Yes, the Louise Brooks Society really does exist

Believe it or not, but there is a person on the internet who is suggesting that the Louise Brooks Society doesn't exist -- not really, kinda, perhaps, maybe; or they wish it didn't exist, or something. But since we live in a fact based universe, let me take a few minutes and prove that it does exist by using the historical record.

Some of the earliest efforts of the LBS at reaching fans of the actress was through posting messages on various bulletin board systems (BBS), listserv’s and newsgroups (Usenet), as well as on AOL and Prodigy, back when those platforms were dominant. The earliest archived & dated newsgroup post mentioning the Louise Brooks Society, from October 27, 1995 (click to show), announces the website. Another, a query from the LBS asking about a screening of Pandora’s Box in Poland, dates to January 29, 1996. Another, from December 31, 1996, announces the move to its domain at pandorasbox.com, where it has resided since. Each of these posts are now part of the independent Google groups / Usenet Archive.

The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, an independent nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996, it allows users to go "back in time" to see how websites looked in the past. It is pretty cool. The earliest Wayback Machine capture of the Louise Brooks Society dates to April 11, 1997 (click on the link to verify), while the earliest LBS homepage captured by the Wayback Machine which includes a © copyright symbol dates to June 27, 1998. That's also worth noting.

Notably, the earliest Wayback Machine captures contain a statement noting that the website was launched under that name "Louise Brooks Society" in August 1995. That's my demonstrable claim, which also shows first use of that very specific term.

One of its very first media mentions and earliest dated print reference to the LBS dates to May 23, 1996, when it was named a USA Today “Hot Site” and mentioned in the newspaper’s syndicated “Net: New and notable” column. See the clipping below, which notes the site’s early URL. If you think this clipping is fake, then go look it up in a newspaper archive.

Since then and up to the present, the Louise Brooks Society has been mentioned in a number of newspapers, magazines and books published all around the world. The "In the News" page on the LBS website contains a long list of media mentions, many of which are linked to their source. 

The LBS has been called "an excellent homage to the art of the silent film as well as one of its most luminous stars” by the New York Times (August 29, 2002), and praised by the likes of Leonard Maltin (August 1, 2005), and the Irish Times, who pointed to the website's "extraordinary day-by-day chronology of her life" (June 2, 2018). In 1998, acclaimed journalist Steve Silberman wrote the first feature story about the LBS for Wired magazine. In "Fan Site Sparks Biopic," he called the LBS "an exemplary fan site" (April 10, 1998). In 2000, syndicated film critic and friend to Brooks, Jack Garner, wrote an article for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle which stated the Louise Brooks Society is “A fine example of a fan page, a thoughtful, artful site devoted to the life and times of a fabled silent movie legend.” (September 12, 2000). That’s high praise coming from someone once close to the actress. 

I mention these media mentions not to humblebrag - as the "LBS denier" has suggested, but to demonstrate that the Louise Brooks Society exists as part of the historical record.... And for the record, some of the books which contain a mention, acknowledgement, or thanks to the LBS include Wild Bill Wellman: Hollywood Rebel (Pantheon, 2015), Sirens & Sinners: A Visual History of Weimar Film 1918-1933 (Thames & Hudson, 2013), Louise Brooks: Lulu Forever (Rizzoli, 2006), Jazz Age Beauties: The Lost Collection of Ziegfeld Photographer Alfred Cheney Johnston (Universe, 2006), German Expressionist Films (Pocket Essentials, 2002), Film ist Comics (Filmarchiv Austria, 1999), Geheimnisvolle Tiefe G.W. Pabst (Filmarchiv Austria, 1998), and others. 

Yours truly, Thomas Gladysz, the author of this very blog, was asked to write the entry on Louise Brooks for the Encyclopedia of the Great Plains (University of Nebraska Press, 2004). It can be read online HERE.

Since its founding, the LBS has developed and grown and become a recognized website devoted to just about any film star — silent or sound. The Encyclopedia of Associations, a standard reference work found in many libraries, contains an entry on the Louise Brooks Society in editions of the book published in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014, and 2017. (There may be others, but I haven't yet come across them.)

the 2013 book	the 2013 entry

What is the Louise Brooks Society? The Louise Brooks Society is a fan site. Or, as I have long claimed, a "virtual fan club in cyberspace." See the website's ABOUT page for its mission statement and history. And also see its ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS page for a list of the community of individuals who have aided the LBS over the years.

The "LBS denier" has made a point of stating that there are other fan clubs (yes, their are other webpages, Twitter accounts, and Facebook pages focused on Brooks), and also suggested there was a fan club that dates back to the 1920s (that's news to me). I recall once seeing fan club membership cards dating back to the silent era for various stars, such as William Haines, but never one for Louise Brooks. If a formal group existed back then, I would sure like to learn about it -- as well as see some proof that it did exist. The "LBS denier" has also repeatedly claimed that the group of friends around Louise Brooks during her years in Rochester formed the first "Louise Brooks Society." That is a nonsensical, ahistorical claim - or in other words, a real stretch.

Oh, and then there is the suggestion that I don't write this blog, or that I employ ghostwriters, or that I didn't write the four books which have my name on them..... none of which, he admits, he has read. These books, by the way, which were published in 2010, 2017, 2019, and 2023, carry the phrase "a publication of the Louise Brooks Society."

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2024. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Louise Brooks books from the Louise Brooks Society

Looking for something good to read? Want to learn more about Louise Brooks and her films? Looking for the perfect gift for the silent film buff or Louise Brooks fan on your holiday list? Check out one or more of these Louise Brooks Society publications.

*******************************************

 

The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond (softcover 1st edition)
by Thomas Gladysz

-- The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond is a 380 page deep dive into the history of one film, the 1925 silent, The Street of Forgotten Men. A popular and critical success at the time of its release, the film is based on a story by a noted writer, made by a significant director, shot by one of a greatest cinematographers, and features a fine cast which includes a future screen legend at the beginning of her career (Louise Brooks)  The story of the film is told in rich, historical detail — not only the film’s making, critical reception, and exhibition history but also its surprising legacy. Along with dozens of rare images and vintage clippings, this new book contains all manner of documents from the story on which the film was based to censorship records to a French fictionalization of the film to detailed credits and trivia, and even a review by a candidate for sainthood.

The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond features forewords by Robert Byrne, whose restoration of The Street of Forgotten Men saved it from an undeserving obscurity, and film historian and Oscar honoree Kevin Brownlow, who revealed little known details about the film drawn from his correspondence with Louise Brooks.

AUTOGRAPHED copies available direct from the author @ $35.00 (includes shipping & handling within the USA). To place an order via PayPal, please send an email to louisebrookssociety AT gmailDOTcom 

 

Or buy online from Amazon.com (USA) // Barnes & Noble // Bookshop.org // Books-a-Million

 

****************************

Louise Brooks, the Persistent Star (softcover 1st edition)
by Thomas Gladysz

-- This 296 page book brings together 15 years work by the Director of the Louise Brooks Society. Gathered here are the author's best articles, essays, and blogs about the silent film star and her films—Beggars of Life, Pandora’s Box, and Diary of a Lost Girl—each are discussed, as are many other little known aspects of Brooks’ legendary career. With many rare illustrations.

“Historian Thomas Gladysz has put together a number of his articles and essays from the past 15 years for the book Louise Brooks: The Persistent Star. Gladysz is the director of the Louise Brooks Society, and his detailed essays will be fascinating reading for any fan of the iconic actress.” — Lea Stans, Silentology

“… this (fully illustrated) book proves that ‘the persistent star’ is a perfect accolade.” — Tara Hanks, author of The Mmm Girl and Wicked Baby

AUTOGRAPHED copies available direct from the author @ $22.50 (includes shipping & handling within the USA). To place an order via PayPal, please send an email to louisebrookssociety AT gmailDOTcom

 

Or buy online from Amazon (USA) | Bookshop.org | Powells | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million 

 

Or, buy the English-language edition from Amazon Australia | Brazil | Canada | France | Germany | India | Italy | Japan | Mexico | Netherlands | Poland | Singapore | Spain | Turkey | United Arab Emirates | United Kingdom

 

The English-language edition is also available from Saxo (Denmark) | Open Trolley (Indonesia) | MightyApe (New Zealand) | Bol.com (Netherlands) | Archiwum (Poland) 

****************************

Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film (softcover 1st edition)
by Thomas Gladysz 

-- This first ever study of Beggars of Life looks at the film Oscar-winning director William Wellman thought his finest silent movie. With more than 50 little seen images, tons of information, detailed credits, trivia, and a foreword by William Wellman, Jr. A must read for every fan. 

“I can say (with head bowed modestly) that I know more about the career of director William A. Wellman than pretty much anybody … but there are things in Thomas Gladysz’s new book on Wellman’s Beggars of Life that I didn’t know. More important, the writing is so good and the research so deep that even when I was reading about facts that were familiar to me, I was enjoying myself hugely.” — Frank Thompson, author of Nothing Sacred: The Cinema of William Wellman

“This highly readable book will deepen your enjoyment and understanding of a silent Hollywood classic.” — Pamela Hutchinson, author of Pandora’s Box (BFI Film Classics)

AUTOGRAPHED copies available direct from the author @ $13.50 (includes shipping & handling within the USA) / A very few copies signed by both Gladysz and William Wellman Jr. are also available @ $75.00 (includes shipping & handling within the USA). To place an order via PayPal, please send an email to louisebrookssociety AT gmailDOTcom

 

Or buy NEW from Amazon (USA) | Bookshop.org | Powells | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

 

Or, buy the English-language edition from Amazon Australia | Brazil | Canada | France | Germany | India | Italy | Japan | Mexico | Netherlands | Poland | Singapore | Spain | Turkey | United Arab Emirates | United Kingdom

 

The English-language edition is also available from Saxo (Denmark) | Open Trolley (Indonesia) | MightyApe (New Zealand) | Bol.com (Netherlands) | Archiwum (Poland)  | Waterstones (UK)
 
****************************

Now We're in the Air (softcover 1st edition)
by Thomas Gladysz

-- This companion to the once "lost" 1927 film tells the story of the film’s making, its reception, and its discovery by film preservationist Robert Byrne. With two rare fictionalizations of the movie story, more than 75 little seen images, detailed credits, trivia, and a foreword by Byrne. A must read for the discriminating fan. Your purchase helps support the LBS.

 

“The absolute final word on the film from the world’s foremost expert on Louise Brooks. Thoroughly researched and expertly written, oh, and did I mention lavishly illustrated? If you love silent film and if you love Louise Brooks (and who doesn’t) you really should pick up a copy for your library.” — amazon.com review

AUTOGRAPHED copies available direct from the author @ $18.50 (includes shipping & handling within the USA)

 

Or buy NEW from Amazon (USA) | Bookshop.org | Powells | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

 

Or, buy the English-language edition from Amazon Australia | Brazil | Canada | France | Germany | India | Italy | Japan | Mexico | Netherlands | Poland | Singapore | Spain | Turkey | United Arab Emirates | United Kingdom

 

The English-language edition is also available from Saxo (Denmark) | Open Trolley (Indonesia) | MightyApe (New Zealand) | Bol.com (Netherlands) | Archiwum (Poland) 

****************************

 

The Diary of a Lost Girl (Louise Brooks edition)
by Margarete Bohme (author) and Thomas Gladysz (editor)

-- The 1929 film, Diary of a Lost Girl, is based on a controversial and bestselling book first published in Germany in 1905. Though little known today, it was a literary sensation at the beginning of the 20th century. By the end of the 1920s, it had been translated into 14 languages and sold more than 1,200,000 copies - ranking it among the bestselling books of its time. Was it - as many believed - the real-life diary of a young woman forced by circumstance into a life of prostitution? Or a sensational and clever fake, one of the first novels of its kind? This contested work - a work of unusual historical significance as well as literary sophistication - inspired a sequel, a play, a parody, a score of imitators, and two silent films. The best remembered of these is the oft revived G.W. Pabst film starring Louise Brooks.

This corrected and annotated edition of the original English language translation brings this important book back into print after more than 100 years. It includes an introduction by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society, detailing the book's remarkable history and relationship to the 1929 silent film. This special "Louise Brooks Edition" also includes more than three dozen vintage illustrations.

“In today’s parlance this would be called a movie tie-in edition, but that seems a rather glib way to describe yet another privately published work that reveals an enormous amount of research and passion.” — Leonard Maltin

“Gladysz makes an important contribution to film history, literature, and, in as much as Böhme told her tale with much detail and background contemporary to the day, sociology and history. This reissue is long overdue, and a volume of uncommon merit.” — Richard Buller, author of A Beautiful Fairy Tale: The Life of Actress Lois Moran

NEW from Amazon (USA) | Bookshop.org | Powells | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | or in person at George Eastman Museum (Rochester, NY) | Larry Edmunds (Hollywood, CA)

 
Or, buy the English-language edition from Amazon Australia | Brazil | Canada | France | Germany | India | Italy | Japan | Mexico | Netherlands | Poland | Singapore | Spain | Turkey | United Arab Emirates | United Kingdom
 
The English-language edition is also available from Saxo (Denmark) | Open Trolley (Indonesia) | MightyApe (New Zealand) | Bol.com (Netherlands) | Archiwum (Poland)

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2023. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

It has taken me 24 years to get ahold of this clipping

Just recently, I was updating the history of the Louise Brooks Society. The ABOUT page on the Louise Brooks Society website contains the story behind its launch in 1995, how I chose its name, its mission statement, and some of the things the LBS has achieved over the years. I was doing so because there are people on the interweb who suggest the Louise Brooks Society doesn't really exist, and that I am not its founding Director. Sounds ridiculous, I know. (BTW, I call myself its director because "director" is a movie term. It's not a grandiose moniker, and certainly more fitting than anything else I could come up with.)

While working on what I could remember of the history of the LBS, I was going through some old clippings about or mentioning my website. The Louise Brooks Society website was launched in August, 1995. The first media mention and its earliest print reference dates to May 23, 1996, when it was named a USA Today “Hot Site” and mentioned in the newspaper’s syndicated “Net: New and notable” column. Sam Vincent Meddis wrote in USA Today, "Silent-film buffs can get a taste of how a fan club from yesteryear plays on the Web. The Louise Brooks Society site includes interview, trivia and photos. It also draws an international audience."

Some of the other early mentions appeared in the Noe Valley Voice (September 1997), Wired magazine (April 10, 1998), Melbourne Age (April 16, 1998), San Francisco Chronicle (May 3, 1998), and Atlanta Journal-Constitution (May 5, 1998). I have print or digital copies of each.

One of the other early clippings appeared in the February - March 1999 issue of bLink, a magazine published by EarthLink. I knew this piece existed, because I had been contacted by the person who wrote it for a quote. However, I never got a copy of the magazine, and more or less forgot about it. Time passed.... until recently, when I was going through some old clippings about or mentioning my website. I wondered what ever happened to that magazine, and if they had an archive online. They don't. But my search turned up an eBay listing for the very copy I needed. Wowza. I put in a bid, and won!

And so, after 24 years, I am glad to have this nifty clipping, which appears on page 20 of this issue. Like the Wired magazine and San Francisco Chronicle pieces, it acknowledges the role the LBS played in inspiring TCM to go ahead with the Emmy-nominated documentary, Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu. But more importantly, this clipping is another bit of proof that the Louise Brooks Society does in fact exist (and did so in 1999), and that I am its founding Director.

It was cool to see this piece, especially since it includes a screen grab of the old look of the Louise Brooks Society website.

BTW, for the record, the earliest Wayback Machine capture of the Louise Brooks Society at it’s current domain, www.pandorasbox.com, dates to April 11, 1997. But before that, the earliest archived newsgroup post mentioning the LBS, from October 27, 1995, announces the website. Another, a query from the LBS asking about a screening of Pandora’s Box in Poland, dates to January 29, 1996. Another, from December 31, 1996, announces the move to its new domain at pandorasbox.com, where it has resided since. Each of these posts are part of the Google groups / Usenet Archive.

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2023. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Happy Halloween from the Louise Brooks Society

This sultry witch once appeared in a Louise Brooks film -- though not as a witch. Do you know who she might be ? And do you know in which Louise Brooks film she appeared ? Here's a clue: it was a very small part. 

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2023. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Louise Brooks Society website to be taken down

I am saddened to report that the Louise Brooks Society website (at www.pandorasbox.com) will be taken down. Over the course of the last year, an individual who has been trolling the LBS has managed to have the various LBS social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc...) twice taken down by falsely alleging my pre-existing site infringed on his recent, 2019 trademark. And now, he has succeeded in taking down my website.

 

 

The Louise Brooks Society™ website was launched in 1995 as a "virtual fan club in cyberspace." It has been praised in the pages of the New York Times, USA Today, and Wired magazine. Besides considerable research, numerous articles, thousands of blogs, five books, and help in restoring two of Brooks' films, this website helped inspire the Emmy nominated documentary, Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu, and, it helped bring both the Barry Paris biography and Brooks' own Lulu in Hollywood back into print. This site made a difference.... I am proud of what it accomplished. It has been a great run of 28 years getting to know Louise Brooks fans & scholars from around the world. To stay in touch with the latest regarding all things Lulu, be sure and follow the Louise Brooks Society™ blog (as long as it lasts).

 

How can this happen? Quite easily. If you have a registered trademark, all you have to do is wave the number around in front of an ISP or social media platform and they will remove any content that offends! It doesn't seem to matter if your claim is valid or not. The various internet platforms are - as they have explained to me time and again - simply following the law.

 

Pictured here is one of the pieces of "evidence" of trademark infringement which this person sent to my ISP. It is a recent snapshot of me (taken by my wife, no criminal she) wearing an old Clubfoot Orchestra / PandorasBox t-shirt which I personally bought from the musical group a long time ago at the Castro theater in San Francisco, following a performance in which they accompanied the film. Despite the fact this shirt is 10 or 20 years old, and despite the fact it was made by/for the Clubfoot Orchestra, and despite the fact that Louise Brooks' name doesn't even appear on the shirt, the troll person in question claimed it was a "knock-off" (meaning counterfeit?) product which violated his Louise Brooks trademark on apparel.

 

Such "proof" !

 

I am wearing that old wrinkled t-shirt today in celebration of tonight's Clubfoot Orchestra accompaniment of Pandora's Box at the glorious Paramount theater in Oakland. Long live Lulu, if not the Louise Brooks Society.

 

Sorry for the scary pic. I am getting old.
It's all those reels of microfilm I scrolled through.

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2023. Further unauthorized use prohibited.

 

Louise Brooks Society gives up social media

Over the last few months, the Louise Brooks Society™ has suffered attack after attack on its various social media accounts, and has decided to call it quits on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Maintaining these accounts is just not worth the trouble, and anyways, their influence is waning - especially Twitter. 

Sadly, each of these social media platforms have allowed an internet troll (we all know who I'm talking about) to attack the LBS through a series of nuisance complaints alleging the Louise Brooks Society has somehow infringed on their trademark and intellectual property rights. Bullshit. It is simply not true, but these platforms and others, like LinkTree and Etsy and CafePress, simply don't care. The truth is in the details, but sadly, these platforms can't be bothered with details like my Louise Brooks Society predates the troll's trademark by more than 20 years. It is enough to simply file a claim, and have someone's else page or account permanently disabled.

The Louise Brooks Society Twitter account, established in 2009, had gained more than 5000 followers, and was taken down. And so was the recently established second LBS Twitter account.

The Louise Brooks Society Facebook fan page, established in 2010, had also gained more than 5000 followers, and was taken down. And so was the official LBS Facebook account.

The Louise Brooks Society Instagram page, established in 2021, had gained more than 5300 followers, and was taken down. And so was the second LBS Instagram account, which in the last couple of months had gained more than 500 followers.

If these platforms don't care enough about me, then I don't care about them.  

But what's more, this vindictive troll has also had my PERSONAL Twitter and Facebook pages permanently disabled, likely because I describe myself as the "Director" of the Louise Brooks Society. (With its reference to a film director, what else could I call myself ?) BTW: I founded the Louise Brooks Society website in 1995, and have long displayed a © copyright symbol on my website. Sadly, I have been cut off from my family and friends.

I expect to not post about this situation anymore. It is a drag, and I could imagine many readers of this blog find this matter a bit tedious. But, I would expect, they are more reason and interesting than the bat-shit crazy posts the troll has been posting about me.  

The two decade old images shown here are of the images that got my accounts taken down.

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2023. Further unauthorized use prohibited.

Update on the Attacks on the Louise Brooks Society

As some may know, the Louise Brooks Society is under attack. Last week, the Louise Brooks Society Facebook page was suspended for 3 days due to a bogus report of trademark infringement filed by Michael Garcia Mujica, doing business as "Vintage Brooks". The image which Mujica claims violated his 2019 trademark (on the name "Louise Brooks") was one I have been using for decades. It is shown below. 

Hours after the Louise Brooks Society Facebook page was suspended, my personal Facebook page, under my name, Thomas Gladysz, was disabled, no doubt because of another fraudulent claim by you know who. Will this troll never stop? 

Since I use my personal account to access Facebook and run my Louise Brooks Society page, I am now effectively locked out of Facebook all together. I can no longer communicate with my family and friends, and with those whom I have met over the internet through a shared interest in Louise Brooks.

Later that day, or was it the next day (it all seems like a long ago nightmare), the Louise Brooks Society Twitter accounts was also permanently disabled. Actually, this is the second LBS Twitter account to be destroyed by a fraudulent claim of trademark infringement filed by Michael Garcia Mujica (dba Vintage Brooks). And just today, my personal Twitter account was also disabled.

I had been on Twitter since 2009. And, I had been on Facebook since 2010. That is more than 13 years of lost contacts and connections (numbering in the thousands), and more than 13 of lost good will and brand development. I don't know the number of times I tweeted, but it was likely thousands of times. The same with Facebook where I posted thousands of times. That is a lot of lost history as well.

I have filed appeals with each of these platforms, but each has failed to respond to my appeals. With Twitter and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) in such disarray, it is not surprising.

For the record: The Louise Brooks Society™ website was established online in 1995. Its website and the wordmark “Louise Brooks Society” are under copyright and common law trademark protection. Additionally, the Louise Brooks Society operates with the written consent of the Estate of Louise Brooks (Louise Brooks Heirs, LC), and have its permission to use the name and likeness of the actress. "Vintage Brooks" does not.

I  would also like to say that I greatly appreciate the emails of support I have received from my online friends. It looks like I will have to do without Twitter and Facebook for the foreseeable future. If you need to reach me, please note the email address in the image below. (The image, depicting MY business card, was taken down from Instagram because of another nuisance complaint from you know who.) His behavior is contemptible, and really rather pathetic.

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2023. Further unauthorized use prohibited.

Louise Brooks Society under attack again

Just so everyone knows, my Louise Brooks Society Facebook account has been suspended for 3 days due to a bogus report of trademark infringement filed by the internet troll Michael Garcia Mujica, doing business as "Vintage Brooks". My apologies to 5000+ followers, but this troll seemingly doesn't have anything better to do than harass the Louise Brooks Society. What a loser.

The two items on Facebook which were reported were a link to the March 4th Louise Brooks Society blog reporting on the forthcoming publication of a graphic novel about the actress, Dark Star: Louise Brooks in Berlin.  Also reported for trademark violation was my Louise Brooks Society logo, which is shown below. "Vintage Brooks" has no legitimate or lawful claim to either of these items. He does not own each and every use of Brooks name. His claims of trademark infringement is nothing more than harassment.

 

Today, as well, the re-established Louise Brooks Society Instagram account was also taken down following yet another allegation by Vintage Brooks of trademark infringement. Again, this is bull shit. Last week, two images on my LBS Instagram account were also taken down following a fraudulent claim of trademark infringement. One of images picture an old pinback button showing the image above. The other image which was removed was  an image of my Louise Brooks Society business card. BTW: I had to reestablish the Louise Brooks Society Instagram account after it was taken down once before.

A few weeks ago, the Louise Brooks Society Twitter account was also shut down following a complaint by Vintage Brooks. The Louise Brooks Society has been on Twitter since 2009, and it had gained more than 5000 followers. 

Of course, I have filed appeals with each of these platforms, but each has failed to respond to my appeals. With Twitter and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) in such disarray, it is not surprising. The only good spin on this situation is that Vintage Brooks actions are helping build a legal case and financial liability against himself.

For the record: The Louise Brooks Society™ website was established online in 1995. Its website and the wordmark “Louise Brooks Society” are under copyright and common law trademark protection. Additionally, the Louise Brooks Society operates with the written consent of the Estate of Louise Brooks (Louise Brooks Heirs, LC), and have its permission to use the name and likeness of the actress. "Vintage Brooks" does not.

UPDATE 3/23/2023: Today, the second incarnation of the Louise Brooks Society Twitter account was permanently suspended. No doubt, it was taken down after a complaint by Vintage Brooks. I don't know for sure, as the account was taken down without any explanation.

For the Record: A Brief History of the Louise Brooks Society Social Media

For the Record: A Brief History of the Louise Brooks Society social media accounts.

The Louise Brooks Society website was launched in 1995. That makes it an internet pioneer. The LBS was the first Louise Brooks website, and one of the earliest sites devoted to silent film or just about any actor or actress. With a goal of stimulating interest in her life and films, the LBS has long sought new ways of getting the word out.

A screen grab of the old LBS

One of its earliest efforts at reaching fans was through posting messages on various bulletin board systems (BBS), listserv’s, newsgroups (Usenet), and on AOL and Prodigy forums, back when these forums were dominant. The earliest archived newsgroup post mentioning the Louise Brooks Society, from October 27, 1995, announces the website. Another, a query from the LBS asking about a screening of Pandora’s Box in Poland, dates to January 29, 1996. Another, from December 31, 1996 announces the LBS move to its new domain at www.pandorasbox.com, where it has resided since. Each of these posts, which can still be read, are now part of the Google groups / Usenet Archive.

The LBS was an early adopter of social media, before the term existed. In the past, it has had its own message board, newsletter, Yahoo Group, Tribe.net page, and still lingering MySpace account. The LBS started blogging in 2002, first on LiveJournal and then on Blogger beginning in 2009. Between the two forums, there are more than 3500 posts, most of which now reside on the LBS blog at Blogger. This LBS blogger site has been visited by more than 1.8 million readers, and is a member of various affiliations, including the CMBA (Classic Movie Blog Association), Classic Movie Hub (CMH), and LAMB (Large Ass Movie Blogs). In 2018, the CMBA profiled the LBS blog, and in 2023, the CMH named it one of the 5 best early film blogs.

The same year that the LBS began blogging, it also jumped on the internet music bandwagon and launched its own “radio station.” RadioLulu streamed Louise Brooks-inspired, silent film themed music of the 1920s, 1930s, and today. The station streamed on Live365.com from 2002 to 2016, when Live365 ceased operations. (Read a Huffington Post article about the demise of RadioLulu.) After that, RadioLulu moved over to TuneIN, where it ran a couple more years before shutting down for good.

 
The LBS joined Twitter in January 2009, has tweeted thousands of times, and has gained thousands of followers. And would you believe, the LBS and its efforts has been retweeted or tweeted about by the likes of Roger Ebert and Neil Gaiman, among others. The LBS Facebook page goes back to 2010. It has also gained thousands of followers, and been “liked” thousands of times; there are many postings of interest. The LBS joined in YouTube 2013, where it has posted original content and created playlists of related videos. The LBS also has a Vimeo and Soundcloud page which features rare video and audio. The LBS Instagram account dates to 2021, and had proven popular with more than 5300 followers until it was suspended due to the bogus claims of a disagreeable individual who shall go unnamed. (Why given him any attention?)

For the record, the “Louise Brooks Society” website was launched under that name in August, 1995. The earliest Wayback Machine capture of the site at it’s current domain, www.pandorasbox.com, dates to April 11, 1997. Prior to its current domain, the site was hosted on servers at slip.net and sirius.com. The first media mention of the website and its earliest print reference dates to May 23, 1996, when it was named a USA Today “Hot Site” and mentioned in that newspaper’s “Net: New and notable” column. See the clipping below, which also noted the site’s early / ugly URL.  

 Later in 1996, the LBS was named one of the five best sites devoted to actresses by Net Directory, a now defunct English computing magazine. Two other early print/web references occurred on April 10, 1998 on the Wired magazine website, and May 3, 1998 in the pages of the San Francisco Chronicle. Early on, the LBS was also mentioned in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, San Francisco Examiner, and New York Times. A comprehensive checklist of media mentions can be found on the LBS “In the News” page. There, you will find mention of the LBS in the London Times, Irish Times, Le Temps, Stuttgarter Zeitung, Melbourne Age, South China Morning Post and other publications from around the world.

The Louise Brooks Society was a pioneering website. Mosaic, the first web browser, recognized the LBS by including it on its “What’s New” page on June 27, 1996. The LBS was similarly honored by Netscape, another early browser. Here are some of the other designations (i.e., old-school web bling) received ever so long ago by the LBS.

The very first Internet honor the LBS received was a four-slate rating (best possible) from the North Carolina Institute of Film Arts. Since then, the LBS received other honors and designations, including making Yahoo’s “Desert Island List” in November, 1996. The LBS is proud to have been once named a recommended site by the online version of Encyclopedia Britannica. As well, the LBS was included in the Art & Music Pavilion of the Internet 1996 World Exposition, a “world’s fair for the information age”. The LBS has also been named a “Celebrity Site of the Day” and “Hollywood Site of the Week”.

 

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2023. Further unauthorized use prohibited.

HELP SUPPORT THE LOUISE BROOKS SOCIETY

For the Record: A Brief History of the Louise Brooks Society

For the Record: A Brief History of the Louise Brooks Society

The Louise Brooks Society was established in 1995 as a gathering place for like-minded individuals from around the world. The site’s followers hail from dozens of countries on six continents. They include film buffs and movie industry professionals, celebrities, teachers, students and other interested individuals from all walks of life. To date, more than 3,500,000 people have visited this website! Logs show individuals have visited from countries from across North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific — showing Louise Brooks is truly an international star.  It is hoped that those who visit these pages and share an interest in the actress will join in furthering in its efforts.

The Louise Brooks Society™ was founded by Thomas Gladysz; the website is written, designed and maintained by Gladysz with the assistance of Christy Pascoe. The Louise Brooks Society operates with the consent of the Estate of Louise Brooks (Louise Brooks Heirs, LC), and have its permission to use the name and likeness of Louise Brooks in connection with its activities. Content original to this site is © 1995 – 2023 by Thomas Gladysz / Louise Brooks Society. All rights reserved.

(Left) With Louise Brooks fan and actor Paul McGann (the 8th Doctor Who) and
(Right) with film historian Kevin Brownlow

 MISSION STATEMENT

The Louise Brooks Society is devoted to the appreciation and promotion of the life and films of Louise Brooks. The mission of the society is to honor the actress by 1) stimulating interest in her life, films and writings, as well as her place in 20th century culture; 2) fostering and coordinating research; 3) serving as a repository for relevant material; and 4) advocating for the preservation and restoration of her films, writings and other related material.

The purpose of the LBS website is to promote interest in the actress by serving as a focal point for related activities; by disseminating accurate information including authoritative texts; and by offering individuals a variety of materials to aid in their appreciation of the actress. Above all, the LBS encourages the viewing of Brooks’ surviving films, and the fellowship of her admirers. Future projects will include the publication of new material about the actress (in the form of articles, books, and e-books), as well as the ongoing development of this website, its blog, and social media accounts. Future projects, such as video, podcasts, in-person talks, screenings and related events, are also under consideration.

SHORT HISTORY OF THE LBS

Since first becoming interested / fascinated / obsessed with Louise Brooks, I have always appreciated meeting others who shared my enthusiasm for this singular silent film star. Early on, I searched for some kind of fan club — but found none. It then occurred to me that I might form a group. The idea of starting the Louise Brooks Society coincided with my growing interest in computing in the early 1990s. That’s when I realized there would be no better way of forming a group or club than over the internet. A fan club (in the traditional sense) is a way to share information and “meet” other like-minded individuals. Thus, enabled by the world wide web, the Louise Brooks Society was born.

The Louise Brooks Society website was launched in August, 1995. Since then, the LBS has become one of the leading websites devoted to any film star — silent or sound. In 1996, USA Today named the LBS a “Hot Site,” noting “Silent-film buffs can get a taste of how a fan club from yesteryear plays on the Web.The Louise Brooks Society site includes interviews, trivia and photos. It also draws an international audience.” That was the website’s first media mention. 

The first feature story centering on the LBS appeared on the Wired magazine website in 1998. Other articles mentioning the LBS appeared early on in the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Atlanta Journal Constitution. In 2000, Rochester, N.Y. film critic and friend to Louise Brooks, Jack Garner, wrote an article in which he stated the Louise Brooks Society is “A fine example of a fan page, a thoughtful, artful site devoted to the life and times of a fabled silent movie legend.” Around the world, the LBS was mentioned in various publications including Stuttgarter Zeitung, Le Temps, London Times, Melbourne Age, and South China Morning Post.

The LBS has also been praised by Leonard Maltin on his Movie Crazy website, and by the late Roger Ebert, the Pulitzer Prize winning film critic. Before his passing, Ebert told me that he had used the site while researching Louise Brooks and Pandora’s Box. The LBS has also received email from distant relatives of Brooks, who mentioned they enjoyed surfing the website and learned much about their famous relation.

In 1999, with Frederica Sagor Maas, silent era
screenwriter whose story became Rolled Stockings

LBS HIGHLIGHTS

Here are highlights from the 25-plus year history of the Louise Brooks Society.

— LBS Website: Launched in August, 1995, the LBS is a pioneering website that has proven itself among the most comprehensive, popular and long-lasting websites devoted to just about any film star — silent or sound, vintage or contemporary. For its efforts, the LBS has received considerable media attention in newspapers and magazines from around the world. In 2015, the LBS was singled out in Wild Bill Wellman: Hollywood Rebel, a biography of the celebrated director. As an educational resource, this 100+ page website has drawn not only film historian, but also film buffs, teachers, students and academics.

 — Internet Presence: The long running was started in June, 2002. It currently has more than 3500 posts and hundreds of subscribers, and has been visited more than 1,800,000 times (as of 2023). The LBS also maintains an active social media presence on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and elsewhere. See the LBS Social Media page for further details.

— Advocacy: In 1998, inspired by the popularity of the LBS website, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) commissioned the Emmy nominated documentary Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu. The part played by the LBS in bringing the documentary to television was acknowledged by TCM as well as the director of the documentary. [See “Fan Site Sparks Biopic” (Wired) and “Lovely Lulu Lives Again / A decade after her death, silent-film star Louise Brooks is more popular than ever” (San Francisco Chronicle).]  

Additionally, in 2000, following a grass-roots campaign, the LBS helped bring both the Barry Paris biography of the actress and Louise Brooks’ own book, Lulu in Hollywood, back into print through the University of Minnesota Press. The LBS is acknowledged in each edition, and the books have remained in print since.

 

 — Scholarship: The wealth of information found on the LBS is one of its primary achievements. Much of it, including the annotated filmographies, bibliographies, detailed chronology, are the result of thousands of hours of research. Research conducted by the LBS has also lead to a handful of groundbreaking discoveries regarding Brooks’ numerous childhood performances; the cultural life of Brooks’ mother; G.W. Pabst’s reasons for choosing Louise Brooks to play Lulu; the previously undocumented exhibition history of Pandora’s Box in the United States in the 1930s, etc…. Also uncovered during the course of research were rare audio recording of Brooks’ radio appearances in the 1960s! In 2018, the Irish Times newspaper noted, “An online tribute site, the Louise Brooks Society, contains an extraordinary day-by-day chronology of her life.”

Additionally, the Louise Brooks Society has contributed to the restoration of two Louise Brooks’ films, Now We’re in the Air (1927), and The Street of Forgotten Men (1925). The LBS is acknowledged in contemporary prints of both films.

Notably, the LBS has been cited in a number of books including Geheimnisvolle Tiefe G.W. Pabst (Austrian Film Archive, 1998), German Expressionist Films (Pocket Essentials, 2002), Photoplay Editions (McFarland, 2002), and Sirens & Sinners: A Visual History of Weimar Film 1918-1933 (Thames & Hudson, 2013), among others.

— Publications: In 2010, the LBS published the “Louise Brooks edition” of Margarete Bohme’s The Diary of a Lost Girl, which served as the basis for the 1929 film. Notably, it was the book’s first English-language publication in more than 100 years. This unique edition was highly praised, and was the subject of an article in Deutsche Welle. Other publications of the Louise Brooks Society include Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film (2017, with a foreword by William Wellman, Jr.), Now We’re in the Air: A Companion to the Once Lost Film (2017, with a foreword by Robert Byrne), and Louise Brooks, the Persistent Star (2018). The hallmark of each of these illustrated books is the considerable research that went into each volume, as well as the new and little known information revealed in them. 

Due out in 2023 is The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. Also in the works and nearly completion is Around the World with Louise Brooks, a two volume work.

The first four publications of the Louise Brooks Society

Additionally, as the Director of the LBS, Thomas Gladysz has written numerous online articles, contributed material to various scholarly and general interest books, and provided liner notes and audio commentary to two DVD/Blu-ray releases from KINO Lorber, Diary of a Lost Girl (1929), and Beggars of Life (1928).

— Exhibits: In 2005, 2010, and 2011 the LBS mounted Louise Brooks and silent film-related exhibits at the San Francisco Public Library. Each was accompanied by a well attended public program which featured a lecture, screening or presentation.

— Events: Over the years, the LBS has co-sponsored a handful of events, including talks with silent era screenwriter Frederica Sagor Mass, Louise Brooks biographer Barry Paris, and film historian Peter Cowie (Louise Brooks: Lulu Forever). These and other events took place at various bookstores, libraries and theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area. The LBS has also co-sponsored or participated in a handful of other events, including screenings. As the Director of the LBS, Thomas Gladysz has introduced Brooks’ films at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, San Francisco Public Library, Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, Detroit Institute of Arts, and Action Cinema in Paris, France. His talks on the actress have taken place at the Hollywood Forever cemetery, Folsom Public Library, and Village Voice bookstore in Paris. Gladysz has also written program notes for screenings of Brooks’ films shown elsewhere around the United States. Images from some of the LBS events and exhibits can be found on the LBS Flickr account.

— Promotion: Through its website, long-running blog, and various social media accounts, the LBS has promoted related books, DVD’s, articles, exhibits and events held all around the world. You can even find the LBS credited on the first edition of Laura Moriarty’s novel, The Chaperone. The LBS supplied the cover image, as it did for various other books published around the world. The LBS also had more than a little something to do with the depiction of Louise Brooks on the cover of Adolfo Bioy Casare' The Invention of Morel.

The enthusiasm and generosity of Brooks’ many fans have contributed to the growth of this website. Individuals from around the globe have shared rare material. Others have performed research, translated articles, visited libraries and archives, or sent images and interesting information. The LBS acknowledges their efforts, and appreciates the emails and letters others have sent from across the United States and the world. Judging by these fans, and knowingly repeating myself, Louise Brooks is truly an international star! Thank you one and all for your interest in Louise Brooks and the Louise Brooks Society.

At the San Francisco Public Library

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2023. Further unauthorized use prohibited.

At the George Eastman House