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Harold Lloyd: Silent Movie Legend (Ten Fast Facts)

April 17, 2019 By Joi

Harold Lloyd

When most people think of “Silent Movie Stars,” they first think of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Mary Pickford. Even people who have never seen a silent movie in their life (boy, are they missing out!) have heard of these three legends.

However, those of us who live and breathe old movies, know there’s a HUGE name missing on this list of household names – Mr. Harold Lloyd.  One of my favorite soapbox subjects on Hollywood Yesterday is this quandary: Why are so many (equally deserving) stars overlooked while others achieve lasting fame – even among casual old movie fans. I simply do not know. Was Lloyd as talented and hilarious as Chaplin? Yes. Is he as celebrated today as Chaplin? No.

I have no answers. Only questions. But, that’s essentially why I began and continue to publish Hollywood Yesterday – to keep as many of these wonderful stars in the public eye as possible, while doing my part to introduce them to new generations of fans. The Chaplins, the Keatons, the Pickfords AND the Lloyds of the world.

If you aren’t familiar with Harold Lloyd, I hope you’ll enjoy reading a little about him below, then promptly find a few of his movies to enjoy. Trust me, you’ll soon be asking, “Why isn’t he a household name?!” too.

If you come up with any answers, let me know.

Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis I Do

10 Fast Facts About Harold Lloyd:

  1. Harold Clayton Lloyd was born on April 20, 1893 in Burchard, Nebraska,
  2. I love lasting Hollywood marriages (mostly because they’re so rare), so I am in love with the fact that Harold Lloyd and silent movie star Mildred Davis were married from 1923 to her death in 1969. They were frequent co-stars.
  3. Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin, and Buster Keaton are considered to be the three most influential film comedians of the silent film era. They’re often referred to as “The Big Three.”
  4. While he was never credited as a writer, make no mistake about it, Lloyd was the brains behind all of his movies. He came up with most of the gags, props, and stories.
  5. Unlike many other stars of the silent era, Lloyd was known to be very smart with his money. While he had many expensive hobbies,  he would still leave an inheritance of $12 million dollars after his death in 1971. At one time, he was one of the 10 richest entertainers in the world.
  6. One of his fascinating hobbies was 3-D photography. He took hundreds of  images of Hollywood stars such as Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne,  Richard Burton and Roy Rogers. Many of his photos are reproduced in the book “3-D Hollywood: Photography by Harold Lloyd“, which was edited by his granddaughter, Suzanne Lloyd Hayes.
  7. Other hobbies included breeding Great Danes, collecting cars, movie-watching (it’s said that he would have “marathon movie nights” several times each week… the man is my hero), record-collecting, and photography. He had an insatiable appetite for photography.
  8. In 1919 Harold Lloyd was handed what he thought to be a prop bomb. Horrifyingly enough, it was a real bomb and when he lit it with his cigarette, it exploded, blowing off his right thumb and index finger. He spent months in the hospital but, when he recovered, he returned to work.
  9. His movie Safety Last is included on Roger Ebert’s “Great Movies” list.
  10. Mildred and Harold Lloyd had three children: Gloria Lloyd (1923–2012) and Harold Clayton Lloyd Jr. (1931–1971) and Marjorie Elizabeth Lloyd (1924–1986), who they adopted in 1930.

Find Harold Lloyd DVDs on Amazon

Filed Under: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Silent Movies Tagged With: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Silent Films, Silent Movies



I try to keep my posts, book reviews, and classic movie reviews as short as possible. I want to share my thoughts and (more importantly) shine a spotlight on the stars that mean so much to us, however I don't want to take up too much of your precious time. My goal is to give you information, trivia, and photos that will put a smile on both your face and your day! ~ Thank you for being here, you honor me with your presence, Joi ("Joy")

Welcome to Hollywood Yesterday!

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Ann Sheridan
My name is Joi (“Joy”) and I created Hollywood Yesterday as my personal tribute to Old Hollywood. It’s my effort to help keep the stars from Old Hollywood, Classic Television, and Old Radio Shows alive and shining forever. Old Hollywood was positively magical and I see no reason for the magic to ever die.

Be warned, I am (by nature) overtly positive, I never take anything too seriously, I say extraordinary so often you’d think I invented the word, and I overuse exclamation points to distraction. I’m perpetually over-caffeinated.. we’ll blame that.

Read more about Hollywood Yesterday (and see my personal favorites) here!

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I love reading old Hollywood biographies and memoirs as much as I love watching classic movies, and that’s truly saying something!

To see my Old Hollywood book reviews, please see the index listed here: Book Reviews.

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Priorities, y’all.

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Also, please know that I try to keep my posts (except for book reviews) short and to the point, so you can enjoy the pictures, grab the information, and get back to your life. I don’t appreciate anything that’s overly wordy, so I don’t want to do that to others. For better or worse, I write as I talk, so if you ever feel like you’re reading the words of someone who’s a cross between Lucy Ricardo, Daisy Duck, and a Jerry Lewis character, that’s just because you are!

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Aside from pictures of books I review, I do not claim to have taken any of the pictures on this website, nor do I own the pictures – the ones of the stars or the affiliate (product) pictures.  Other, far more talented photographers than me have the credit for the beautiful photos you see. If you would like credit for a photograph or would like one removed, please e-mail me (joitsigers@gmail.com).

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