Table of Contents

Acknowledgments      vii
Preface      1
Introduction: Seattle Critic J. Willis Sayre and the J. Willis Sayre Collection      7

1. Way Out West: Seattle’s Theatrical History      15
2. A Race Across the Continent: The Roadshow Engagements of Lionel Barrymore, John Barrymore, Mary Miles Minter, William S. Hart, Douglas Fairbanks and Lon Chaney      30
3. Roads of Destiny: The Roadshow Engagements of Theda Bara, Marguerite Clark, Marshall Neilan, D.W. Griffith, Thomas Ince and Cecil B. DeMille      64
4. All the Comforts of Home: The Extended Engagements of John Bunny, Roscoe Arbuckle and Tom Mix      105
5. Laugh, Town, Laugh: The Vaudeville Engagements of Buster Keaton, Charles Chaplin, Harry Langdon, Francis X. Bushman and Nell Shipman      135
6. A Matinee Idol: The Promotional Appearances of William S. Hart, Nell Shipman, Rudolph Valentino, and the Screen Ball of 1919      166
7. Best Foot Forward: The Sound Era Engagements of Roscoe Arbuckle, Tom Mix, Harry Langdon, Norma Talmadge, Blanche Sweet, Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, Ben Turpin and J. Stuart Blackton      199
8. The Last Word      241

Appendix I: Engagements by Performer      249
Appendix II: Stock Theatre Appearances of Clara Kimball Young      257
Appendix III: Silent Film Performers Noted in the J. Willis Sayre Collection      259
Chapter Notes      263
Bibliography      283
Index      287