Sophia D’Aurelio Adair
@vitaphonezone.bsky.social
Writer and film history researcher focusing especially on the silent/pre-Code eras (and the overlooked faces within). I talk a lot about Jean Harlow.
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June, not Jean: Harlow's Nicest 'Niece'
A particularly relevant and refreshingly inarguable fact about Jean Harlow is that she was an only child.
open.substack.com
I wrote a bit about June Harlow, a 1950s burlesque queen and film hopeful who built a solid career based partially off her resemblance to her ‘aunt’ Jean Harlow—showing that being a fake Nepo Niece can carry you pretty far. open.substack.com/pub/vitaphon...
Mood: Jean Harlow golfing with Jesse Lasky and stepfather Marino Bello during a New Year’s trip to Agua Caliente in January 1933. Earth-shattering pair of slacks.
January 1, 2026 at 1:06 AM
Mood: Jean Harlow golfing with Jesse Lasky and stepfather Marino Bello during a New Year’s trip to Agua Caliente in January 1933. Earth-shattering pair of slacks.
Marlene Dietrich #BOTD and Jean Harlow chatting each other up during a star-studded photoshoot at an Ambassador Hotel gala for the Motion Picture Theater Owners of America (MPTOA) in April 1934 instead of looking at the camera
December 27, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Marlene Dietrich #BOTD and Jean Harlow chatting each other up during a star-studded photoshoot at an Ambassador Hotel gala for the Motion Picture Theater Owners of America (MPTOA) in April 1934 instead of looking at the camera
Reposted by Sophia D’Aurelio Adair
I’ve been exploring Glenda Farrell’s little-written about pre-Hollywood stage career. Her first press notices were during the 1925-‘26 season as a member of the stock company at the Morosco Theater in Los Angeles. Here is the first photo of her published in that era of her career (100 years ago!)
December 26, 2025 at 9:05 PM
I’ve been exploring Glenda Farrell’s little-written about pre-Hollywood stage career. Her first press notices were during the 1925-‘26 season as a member of the stock company at the Morosco Theater in Los Angeles. Here is the first photo of her published in that era of her career (100 years ago!)
Reposted by Sophia D’Aurelio Adair
Saturday, December 27th, 7:30pm
Greg Pane, Piano Accompaniment
THE MAN FROM BEYOND (1922, Houdini Picture Corporation) A man who has been frozen in the Arctic ice for 100 years returns to civilization to find his lost love. Starring and co-written by Harry Houdini!
Greg Pane, Piano Accompaniment
THE MAN FROM BEYOND (1922, Houdini Picture Corporation) A man who has been frozen in the Arctic ice for 100 years returns to civilization to find his lost love. Starring and co-written by Harry Houdini!
December 26, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Saturday, December 27th, 7:30pm
Greg Pane, Piano Accompaniment
THE MAN FROM BEYOND (1922, Houdini Picture Corporation) A man who has been frozen in the Arctic ice for 100 years returns to civilization to find his lost love. Starring and co-written by Harry Houdini!
Greg Pane, Piano Accompaniment
THE MAN FROM BEYOND (1922, Houdini Picture Corporation) A man who has been frozen in the Arctic ice for 100 years returns to civilization to find his lost love. Starring and co-written by Harry Houdini!
Personally, this is an impeccable lineup.
December 26, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Personally, this is an impeccable lineup.
This is beautiful. The cinema of King of the Hill
December 26, 2025 at 5:23 PM
This is beautiful. The cinema of King of the Hill
Reposted by Sophia D’Aurelio Adair
mission motel, san bernardino, california, 1977
December 25, 2025 at 11:36 PM
mission motel, san bernardino, california, 1977
Merry Christmas 🎄
December 26, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Merry Christmas 🎄
Yearly reminder that Bombshell (1933) is technically a Christmas movie, if you want it to be. 😁
December 24, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Yearly reminder that Bombshell (1933) is technically a Christmas movie, if you want it to be. 😁
Reposted by Sophia D’Aurelio Adair
Embroidered silk postcard from WWI.
December 24, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Embroidered silk postcard from WWI.
Reposted by Sophia D’Aurelio Adair
Every day since 1981.
December 21, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Every day since 1981.
This photo of Audrey Totter #BOTD relaxing at home with a book and a glass of milk was published in the May 1948 issue of Modern Screen, yet it’s an appropriate December 20th mood.
December 20, 2025 at 7:18 PM
This photo of Audrey Totter #BOTD relaxing at home with a book and a glass of milk was published in the May 1948 issue of Modern Screen, yet it’s an appropriate December 20th mood.
Reposted by Sophia D’Aurelio Adair
William A. Wellman, Irene Dunne, Mary Boland, and crew on the set of Stingaree (1934)
February 28, 2024 at 5:39 PM
William A. Wellman, Irene Dunne, Mary Boland, and crew on the set of Stingaree (1934)
A favorite candid of a favorite actress, the incomparable Irene Dunne #BOTD. Photographed playing solitaire by Roman Freulich in 1942. Adore the fit.
December 20, 2025 at 6:43 PM
A favorite candid of a favorite actress, the incomparable Irene Dunne #BOTD. Photographed playing solitaire by Roman Freulich in 1942. Adore the fit.
Reposted by Sophia D’Aurelio Adair
Adam and Eve on a Raft and other kitchen slang, from Caught Plastered (1931) with Wheeler and Woolsey, who starred in more feature comedy films than the Marx Brothers or W. C. Fields. And sometimes they're even funny.
December 18, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Adam and Eve on a Raft and other kitchen slang, from Caught Plastered (1931) with Wheeler and Woolsey, who starred in more feature comedy films than the Marx Brothers or W. C. Fields. And sometimes they're even funny.
Reposted by Sophia D’Aurelio Adair
Gary Cooper in The Texan (1930)
December 18, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Gary Cooper in The Texan (1930)
Lupe Vélez wearing Adrian in a publicity portrait for Hollywood Party (1934), as printed in Screen Book magazine
December 16, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Lupe Vélez wearing Adrian in a publicity portrait for Hollywood Party (1934), as printed in Screen Book magazine
Reposted by Sophia D’Aurelio Adair
Mamie Van Doren photographed upon arrival in New York City, 1957
December 14, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Mamie Van Doren photographed upon arrival in New York City, 1957
Reposted by Sophia D’Aurelio Adair
If you have any brains at all, you can’t watch the mediocre movies all your life. I mean, there has to be something else going on in your head. There are a lot of things I want to do. It’s more fun to be with people than to watch some stinky movie. (1992)
December 12, 2025 at 5:34 PM
If you have any brains at all, you can’t watch the mediocre movies all your life. I mean, there has to be something else going on in your head. There are a lot of things I want to do. It’s more fun to be with people than to watch some stinky movie. (1992)
Having to go back for Butch Cassidy after watching The Sting like eating a midnight snack and going back to the fridge at 3AM
December 12, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Having to go back for Butch Cassidy after watching The Sting like eating a midnight snack and going back to the fridge at 3AM
Shirley Dunstead (AKA Marlo Dwyer) and a stack of empty film canisters in a publicity portrait for Footlight Parade (1933), telling by the ‘FP’ in the lower right corner. Vitaphone Zone vibe.
December 12, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Shirley Dunstead (AKA Marlo Dwyer) and a stack of empty film canisters in a publicity portrait for Footlight Parade (1933), telling by the ‘FP’ in the lower right corner. Vitaphone Zone vibe.
I love this moment in the 1946 Oscars newsreel where the cameraman makes a cool transition out of dropping the camera on Myrna Loy and resuming filming on Greer Garson. Accidental fancam pioneer.
December 11, 2025 at 11:49 PM
I love this moment in the 1946 Oscars newsreel where the cameraman makes a cool transition out of dropping the camera on Myrna Loy and resuming filming on Greer Garson. Accidental fancam pioneer.