MAY 6

GASTON LEROUX (May 6, 1868)

May 6 is the birthday of French author GASTON LEROUX (1868-1927). HIs most famous novel is PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.

“If I am the phantom, it is because man's hatred has made me so. If I am to be saved it is because your love redeems me.”

Lerous "left journalism in 1907, after returning from covering a volcanic eruption and being immediately sent on another assignment without vacation time, and began writing fiction. In 1919, he and Arthur Bernède formed their own film company, Société des Cinéromans, publishing novels and turning them into films. He first wrote a mystery novel titled Le mystère de la chambre jaune (1907; English title: The Mystery of the Yellow Room), starring the amateur detective Joseph Rouletabille. Leroux's contribution to French detective fiction is considered a parallel to those of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the United Kingdom and Edgar Allan Poe in the United States.

Leroux published his most famous work, The Phantom of the Opera, as a serial in 1909 and 1910, and as a book in 1910 (with an English translation appearing in 1911). Balaoo followed in 1911, which was made into a film several times (in 1913, 1927 and 1942)." (Wikipedia)

Village with Blue Paths

ERNST LUDWIG KIRCHNER (May 6, 1880)

May 6 is the birthday of German Expressionist painter ERNST LUDWIG KIRCHNER (1880-1938).

Kirchner was "one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or 'The Bridge,' a key group leading to the foundation of Expressionism in 20th-century art. He volunteered for army service in the First World War, but soon suffered a breakdown and was discharged. His work was branded as 'degenerate' by the Nazis in 1933, and in 1937 more than 600 of his works were sold or destroyed." (Wikipedia)

Seated girl

Portrait of a Female Artist

RUDOLPH VALENTINO (May 6, 1894)

May 6 is the birthday of silent film star RUDOLPH VALENTINO (1894-1926).

"Women are not in love with me but with the picture of me on the screen. I am merely the canvas upon which the women paint their dreams."

Valentino "was an early pop icon, and a sex symbol of the 1920s, who was known in Hollywood as the 'Latin lover' or simply as 'Valentino.' His premature death at the age of 31 caused mass hysteria among his fans and further propelled his status as a cultural film icon." (Wikipedia)

ORSON WELLES (May 6, 1915)

May 6 is the birthday of American actor, director and screenwriter ORSON WELLES (1915-1985).

"The essential is to excite the spectators. If that means playing Hamlet on a flying trapeze or in an aquarium, you do it."

Welles "is considered one of the most influential and greatest filmmakers of all time. His first film was Citizen Kane (1941), which is consistently ranked as one of the greatest films ever made, and which he co-wrote, produced, directed and starred in as Charles Foster Kane. Welles released twelve other features, the most acclaimed of which include The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), The Lady from Shanghai (1947), Touch of Evil (1958), The Trial (1962), Chimes at Midnight (1965) and F for Fake (1973). His distinctive directorial style featured layered and nonlinear narrative forms, uses of lighting such as chiaroscuro, unusual camera angles, sound techniques borrowed from radio, deep focus shots and long takes. He has been praised as 'the ultimate auteur.'" (Wikipedia)

RENÉ MALTÊTE (May 6, 1930)

May 8 is the birthday of French photographer RENÉ MALTÊTE (1930-2000).

Maltête "started taking pictures at 16; his first camera was a Pontiac 6×9. In 1951, he went to Paris to become an assistant director. He wanted to be a film director but lacked a camera. In 1954 he bought a Semflex 6×6 still camera and started taking photographs seriously. Maltête captured amusing situations in everyday life. His pictures were published in numerous magazines worldwide (Asahi Camera, Camera, Epoca, Life, Look, Paris-Match, Popular Photography, Punch, Stern)." (Wikipedia)