An Interview with Suzanne Lloyd, granddaughter of silent comedy star Harold Lloyd

When did you first realize that your grandfather was a silent film star?

I had seen some of his films when I was little, but I didn’t realize who the person was.  He was an older gentleman who looked like a businessman when I was growing up.  He looked younger and very different on screen.  I didn’t put the two together.


When did it dawn on you?

He was going to show his film “Harold Lloyd’s World of Comedy” at the Cannes Film Festival, but first he had a screening of it at the Samuel Goldwyn Studio here in Los Angeles.  He was sitting right behind me at the screening.  As I was watching the film, I kept turning around and looking back at him.  The press asked me, “Aren’t you petrified that he is hanging off the building and doing all of these dangerous stunts?”  I was scared, but then he WAS sitting right behind me, so I knew he was going to be ok.  That is when I think I really understood.


What are some of your favorite memories of him?

My favorite memories are of him taking me on all of these traveling adventures.  He showed me everything…London, Paris, Switzerland, Spain, my first airplane…..he even did my algebra homework.


I can’t imagine Harold Lloyd doing your homework!

He did!  I was desperate and he was really good at math.  He also took me shopping all the time for dresses and shoes.  He taught me the love of animals and how to take care of them.  He taught me how to use a camera and how to load his cameras.  He raised me and was a very hands-on Dad. 


You’ve been very active in keeping his film legacy alive.  Tell me more about that….

I’ve been extremely active since 1998.  For a long time, his films were tied up in distribution deals that were unproductive and I had to work to get the rights back.  I put out the films I’d been restoring with UCLA.  Once I had the rights back and cleared, we put full orchestrations on to the films.  The first viewing of that was done on TCM and from there I took the films and made a deal with New Line to distribute them in a DVD box set.  It has just been building with time.  I am re-making SAFETY LAST with a producer Mark Gordon. 


Any thoughts on who you’d like to see cast?

Tom Hanks would be great, but he is too old for the part.  I love Johnny Depp, but it is collaboration between the director and producer.  It’s a hard one.  If there was a young Jack Lemmon, that would be perfect.  You need a physical comedian who is also handsome.  Harold Lloyd had a very sweet quality that made him approachable and kind.  Tom Hanks has that feel to him.  So did Jack Lemmon.  I think Topher Grace is darling.


Do you know other children of silent stars?  If so do you ever talk or share experiences?

I’ve met some of the Chaplin children, but no I didn’t really know many others. 


Tell me more about upcoming screenings of Harold Lloyd films.

Sony has mad the most gorgeous 35mm prints and they have the theatrical rights for the United States and Canada.  Harold Lloyd films will also be in Paris on July 5th.  The International versions the DVDs will come out in July in France and will be available in, England in August.  The International box sets will be different.  They will have some different features and photos available.  There is also going to be a big open air screening in Hyde Park with an orchestra later this summer.  They also just screened SPEEDY at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.  Harold is very kid friendly and kids love him!  He is such a great family comedian.  He is clever, animated and approachable. 


How old were you when he passed away?

March 8th, 1971 is when he died.  I was 19 years old. 


Do you have any cherished belongings from him that you keep around?

I have his Oscar and his awards.  I cherish his cufflinks that he wore everyday of his life.  Bebe Daniels gave them to him and he considered them lucky.  He never wore another pair….only those.


Is the house you grew up in still standing?

Yes, I grew up in Beverly Hills in Benedict Canyon.  The house is still there.


Harold Lloyd’s films have held up so well over the years.  The Harold Lloyd show at Last Remaining Seats was the first one to sell out!

I’m so glad!  You really need to see these films with an audience.  That is the best possible way to experience them.  If you want to see Harold Lloyd films in your city, you can always write to Sony and tell them!  The prints are beautiful and worth seeing on the big screen.


Is there a Harold Lloyd society of fan club?

Yes, you can log on to http://www.haroldlloyd.us/.  The site is run by Annette D’Agostino Lloyd (no relation).  She has written “The Harold Lloyd Encyclopedia” and is very talented.


Thank you so much for your time!

Thank you and I hope all of your FilmRadar readers get to see these great Harold Lloyd films!



HAROLD LLOYD Films playing soon in Los Angeles:


Saturday, June 3rd at 8pm

Silent Film Gala at UCLA’s Royce Hal
SAFETY LAST from 1923 and the short film ASK FATHER (1919).

Dustin Hoffman will host the evening and the music is by Carl Davis and by Timothy Brock.  The music will be performed live by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra conducted by Timothy Brock


Tickets are still available at:  LACO.org



Wednesday, June 14th at 8pm- SOLD OUT (There will be a stand by line.)

Harold Lloyd Silent Comedies:

NEVER WEAKEN (Hal Roach Studios, Inc., 1921, 19 minutes, black/white)

HOT WATER (The Harold Lloyd Corp., 1924, 60 minutes, black/white) 

Harold Lloyd, one of the great comedians of the silent era, continues to delight movie fans of all ages with his split-second timing and physical dexterity. In NEVER WEAKEN (1921), Lloyd’s broken-hearted character comically attempts suicide, ending up high above Seventh and Hill Streets in downtown L.A. In HOT WATER (1924), Lloyd experiences the joy and pain of marriage, including a motorcar ride throughout the L.A. basin with his hapless in-laws. 


Prints courtesy of Sony Pictures Repertory and the Harold Lloyd Trust. 
**Special Program: Live accompaniment by the Robert Israel Orchestra, introduction by Suzanne Lloyd (Harold’s granddaughter), evening host Maxwell DeMille, and period songs by ukulele chanteuse Janet Klein and Her Parlor Boys.


LAConservancy.org

First Comment:

1. I’ve been writing a spoof on Hollywood that at the moment of revising.  Page 35 is now page 4 and the alien subplot has been done away with.

   Lloyd was a genius with visual gags, just as good as Chaplin and Lloyd.  One got the joke when the camera panned away.  For instance, Lloyd is comforting his girl whose face is wet.  But she’s not crying, it’s raining really hard.

   Or he’s out on the roof top with his girl under the stars and bright silvery moom.  But those are really part of the billboard.

   He wasn’t perfect, no one is.  Some of his confrontations take too long and you know he’s going to win.  But I guess one has to appreciate the time they were made.  Chaplin would take forever, at times, before he let the story progress.  Keaton would just go full speed ahead and I perfer that approach.

   I was heard George Steven, Jr., speak on a new book he’s written.  He said of all of the film makers he’s known, Harold Lloyd was the nicest.

   That’s like hearing there is a Santa Claus.

   Posted by James J. Cremin on 06/02 at 01:44 PM