About the Memorial
The Fairbanks Memorial, founded in 2004 by film historian Sparrow Morgan, is a yearly celebration of silent film and the history of Hollywood, coinciding with the birthday of Douglas Fairbanks Sr, on May 23. (This year’s event will take place on Friday, May 22.)
With the generous cooperation of Hollywood Forever, the event takes place each year on the Fairbanks Lawn, overlooking the scenic Fairbanks Crypt where Douglas Fairbanks and his equally-famous son, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., are buried. The film is projected onto the wall of a mausoleum which is the resting place of notable silent film star Rudolph Valentino.
Previously screened films include:
- The Three Musketeers (with a classical guitar soundtrack by Robert Earl Longley),
- The Black Pirate (with a techno-folk soundtrack by DJ Michael Carrera),
- The Thief of Bagdad (with a new age soundtrack by A Season of Us),
- The Gaucho (with a nuevo flamenco soundtrack by Robert Earl Longley), and
- The Private Life of Don Juan (a talkie with its own soundtrack).
Douglas Fairbanks was one of the original residents of Beverly Hills as well as a founding member of United Artists and the first president of the Motion Picture Academy. It is fitting that he be remembered with a film screening. Audiences are encouraged to bring a picnic with their favorite beverages, and warm jackets.
For more information on the Fairbanks Memorial, contact Sparrow Morgan at (424) 645-2540.
The Douglas Fairbanks Memorial is not affiliated with the Fairbanks family.