Hollywood Heritage to Host “Silent Movie Day” Press Conference To Dedicate The “Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley”
Brian Curran, president of Hollywood Heritage announced today that the organization will dedicate and unveil a plaque and signage at the alley at Cahuenga Boulevard and Cosmos Street in Hollywood as “Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley” to honor the legacy of three great filmmakers of the silent film era who filmed scenes at this location a century ago. The Wednesday, September 29th, 2:00 PM dedication of the alley is the premier event of the inaugural Silent Movie Day. Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd are remembered as the kings of silent film comedy. They helped establish Hollywood as the movie capitol of the world by each operating studios and producing their classic films within Hollywood. These stars and Hollywood grew world-famous together. The designation of this site also pays tribute to Hollywood’s unique cultural, social, and economic heritage.
As part of the celebration, a special presentation will screen in the monitors in the windows of the Dash building at 6363 Hollywood Blvd. on the night of September 29. The public are invited to view this installation and to use a QR code to download a short tour of filming locations around the alley. Additionally, Hollywood Heritage will stream their original documentary “The Kid 100 Years Later” between Sept. 29 and Oct. 6. Tickets are available at www.hollywoodheritage.org
At the press conference, Hollywood Heritage and partners will be joined by descendants of these great stars and Councilman Mitch O’Farrell.
SPEAKERS WILL INCLUDE:
Brian Curran, President of Hollywood Heritage
Stan Taffel Producer of the Cinecon Film Festival
John Bengston eminent film historian
Elizabeth Lovins Director of the Hollywood Arts Center
Descendants of the Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd Families
Councilman Mitch O’Farrell
ABOUT THE ALLEY:
The alley runs east-west, just south of Hollywood Boulevard, next to St. Felix (1602 N. Cahuenga Blvd., 90028) restaurant between Cahuenga Blvd. and Cosmos St. off of Selma Avenue in Hollywood.
The alley has been identified so far in two dozen early films, including those by Universal’s star director Lois Weber, other pioneering women filmmakers Grace Cunnard, Cleo Madison, and Gale Henry, along with such diverse and popular stars as Douglas Fairbanks, Oliver Hardy, Colleen Moore, and Harry Houdini. The alley likely appeared in dozens more films that are now sadly lost.
A century ago, three of the greatest comedies of all time, Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid (1921), Buster Keaton’s Cops (1922), and Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last! (1923), were filmed in the heart of Hollywood at a nameless pedestrian alley south of Hollywood Boulevard. With each movie inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress as a “work of enduring importance to American culture,” the alley represents a six-way constellation of stars and iconic films absolutely unique in Hollywood history.
For convenience, and with limited other choices, early filmmakers often staged scenes near the modest crossroads of Hollywood and Cahuenga, once the small town’s economic center. It would become, perhaps the busiest early filming site in all of Hollywood, appearing in dozens of silent films.
WATCH THE VIDEO:
Silent Footsteps reveal the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley – musical score by Jon Mirsalis
“Silent Footsteps” offers a step by step look at these locations. The video is accompanied by a special score by Jon Mirsalis.
This alley is part of the pedestrian mall established by Council Action 08-2444 under the Pedestrian Mall Law of 1960. This designation also directly fulfills the Hollywood Property Owners Alliance (BID) corporate charter “to develop and restore the public areas of the historic core of Hollywood, California, in order to make it a more attractive and popular destination for tourists, shoppers, businesspeople and persons interested in culture and the arts.”
Event partners include David Gajda of the EaCA Alley Property Owners Association and The Hollywood Vinyl District, Stan Taffel of the Cinecon Film Festival, John Bengston, Film Historian, Danny Bitar Owner Station 1640, Aziz Banayan, property owner. Our partners have been instrumental in project organization and promotion, granting access to the historic alley and support for its rehabilitation and decoration with signage and murals.