Louise Brooks
Louise Brooks (Cherryvale, Kansas, 14 November 1906 – Rochester, New York, 8 August 1985) was an American dancer and actress. She became a leading film star, and a style icon famous for her beauty and her bobbed hair style.
Louise Brooks | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 14, 1906 |
| Died | August 8, 1985 (aged 78) |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Resting place | Holy Sepulchre Cemetery (Rochester, New York), US |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Spouse(s) | A. Edward Sutherland (m. 1926-1928, divorced) Deering Davis (m. 1933-1938, divorced) |
| Parent(s) | Leonard Brooks Myra (née Rude) |
In 2006, the centenary of Brooks' birth was celebrated by the release of three DVDs and three books, museum exhibits, screenings, and other events.
Filmography
Brooks' signature film role was as Lulu in G.W. Pabst's Pandora's Box (Die Büchse der Pandora) in 1929. Brooks' portrayal was of a young woman whose raw sexuality and uninhibited nature brings ruin to herself and those who love her. It made the actress a star.
- The Street of Forgotten Men (1925)
- The American Venus (1926)
- A Social Celebrity (1926)
- It's the Old Army Game (1926)
- The Show Off (1926)
- Love 'Em and Leave 'Em (1926)
- Just Another Blonde (1926)
- Evening Clothes (1927)
- Rolled Stockings (1927)
- Now We're in the Air (1927)
- The City Gone Wild (1927)
- A Girl in Every Port (1928)
- Beggars of Life (1928)
- The Canary Murder Case (1929)
- Pandora's Box (1929)
- Diary of a Lost Girl (1929)
- Prix de Beaute (1930)
- Windy Riley Goes Hollywood (1931) (short subject)
- It Pays to Advertise (1931)
- God's Gift to Women (1931)
- Empty Saddles (1936)
- When You're in Love (1937)
- King of Gamblers (1937) (scenes deleted)
- Overland Stage Raiders (1938)
- Film Firsts: Louise Brooks (1960) (television)
- Lulu in Berlin (1984) (documentary)
- Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu (1998) (documentary)
- Mysteries and Scandals: Louise Brooks (1999) (television)
Further reading
- Louise Brooks, Fundamentals of Good Ballroom Dancing, United States: self-published, 1940
- Pandora's Box (Lulu), United States: Simon & Schuster, 1971
- Rolland Jaccard (editor), Louise Brooks: Portrait d'une Anti-Star, France: Editions Phebus, 1977
- Louise Brooks, Lulu in Hollywood, United States: Knopf, 1982
- Vincenzo Mollica, Louise Brooks: Una Fiaba Nocturne, Italy: Editori del Grifo, 1984
- Homenagem a Louise Brooks, Portugal: Cinemateca Portuguesa, 1986
- Rolland Jaccard (editor), Louise Brooks: Portrait of an Anti-Star, United States: New York Zoetrope, 1986
- Barry Paris, Louise Brooks, United States: Knopf, 1989
- Omaggio a Louise Brooks e Maya Deren, Italy: Cineteca D. W. Griffith, 1996
- Louise Brooks: L'europeenne, France: Transeuropa, 1999
- Louise Brooks, Lulu in Hollywood: Expanded Edition, United States: University of Minnesota Press, 2000
- Peter Cowie, Louise Brooks: Lulu Forever, United States: Rizzoli, 2006
Quotations
- There is no Garbo! There is no Dietrich! There is only Louise Brooks! – Henri Langlois, 1955.
- I have a gift for enraging people, but if I ever bore you it will be with a knife. – Louise Brooks, from her autobiography, 'Lulu in Hollywood'.