Hi Everyone,
I'm a first-time author and film buff who just wrote a bio of silent film comedian Karl Dane. Dane was born Rasmus Karl Therkelsen Gottlieb, and was a former carpenter from Copenhagen who came to America during WW1. After much adventure and struggle, he achieved fame and fortune in the mid-20s in many classic American silents films, such as the classic war film THE BIG PARADE with John Gilbert and SON OF THE SHEIK with Rudolph Valentino. However, when talkies came in, he lost his contract and his entire fortune. Finding himself out of work at the height of the Great Depression, he committed suicide in 1934.
The story of Karl Dane was a tragic one, but also inspirational as well. Virtually nothing was known about the life of this forgotten comedian when I started my 5 years of research in Denmark and the US. I discovered a dynamic man who lived life to the fullest: he worked as a stuntman, machinist, motorcycle racer, farmer, and gold miner when he wasn't acting!
I just got back from LA where I gave a talk about Dane's life and Grauman's Egyptian Theater and also had my first book signing. Please check out the link below for more information if you're interested. Any feedback would be most welcome. I'm very interested in talking to all of you about your own projects!
Regards,
Laura Petersen Balogh
www.karl-dane.com
http://www.amazon.com/Karl-Dane-Laura-Petersen-Balogh/dp/0786442077/
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