Talk:John Gilbert (actor)

Untitled
I moved this photo to talk as it has no source info, and the other (somewhat earlier) photo portrait is PD-US if not simply PD. -- Infrogmation 12:51, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Warning -- major expansion of article pending
I would like to do a major reworking and expansion of this article to include more information on Gilbert's career & biographical information, along with updated references and external links. Does anyone have any objections or concerns before I proceed with these changes? --Mary S 01:44, 7 May 2005 (UTC)

Image question
I'm wondering why we're using Image:OhnGilbert-actor2.jpg to illustrate the article rather than Image:JohnGilbert.jpg. They are both clearly derived from the same source, but I would tend to favor the later over the former for the following reasons: 1)Higher resolution 2)Scanned from an original period print retaining period photo hues as opposed to the late 20th century false greyscale. Other thoughts? -- Infrogmation 02:19, 6 April 2006 (UTC)
 * And another image question, both images claim to be taken around 1917. Then how can it be that the description at the article states that it is John Gilbert in The Merry Widow (1925)? Cst17 (talk) 15:06, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

It definitely looks like it is from The Merry Widow. It certainly isn't as early as 1917.81.171.233.73 (talk) 20:43, 24 January 2010 (UTC)

Why not a new picture?
I would suggest a better picture such as one from silentgents or somewhere. Also, add more pictures! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 206.251.10.148 (talk) 23:02, 3 February 2007 (UTC).

The Avril Troll Strikes Again?
I am unfamiliar as to how this could be edited into an article. But it did. I added a minor edit (of which changed nothing), but it did remove the fixed text. Pakopako (talk) 14:24, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

Year of birth
Does anyone have a reliable source on Gilbert's year of birth? This article says 1899, as does the link to his fan club site. But IMDB lists the year as 1897. Another link even says 1892! Hopefully there is something like a contemporary obituary out there that can resolve this. Mantisia (talk) 15:31, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

According to his daughter, Leatrice Fountain "He was born John Cecil Pringle on the morning of July 10, 1899. Not 1895 or 1897 - the two dates most often appearing in film biographies.  He lied about his age until he was about thirty ...,"  (Leatrice Gilbert Fountain "Dark Star"

ISBN 0-283-99260-3) 81.171.233.73 (talk) 20:48, 24 January 2010 (UTC)

Changed the birthdate to 1899. Leatrice Fountain is as reliable a source as one can get.--Susan Nunes 24 August 2010 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lhasaapso (talk • contribs) 04:37, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

He was born in 1897 according to various documents on Ancestry.com, and 1897 is his birth year according to his World War Draft card:

Remove World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 about John C Gilbert Name: 	John C Gilbert City: 	Los Angeles County: 	Los Angeles State: 	California Birthplace: 	Utah;United States of America Birth Date: 	10 Jul 1897 Race: 	Caucasian (White) FHL Roll Number: 	1530902 DraftBoard: 	14 Age:

Stutzey (talk) 23:22, 20 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Eve Golden's biography of Gilbert also asserts 1897 and even shows a picture of him as a baby from 1898. It's pretty stupid that (as well his daughter being wrong) that we are still getting his age wrong over 80 years since his death. Crisso (talk) 12:09, 19 August 2017 (UTC)


 * According to this article from 2005, regarding his daughter: "She remains the source for historically accurate Gilbert information. For instance, she just nailed down the date of her father's birth, which has been in question for decades. She reports that Linda Frank, an old friend, found a census report from 1900 that proves Gilbert was born in 1897. Until recently, she'd believed he was born in 1899." So that pretty much puts an end to the question of 1899. Crisso (talk) 20:28, 26 May 2020 (UTC)


 * If he received a draft card, does that mean that he served in the military? If so, any details? Valetude (talk) 16:21, 19 May 2021 (UTC)

The « double wedding »
story is confusing & does not seem to track w/ several other paragraphs, needs much clarification. The voice story may have several variations, but more should be said about a few sample variations. Christopher John Matthews has some opinions, & compares it to a  Sid Caesar  character who needed to have a cold infection in order to improve his voice, as well as  the_Artist_(film).

hopiakuta  Please  do   sign  your  communiqu%c3%a9 .%7e%7eThank You,   DonFphrnqTaub  Persina. 01:20, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20050829181306/http://www.silentsaregolden.com/DeBartoloreviews/rdbmanwomansin.html to http://www.silentsaregolden.com/DeBartoloreviews/rdbmanwomansin.html
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Unsupported assertion
Under Career/Success and Stardom we read the following:

''Legend has it that a wedding was finally planned but Garbo failed to appear at the ceremony. Recent Garbo biographers, however, have questioned the veracity of this story.''

Legend has it? Let's stick to facts rather than rumors. Recent Garbo biographers? Which biographers? What evidence did they provide for questioning the veracity of the story? This is well below Wikipedia's standards and needs to be beefed up with facts or removed. aldiboronti (talk) 08:42, 19 May 2017 (UTC)

Orphaned references in John Gilbert (actor)
I check pages listed in Category:Pages with incorrect ref formatting to try to fix reference errors. One of the things I do is look for content for orphaned references in wikilinked articles. I have found content for some of John Gilbert (actor)'s orphans, the problem is that I found more than one version. I can't determine which (if any) is correct for this article, so I am asking for a sentient editor to look it over and copy the correct ref content into this article.

Reference named "Mannix": From 1924 in film: . From 1933 in film:  From 1934 in film: . 

Reference named "scott": From Wallace Beery: Scott Eyman, Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer, Robson, 2005, p. 191 ISBN 9781861058928 From The Big Parade: Scott Eyman, Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer, Robson, 2005 p 112 From La Bohème (1926 film): Scott Eyman, Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer, Robson, 2005 p 124 From The Merry Widow (1925 film): Scott Eyman, Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer, Robson, 2005 p 99</li> </ul>

I apologize if any of the above are effectively identical; I am just a simple computer program, so I can't determine whether minor differences are significant or not. AnomieBOT ⚡ 16:54, 15 October 2018 (UTC)

Punch-up with Mayer
Vidor's bride Eleanor Boardman insisted that she actually witnessed the altercation.
 * A little unlikely, as it was supposed to have taken place in the Men's Restroom. Valetude (talk) 18:18, 9 April 2022 (UTC)

His voice
Article says: "Gilbert's career declined precipitously when silent pictures gave way to talkies. Though Gilbert was often cited as one of the high-profile examples of an actor who was unsuccessful in making the transition to sound films, his decline as a star had far more to do with studio politics and money than with the sound of his screen voice, which was rich and distinctive."

Ben Hecht, who was there and a friend of Gilbert's, says otherwise in Child of the Century, p. 498: "One night Jack sat in a movie theater and heard the audience laugh at him in a picture. It was his first talkie. His squeaky boy's voice accompanying his derring-do gestures turned him into a clown." 2601:285:C001:4D0:3475:30A7:270A:A5 (talk) 22:34, 18 September 2023 (UTC)