Initially a photographer in partnership with his brothers, Seely went to work for Hartsook Studios in Los Angeles before going off on his own.
There’s a bit of a theme here.
Edmund Burns (1892-1980) — his career peaked during the 1920s.
Ben Lyon (1901-1979) was married to Bebe Daniels 1930-71 and to Marian Nixon in 1972. All three were stars in silent film, Lyon most prominently in the early sound picture HELL’S ANGELS (1930).
Carl Miller (1894-1979), best-remembered for his roles in two Charlie Chaplin films: THE KID (1921) and A WOMAN OF PARIS (1923).
Conway Tearle (Frederick Conway Levy, 1878-1938), part of the Conway and Tearle clan of actors. His stage career began at the turn of the century, leading to matinée idol status in silent films.
Well done portraits of some of the leading men of the silver age of silent Hollywood. The smoking pipes were no doubt used by Seely as props to connote the maturity and sophistication of their subjects.
ReplyDeleteWalter Seely was a well-respected portrait photographer and painter, and at one time, president of the prestigious California Art Club.
Ben Lyons and his wife Bebe Daniels were well known in Britain for a radio show and several films they made there after WW2. Lyons was known to be short tempered. -Rj
I enjoy this period in portrait photography, as one of the goals in photos like these was to show gravitas and good taste — quite different from today, where perennial youth is the be all and end all.
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