[photo credit: Pasadena Museum of History]
The program includes selections from “Remember the Night,” starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray; “A Christmas Carol” (1938), starring Reginald Owen and Gene Lockhart; and “I’ll Be Seeing You” (1944), starring Ginger Rogers and Joseph Cotten.
Wilkes brings substantial credentials to the role of curator. The film historian and musicologist began producing silent film series while still in high school. From 1976 to 1978, he hosted “The Ragtime Years” on WVHC radio on Long Island. He later hosted “It’s Rag Time!” on KCSN radio in Los Angeles from 1980 to 1987, and co-hosted the “Ian Whitcomb Show” on KPCC radio in Pasadena from 1991 to 1996.
Wilkes founded and directed the Palm Leaf Ragtime Orchestra in Los Angeles from 1985 to 1991 and established the New England Ragtime Festival in Niantic, Connecticut, in 1993 and 1994. His work as a historian and writer has extended to Pearl Records and Basta Records. He describes himself as a “pianist, scholar, showman and producer” specializing in early twentieth century arts and entertainment.
The PMH Galleries open at 6 p.m. for viewing, with the program beginning at 7 p.m. and concluding at 8:30 p.m.
“The Stars on Christmas Night | Holiday Clip Show” will run on Thursday, December 11 at 7:00 p.m. Pasadena Museum of History, 470 West Walnut Street, Pasadena, California. For more information, call (626) 577-1660 or visit https://pasadenahistory.org/events/the-stars-on-christmas-night/. Ticket prices: $13 for PMH members; $18 general admission.
