Milestones, Jan. 20, 1936

Died. John ("Handsome Jack") Gilbert, ne Pringle, 38, onetime "great lover" of silent cinema: of a heart attack; in Hollywood. He went to Hollywood in 1915, rose through the ranks of film extras, finally starred in The Big Parade, won a $500,000 contract with MGM. Though he preferred characters that "live, breathe and sweat," fandom worshipped him as Garbo's ardent lover in Flesh and the Devil, Love. A squeaky voice doomed his talkie career, and he faded from public view. At the modest Hollywood funeral were two of his four divorced wives.

Died....

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