Not just Matthew McConaughey and Glen Powell: Texas movie stars go back to the Silent Era
These days, when Texans think of Texas movie stars, two figures come to mind right away, at least if you live in Austin: Matthew McConaughey and Glen Powell.
They both live here full-time. They show up everywhere. They celebrate their Texas roots, including their shared alma mater, the University of Texas.
Accomplished and well-liked Hollywood actors, they shine in their celebrity engagements, such as charity, media and public events. To their credit, McConaughey, who will appear at the Texas Book Festival on Nov. 17, and Powell, who moved back to Austin from Los Angeles earlier this year, are generous with their time and charisma.
(I covered McConaughey during the early 2010s for his part in the " Mack, Jack and McConaughey " charity events, which have raised more than $61 million for nonprofit groups. My first interview with Powell came in 2007, just after he had completed " The Great Debaters " for director Denzel Washington. Both were kind and considerate.)
More: Starring Texas: What you can learn about the state through its movies
Yet they are hardly alone.
Some of the earliest silent-movie stars were Texans. Several others flourished during the Hollywood Golden Age of sound pictures, which, imaginatively, stretches from 1930 to 1960. Texans increased their cinematic visibility during the decades that followed, and today are too numerous to mention.
But at "Think Texas," we like a challenge, so we'll try to hit the high notes in this first list of Lone Star movie stars.
This week: The Silent Era and the Golden Age of Hollywood. Next week: New Hollywood and beyond.
Please send your candidates to * = Oscar nomination, ** = Oscar win
Texas movie stars from the Silent Era
The very first Academy Award for Best Picture went to "Wings," a romantic action movie about World War I pilots filmed in San Antonio between Sept. 7, 1926 and April 7, 1927. Hundreds of Texans appeared in it as extras, but none of the stars were born or grew up here. Nevertheless, the biggest name, Clara Bow, dubbed the "It Girl," visited Austin during the filming, much to the delight of college students and legislators.
Joan Crawford (190?-1977, born in San Antonio) A major Hollywood star for 50 years, Crawford landed her first MGM contract in 1925. To younger generations, she is as well known for her late horror movies and as the subject the gloriously campy bio-pic "Mommie Dearest." (Key movies: "The Women," "Mildred Pierce,"** "Johnny Guitar")Eve Southern (1900-1972, born in Ranger) Celebrated as a "screen beauty," Southern studied voice in Fort Worth and appeared in 38 movies before a terrible car accident in 1929. ("Intolerance," "Morocco")Corrine Griffith (1894-1979, born in Waco) Known as "The Orchid Lady of the Screen," Griffith, who studied at UT, was an author, producer and businesswoman as well as a movie star. ("The Divine Lady,"* "The Garden of Eden")Florence Vidor (1895-1977, born in Houston) A silent-film actress and box office attraction thanks in part to her husband, influential director King Vidor, who started out in the movie business in Galveston and Houston. ("Hail the Women," "Chinatown Nights")Bessie Love (1898-1986, born in Midland) Cast as wholesome characters, Love became a protege of director D.W. Griffith, who cast her in "Intolerance." She appeared in dozens of silent and sound movies as well as in stage, radio and television productions. ("The Broadway Melody,"* "Reds")John Boles (1895-1969, born Greenville, Texas) Boles started his Hollywood career in the silents, but became a big star in the talkies. He appeared as Victor Moritz in the 1931 classic "Frankenstein," but played all sorts of roles, often as leading man. ("Frankenstein," "Stella Dallas," "Back Street")Hope Hampton (1897-1982, born in Houston) Like Crawford, she excelled at playing flappers and sirens; like Griffith, she produced as well as acted in silent movies. (Almost all her movies are lost or incomplete.)Bebe Daniels (1901-1971, born in Dallas) During her 50-year career, Daniels appeared in 230 movies. While a child star in 1910, she is said to have played Dorothy Gale in a short-subject version of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," but the credits are missing. ("Rio Rita," "The Maltese Falcon")More on Texas movies: Find out which movies our readers think explain Texas Texas movie stars from Hollywood's Golden Age
Why were so few Texans movie stars during the first three crucial decades of the sound era, when Hollywood studios ruled the roost? Nothing I've read adequately answers that question. Texans certainly made up for their absence, during the post-1960 New Hollywood era and its aftermath (the subject of next week's column).
Debbie Reynolds (1932-2016, born in El Paso) A celebrated singer and actress for some 70 years, Reynolds grew up extremely poor in El Paso before her family moved to California in 1939. Also known as the mother of Carrie Fisher . ("Singin' in the Rain," "Tammy and the Bachelor," "The Unsinkable Molly Brown"*)Carol Burnett (1933-present, born in San Antonio) The beloved comedian, actor and singer did not appear in on the big screen until 1963, but by then she already was an established star of stage and, especially, television. Her personal stories of growing up in San Antonio can be harrowing. ("Pete 'n' Tillie," "Annie")Zachary Scott (1914-1965, born in Austin) Scott cut his teeth in local theater but quickly made a name for himself on Broadway and in Hollywood, chiefly as a smooth operator or mysterious villain. He played against those types in "The Southerner," directed by Jean Renoir and based on the novel, "Hold Autumn in Your Hand," about a Texas farmer who faces adversity. Austin's Zach Theatre is named for him. ("Mildred Pierce," "The Southerner")Cyd Charisse (1922-2008, born in Amarillo) Known primarily as a dancer with long legs and steely strength, classy Charisse starred in several big movie musicals. ("Singin' in the Rain," "The Band Wagon," "Brigadoon")Texas Ritter (1905-1974, born in Maurval in East Texas) Known primarily as a country musician , Ritter, a UT grad, starred in some 70 movies, usually as a singing cowboy, starting with "Song of the Gringo" in 1936. He was the father of actor and comedian John Ritter. (singer, "High Noon")Rip Torn (1931-2019, born in Temple) A graduate of Taylor High School and the University of Texas , Torn studied at The Acting School and was taken seriously as an actor on stage, screen and television. Known as husband of actor Geraldine Page and the helpful cousin of Sissy Spacek. ("Cross Creek," "Sweet Bird of Youth")Kathryn Crosby (1933-2024, born in West Columbia in Southeast Texas) A singer and actress who graduated from UT, Crosby began her film career in 1953. She married widower Bing Crosby in 1957 and semi-retired after 1960, but she remained a celebrity periodically in the public eye. ("The Big Circus," "Anatomy of a Murder")Michael Barnes writes about the people, places, culture and history of Austin and Texas. He can be reached at , Think, Texas, at statesman.com/newsletters, or at the newsletter page of your local USA Today Network paper.
