WALTERFILM INSIGHTS AND NEWS

Anna May Wong – First Chinese American Movie Star

Anna May Wong (born Wong Liu Tsong; January 3, 1905 – February 3, 1961) was an American actress, considered to be the first Chinese American Hollywood movie star, as well as the first Chinese American actress to gain international recognition. Her varied career spanned silent film, sound film, vaudeville, cabaret, television, stage and radio.

Paul Robeson – African American Superstar

Paul Robeson was a famous African-American athlete, singer, actor, and advocate for the civil rights of people around the world. During the first half of the 20th Century, he rose to international prominence in a time when segregation was legal in the United States, and Black people were being lynched by racist mobs, especially in the South.

Rudolph Valentino – An Icon To This Day

Walter Film has acquired a collection of vintage original studio photographs of Rudolph Valentino from Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse (1921), Camille (1921) with Alla Nazimova, A Sainted Devil (1924) See Image Above, The Son Of The Sheik (1926) and a hand tinted lobby card from the film that made him an international star, The Sheik (1921).

1950s Famous Faces

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For Walter Film’s holiday blog we would like to take you on a nostalgic trip back to the 1950s and to a time that was not quite as challenging as it is today.  The personalities merchandised in doll form reflected the major movements and changes in all fields of entertainment during that decade.  While we may view the 1950s as a simpler time, the world of entertainment was full of drama; whether it be famous Broadway shows, the birth of Rock n’ Roll, beloved characters and stor…

Sidney Poitier – African American Landmark Actor & Director

In 1963 Sidney Poitier became the first African American to win an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role creating the character of Homer Smith in Lilies of the Field. His 40+ year career as an Oscar-winning star and film director broke down barriers for actors of color, becoming a Hollywood leading man at a time before black Americans were even granted full civil rights. He also opened doors for black directors after stepping behind the camera to direct &nbs…