Aviators in Early Hollywood

Reviews with Integrated Context

Books You May Like

Aviators in Early Hollywood

Author: Shawna Kelly
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Copyright: 2008
Pages: 128
Cover Price: $ 19.99

Enter a word or phrase in the box below


Hollywood’s leading aviators were heroic knights of the sky on the screen as well as in real life. These leading aviators performed aerial stunt sequences and acted, plus some wrote and directed motion pictures. Directing giant Cecil B. DeMille was so enthralled with aviation that he owned three airfields. Charlie Chaplin’s family airfield also doubled as a motion-picture set. Thomas H. Ince, the famous producer who invented the studio system, owned Ince Airfield, which became the hub of Hollywood aviation.

Eternal legends Rudolph Valentino, Oliver Hardy, Harry Houdini, and Mary Pickford performed in aerials. Many aviators gave their lives making motion pictures; three fatalities were incurred for Howard Hughes’s great air epic, Hell’s Angels. Hughes himself broke records within aircraft and film production. Aviators brought their screen work to life between films through barnstorming. The roaring in 1920s Hollywood was often aviators soaring beyond limits.

Background Information

The Hollywood district of Los Angeles played such an important role in the development of motion pictures that its name became synonymous with the industry. Howard Hughes was born into wealth which he increased greatly through investments in aviation and entertainment, before buying much of Las Vegas and dying there as a recluse. Charlie Chaplin was a British-born actor who rose to fame in silent comedies and eventually left America for political reasons.