As much as the Hollywood studios urged audiences to view film stars as gods and goddesses, another feature of movie publicity was the “star at home” genre. Sometimes this theme bordered on the silly, as with Lew Ayres (middle) being slowly crushed by William Bakewell while sturdy Johnny Mack Brown mugs for the camera.
N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927.
3. Charles John "Jack" Holt (1888-1951) of the Actors Branch. The photo is by Evans Studio.
Just as Douglas Fairbanks Sr. was a model for aspects of both Batman and Superman, Jack Holt's stern profile was Chester Gould's inspiration for Dick Tracy.
A great Western star of the silent period, Holt was the father of Tim Holt (THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE) and Jennifer Holt, notable for her seven marriages, one of them to William Bakewell.
