(L-R) Sierra Madre Playhouse Board Members David Zeidberg, Judith Farrar, and Frank Costello at The Bees Knees Gala at the Sierra Madre Playhouse. Credit: Robert Velasco
(L-L) Sierra Madre Playhouse supporters Ellen Knell and Harvey Knell at The Bees Knees Gala at the Sierra Madre Playhouse. Credit: Robert Velasco
(L-R) Sierra Madre Playhouse Board Member Grace Shen and Charles Turner at The Bees Knees Gala at the Sierra Madre Playhouse. Credit: Robert Velasco
(L-R) Helen Horowitz, Dan Horowitz, Mary Baville, and Sierra Madre Playhouse Board Member Ward Calaway at The Bees Knees Gala at the Sierra Madre Playhouse. Credit: Robert Velasco
(L-R) Sierra Madre Playhouse supporters Joe Tortomasi, Teresa Tortomasi, Tammy Cognetta, and Ken Kurisu at The Bees Knees Gala at the Sierra Madre Playhouse. Credit: Robert Velasco
(L-R) Film historian Lara Gabrielle, who curated Sierra Madre Playhouse’s silent film festival, and The Bee’s Knee’s honoree Suzanne Lloyd, granddaughter of silent film star Harold Lloyd at The Bees Knees Gala at the Sierra Madre Playhouse. Credit: Robert Velasco
(L-R) Sierra Madre Playhouse Artistic & Executive Director Matthew Cook; Sierra Madre City Council Member Kris Lowe; and Sierra Madre Playhouse Company Manager Berrie Tsang at The Bees Knees Gala at the Sierra Madre Playhouse. Credit: Robert Velasco
(L-R) Sandy Gordon and Sierra Madre Playhouse President David Gordon at The Bees Knees Gala at the Sierra Madre Playhouse. Credit: Robert Velasco
Guests enjoying dinner at Roe Fusion as part of Sierra Madre Playhouse’s gala centennial celebration, “The Bee’s Knees,” held on February 3, 2024. The event was part of a two-day silent Film festival. Credit: Robert Velasco
Sierra Madre Playhouse’s gala centennial celebration, “The Bee’s Knees,” was held on February 3, 2024. It featured a Harold Lloyd double screening at the theater and dinner at Roe Fusion. The event was part of a two-day silent Film festival honoring the roots of the theater, which opened as a silent movie theater in 1924 and today offers a range of stellar live performances from jazz and classical music to theater, comedy and family programming. Credit: Robert Velasco
The historic marquee of Sierra Madre Playhouse, which opened as a silent movie theater in1924 and is celebrating its centennial this year. Credit: Robert Velasco
“The Bee’s Knees,” the Sierra Madre Playhouse’s Roaring 20s-inspired gala centennial celebration drew a sold-out crowd on February 3rd. Guests enjoyed a Harold Lloyd silent film double bill at the historic theater as well as a champagne dinner and speakeasy at Roe Fusion honoring Suzanne Lloyd, Harold Lloyd’s granddaughter and trustee of his extensive film library. It was a special tribute to the beloved landmark venue, which opened as a silent movie theater in 1924 and today offers a range of stellar live performances from jazz and classical music to theater, comedy and family programming.
Guests, many dressed in 20s attire, took in two of Harold Lloyd’s most memorable comedies – both directed by Frank Newmeyer and Sam Taylor – Safety Last! and Hot Water. Live piano accompaniment heightened the action.
Film historian Lara Gabrielle, who curated the film program, interviewed Suzanne Lloyd, who offered some interesting background on the films and her life growing up with her grandfather and grandmother – actress Mildred Davis, who was Lloyd’s leading lady in 15 films. They raised Suzanne from birth at Greenacres, their fabled Beverly Hills Estate because her mother suffered from depression and was unable to care for her.
Suzanne shared that Harold had “natural athleticism, a great asset for his physical comedy and demanding stunt work.” She noted, “Mildred was terrified of heights, which made filming the final roof-top scene with her and Harold in Safety Last! so challenging for her, it had to be done in a single take.”
Suzanne also described joining the “family business” at age 15, when she was given the job of helping to protect her grandfather’s films, which were shot on nitrate film, notorious for its unstable and flammable properties, by rewinding and spooling them in paper. “It was dirty and smelly work,” Suzanne explained. “The chemicals on the film stained my hands and made them a mess. But I knew it was very important because my grandfather told me he would buy me as many manicures as I wanted.” It was all the motivation she needed.
Harold, she also noted, intended for Mildred, who was nearly a decade younger than him, to be the trustee of his films. But those plans were upended when she died two years before Harold, leaving Suzanne, age 20 at the time, the sole trustee of his film and photo library when he passed away in 1971. It has since been her life’s passion to preserve her grandfather’s films and “keep Harold’s legacy alive.”
Between the feature films, guests enjoyed a buffet dinner at Roe Fusion, a restaurant located across the street from the landmark theater. Chef Phillip Ozaki designed a 20s-inspired menu, an era when refrigeration and canned and basic processed foods were novelties, including deviled eggs, Jell-O salad, spinach artichoke dip, chicken a la king, cucumber tea sandwiches, creamed corn, icebox cake, and Velveeta. The event also featured a signature cocktail, “The Safety Last!,” a gimlet with lime, vodka, and cardamum.
Sierra Madre Playhouse Artistic and Executive Director Matthew Cook welcomed guests and recognized the importance of ensuring that the Playhouse continue to flourish for the next 100 years.
Sierra Madre City Council member Kristine Lowe, who mentioned that her grandparents enjoyed frequenting the Sierra Madre Playhouse in the days of yore, presented a proclamation honoring the Sierra Madre Playhouse for its unique history and vital role in the community over the past 100 years.
Sierra Madre-based company E. Waldo Ward, established in 1891 and famed for its marmalade and preserves, also honored Sierra Madre Playhouse by producing a special limited-edition Champagne Marmalade featuring the Playhouse’s name and centennial dates on its label.
Sierra Madre Playhouse Board Chair David Gordon concluded the brief presentations with a series of toasts honoring Suzanne Lloyd and the Playhouse.
Other Sierra Madre Playhouse Board members attending “The Bee’s Knees” included Ward Calaway, Frank Costello, Judith Farrar, Grace Shen, and David Zeidberg. The gala celebration was part of a two-day silent film festival at Sierra Madre Playhouse featuring a free community event and five iconic silent films.
The Sierra Madre Playhouse is located at 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre. For more information on their programs call (626) 626-355-4318 or visit www.sierramadreplayhouse.org.
