Later_career William_K._Everson

following service in british army 1946–48, everson worked cinema theatre manager london s monseigneur news theatres. emigrating united states in 1950 @ age 21, worked in publicity department of monogram pictures (later allied artists) , subsequently became freelance publicist.

concurrently employment writer, editor , researcher on tv series movie museum , silents please, everson became dedicated preserving films silent era 1940s otherwise have been lost. through industry connections, began acquire feature films , short subjects slated destroyed or abandoned.

many of discoveries projected @ manhattan film group, theodore huff memorial film society, founded huff (the biographer of charlie chaplin), everson, film critic seymour stern , variety columnist herman g. weinberg theodore huff film society. after huff s death, everson added word memorial . @ each screening, huff members presented extensive program notes written everson each film. during 1960s, these screenings held in hall @ union square.

occasionally, make special arrangements select invited group see 35mm print in theater. example, on sunday morning in mid-1960s, took on daniel talbot s new yorker theater show silent (1925) audience of no more 15 silent-film buffs. later, huff society screenings relocated union square new school, invitation of everson s friend , fellow huff society member joseph goldberg, professor @ new school. everson influential figure generation of film historians came of age 1960s 1980s, many of whom regulars @ new school screenings. other attendees @ huff society included such new york personalities author susan sontag , publisher calvin beck.

kevin brownlow described infamous incident @ huff society:

it society showed rarest films — in double bill recognised classic. everson s programme notes became world-famous (and let hope enterprising publisher bring them out).

in 1959, mgm s ben-hur received rave reviews , everson felt not deserved — showed 1925 version @ huff. rival collector raymond rohauer, experiencing little trouble himself on lawsuit mgm, told fbi everson doing, , confronted him after performance. seized print, , everson spent next few days squirreling other hot titles around new york. lillian gish had intervene on behalf.

in 1970s, fbi instituted witch hunt among film collectors, everson highly respected touched. archives came depend on him — not loan rare prints copying or showing, travel world presenting films loved. astounded meet him @ airport weighed down 3 times many cans of films human expected carry. had uncanny knack of finding lost films. no exaggeration single-handedly, transformed attitude of american film enthusiasts towards cinema.

everson s film programs, many of assembled own personal collection, comprised on 4,000 titles 1970s. these screenings showcased minor masterpieces , overlooked b pictures deemed worthy of reappraisal. brought these rediscoveries other venues, such pacific film archive , telluride film festival.

he worked consultant producers , studios preparing silent-film projects, , collaborated closely robert youngson, screening , assembling best in silent comedy youngson s feature-length revivals. (everson wrote of youngson s promotional feature articles publication.) assisted in production of syndicated tv series charlie chaplin comedy theatre (1965) , offshoot feature film funniest man in world (1967). technical advisor on david l. wolper s tv specials hollywood, golden years (1961) , legend of rudolph valentino (1982).

everson contributed articles , reviews numerous film magazines, including films in review, variety , castle of frankenstein. 20 books include classics of silent screen (1959, attributed nostalgia maven joe franklin written everson), american movie (1963), films of laurel , hardy (1967), art of w. c. fields (1967), pictorial history of western film (1971), , american silent film (1978).

from 1964-84 taught film history @ school of visual arts, , 1972 1996 professor of cinema studies @ new york university s tisch school of arts. taught film history courses @ new school. courses had emphasis on comedy, westerns , british films. everson discussed film history guest on barry gray s late-night radio talk show in new york. appeared actor in louis mcmahon s serial parody captain celluloid vs. film pirates (1966); four-part film, made cast , crew of like-minded movie buffs, concerned heinous traffic in rare silent-screen masterpieces.