The First Movie Star
Photo I took of the final resting place for Florence Lawrence
Those who know me or follow this blog know that I am a sucker for old Hollywood. I thought that no collection of star's graves would be complete without Florence Lawrence. She was a Canadian inventor who invented the first turn signal and she developed a brake signal ,where an arm with a sign reading "STOP" was raised whenever you hit the brake pedal. Unfortunately, Lawrence's inventions were not patented and she never made much money from these inventions.
She is best known as the Silent Film actress, who is often referred to as "The First Movie Star". She was also known as "The Biograph Girl". Lawrence's name was never publicized, fans began writing the studio asking for it. Even when her face had gained wide recognition, Biograph Studios simply labeled her as "The Biograph Girl". During cinema's formative years, silent screen actors were not named, because studio owners feared that fame might lead to demands for higher wages. (something tells me that there is no way the actors of today would stand for that)During her lifetime, Lawrence appeared in more than 270 films, I think she deserves a little recognition even if she has been gone since 1938.
Photo I took of the final resting place for Florence Lawrence
Those who know me or follow this blog know that I am a sucker for old Hollywood. I thought that no collection of star's graves would be complete without Florence Lawrence. She was a Canadian inventor who invented the first turn signal and she developed a brake signal ,where an arm with a sign reading "STOP" was raised whenever you hit the brake pedal. Unfortunately, Lawrence's inventions were not patented and she never made much money from these inventions.She is best known as the Silent Film actress, who is often referred to as "The First Movie Star". She was also known as "The Biograph Girl". Lawrence's name was never publicized, fans began writing the studio asking for it. Even when her face had gained wide recognition, Biograph Studios simply labeled her as "The Biograph Girl". During cinema's formative years, silent screen actors were not named, because studio owners feared that fame might lead to demands for higher wages. (something tells me that there is no way the actors of today would stand for that)During her lifetime, Lawrence appeared in more than 270 films, I think she deserves a little recognition even if she has been gone since 1938.
wendy, that is amazing! I learn so much from your blog!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and keeping in touch! I feel the well of artistic possibilities filling me up again! There are a couple festivals coming up that I am going to participate in this summer, so I need to get cracking!