Harold Lloyd

At 77 years old, Harold Lloyd has this physical status:

Career

Lloyd was a part of Thomas Edison's motion picture company, and his first appearance as a Yaqui Indian in The Old Monk's Tale was as a small part. Lloyd moved to Los Angeles at the age of 20 and appeared in various Keystone Film Company comedies.

Lloyd tried to find work in Universal Studio but "the gatekeeper was a jerk who made me know that it would be a great pleasure to keep me out," Lloyd wrote in his 1928 memoir. "I solved his problem with the ingenuity of his late screen appearance." I escaped behind a billboard, made up, mingled with the [extras] and returned with them through the gate without hesitation at noon.

Lloyd soon became friends with upcoming filmmaker Hal Roach. Lloyd began working with Roach, who had established his own studio in 1913. "Lonesome Luke," a comedic role based on Charlie Chaplin's fame, was created by Roach and Lloyd. Luke was a loud shirtless and a fake moustache, reminiscent of many early screen comics, but the young Lloyd gave the story a lot of life and enthusiasm. His antics attracted a large audience, and his one-reel, 10-minute comedies were soon extended to two-reel, 20-minute comedies. Lloyd and Daniels were hired by Hal Roach to assist Lloyd in 1914; Lloyd and Daniels became involved romantically and were dubbed "The Boy" and "The Girl."

Lloyd had grown out of Lonesome Luke and wanted to make his screen presence beyond an imitator of his contemporaries, as late 1917. He imagined a completely new character, not a costumed clown but an everyday young man in street clothes who was confronted with humour and creativity. He bought a pair of lensless, horn-rimmed glasses to make the new appearance more prominent.

Lloyd hoped that Roach's distributor, Pathé, would not accept the new role because the Lonesome Luke films were established moneymakers, and the company didn't want to lose this money. "I was hoping that Pathé would come to an end and keep on with Lonesome Luke," Lloyd wrote. "My counsel, however, was more persuasive than I should have done." Lloyd accepted a compromise: he will continue to make Lonesome Luke two-reelers, but he will debut his new "Glass" character in less expensive one-reel shorts. Lonesome Luke was phased out as the new story progressed.

The "Glass" character, a.k.a. "Harold" in the silent films, was a much more mature comedy plot with greater potential for empathy and emotional depth, and it was simple for audiences of the time to identify with. "I adopted the glasses in a 1962 interview with Harry Reasoner, "it put me in a different category because I was a human being." He was a boy you'd see on the street, but at the same time, I could still do all the weird stuff we did before, but you believed them. They were normal, and the romance could have been believable."

"Harold" was never stylecast to a social class, unlike most silent comedy comedians, but he was still striving for success and recognition. He had appeared in From Hand to Mouth to a wealthy socialite in Captain Kidd's Kids within the first few years of the character's debut.

Bebe Daniels, a 1919 teen, refused to renew her Hal Roach deal, leaving the Lloyd series to focus on her dazzling aspirations. Lloyd married Daniels later this year with Mildred Davis, whom he would marry later. Roach had advised Lloyd to see Davis in a film. According to reports, Lloyd Davis the more he liked her, the better she was. Lloyd's first reaction when she first saw her was that she "she seemed to be a large French doll."

When shooting for some commercial still photos in the Los Angeles Witzel Photography Studio on August 24, 1919, he discovered what looked to be a prop bomb and lit it with a cigarette. The unit exploded and mangled his right hand, causing him to lose a thumb and forefinger. The explosion was severe enough that the cameraman and the prop director near were seriously wounded. Lloyd was in the act of lighting a cigarette from the bomb's fuse, but he was also badly burned his face and chest, and his eye. Despite the fact that the fire was nearer to his face, he retained his sight. "I betense enough that I will never be able to work again," says the narrator in 1930. I didn't expect that I'd have a five-hundredth of what I now have. 'It's worth it,' I thought.' Just to be alive.' I'm still think so."

Roach and Lloyd went from shorts to full-length comedies, beginning in 1921. The acclaimed Grandma's Boy, which (along with Chaplin's The Kid), pioneered the combination of complex character growth and film comedy, as well as Chaplin's The Kid), as well as Chaplin's The Kid, and the immensely popular Safety Last! (1923), which cemented Lloyd's fame (and is the oldest film on the American Film Institute's Top 100 Most Thrilling Movies), and Why Worry? (1923): Despite Lloyd's many athletic stunts in his films, Harvey Parry was his stunt double in the more difficult scenes.

Lloyd and Roach parted ways in 1924, and Lloyd Lloyd founded the Harold Lloyd Film Corporation, who would now produce feature films exclusively, first through Pathé, then Among his most well-known comedies, they included Girl Shy, The Freshman (his highest-grossing silent film), The Kid Brother, and Speedy, his final silent film. Both of these films were highly successful and lucrative, and Lloyd would eventually become the highest-paid film actor of the 1920s.

Lloyd had completed the silent film Welcome Danger in 1929, but talking pictures had never been a big deal. He wanted to resound the entire film with sound, and he wanted to use a new, stage-trained supporting cast for the dialogue exchanges. The silent version was available to theaters that hadn't yet converted to sound, but the talking version became the standard version of the film. Welcome Danger was a huge financial success, with audiences eager to hear Lloyd's voice on film.

Lloyd made it to sound and appeared in numerous comedies, including Feet First, which was a grim political comedy and a big departure for Lloyd; and The Milky Way, Lloyd's only attempt at the popular screwball comedy genre.

The films had been produced by Lloyd's firm up to this point. However, his go-getting screen act was out of place with 1930s Great Depression moviegoers. Lloyd's filmmaking rate, which had been one or two a year in the 1920s, slowed to about one every two years. As his absences from the film industry increased, his fame decreased, as did the fortunes of his production company. Professor Beware (1938), the Paramount staff's final film of the decade, was made by the Paramount staff, with Lloyd only acting as an actor and partial financier.

Lloyd donated the land of his studio, Harold Lloyd Motion Picture Company, to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on March 23, 1937. The Los Angeles California Temple is now located at the Los Angeles, California Temple.

Lloyd made a few comedies for RKO Radio Pictures in the early 1940s, including Lucille Ball's A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob in 1941, but he wasn't completely retired from the screen until 1947. He made his second appearance in The Sin of Harold Diddlebock, an ill-fated tribute to Lloyd's career directed by Preston Sturges and funded by Howard Hughes. This film prompted Harold's Jazz Age and optimistic character from The Freshman to the Great Depression period. Lloyd was paid a royal of $50,000, mirroring his actor's fee) and Lloyd was able to portray the older scenes with a video from The Freshman (for which Lloyd was paid a royal of $50,000, accurately representing his actor's fee). Lloyd and Sturges had differing perspectives of the film and clashed often during the shooting; Lloyd was particularly concerned that although Sturges had spent three to four months on the script of the first third of the film, "the last two-thirds of it he wrote in a week or less." In 1947, the finished film was released for a brief period but was eventually shelved by producer Hughes. In 1951, Hughes introduced a recut version of the film under the title Mad Wednesday. Lloyd's disdain that he sued Howard Hughes, the California Corporation, and RKO for harm to his image "as an outstanding motion picture actor and comedian," resulting in a $30,000 settlement.

After Preston Sturges, who had dropped out of the job, recommended Lloyd for the job, he became the producer and host of The Old Gold Comedy Theater, a CBS radio anthology collection. Beginning with Palm Beach Story with Claudette Colbert and Robert Young, the show presented half-hour radio adaptations of recent film comedies.

Some people saw The Old Gold Comedy Theater as a lighter version of Lux Radio Theater, and it featured some of the finest film and radio celebrities of the day, including Fred Allen, June Allyson, Lucille Ball, Ralph Bellamy, Susan Hayward, Herbert Marshall, Edward G. Robinson, and Alan Young. However, the show's half-hour format, which meant the script was cut off early enough, and Lloyd's appearance on the air for a significant portion of the season (although he spent weeks practicing himself to speak on radio prior to the show's premiere and looked more relaxed toward the end of the series run), may have opposed it.

The Old Gold Comedy Theater closed in June 1945 with an adaptation of Tom Dick and Harry starring June Allyson and Reginald Gardiner, which was not renewed for the following season. Acetate discs of 29 of the shows were found in Lloyd's home many years ago, and they now circulate among old-time radio collectors.

Lloyd continued to be involved in a variety of other fields, including civic and charitable work. He was an inspiration from his own severe injuries and burns at the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children. He was a Past Potentate of Al-Malaikah Shrine in Los Angeles and was later selected as the Imperial Potentate of the Shriners of North America for the year 1949-50. 90,000 people attended the installation ceremony for this position on July 25, 1949, including then-Sitting President Harry S Truman, as well as a 33° Scottish Rite Mason. Lloyd was awarded the Rank and Decoration of Knight Commander Court of Honour in 1955 and coroneted an Inspector General Honorary, 33°, in 1965, in honor of his contributions to the country and Freemasonry.

During his career, he appeared on several television shows, first on Ed Sullivan's variety show Toast of the Town on June 5, 1949, and then on July 6, 1958. On What's My Line, he appeared as the enigmatic guest. This Is Your Life, 1954, 1953, and three times on This Is Your Life: In 1954 for a tribute to Mack Sennett and another for Bebe Daniels, and in 1955 when he was surprised for his own honor.

"Lloyd's Career Will Be Filmed" was announced by The New York Times on November 6, 1956. Lloyd would write the story of his life for Simon and Schuster as the first step, according to the publication. Then, Jerry Wald will produce the film for the twentieth Century-Fox, limiting the screenplay to Lloyd's professional career. Both The Glass Character was the tentative name, based on Lloyd's trademarked glasses. Neither scheme came to fruition.

Lloyd was interested in photography, including 3D photography and color film experiments, and was particularly interested in color and microscopy. Some of the first 2-color Technicolor tests were conducted at his Beverly Hills home (these are included in the Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection DVD Box Set as extra content). For a number of men's magazines, he became known for his nude photos of models, such as Bettie Page and stripper Dixie Evans. He also took photographs of Marilyn Monroe lounging in a bathing suit, which were also released after her death. In 2004, Suzanne's granddaughter Suzanne produced a book of picks from his photographs. Harold Lloyd's Hollywood Nudes in 3D was a film from him. (ISBN 1-57912-394-5)

Lloyd also gave a few younger actors, including Debbie Reynolds, Robert Wagner, and especially Jack Lemmon, who Harold said he wanted him to act in a film of his life and work.

Lloyd retained copyright interest in most of his films and re-released them only occasionally after his retirement. Lloyd refused to grant cinematic revivals because most theaters were unable to afford an organist to perform music for his films, and Lloyd did not want his performances to be accompanied by a pianist. We never intended for them to be played with pianos. In the same way, Lloyd's shows were never on television: "I want $300,000 per picture for two shows." That's a good price, but I don't get it, I won't be able to tell it. They've come close to it, but they haven't come all the way up." He was also reduced in public and private opinion in comparison to Chaplin and Keaton, whose work has generally been more widely distributed. When audiences regarded the 1920s (and silent film in particular) as old-fashioned, Lloyd's film was so closely linked to the 1920s that attempts at revivals in the 1940s and 1950s were largely dismissed.

Lloyd made two compilation films, Harold Lloyd's World of Comedies and The Funny Side of Life, which featured scenes from his old comedies, in the early 1960s. Lloyd was honoured as a major rediscovery at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival. Lloyd's revived interest in him has helped him reclaim his place as one of film historians. "They didn't miss a single gag," he found at college audiences, and found a huge audience.

Following his death and extensive talks, the bulk of his feature films were leased to Time-Life Films in 1974. "Time-Life edited horribly edited musical-sound-track versions of the silent films, which are supposed to be shown on television at 24 frames per second] and resemble everything that Harold feared would happen to his best films," Tom Dardis says. The films were released as half-hour television shows, with two clips per show. These were often near-complete versions of the early two-reelers, but they did also feature extended sequences from Safety First! (terminating at the clock sequence) and Feet First (presented muted), Feet First (presented silently), and Feet First (with Walter Scharf's score from Lloyd's own 1960s release). Time-Life produced several of the feature films more or less intact, as well as using some of Scharf's scores, which had been requested by Lloyd. Rather than subtitles, the Time-Life clips collection featured a narrator rather than intertitles. Various narrators were used around the world: Henry Corden's English-language series was narrated.

The Time-Life series was often repeated by the BBC in the United Kingdom, and Harold Lloyd's 1990 Thames Television documentary, The Third Genius, was created by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill, based on Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Carl Davis, a composer, contributed a new score to Safety Last! He appeared live at a showing of the film with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in 1993, earning acclaim.

The Brownlow and Gill documentary was on television as part of the PBS series American Masters, sparking renewed interest in Lloyd's work in the United States, but the films were mostly inaccessible. Harold Lloyd, a brother of Jeffrey Vance and Suzanne Lloyd, was re-launched by the Harold Lloyd Trust in 2002, along with a string of feature films and short films titled "The Harold Lloyd Classic Comedies," produced by Jeffrey Vance and Suzanne Lloyd, executive producer Suzanne Lloyd and Harold Lloyd Entertainment. With new orchestral scores by Robert Israel, Lloyd's best silent features and several shorts were remastered. On the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) cable channel, these versions are often seen. In 2005, New Line Cinema, a DVD collection of these restored or remastered versions of his feature films and key short films, as well as theatrical screenings in the United States, Canada, and Europe, was released by a DVD collection of these restored or remastered versions of his feature films and key short subjects. The Criterion Collection has since been acquiring the right to the Lloyd library, as well as Safety Last!, The Freshman, and Speedy.

Robert A. Reilly said in the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's Silent Film Gala program book for Safety Last!, film historian Jeffrey Vance said. From 1921 to 1927, Golden, Lloyd's assistant, doubled for Harold Lloyd. Golden doubled Lloyd in the bit with Harold shimmy shimmy squeezing off the building's ledge after a mouse crawls up his pants, according to Vance.

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