Silent Film: The Mark of Zorro

Douglas Fairbanks starring as Zorro
Accompanied by Clark Wilson on the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ

In The Mark of Zorro, his first full-blown effort at the costume thriller, Douglas Fairbanks portrays Don Diego Vega, a comically effete young nobleman with a taste for tasseled sombreros and juvenile silk-hanks magic tricks. But when danger calls, Diego swathes himself in black, straps on a well-honed sword and storms the countryside as the mysterious Zorro, slicing his initial into the faces of the “sentinels of oppression,” pausing only to boldly romance the woman (Marguerite De La Motte) to whom his shy alter-ego can hardly summon the courage to speak.

All tickets are $20. Seating is general admission. A $5 per ticket discount is available for subscribers, active conservatory students and groups of 10 or more. Contact the box office at 877.571.7469 for more information.

About Clark Wilson

Winner of “The Theatre Organist of the Year Award” in 1998, Clark Wilson has been an organist and conservator for the last thirty years. With a multitude of performances, in addition to having seven albums under his belt, Clark Wilson shares his passion with students as an organ faculty member at the University of Oklahoma, teaching silent film scoring, organ lessons as well as the history of the American theater organ. A talented musician and live performer, Clark’s magical sounds have led to yearly presentations at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Society at the Walt Disney Concert Hall organ.

About Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor and filmmaker. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films, including The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro, but spent the early part of his career making comedies.
Fairbanks was a founding member of United Artists. He was also a founding member of The Motion Picture Academy and hosted the 1st Academy Awards in 1929. With his marriage to actress and film producer Mary Pickford in 1920, the couple became ‘Hollywood royalty’, and Fairbanks was referred to as “The King of Hollywood”, a nickname later passed on to actor Clark Gable.
Though he was considered one of the biggest stars in Hollywood during the 1910s and 1920s, Fairbanks’s career rapidly declined with the advent of the “talkies”. His final film was The Private Life of Don Juan (1934).
Wikipedia-Douglas Fairbanks

About the Mighty Wurlitzer

Behind the Scenes with Don Phipps & Clark Wilson
Don Phipps is The Theatre’s Organ Curator and Clark Wilson is a nationally acclaimed organist.

Behind the Scenes with Clark Wilson
Clark discusses the unique prep work it takes to perform on a 2,400 pipe organ.