perfect spot just a few miles south of Austin.

A friend of the museum recently suggested that we explore an available property in the historic town of Gonzales, Texas — once we visited there and had a look around, we absolutely fell in love with the place and the people. The museum board, staff, and supporters all agreed that this is the ideal location for our new home.

Not only will this allow us to remain in the Central Texas area, the museum will now be centrally located between two major cities, drawing visitors from both Austin and San Antonio. Just 50 miles from San Antone and 60 miles from Austin, Gonzales is a hot tourist destination spot along the Texas Independence Trail.

Historic Gonzales County Courthouse & Town Square

Gonzales holds a very special place in the hearts of Texans and in the annals of the Lone Star State’s history. Known as “The Birthplace of Texas Freedom,” Gonzales was the first Anglo-American settlement west of the Colorado River, established by a land grant in 1825 when Texas was still a part of Mexico.

The first shot of the Texas Revolution was fired in Gonzales on October 2, 1835, when residents of the town refused to return a cannon originally given to them by Mexico for self-defense. General Santa Anna sent Mexican troops into Gonzales demanding the cannon be returned. But the Mexicans soon found themselves confronted by a band of determined Gonzaleans who told them if they wanted the cannon back, they could “Come And Take It.”

The ensuing battle of Gonzales was the first of many legendary battles in the struggle for Texas Independence.

In late February 1836, 32 men from Gonzales answered the urgent call for help defending the besieged Alamo and went to their deaths as true Texas heroes.  Among them were Almaron Dickenson, whose wife Susanna and their infant child were the only Anglo survivors of the bloody Alamo battle.

Appropriately enough, this story is told in the very first film Douglas Fairbanks ever appeared in, 1915’s “Martyrs of the Alamo” (aka “The Birth of Texas“) directed by D.W. Griffith.

We could not find any spot in Texas more appropriate for the museum’s new home than Gonzales. The town’s amazing history is an ideal match for Douglas Fairbanks, a man whose films always echoed the same ideals Gonzaleans fought and died for: freedom, justice and liberty!

The museum will be moving to our new building at 209 Saint George Street in Gonzales on January 4, 2010. Located in a historic 1890s home just a block off the picturesque town square (on the National Register of Historic Places) and within walking distance of all other local museums and cultural attractions, we plan to make a sizeable contribution to the quality of life and tourism in Gonzales over the years ahead.

It will take some time to complete the move and set up exhibits and office space within the building, so the museum will not be open to the public until March 1st, 2010 — just in time to take part in the Annual Texas Independence Day celebrations.

We are already planning for an official Grand Opening party around May 23rd, Douglas Fairbanks’ birthday.

Keep an eye on our news blog for updates on our progress as the museum’s new home is being prepared. We’ll have lots of photos to share depicting the home restoration and building of exhibit spaces, as well as announcements of future programs, exhibits and special events coming up in 2010. It’s going to be a great year, and we hope you will join us!

Donations are especially important to help us with the costs of relocating to a new town and restoring this historic home. So if you haven’t already, please visit our “DONATE” page and make a financial contribution in any amount you can afford. Every little bit helps right now! Thank you for your continuing support.

Please make a note of our new address:

The Douglas Fairbanks Museum

209 Saint George St.

Gonzales, TX 78629

Phone: 512-233-2214

(emails will not be answered in January, as the home has no internet access during the restoration process)

To learn more about the historic town of Gonzales, Texas, please visit the Gonzales Chamber of Commerce at:

http://GonzalesTexas.com

The Douglas Fairbanks Museum: “Come And See It” in Gonzales next year!

The 2010 Douglas Fairbanks Wall Calendar

TWELVE MONTHS OF FILM FUN

The Douglas Fairbanks Museum is pleased to announce the new 2010 Douglas Fairbanks Wall Calendars are now available in the museum gift shop. Pick one up for the silent film fanatic on your holiday shopping list!

These lovely wall calendars each feature 12 classic images of Douglas Fairbanks from our extensive archives, and are available in three different sizes this year: 8.5×11 (horizontal), 11×17 (horizontal) and 11×17 (vertical).

Douglas Fairbanks 2010 Small (8.5×11) Wall Calendar $16.99

Douglas Fairbanks 2010 Large (11×17 Vertical) Wall Calendar $19.99

Douglas Fairbanks 2010 Oversized (11×17 Horizontal) Wall Calendar $20.99

No two are alike; each calendar design features a variety of twelve distinct and rare images spanning Mr. Fairbanks’ entire career in film, from the 1910s to the 1930s. Classic film posters, movie stills, portraits, and candid images of Fairbanks with Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin, in b&w and color.

We also still have the popular one-page calendar design, with all 12 months on a single 11×17 page for only $5.99:

Douglas Fairbanks 2010 One-Page Wall Calendar $5.99

The full price of each sale goes to fund the continuing preservation and educational work of the Douglas Fairbanks Museum. Get these great-looking calendars for your home or office wall NOW and save 20% while they last!

Each year, we issue a completely new variety of calendar designs, so these will be collector’s items and are limited editions available for one year only. The 2010 calendars are on sale through Oct. 31, 2010, and after that, they’re gone forever…like the silent films of yesteryear.

VISIT OUR GIFT SHOP AND PICK UP COOL GOODIES FOR THE FAIRBANKS FANS ON YOUR LIST!

Fairbanks Made Invaluable Contributions to Film Industry

THE MUSEUM’S FALL 2009 DONATION DRIVE RUNS THROUGH OCT. 31

WHY A MUSEUM FOR AN OLD SILENT FILM STAR, ANYWAY?

Donation Drives for the Douglas Fairbanks Museum’s relocation effort have been considerably more difficult since the American economy went into a recession. Like all small nonprofits; libraries, museums and performing arts/cultural organizations, we’re faced with dramatic drops in funding sources and donations. Right now we need your help more than ever in order to meet our goal of securing a suitable new building to house and exhibit our collections.

In these turbulent economic times, we sometimes hear people say: “but why does an old silent movie star need a museum? And why should taxpayers foot the bill?”

We’ll tackle the second part of the question first: throughout the entire 11-year history of the Douglas Fairbanks Museum, we have never asked for nor accepted any public funding.

Our operating costs have always been funded by donations from private individuals, businesses and foundation grants, in addition to our own funds raised though film screenings, events, workshops, publications, admission fees, licensing/loan fees and sales from our gift shop. We strongly believe that small museums like ours should not be a drain on our taxpayers or our government, and that if silent film lovers and the local community believe that we provide a valuable service, they will contribute financially.

Now – for the most important part of that question: why should people care about an old silent movie star, anyway?

Let us pause for a moment to consider a world without “Doug”.

If it weren’t for Douglas Fairbanks, the history of cinema may have been written very differently indeed.

• We have Mr. Fairbanks to thank for giving independent film producers power over the production and distribution of their own films with the creation of United Artists in 1919.
• We can give our thanks to him for ensuring long-term health care and housing for elderly members of the industry with the Motion Picture Relief Fund and Hospital in 1921.
• Thanks to Fairbanks’ efforts to found the nation’s first film school at USC in 1929, young and aspiring filmmakers can learn their craft in universities around the world today.
• We can also thank him for helping to found the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who have brought us the Oscars every year since 1927.
• And above all, we have to thank him for giving us all those wonderful films which continue to inspire and influence us.

Now, let us stop for a moment to consider a world without the Douglas Fairbanks Museum (perish the thought!):

Had it not been for the Douglas Fairbanks Museum over these past 11 years, Doug’s fans, cinema scholars, and silent film enthusiasts would have no other place on earth to learn about his immense contribution to movie history.

Anyone looking for biographical information, research materials, photographs, copies of his films, or answers to questions about Mr. Fairbanks have come here to find what they were looking for. Our educational programs, workshops, lectures, film screenings, free web resources and virtual online galleries, news blog, books and other publications all provide a valuable service to the community of movie lovers everywhere.

We hope to continue providing these services in the future, but we can’t do it without your financial support.

With the economy as it is, small museums like ours rely mostly on donations from people like you to survive. Nonprofits, educational institutions, libraries and museums across America are seeing our annual donations plummet to record lows, and many of us are being forced to cut back on programs and staff or face permanent closure.

The Douglas Fairbanks Museum has been particularly hard hit by the financial crisis, as we are still trying to recover from the flood damage which forced us to close our doors last year. Over the past three quarters, the amount of financial contributions from individuals and businesses who have been our strongest supporters has dropped significantly due to the unstable economy, but we are hoping to get a much-needed boost from our fall donation drive this year.

Please don’t forget that our dedicated staff and volunteers make it all possible. Without their efforts, we would not have been able to make it through the storm (literally!), nor would we be able to continue making our collections available to the public while our doors remain temporarily closed.

Without YOU, a new library and exhibit space may not be in our future. We really do need your help now as we continue to raise funding for a new location. Please show your support for silent film, as well as your appreciation for Douglas Fairbanks and the many dedicated individuals who keep his museum going with a financial contribution today!

Your financial support helps us achieve our mission, enables us to acquire new artifacts, and to provide the very best care and conservation for our existing collections. As these items are now approaching or over 100 years of age, they need increasing amounts of attention and preservation.

You can make a donation quickly, easily, and safely through PayPal using a credit card, debit card or bank account below.Every donation, small or large – even just dropping $5.00 in our Virtual Donation Box - brings us one step closer to accomplishing our mission. That goal is establishing a permanent place in history for Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., to ensure that film historians and fans have his work, his extraordinary life and legacy to study and enjoy for many generations to come.

Make a financial gift through safe, secure Pay Pal International below:

Thank You.

(*) – Donations may not be tax-deductible.

Museum Seeks a New Location

From our "Legend of Zorro" exhibit

MUSEUM FACES FUNDING OBSTACLES TO RELOCATION

As our fall Donation Drive kicks off October 5th, we wanted to update you on the current challenges we face and what the museum’s goals are for the coming year.

Since our building suffered extensive flood damage last year, we were forced to close our doors and move the collections to safe climate-controlled storage offsite. After obtaining repair estimates, the building’s owner (whom we had been leasing the space from) decided to sell the property, leaving the museum “high and dry” without a home.

The museum remains closed and our staff is working out of temporary office space. However, we have made our best efforts to keep the majority of our collections online for viewing and research at no cost to the public, and continue to carry on the business day-to-day despite having very limited staff and resources.

Our search for a new building site has led us to several suitable properties around the Austin/Central Texas area, but moving the collections and preparing any building to house a museum/gallery/theatre will be extremely costly. At the time when we need extra funding the most, we have watched donation levels plummet over the past year as the American economy went into a deep recession.

All nonprofits, museums, libraries and cultural institutions have faced a struggle for survival in 2008/09 as sources of funding we normally rely on have either reduced the amount of grants/assistance given in previous years, while other sources have run out of funding altogether. The sad truth is that many nonprofits are now faced with permanent closure if they cannot be saved through donations by private individuals, businesses and foundations.

Right now, the board of the Fairbanks Museum is extremely concerned that we too may be shuttered permanently if we are unable to raise the necessary funds for operational costs and moving expenses over the next year. We have already scaled back our staff from full-time to part-time employees and are trying to fill out the rest of the necessary workload with volunteers. We’ve currently put a freeze on new acquisitions while putting every penny raised above basic expenses towards the preservation and storage of our current collections.

Our #1 goal for 2010 is to find a new home for the museum that will be affordable and suitable, and that is the focus of this year’s Fall Donation Drive.

This is the time of year when we ask Fairbanks fans and silent film enthusiasts around the world to assist us in keeping Doug’s legacy alive. Please take a moment out of your day to make a financial contribution here.

“A Modern Musketeer” DVD Review

* We thought this review was too clever and wanted to share it with all of you!

THE SUNDAY INTERTITLE

A MODERN MUSKETEER, directed by the redoubtable Allan Dwan and starring the insuperable Douglas Fairbanks, is the first Fairbanks I’ve seen that really delivers on the stuntwork with the kind of excess and largesse I’ve been hoping for. Although I’ve enjoyed the hell out of all the Fairbankses I’ve seen. THE MOLLYCODDLE has that great fight at the end, and a moment early on where Doug carries an unconscious thug under one arm — and his walk is not the walk of a man carrying a heavy thing, let a lone a man carrying a heavy thing on one side — he walks normally.

Yeah, I know, we’ve all THOUGHT about doing this, but Doug DOES IT.

This is key to the Fairbanks style: he does everything with apparent ease, and actual pleasure. Dwan reports that they’d build the sets just so, measured to Fairbanks’s physical capabilities. If he had to leap from one wall to another, the walls would be built far enough apart for DF to display his impressive leaping ability, but not so far that he had to strain. So everything he does is graceful and near-weightless.

Doug himself is, as ever, Captain Gusto, which A MODERN MUSKETEER exploits for comic effect — the movie almost acknowledges that a fellow like that might become a wee bit annoying if you knew him personally. Here he is, beating up ten thugs on a whim, or climbing a church steeple just to burn off a bit of excess enthusiasm. It’s a bit much.

Dwan contributes spectacular scenic spreads of the Grand Canyon and environs for the film’s climax — the best dramatic use of that landscape I’ve ever scene, with complex depth staging (tiny figures in extreme distance, big figures close up) and a dazzling array of surprising and spectacular compositions. It’s 1917 and yet the film seems completely modern in style, if not in attitude. (Fear of miscegenation forms one part of a plot strand, although Doug’s strenuous objection to the abduction of his sweetheart is fair enough, really. As in THE MOLLYCODDLE, there are sympathetic Indian characters, but the tone is a bit more condescending than one would ideally like.)

Apart from action-adventure setpieces, the picture is a positive goldmine of intertitles, with nearly every card boasting some snazzy bit of 92-year-old wit or attitude. And cheap jokes. “How,” says an American Indian. “Scrambled,” says Doug, after a slight pause.

Also ~

And this last one, which I think is just mind-blowingly good, the intertitle that intertitles were invented for ~

Douglas Fairbanks: A Modern Musketeer (His Picture in the Papers / The Mystery of the Leaping Fish / Flirting With Fate / The Matrimaniac / Wild and Woolly … Mollycoddle / The Mark of Zorro / The Nut)

Happy Birthday, Doug!

On May 23, 1883, a ray of Colorado sunshine was born in Denver. He grew up to become our swashbuckling hero of the silent silver screen and everyone’s favorite all-American boy!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Fairbanks…and *thank you* for all the smiles you’ve given the world.:)

Douglas Fairbanks as D'Artagnan from "The Three Musketeers" as featured on the cover of Motion Picture Magazine, September 1921. From the collections of the Douglas Fairbanks Museum.

March 2009 Donation Drive Is Over, But We Still Need Your Help

PLEASE SHOW YOUR SUPPORT THIS YEAR

As our annual March Donation Drive comes to a close, we want to remind you that it’s not too late to send in a contribution and show your appreciation for the efforts of our hardworking volunteers. This is the time of year when we ask Fairbanks fans and silent film enthusiasts around the world to assist us in keeping his legacy alive.

Let us pause for a moment to consider a world without “Doug”.

If it weren’t for Douglas Fairbanks, the history of cinema may have been written very differently indeed.

We have Mr. Fairbanks to thank for giving independent film producers power over the production and distribution of their own films with the creation of United Artists in 1919. We can give our thanks to him for ensuring long-term health care and housing for elderly members of the industry with the Motion Picture Relief Fund and Hospital in 1921. Thanks to Fairbanks’ efforts to found the nation’s first film school at USC in 1929, young and aspiring filmmakers can learn their craft in universities around the world today. We can also thank him for helping to found the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who have brought us the Oscars every year since 1927. And above all, we have to thank him for giving us all those wonderful films which continue to inspire and influence us.

Now, let us stop for a moment to consider a world without the Douglas Fairbanks Museum (perish the thought!):

Had it not been for the Douglas Fairbanks Museum over these past 11 years, Doug’s fans, cinema scholars, and silent film enthusiasts would have no other place on earth to learn about his immense contribution to movie history.

Anyone looking for biographical information, research materials, photographs, copies of his films, or answers to questions about Mr. Fairbanks have come here to find what they were looking for. Our educational programs, workshops, lectures, film screenings, free web resources and virtual online galleries, news blog, books and other publications all provide a valuable service to the community of movie lovers everywhere.

We hope to continue providing these services in the future, but we can’t do it without your financial support.

With the economy as it is, small museums like ours need your help now more than ever. Nonprofits, educational institutions, libraries and museums across America are seeing our annual donations plummet to record lows, and many of us are being forced to cut back on programs and staff, or face permanent closure.

The Douglas Fairbanks Museum has been particularly hard hit by the financial crisis, as we are still trying to recover from the flood damage which forced us to close our doors last year. Over the past quarter, the amount of financial contributions from individuals and businesses who have been our strongest supporters has dropped significantly due to the unstable economy, but we are hoping to get a much-needed boost from our spring donation drive this year.

Since the museum presently does not have a physical location for our annual film screening during the annual donation drive, we’ve decided to get a little bit creative and try doing the annual fundraiser online this year.

We very much hope you enjoyed our first annual Free Online Fairbanks Film Festival and this special month-long presentation of Douglas Fairbanks – The Great Swashbuckler, a full-length documentary on his life and work. Produced in 2005 by Delta Entertainment with assistance from the Douglas Fairbanks Museum, the film features rare artifacts from our archives and on-camera interviews with Hollywood Forever’s Annette Lloyd, film historian Sparrow Morgan, and Douglas Fairbanks Museum curator Keri Leigh.

DVD Cover for “Douglas Fairbanks – The Great Swashbuckler” documentary

This documentary film is now out of print commercially on DVD (although used copies can still be obtained through Amazon.com, Ebay, and in the Museum Gift Shop), so our March film festival offered Fairbanks fans and silent film enthusiasts a rare opportunity to learn more about his life and legacy online here — and it was all presented for free - no admission fee at the box office!

We hope you enjoyed this month-long tribute to Douglas Fairbanks, and please don’t forget that our dedicated staff and volunteers make it all possible. Without their efforts, we would not have been able to make it through the storm (and the subsequent damage to our building), nor would we be able to continue making our collections available to the public while our doors remain temporarily closed.

Without YOU, a new library and exhibit space may not be in our future. We really do need your help now as we continue to rebuild. So please show your support for silent film, as well as your appreciation for Douglas Fairbanks and the many dedicated individuals who keep his museum going with a financial contribution today!

Your financial support helps us achieve our mission, enables us to acquire new artifacts, and to provide the very best care and conservation for our existing collections. As these items are now approaching or over 100 years of age, they need increasing amounts of attention and preservation.

You can make a donation quickly, easily, and safely through PayPal using a credit card, debit card or bank account below. Every donation, small or large – even just dropping $5.00 in our Virtual Donation Box - brings us one step closer to accomplishing our mission. That goal is establishing a permanent place in history for Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., to ensure that film historians and fans have his work, his extraordinary life and legacy to study and enjoy for many generations to come.

Make a financial gift through safe, secure Pay Pal International below:

Thank You.

(*) – Donations may not be tax-deductible.

---

Douglas Fairbanks Documentary Pt. 9 – Final Days

We now conclude our 2009 March Donation Drive and month-long Fairbanks online film festival with the final episode from “The Great Swashbuckler,” produced by Delta Entertainment with the assistance of the Douglas Fairbanks Museum.

Pt. 9 explores the last days of Douglas Fairbanks: his constant jetsetting with new wife Lady Sylvia Ashley, his return to California and contemplation of a “comeback” in films; movie projects he was working on which remained unfinished due to his rapidly declining health.

This segment also reports on Fairbanks’ financial woes in his final days, and his 12-year legal battle with the IRS over back taxes that kept him fighting all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court…and until his very last breath in 1939.

Towards the end of his life, Fairbanks Sr. and Jr. finally found pleasure in each other’s company after a lifetime of mutual avoidance — this segment explores their troubled relationship and reconciliation. Historians discuss Fairbanks’ many written works (newspaper columns, magazine articles, books, screenplays), remakes of Fairbanks films, his lasting legacy as the screen’s first great swashbuckler, his influence on later action-adventure stars such as Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Tyrone Power, Gene Kelly, Mel Gibson, and Johnny Depp — and why Douglas Fairbanks still matters today.

Featuring rare Fairbanks film clips, photographs and other materials from the museum’s archives. Also includes interviews with museum curator and Fairbanks biographer Keri Leigh, film historian Sparrow Morgan, and Annette Lloyd of Hollywood Forever.

90 minutes, available in 9 parts on YouTube or on DVD through the museum’s online gift shop at http://DouglasFairbanks.org

more about “Douglas Fairbanks Documentary Pt. 9 -…“, posted with vodpod

 

 

Enjoy this episode? Please support the museum during our annual donation drive. We need your help this year!

You can make a donation quickly, easily, and safely through PayPal using a credit card, debit card or bank account below. Every donation, small or large – even just dropping $5.00 in our Virtual Donation Box - brings us one step closer to accomplishing our mission. That goal is establishing a permanent place in history for Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., to ensure that film historians and fans have his work, his extraordinary life and legacy to study and enjoy for many generations to come.

Make a financial gift through safe, secure Pay Pal International below:

Thank You.

(*) – Donations may not be tax-deductible.

Douglas Fairbanks Documentary Pt. 8 – Divorce and Decline

Throughout the month of March, we’ll be featuring a 9-part online film festival on the life of Douglas Fairbanks as part of our Spring Donation Drive. Continuing with another episode from the 2005 documentary film, “The Great Swashbuckler,” produced by Delta Entertainment with the assistance of the Douglas Fairbanks Museum.

Pt. 8 continues from Pt. 7 with the onscreen pairing of Fairbanks and Pickford in Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew” (1929), a project which widened the growing rift between these two great stars and signaled the beginning of the end for Hollywood’s first power couple. Tells the story of Doug’s affair with Lady Sylvia Ashley and Mary Pickford’s quiet romance with Charles “Buddy” Rogers. (They would both marry their respective partners soonafter the Pickford/Fairbanks divorce was finalized in 1936.) Also explores Fairbanks’ talking pictures in the 1930s: “Reaching for the Moon,” (his only musical with music by Irving Berlin and a cameo by Bing Crosby), the 1931 travelogue “Around the World With Douglas Fairbanks,” 1932’s “Mr. Robinson Crusoe,” and Alexander Korda’s “The Private Life of Don Juan” (1934), which would be his final film.

Featuring rare Fairbanks film clips, photographs and other materials from the museum’s archives. Also includes interviews with museum curator and Fairbanks biographer Keri Leigh, film historian Sparrow Morgan, and Annette Lloyd of Hollywood Forever.

90 minutes, available in 9 parts on YouTube or on DVD through the museum’s online gift shop at http://DouglasFairbanks.org

more about “Douglas Fairbanks Documentary Pt. 8 -…“, posted with vodpod

 

 

Enjoy this episode? Please support the museum during our annual donation drive. We need your help this year!

You can make a donation quickly, easily, and safely through PayPal using a credit card, debit card or bank account below. Every donation, small or large – even just dropping $5.00 in our Virtual Donation Box - brings us one step closer to accomplishing our mission. That goal is establishing a permanent place in history for Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., to ensure that film historians and fans have his work, his extraordinary life and legacy to study and enjoy for many generations to come.

Make a financial gift through safe, secure Pay Pal International below:

Thank You.

(*) – Donations may not be tax-deductible.

Douglas Fairbanks Documentary Pt. 7 – The Talkies

Throughout the month of March, we’ll be exploring the life of Douglas Fairbanks with a 9-part online film festival as part of our Spring Donation Drive. Continuing this week with another episode from the 2005 documentary film, “The Great Swashbuckler,” produced by Delta Entertainment with the assistance of the Douglas Fairbanks Museum.

Pt. 7 continues from Pt. 6 with the story of Fairbanks’ efforts to found the nation’s very first school of film at the University of Southern California. Also explores the coming of sound technology to the motion picture industry and how “the talkies” affected his career. Film historians discuss Fairbanks’ early sound films such as “The Iron Mask,” his 1928 sequel to “The Three Musketeers,” 1930’s “Reaching for the Moon,” (his only musical), the 1931 travelogue “Around the World With Douglas Fairbanks,” 1932’s “Mr. Robinson Crusoe,” and a lengthy examination of his only on-screen pairing with wife Mary Pickford in William Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew” (1929).

Featuring rare Fairbanks film clips, photographs and other materials from the museum’s archives. Also includes interviews with museum curator and Fairbanks biographer Keri Leigh, film historian Sparrow Morgan, and Annette Lloyd of Hollywood Forever.

90 minutes, available in 9 parts on YouTube or on DVD through the museum’s online gift shop at http://DouglasFairbanks.org

more about “Douglas Fairbanks Documentary Pt. 7 -…“, posted with vodpod

 

 

 

Enjoy this episode? Please support the museum during our annual donation drive. We need your help this year!

You can make a donation quickly, easily, and safely through PayPal using a credit card, debit card or bank account below. Every donation, small or large – even just dropping $5.00 in our Virtual Donation Box - brings us one step closer to accomplishing our mission. That goal is establishing a permanent place in history for Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., to ensure that film historians and fans have his work, his extraordinary life and legacy to study and enjoy for many generations to come.

Make a financial gift through safe, secure Pay Pal International below:

Thank You.

(*) – Donations may not be tax-deductible.

Douglas Fairbanks Documentary Pt. 6 – King of Hollywood

We continue our 2009 March donation drive and online film festival with an excerpt from the 2005 documentary film, “The Great Swashbuckler,” produced by Delta Entertainment with the assistance of the Douglas Fairbanks Museum.

Pt. 6 examines Fairbanks’ reign as Hollywood’s First King. At the peak of his popularity, Fairbanks progressed into even bigger and more daring productions such as his masterpiece, “The Thief of Bagdad” (1924). Also explores “Don Q. – Son of Zorro,” the 1925 sequel to his first Zorro film, “The Black Pirate,” (1926) a brilliant swashbuckler shot entirely in Technicolor, and his risky foray into gritty realism with 1927’s “The Gaucho.”

In this segment, film historians discuss Doug’s role as the father of action-adventure films and reveal behind-the-scenes secrets of how some of his greatest onscreen stunts were actually performed. Also explores Fairbanks’ part in founding Hollywood institutions such as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the nation’s first film school at the University of Southern California, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, his role as the Academy’s first president, and host of the very first Oscars in 1929.

Featuring rare Fairbanks film clips, photographs and other materials from the museum’s archives. Also includes interviews with museum curator and Fairbanks biographer Keri Leigh, film historian Sparrow Morgan, and Annette Lloyd of Hollywood Forever.

90 minutes, available in 9 parts on YouTube or on DVD through the museum’s online gift shop at http://DouglasFairbanks.org

more about “Douglas Fairbanks Documentary Pt. 6 -…“, posted with vodpod

 

 

Enjoy this episode? Please support the museum during our annual donation drive. We need your help this year!

You can make a donation quickly, easily, and safely through PayPal using a credit card, debit card or bank account below. Every donation, small or large – even just dropping $5.00 in our Virtual Donation Box - brings us one step closer to accomplishing our mission. That goal is establishing a permanent place in history for Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., to ensure that film historians and fans have his work, his extraordinary life and legacy to study and enjoy for many generations to come.

Make a financial gift through safe, secure Pay Pal International below:

Thank You.

(*) – Donations may not be tax-deductible.