I wanted to wish a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Louise Fazenda, one of our great unsung comediennes!
And it wouldn’t be a birthday without a fabulous Art Deco cake:
Shoot, the bakery left out the first “1”!
A veteran of Joker comedies who achieved fame as one of Mack Sennett’s Keystone regulars, Ms. Fazenda also had a long career as a character actress in the talkies. She was married to producer Hal B. Wallis for over thirty years. Although most sources say her birth year was 1895 (even contemporary magazines and newspapers), according to her birth certificate the year was actually 1896. I wrote a detailed article on her life here. (Featuring mah very own research! I’m hoping to pen a Louise biography, so if you have any information please contact me.)
As a bonus treat, here’s a wonderful publicity still from Fatty’s Tintype Tangle (1915), one of my very favorite Keystones:
Thanks to Jorge Finkielman for cleaning this image up for me!
A very happy birthday to you, Louise, and I hope you’re having a good time pratfalling up there with Roscoe, Mabel, Chester, Ford, and the rest of the old Sennett gang!
It’s been a bit quiet here in the last couple weeks, I know, but I’ve been quite busy planning for next month’s posts…cough cough…it should be a lot of fun!
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And so say all of us!
*raises glass* 😉
Have you read Education of a Felon, by Edward Bunker? If not, you’ll get to learn what a kind soul Louise was.
I have! That biography’s been a godsend. It’s one of the very few places where you can find any details about Louise’s life after her retirement from the screen. And as far as I can tell (at least for now), Bunker’s memory was fairly accurate.
Happy belated birthday, Louise!
Cheers!