If you have a story to tell then send it to my email and a photo or two would be nice.
This chapter features a collector from the USA and a gent who I had the pleasure of meeting at the Blackpool conventions in 2021 & 2922.
Joe “Shorty” Caruso
Here goes….”What started in the 1960s was an increasing awareness with the revival of silent films. How singularly fortunate was I to be a child of the film generation with frequent television viewings, advertisements and such….most important was the advent of film gatherings both private and public, the latter beginning in earnest during the 70s…I knew about Derann, yet didn’t “discover” this great outfit until much later, when I was in touch often with Gary Brocklehurst, over the availability of short subjects (coincidentally, my moniker “Shorty” which began as a kid collecting short films)…My first overseas friend has been Phil Sheard. If memory serves, we first worked a trade for Charlie Chase Super 8 for a Laurel & Hardy. I count him as a blessing to film collectors everywhere, and enjoy his company at Blackpool. In my native New Jersey, there has been the Tri-State Film Collector’s Show & Expo, various Film-Cons, and the long-running CINESEA in Wildwood. My devotion to Blackhawk Films is well-known, and still eagerly search for the titles I need with nice original boxes. As of late, the finest group of friends iscat Blackpool. It is here I have located many shorts and novelties from Derann, Peak, Regent, Watso, Breakspear, Mountain, Bouchard, Collector’s Club, Perry’s, so many more. I continue to collect and enjoy all whom I meet. I am also a member of Sons of the Desert, and had a hitch with the US Army Special Services as an entertainer…that’s it mate, not bad for a boy who started with the Blackhawk Sampler in 1962.
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