ACTOR & MATINEE IDOL, FRANCIS X. BUSHMAN, THE CROTON CONNECTION, JULY 1918

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

And now an excellent find from one of the Everything Croton Elves: FRANCIS X. BUSHMAN, THE CROTON CONNECTION.

For those who don't know,  Francis Xavier Bushman (January 10, 1883 – August 23, 1966) was an American film actor. His career as a matinee idol started in 1911 in the silent film His Friend's Wife. He gained a very large female following and was one of the biggest stars of the 1910s and early 1920s. He also starred with Ramon Novarro in the silent film version of Ben Hur--which was featured in a recent post here at Everything Croton. (You can read all about that here bit.ly/1QBe8ra)

But getting back to that Croton Connection: Check out this 1918 article from the Bridgeport Times, which reports that Metro Pictures shot "Social Quicksands" on the "beautiful estate of Clifford B. Harmon". Click on the photos below, which also includes a postcard featuring Bushman in Ben-Hur as Messala. Read more about the plot of Social Quicksands here http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/110821/Social-Quicksands/overview 

Interested in more "Croton Connections"? Check these out: 
--MAX EASTMAN AND CHARLIE CHAPLIN, THE CROTON CONNECTION http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2015/08/max-eastman-charlie-chaplin-croton.html 
--MEXICAN ARTIST DIEGO RIVERA, THE CROTON CONNECTION  http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2015/03/mexican-mural-painter-diego-rivera.html 
--HALLOWEEN WITH HOUDINI IN HARMON http://crotonhistory.org/2013/10/31/halloween-with-houdini-in-harmon/ 
--LENORE ULRIC, THE CROTON CONNECTION http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2014/08/actress-lenore-ulric-croton-connection.html 
--FAY BAINTER, THE CROTON CONNECTION  http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2015/06/more-actress-fay-bainter-croton.html 
--PETER STRAUSS, THE CROTON CONNECTION, CROTON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2014/02/peter-strauss-formerly-of-crotons.html  
--GLORIA SWANSON, PHOTOS FROM HER CROTON HOME http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2016/02/1924-photos-from-gloria-swansons-croton.html