02-17-2018, 12:28 AM
One of the last surviving thespians from the silent-film era:
Lassie Lou Ahern (June 25, 1920 – February 15, 2018) was an American actress, best known for her recurring appearances in the Our Gang films.
Born in 1920 in Los Angeles, California, Lassie Lou Ahern was the daughter of Fred and Elizabeth Ahern, and was the third in a family of four children. Ahern got her acting career started in 1923 in the silent film The Call of the Wild, produced by Hal Roach. Also making her first screen appearance was her older sister Peggy Ahern.[1] It was the actor Will Rogers who recommended that Ahern's father put Ahern and her sister in show business. She went on appearing in many Our Gang films under the Hal Roach Studio, including Cradle Robbers, and was one of the last surviving Our Gang members.[2]
In 1927, another studio, Universal Studios, was in the process of making Uncle Tom's Cabin. Not satisfied with the boys who auditioned for the role as Little Harry, Ahern was contacted and requested to take the part. Her acting in the film turned out to be a success and she won the best reviews of her career. Despite this, her career as a child actress ended the same year, with Little Mickey Grogan being her last silent film and her only movie to feature her in a starring role (alongside Frankie Darro).[3] A crowdfunding campaign was started in 2016 to finance a restoration project for the film, following a similar campaign in 2015 to acquire a digital copy of Little Mickey Grogan in Paris.[4]
In 1932, she teamed up with her sister Peggy and started putting up performances that included dancing, singing, and playing instruments. The duo was billed as "The Ahern Sisters" and mostly appeared in nightclubs and hotels. Lassie later went on to work as a dance teacher at the Ashram Health Spa, where many known stars were students. During the 1970s, she made several guest appearances in television shows such as The Odd Couple.[5]
From Wikipedia.
Lassie Lou Ahern (June 25, 1920 – February 15, 2018) was an American actress, best known for her recurring appearances in the Our Gang films.
Born in 1920 in Los Angeles, California, Lassie Lou Ahern was the daughter of Fred and Elizabeth Ahern, and was the third in a family of four children. Ahern got her acting career started in 1923 in the silent film The Call of the Wild, produced by Hal Roach. Also making her first screen appearance was her older sister Peggy Ahern.[1] It was the actor Will Rogers who recommended that Ahern's father put Ahern and her sister in show business. She went on appearing in many Our Gang films under the Hal Roach Studio, including Cradle Robbers, and was one of the last surviving Our Gang members.[2]
In 1927, another studio, Universal Studios, was in the process of making Uncle Tom's Cabin. Not satisfied with the boys who auditioned for the role as Little Harry, Ahern was contacted and requested to take the part. Her acting in the film turned out to be a success and she won the best reviews of her career. Despite this, her career as a child actress ended the same year, with Little Mickey Grogan being her last silent film and her only movie to feature her in a starring role (alongside Frankie Darro).[3] A crowdfunding campaign was started in 2016 to finance a restoration project for the film, following a similar campaign in 2015 to acquire a digital copy of Little Mickey Grogan in Paris.[4]
In 1932, she teamed up with her sister Peggy and started putting up performances that included dancing, singing, and playing instruments. The duo was billed as "The Ahern Sisters" and mostly appeared in nightclubs and hotels. Lassie later went on to work as a dance teacher at the Ashram Health Spa, where many known stars were students. During the 1970s, she made several guest appearances in television shows such as The Odd Couple.[5]
From Wikipedia.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.