Ben Turpin & Perhaps Irene Lentz?
A still photograph from the silent film, The Daredevil, shows Ben Turpin with a horse and a film player who looks rather like Irene, although this is debatable. Irene did play a role with the cross-eyed comedian known for his crazy screen antics. The year of the film was 1923, but apparently this scene was not in the film. Irene was much taller than Turpin, who was rather short and goofy looking, but he was still surrounded by female beauties such as Irene, who started out as a bit player when she and her mother and brothers moved to Hollywood from Baker, MT. Frank and Kline were her brothers and Kline is Karlyn’s great grandad and of course, her mom’s dad.
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About Irene
Irene is my grand-aunt, and admired for her work in women's fashion and Hollywood costume design. Her talent as a successful clothing designer in Los Angeles led to her long career as a costume designer for many great films in Hollywood.. until her sudden death in 1962. I hope you enjoy your visit.. ~ Karlyn
Thank you for sharing this still. How fun! I wonder if that is Irene..
WHOA! Just stumbled upon your nice looking site…
The Ben Turpin still above is a pose from the 1921 feature film “A Small Town Idol” and this girl is Marie Prevost, not Irene Lentz. Two Turpin titles that come to mind that do feature Irene are “The Dare-Devil” (1923) and “Ten Dollars or Ten Days” (1924). She’s also in one of Harry Langdon’s first Sennett comedies, “Picking Peaches.” All 3 films are extant.
Thank you for that information Steve! It’s much appreciated!
Steve, Thanks for the insight about the photo of Ben Turpin. I was puzzled because the back of the photo has penciled in and since Irene worked with Turpin in the film I assumed that it was she, although I wasn’t certain because Irene was taller than Turpin, and larger than the woman in the photo. But she did have a similar round face as Irene. Tom
Hello Tom & Karlyn, You’re welcome and I’ll go thru my collection to see if I have anything on Irene.
In the meantime, check out part of my Turpin collection: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wiggleyears/
I’ll get back to you both soon!
Steve