Bert Levy

In addition to costume design for the stage, Bert also became manager of the Alba Photography studio in Sydney’s Strand Arcade and quickly established a reputation for his experimentation in the new visual medium of photography. This glowing 1898 Bulletin article was perhaps an inside job by journo mate but Bert knew what he doing in trying to create a brand ‘ an Alba’.

The Alba studio was probably named after the historical figure, the 12th century Duchess of Alba of Spain. Some of you are old enough to recall the Australian ‘Pix’ magazine which started in 1940s. Pix provides some hard hitting background on the lady (not) ….and the scandal that surrounded the Duchess…

A very recent discovery is Bert’s cameo role in the 1927 comedy-drama silent movie, ‘Chicago’. Melbourne based Phil Lipshut, Bert’s great great nephew tipped me off to this clue last year, but my searches for either the movie or reference to Bert in the cast proved futile until yesterday. Something seen on TV, tipped me off to look on Youtube and ‘lo and behold’ the full movie is there …

Above is the ‘lobby card’ from the movie. Note the caption under image. In addition to the beautiful, colourful lithographic movie posters, there came a need for photographic images and these were known as ‘Lobby cards’. https://www.walterfilm.com/lobby-cards/

Below is the link to the movie – it was produced by Cecil B. DeMille and directed by Frank Urson. Cecil’s bio on wikipedia is most interesting…..he was from New York, his mother was Jewish, he was on Vaudeville around the same time as Bert and when he moved to Hollywood, he was next door neighbour to Chaplin. (Bert’s close friend)

Phil believes he read somewhere that Bert’s cameo role was added after the scene was shot, and looking at it again, this appears to be so. Scroll through the footage until the 1:11:30 mark to see the courtroom scene. The whole courtroom scene is quite amusing.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js5lYNIZ87E

Here are two screen shots of Bert in action in the ‘Chicago’ movie and a final screenshot of how Bert’s sketch is used at the very end of the movie. Worth scrolling to the end….

Bert’s five years (1894-1895) in Sydney were eventful . He and Harriet were living in the eastern suburb of Waverly.

A year after their marriage, they sadly lost a baby (a girl) who survived just 4 days. In the death notices …..

Two years later there is happier news with the birth and survival of Alwyn Gordon…

Not sure where the name Alwyn came from (perhaps a Waxman family name) however, the second name ‘Gordon’ is after Bert’s master in scenic artistry, George Gordon.

Now needing to support a family and like a lot of artistic people then and now, economic survival usually required the juggling of multiple sources of income. One source of income was costume and dress design…

You may recall an earlier post of a 1927 photo of Bert sketching actress Joan Crawford for her latest film, Taxi Dancer. Bert had just signed with MGM studios and had moved to Los Angeles. Here it is again,

A little more digging has unearthed the tables being turned on Bert.

Taken from the magazine, Hollywood Filmograph April 1927

Crawford was married 4 times, and had many other lovers….. she famously said, “Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your hearth or burn down your house, you can never tell.” – Joan Crawford

Here is Bert’s sketch of actor John Gilbert.

When you comb through digital archives like Trove you occasionally come across a little gem that has nothing to do with what you are looking for….. This letter to the Editor at the Melbourne Herald is one of those… Note date is January 5th, 1880… I have no idea whether this is referring to a family member of the East Melbourne or Brunswick Waxmans that Bert married into, but who cares…

I’ll just finish up some posts on the Waxman clan, you’ll recall Albert Whelan was Harriet’s, younger brother. Like Bert, Albert was born in Ballarat. Here is an account of Albert’s debut in London, in Billboard Magazine December 1908.

Below is a sketch of Albert held at the V & A Museum in London. This description accompanies the sketch. ‘Albert Whelan was a versatile music hall performer, born in Melbourne. He made his name in London after appearing in variety at the Empire, Leicester Square; in pantomime at Liverpool, and in 1908 at London’s Pavilion Theatre where he was ‘spotted’ by an agent and offered a six week tour of America. Whelan always dressed immaculately and specialised in singing comic songs, but was also a great raconteur and dancer who played the violin and piano. He invented the ‘signature tune’ for a performer with his special way of starting a performance. He would walk slowly on stage removing his gloves, scarf, overcoat and hat whilst whistling the tune ‘The Jolly Brothers’.

You might have noticed in the last post, Bert & Albert being admitted to London’s Eccentric’s Club…. that below that entry in the Herald is a reference to the death of American comedian, female impersonator J. F Sheridan. Sheridan came to Australia to perform on stage and just so happens, Bert caught up with Johnny Sheridan at the Shamrock hotel in Bendigo, when Bert was Music & Drama Critic at the local affectionally known rag, ‘the Agoniser’, The Bendigo Advertiser in 1900.

(I transgress I know, but that is the beauty of a blog!)

Recalling that Bert was a founding member of New York’s Friar’s club, (the club Groucho Marx would not join because they would have him as a member!) we see in 1909 he and his brother-in-law Albert Waxman (stage name Whelan) have been elected into this old London Club….

Just like the Friar’s Club, the Eccentrics are still going strong. Take a look at their website and see if you were be eligible to be a member. The FAQ’s are amusing.

https://www.eccentricclub.co.uk/

The Eccentric’s raised an enormous amount for returning soldiers from the Great War. They hosted General Monash as guest of honour in 1919.

Read about the dinner on Trove. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/243472225?searchTerm=Eccentric%20Club

Bert moved to Sydney in 1894 to take his ‘chances’ professionally. Privately, much was going on as reported in the Hebrew press of the time. He returns to Melbourne to marry.