Q&A with Annette D’Agostino Lloyd, author of Pass the Gravy - Serving Up the Lives, Careers and Recipes of 196 Silent Film Stars
1. This is your first book since 2009. What have you been up to since then?
Yes, my last book, Harold Lloyd: Magic in a Pair of Horn-Rimmed Glasses, came out in 2009, also published by BearManor Media. It was at that point, when our son was five years old, that I decided to take some time off and just be a mom. I got a job as a legal secretary and enjoyed that line of work for 13 years, all the while being immersed in all things motherhood. In 2022, after our son graduated high school, we moved from Rhode Island to Florida. It was at that point that my husband and I made the decision that I should return to the writing ranks and work on a book that I first wanted to do in 1994 or so.
2. What made you think up such a book?
This is a book, honestly, that I first wanted to do back in the mid 1990s, while I was working on my indexes to the Moving Picture World magazine. I was fascinated by the idea of collecting as many recipes as I could from the home kitchens of the silent film stars that I was so fascinated with. I found their recipes so interesting, because in many many ways, they didn’t seem old. They were surprisingly contemporary, which I found really cool. I collected and collected and collected, but somehow I didn’t have the formula for this book solidly set in my mind. I had the recipes, but I didn’t have the format. So it was at that point that I put all of the information that I had collected in a box, and went onto other things, like writing more about Harold Lloyd, daytime TV soap operas, and other projects of interest to me.
3. Where did you get all those recipes?
People today would be surprised how many cookbooks there were during the 1920s and 1930s. I made it a goal to find as many as I could, and I did, particularly at antiquarian book sales and, once the Internet was solidly a thing, online. I also found many many recipes in fan magazines of that era, like Photoplay, and also in some newspapers. Actually, the oldest recipe I have in this book is from a 1913 newspaper. There are a lot of public domain recipes in this book, many from the home kitchens of stars that are still famous. There are also recipes from players who are not as widely remembered today. However, to me, it is vitally important to celebrate everybody and anybody who was in silent film. Each person who played either a starring role or a supporting role or an extra role contributed to that wonderful art form, and as such, they deserve any recognition that we can give them. The chief criterion to inclusion in this book is that the player must have appeared in at least one silent film. So, in the case of Barbara Stanwyck, her film debut was her only silent film - thus she’s in.
4. A collection of recipes from silent film stars. Are any of these antique recipes going to be adaptable to current tastes?
Oh, you would be amazed how remarkably adoptable these recipes are contemporary fascination with health and fitness. Yes, there are desserts and some quite rich foods, and they are decadent and frivolous and luscious. But there are also salads, lean meats, soups, lovely breakfast items, all sorts of meals and offerings that anybody today can make and enjoy in their own homes. You see, the thing about silent film players is that, for them, their look was everything. They didn’t have the benefit of dialogue; they spoke with their bodies, with their faces, with their gestures. And so, it was incumbent upon them to stay fit, to stay beautiful, to stay handsome, in order to stay viable to a mostly visual art form. Being stars, or having financial security, they were able to eat just about anywhere or anything they wanted. However, most of them made it a point to eat right - without sacrificing eating well. That’s a delicate balance. And I think that this collection of recipes proves that they were able to indulge in good food while also enjoying what they were eating. I really do think that it’s going to be a revelation how creative these stars were with their food. And I think readers will enjoy eating like the stars … even of so long ago.
5. How does your book differ from the usual cookbook? Is this a cookbook or a silent film history book, or both? Or more?
Part of the problem that I had with visualizing this book back in the mid 1990s was that I couldn’t justify just having recipes contributed by stars who were, for the most part, gone. There was so much more of a story to tell, like who were these people? What made them tick? What was their claim to fame? And that was why once I had the opportunity and time to really dig into this project, I decided that it was equally important to tell their stories, chronicle their lives, showcase their fame, alongside sharing their recipes. And so, this collection of recipes is seasoned with the life stories of each of the 196 celebrity chefs. Thirty years after I originally conceptualized this collection of recipes, I felt better equipped as a researcher and as a writer to tackle telling the life stories of these men and women who graced silent film screens. In addition to that, I also spent a great deal of time researching kitchens and food preparation techniques from those days. As a result, throughout the book, I utilize something I call the Author’s Note to clarify cooking terms and techniques that are not used today. There is a Summary of Terms and Equivalents that explains it all. I also have a chapter devoted to what a typical 1920s kitchen was like, and how it differs from the kitchens we have in our homes today. As a for instance, not many kitchens today have a Hoosier Cabinet. But in those days, that piece of furniture was a staple in every kitchen. So I talk about many of the innovations that were all the rage in those days, and the difference is stark. Also, throughout the book, I have sidebars, which spotlight cool little facts, figures and pictures that I wanted in the book, but they didn’t belong in any one place. These sidebars are sprinkled throughout the book, giving the reader a clearer understanding of what the culinary experience was in the teens and twenties. I have collected tons of stills and lobby cards that showcase food, and they appear throughout. Oh, and one other thing that sets this book apart from some other cookbooks, is the fact that I have two tables of contents. The book flows alphabetically by the last name of the players, from Renee Adoree to Clara Kimball Young, and due to my focus on the celebrity chefs’ life stories - with their diverse recipes directly following their biographies - that is the heart of the main table of contents. I also decided to add a Food Genre table of contents, which groups meals by food type, making it easy for the reader to find, for instance, all the salads, or all the soups, or all the beef, or all the seafood, or all the desserts, etc. So, taking all that in, this really is a combination cookbook/silent film biographies collection/spotlight on early 20th century kitchens. My fondest hope is that the reader will try out these recipes but will also seek out a film by its celebrity chef. Ideally, I hope that this book will encourage a greater appreciation of the silent film performers and the art form of silent film in general. This book has been on my mind for close to 30 years and, as such, it is a tremendous thrill to offer it to hungry readers. I hope it satisfies!
6. What’s with that book title?
I really wanted the book title to be reflective of silent film, so I endeavored to find a film title that fit the bill as a cookbook title. I even had a contest of sorts on Facebook, asking friends what is the best food-related title of a silent film. I got a slew of responses. My winner is, coincidentally, one of my favorite silent film shorts, Max Davidson’s Pass the Gravy (1928), and I have a sidebar devoted to that great film. The cover sports a gravy boat next to my name- how cool is that? And I took some creative license in photoshopping a dinner party image with the faces of many of the stars who grace the book - it appears on the cover. I’m all about making silent film fun. It’s delicious!