It didn't matter what country you lived in or what language you spoke. The physical beauty of early film actors and actresses drew large and adoring fans. As the fictional silent film star in the classic movie Sunset Boulevard (1950) says, "We didn't need dialogue. We had faces."
Douglas Fairbanks (1883-1939) began acting at age 12 and touring at 15. He reached the Broadway stage in 1902 and broke into films just as Hollywood began its rapid growth. He starred in allAmerican roles that had a comedic touch. Today, Fairbanks is remembered for his swashbuckling action films such as The Mark of Zorro (1920) and Robin Hood (1922). He performed his own stunts, becoming the "action hero" of his day. He also wrote many of his own screenplays. Fairbanks's son, Douglas Jr., followed in his father's footsteps as an actor.
Theda Bara (1885-1955) was born Theodosia Goodman. She landed her first leading role, as a vampire, in the 1914 film A Fool There Was. Bara was an exoticlooking woman. Popular fan magazines of the day helped spread a rumor that she was the daughter of an Arab sheik and an artist. The stories made Bara a huge box office draw for William Fox's film company. She moved with the company to Hollywood in 1918, where she starred in Cleopatra. It was a studio hit. Bara never made the transition to sound. She made her last silent film in 1926.
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Eye in the Sky
An interview with Joe Piotrowski
Airborne Animals
Humans have taken to the skies in balloons, gliders, and airplanes-but we're not alone among the clouds. Animals of all sorts have evolved to harness wind power.
TAKING OFF
The Wright brothers expected airplanes to “take off,” but even they might be amazed at the way the airline industry has become big business. In the past, it was expensive to send something by plane.
GROWTH OF AN INDUSTRY
After their historic flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright returned to Dayton, Ohio. They spent the next few years making adjustments and building additional versions of their powered aircraft in their bicycle shop.
WHY KITTY HAWK?
The Wright brothers searched carefully for the best place to test their gliders and flying machines. Their main concern was for good, steady winds. But they also hoped to find a remote location to allow them to perform tests away from the public eye.
Two Brothers From Ohio
Most people do not realize that the Wright brothers—Wilbur, born in 1867, and Orville, born in 1871—performed various scientific experiments before inventing their aircraft. For as long as anyone in their hometown of Dayton, Ohio, could remember, the Wright boys had worked on mechanical projects.
A Helping Hand
May 6, 1896. A group of people who had gathered beside the Potomac River, just south of the U.S. capital, grew quiet. Then, it erupted in cheers as a small, unmanned aircraft took to the skies and flew for more than half a mile. The flight came seven years before the Wright brothers’ first manned, powered flight. The inventor of the aircraft was Dr. Samuel Pierpont Langley.
THE IDEA MEN
People dreamed of flying thousands of years before the Wright brothers found success near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. These dreamers, such as Leonardo da Vinci, studied birds flying and imagined how humans might do the same—if only they had wings. Other men developed a more hands-on approach to the topic. Early inventors made wings of cloth, glue, and feathers and tied these creations to their arms in an attempt to imitate nature.
Da Vinci's 4 Designs
Have you ever wondered how a bird flies? Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) did. He thought that understanding how a bird flies would provide the key to human flight. So, what did da Vinci learn from birds?
Silken Wings
Seven hundred years before the Wright brothers began experimenting with human flight, the Chinese had already mastered its secrets—with kites.
