Books by Anthony Slide

"Jimmy Edwards was a Great British Entertainer"- Ken Dodd"Not merely a peculiarly British comedian but an authentic English character"- The Times

''¿Jimmy Edwards was a Great British Entertainer¿'' Ken Dodd''¿Not merely a peculiarly British comedian but an authentic English character¿¿'' The TimesComedians in 20th Century Britain might well be divided into two categories: those who gained international fame, particularly in the United States, and those whose comedic style was so resolutely British, so insular that recognition beyond the shores of their native land was as incomprehensible as some, or perhaps much, of their humor. In the former category are those whose fame in the United States far outreached anything that might have been accomplished in the United Kingdom - with the obvious examples being Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel, as well, and to a lesser extent, the likes of Terry-Thomas and Norman Wisdom. The resolutely British brigade includes brilliant stand-up comedian Ken Dodd, screwed-up magician Tommy Cooper, the stars of the "Carry On" films, Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen and the other members of the "Crazy Gang," and those who made an easy transition from British music hall, in its dying days, to radio and/or television, including Tony Hancock, Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, Harry Worth, Hylda Baker, Bruce Forsyth, Ted Ray, and, of course, the "star" of this volume, Jimmy Edwards.

"e; From his unique perspective of friendship with many of the actors and actresses about whom he writes, silent film historian Anthony Slide creates vivid portraits of the careers and often eccentric lives of 100 players from the American silent film industry. He profiles the era's shining stars such as Lillian Gish and Blanche Sweet; leading men including William Bakewell and Robert Harron; gifted leading ladies such as Laura La Plante and Alice Terry; ingenues like Mary Astor and Mary Brian; and even Hollywood's most famous extra, Bess Flowers. Although each original essay is accompanied by significant documentation and an extensive bibliography, Silent Players is not simply a reference book or encyclopedic recitation of facts culled from the pages of fan magazines and trade periodicals. It contains a series of insightful portraits of the characters who symbolize an original and pioneering era in motion history and explores their unique talents and extraordinary private lives. Slide offers a potentially revisionist view of many of the stars he profiles, repudiating the status of some and restoring to fame others who have slipped from view. He personally interviewed many of his subjects and knew several of them intimately, putting him in a distinctive position to tell their true stories.

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Now in Paperback! The New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry is a unique reference work, a 'what's what' of the history of filmmaking not only in Hollywood but throughout the United States. More than 750 entries document the history of studios, production companies and distributors, and provide complete information on technical innovations, genres, industry terms, and organizations. Included are entries on more than 100 film companies active in the 'teens, as well as all major Hollywood studios, and major technical innovations such as CinemaScope and Dolby Sound. General entries range from 'The Cold War' to 'Westerns' and include film series such as 'Andy Hardy' and 'The Thin Man.' Extensive cross referencing and an index help the reader locate information throughout the text. A completely revised and updated edition of The American Film Industry, this new edition furnishes an informed, experienced look behind the scenes of filmmaking and an invaluable reference source. Paperback edition available 2001.

Collects together Knox's writings, published and unpublished, on various performers with whom he worked or was familiar, and on the art and craft of acting.

The autobiography of Joseph Henabery, the director of some of the biggest Hollywood stars of the 1920s including Douglas Fairbanks, Fatty Arbuckle, and Rudolph Valentino.

In Silent Topics, film historian Anthony Slide looks at various under-discussed and generally undocumented areas of silent film. The two lengthiest essays discuss the release of British silent films in the United States and the contribution of gays and lesbians to American silent film.

This guide provides biographical essays, complete with bibliographies, on 100 of the best-known and loved British actors and actresses. Not only are serious dramatic actors and actresses to be found here, but also the great comedy stars, including Benny Hill and John Inman.

In addition, there is a program index, providing the reader with speedy information as to which company or distributor is responsible for which series. The Television Industry will serve as an essential reference tool for any scholar, student, or librarian involved in the study of the television industry.

Provides a record of what was once America's pre-eminent form of popular entertainment from the late 1800s through the early 1930s. This title includes entries not only on the entertainers themselves, but also on those who worked behind the scenes, the theatres, genres, and historical terms.

Making use of the files of the US Production Code Administration, this is a film-by-film study of the way in which British films were censored in the USA between 1933 and 1960.

Complete with appendices providing distributors from the 1920s-1940s and current names and addresses of non-theatrical film sources, this book-length study of the history of this film genre is both important and much needed.

Cultural Historian Anthony Slide, who has been described by the Los Angeles Times as a one-man publishing phenomenon, strikes again with a book guaranteed to contain something OFFENSIVE for everyone.Chapters on subjects as varied as CAMP, FASCISM in Hollywood, Hedda Hopper and the PORKY'S movies. The latest topical jokes on Helen Keller, Eleanor Roosevelt and the Challenger disaster.Subjects such as ALCOHOL, DRUG and SPOUSAL ABUSE, COMMUNISM, ETHNICITY, GAYS and LESBIANS and RELIGION. Commentary on leading figures of the era, including Father Coughlin, Kinky Friedman, Tom Lehrer and John Wayne. They are all here in this QUIRKY, OUTRAGEOUS, informative, and above all, ENTERTAINING overview of POLITICAL INCORRECTNESS and BAD TASTE in 20th century popular entertainment, including film, theatre, music, radio, television and vaudeville.

Thorne Smith is a unique figure in American literature, one who thrived during prohibition creating comic novels that ridiculed the morality of the times and involved extensive drinking, nudity, frivolity, and general debauchery. A Man Named Smith: The Novels and Screen Legacy of Thorne Smith is the first book-length study of Thorne Smith's work. It provides background information on his life and early death, discusses all of his novels in detail, and also provides extensive new documentation on their screen adaptations, including Topper, Night Life of the Gods, and Turnabout. Also discussed is Thorne Smith's brief time in Hollywood at MGM in 1933, and the influence that his books have had on later films and television productions.As an added bonus, reprinted here in its entirety is the 1934 promotional monograph, Thorne Smith: His Life and Times with a Note on His Books & a Complete Bibliography.

"e; Thomas Dixon has a notorious reputation as the writer of the source material for D.W. Griffith's groundbreaking and controversial 1915 feature film The Birth of a Nation. Perhaps unfairly, Dixon has been branded an arch-conservative and a racist obsessed with what he viewed as "e;the Negro problem."e; As American Racist makes clear, however, Dixon was a complex, multitalented individual who, as well as writing some of the most popular novels of the early twentieth century, was involved in the production of some eighteen films. Dixon used the motion picture as a propaganda tool for his often outrageous opinions on race, communism, socialism, and feminism. His most spectacular production, The Fall of a Nation (1916), argues for American preparedness in the face of war and boasts a musical score by Victor Herbert, making it the first American feature film to have an original score by a major composer. Like the majority of Dixon's films, The Fall of a Nation has been lost, but had it survived, it might well have taken its place alongside The Birth of a Nation as a masterwork of silent film. Anthony Slide examines each of Dixon's films and discusses the novels from which they were adapted. Slide chronicles Dixon's transformation from a major supporter of the original Ku Klux Klan in his early novels to an ardent critic of the modern Klan in his last film, Nation Aflame. American Racist is the first book to discuss Dixon's work outside of literature and provide a wide overview of the life and career of this highly controversial twentieth-century southern populist. Anthony Slide is the author of numerous books, including Silent Players: A Biographical and Autobiographical Study of 100 Silent Film Actors and Actresses.

Provocatively capturing the controversy and sentiments surrounding this period of political imbalance, Actors on Red Alert explores the repercussions of the 1940s blacklist through career interviews with five prominent actors and actresses.

Documents the work of America's first major film company, Vitagraph, from its beginnings in the 1890s through its sale to Warner Bros. in 1925.