Vaudeville, burlesque, Shakespeare, baseball--in the course of his career, Ford Sterling performed them all. The well-educated son of a middle-class Chicago family, Sterling succumbed to the acting bug and left school at the age of 18. After trying a variety of performing activities--including working as an aerobatic circus clown--Sterling found his true niche in comedy. Best known for his role as the Keystone Kops villain, Sterling was a comedy legend as great as Charlie Chaplin in the opening decades of the twentieth century. He left his mark on silent film and effortlessly made the transition to sound, becoming one of the most sought-after character actors of the 1920s. From A Dutch Gold Mine to Many Unhappy Returns, this biography chronicles the life and times of George Ford Stich, Jr. (aka Ford Sterling). It follows Sterling from his childhood to his college days at Notre Dame, where he got his first taste of acting. The main focus of the work is Sterling's career, from 1911 to 1937, which is unfortunately largely forgotten today. With an emphasis on correcting inaccuracies and restoring Sterling's legacy, this volume examines his on-screen work, his production ventures, his reputation as a world renowned photographer and his final debilitating illness. A detailed filmography provides all known production, cast and crew information as well as a synopsis for each film when available. The work is also indexed.
Wendy Warwick White is an ex-pat Brit who left her London home in 1995. Initially moving to Fairfax County, Virginia she said goodbye to the east coast in 2000 for sunny Arizona. Warwick White acquired her love of early comedy at a very tender age from her father and grandfather and has been addicted to it ever since. Passively watching is one thing and it sufficed for the first several years but eventually curiosity got the better of Ms Warwick White and she jumped head first into researching the films, performers and personalities she had been watching so avidly.
As well as being a published writer, Warwick White is also a published sports and celebrity photographer and artist. Her silent film research and photographic collection has been used by authors and writers for various books, articles and web sites.
Currently Ms Warwick White is in the final phase of her latest project; the biographical story of a WWII soldier and the family he left at home in London.
