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Holy Hanging From a Building! Is it time to talk about the actor/filmmaker who thoroughly enjoyed scaring the heck out of audiences?? Why yes. Yes, it is. Distinguished readers, we cautiously present to you...as he dangles precariously over a busy street...the legendary Harold Lloyd!
1893 – 1971
IMDb: Harold Lloyd - IMDb
Harold Clayton Lloyd was born in Nebraska in 1893, the only child of parents James and Sarah Lloyd. Only children are just born different, that’s my theory. From the time Harold discovered what an actor was, he wanted to be one! In 1910, after James experienced several business failures, he and Sarah divorced, and Harold moved with his father to California at the age of 17. Harold was already experienced in stage acting, and quickly became involved with “flickers” (as early films were called)!
Young Harold
At age 20, Harold moved from San Diego to Los Angeles and began acting in Mack Sennett’s Keystone comedies. He also tried to find work at Carl Laemmle’s Universal, but for some unknown reason, the guard at the gate had a chip on his shoulder and wouldn’t let Harold in! One day, Harold went to the studio with his trusty makeup kit in hand, ducked behind a billboard, put on a stage disguise and blended in with the day’s extras. He successfully got on the studio lot that day! You just can’t make this stuff up, I mean...
Soon after, Harold got to know Hal Roach, a filmmaker who had just started his own studio. Harold and Hal together came up with a character called “Lonesome Luke”. Lonesome Luke, to me, is a knockoff of Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp character BUT THAT’S A DISCUSSION FOR A RAINY DAY... Lonesome Luke was a hit, and Hal Roach Studios made numerous comedy shorts starring his character – with a lovely actress named Bebe Daniels as the on-screen love interest. Bebe was also his off-screen love interest, just saying...
Well, a few years later, Harold had tired of his Lonesome Luke character. Surprise, surprise. He wanted to come up with a brand-new character that was different. Maybe something unlike Chaplin’s Little Tramp?? Ya think?? Hal Roach came to the rescue and convinced their distributor to give him a chance, providing he continued the Lonesome Luke movies at the same time. And behold...a whole new persona was created – that would stay with Harold the rest of his life.
As his new character (often called “The Boy”, or the “Glass” character) took off, the Lonesome Luke films phased out. Thankfully. The Boy wasn’t exaggerated or silly-looking, he looked like your average young man - with a distinct pair of horn-rimmed glasses frames. A “regular fellow”, as they said in the 1920s! In a 1962 interview, Harold said this about The Boy:
"When I adopted the glasses, it more or less put me in a different category because I became a human being. He was a kid that you would meet next door, across the street, but at the same time I could still do all the crazy things that we did before, but you believed them. They were natural and the romance could be believable."
"Ask Father" (1919)
2 years later (1919), Bebe Daniels did not renew her contract as “The Girl”. She wanted to pursue dramatic roles and felt her career was moving in another direction. Side note: she was right! So Harold found another actress to play The Girl – Mildred Davis. This time, The Girl became The Real-Life Wife, Mrs. Lloyd, in 1923. After they married, Harold discouraged his wife from acting, and found a third actress to play The Girl – Jobyna Ralston. By the time he decided Mildred was “allowed” to act again, her career’s momentum had been lost. Thanks a lot, Harold.
1919 was not a great year for Harold. On top of losing Bebe Daniels, he also had an unfortunate accident with a bomb. Yes, a bomb. As the story goes, Harold was posing for some promotional pictures and rightfully assumed a live bomb was a prop. For the picture, he was supposed to light a cigarette with the bomb – oh yes, he did – and it exploded. Now, why a LIVE BOMB was even present on set is beyond me, but moving on... Harold lost his right thumb and forefinger, as well as suffered severe burns to his face and chest AND injuring his eye. Thankfully, he regained his sight and used a special prosthetic glove on his right hand, to “fill in” his missing fingers. Today, the glove and Harold’s signature glasses are on display at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles, California! He later said:
"I thought I would surely be so disabled that I would never be able to work again. I didn't suppose that I would have one five-hundredth of what I have now. Still I thought, 'Life is worthwhile. Just to be alive.' I still think so."
"Safety Last" (1923)
*Wanna know the trick? Click here
"Girl Shy" (1924)
"Never Weaken" (1921)
Eventually, Harold formed his own company and made some of his most successful films, becoming one of the highest-paid movie actors in the 1920s. His final silent film was “Speedy” (1928), after which he transitioned his 1929 silent “Welcome Danger” into his first sound film. It was a hit! Several more talkies followed, but production slowed considerably during the 1930s. By 1937, Harold had sold the land that his studio stood on, and began a descent into retirement from acting. He produced a few films for RKO in the early 1940’s, but did not appear on screen again until 1947. But he was never dormant!
Harold directed a comedy radio show in the 1940s, as well as staying very active in Freemasonry and the Shriners...a fact which we’ll try not to hold against him too much! Harold also made several appearances on television during the 1950s, and became known for his photography....of nude models. You know what they say about them Shriners, folks. Anyway...
Mildred & Harold (circa 1960s)
Harold kept copyright control of his films, and he re-released them occasionally in theaters. His price for television release was too high, so they were initially not run on TV. The re-releases in the 1940s and 1950s did not go over too well, as the films were seen as “old fashioned” and too closely connected to the 1920s (which were quite uncool back then). This sentiment faded in the 1960s, and Harold produced 2 compilations films of his work. They were successful, and the younger, college-aged audience was particularly intrigued with his films.
In 1971, Harold passed away from prostate cancer, at his notorious estate (Greenacres). Mildred had passed away 2 years prior, and he was survived by his 3 children. He was laid to rest at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, in Glendale, California. For a time, his home was run as a museum, but eventually was auctioned off and subdivided. The original house and 6 acres still remain, and it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984. But Harold’s legacy of laughter – that is what has stood the test of time!
“It has been amazing to me that these comedies can still strike a responsive note of laughter with audiences of all ages and in all parts of the world. Laughter is the universal language. It establishes a common identity among people—regardless of other differences. It is the sweetest sound in the whole world.”
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