Dennis Scott is Back!

We are delighted to welcome back Dennis Scott, president of the Chicagoland Theatre Organ Society and the Silent Film Society of Chicago. Much in demand as a silent film organist, he first began accompanying silent films in the 1970s. Dennis will accompany the films at the Frauenthal Saturday night.

1920s Keaton-Talmadge Owned Glassware
to be Auctioned at Convention

These six glasses, bought and owned by Buster and Natalie Keaton in the 1920s, will be auctioned off individually at the 2010 Buster Keaton Convention, Oct. 1 and 2, 2010, in Muskegon, Michigan. In addition to our usual live auction for those attending the convention, we will also be accepting outside bids, so if you’re interested in owning one of them and you can’t attend the convention, here’s what you need to do:
Email your bid no later than Sept. 26, 2010, to moviegirl1926@yahoo.com or mail it to Patricia Eliot Tobias, 2222 S. Mesa Street, #27, San Pedro, CA 90731. Snail mail bids must be received no later than September 24, 2010. Any bids received after those dates will not be considered for the auction. The opening bid per glass is $100, and please let us know which glass you’re interested in bidding on (see picture above).
Include with your bid:
Your Name
Your home address and phone number
Your bid amount
If your bid is high enough to win one of the glasses, you will be legally responsible for paying your bid amount for the glass. Payment can be made through PayPal (PayPal fees will be added to the bid amount), or by mail (we’ll contact winning bidders with all the necessary information), and you will also be responsible for any shipping charges. Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

2010: The Year of the Chase
Brides, Cops, Rocks & Falls
16th Annual Damfinos Convention
October 1 & 2, 2010 • Muskegon, Michigan

Buster's Daughter-in-Law Barbara Talmadge
To Attend 2010 Buster Keaton Convention
Over the years, we have been fortunate to have Keaton family members attend our annual conventions in Muskegon, Michigan—from Buster's widow to Keaton cousins to his granddaughter. This year we are particularly honored to welcome someone who has been part of the Keaton family since 1940: Buster's daughter-in-law, Barbara Talmadge, who joins our party for the first time. She will be attending with her daughter, Damfinos board member, Melissa Talmadge Cox.

Barbara Tichenor Talmadge was born in 1925 in Santa Monica, California, to a strict family who survived the Great Depression on a teacher's salary. She poured much of her free time into playing tennis and was already a champion by the time she was in her teens. She met Jim Talmadge, Buster's older son, in high school when she was 17 years old. After graduating at age 17, she went to work for Douglas Aircraft as the United States was preparing for the possibility of entering WWII. At 18, she and Jim eloped in Ventura, California, and then she continued to work while he joined the Coast Guard and OSS. At the time, she had never met his family and didn't know much about the movies but loved the Duesenberg he drove.

While Jim was overseas Barbara took a train to Chicago to play in a tennis tournament then continued on to New York by herself where she met her new mother-in-law, Natalie, and her new aunt-in-law, Constance, for the first time. After the war ended and Jim came back home in 1945, he had a nine-month-old son he had never seen and a wife who had never met his father. So he took them both over to Buster's house on Victoria Avenue, and in that one afternoon she met Buster, Eleanor, Myra, Louise, Harry (Jingles), Harry's wife Ernestine and Harry, Jr., who all lived in the same house. Buster made one of his specialties, lobster thermidor, and they all had a festive evening.

During the next 63 years, Barbara raised four children, one husband and tons of animals, ran a resort and worked in real estate. To this day, she still enjoys hikes in the High Sierras and continues playing tennis. At 77, she and her partner won the National Super Senior Doubles Tournament in Phoenix, and at 85 she still plays three days a week in the Santa Ynez Valley.

“Can Buster come out and play?”
This was the question young Bart Williams asked Eleanor Keaton after he knocked on the door of Buster Keaton’s home in Woodland Hills, California. Buster did indeed come out and play, and Bart will be our special guest this year in Muskegon, Michigan, Buster's hometown. When he grew up, Bart became Eleanor Keaton’s best friend, and he’s got plenty of memories to share.

A professional actor, physical comedian and singer since he was a child, Bart Williams will not only talk about his memories of Buster and Eleanor, he will present “The Art of the Pratfall” and will give a short concert of “The Songs of Buster Keaton,” accompanied by Patricia Eliot Tobias, president of the International Buster Keaton Society. This is one event you don’t want to miss!

Nestled in downtown Muskegon and nearby Bluffton, are pockets rich in the history of Buster and his family: Joe, Myra, Jingles and Louise. Join local historian Ron Pesch on his now-famous walking tour of Bluffton (aka the Actor’s Colony), introducing you to where Buster and his family lived and played during the off seasons of vaudeville touring. You’ll actually be able to walk where Buster walked, see where Buster lived, and even play baseball where Buster played baseball!

2010 Damfinos Convention Schedule (Tenative)

FRIDAY, OCT 1, 2010
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. — Registration at the Shoreline.
(IMPORTANT NOTE: Those participating in the Seven Chances Bridal Run need to be at the Depot by noon.)
12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m. — Reception at Train Depot
1:30 p.m. — Seven Chances Bridal Run from the Depot to the Gazebo
2:30-4 p.m. – Baseball on Buster’s childhood baseball field
4 p.m.-5:15 p.m. — Actors Colony Tour led by Ron Pesch
5:30 p.m.-7:45 p.m. — Dinner (on your own)
8-10 p.m. — Special Guest Bart Williams at the Art Museum
Featuring “The Art of the Pratfall,” “The Songs of Buster Keaton (accompanied by Patricia Eliot Tobias on piano), and a Q&A

SATURDAY, OCT 2
8:30 a.m.-9 a.m. — Meet at the Art Museum
9 a.m.-Noon — Art Museum
David Macleod on College
Vergil Noble on The Buster Keaton Story
Noon-2 p.m. — LUNCH (on your own)
2 p.m.-3 p.m. — Q&A with Barbara Talmadge
3 p. m.-4 p.m. — Rare Keaton
4 p.m.-5 p.m. — The Annual Auction
5 p.m.-6 p.m. — Relax and regroup at the Shoreline Hotel
6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. — Dinner at Frauenthal Gallery
8 p.m.-10 p.m. — The Cook, Cops and Seven Chances at the Frauenthal. Accompanied by Dennis Scott.
10 p.m.-Midnight — Speakeasy on the stage of the Frauenthal

P.S. Don’t forget! Get all your Buster merchandise at the busterstuff store!