Laura, why did you choose Karl Dane as the subject of your debut novel.

I actually feel like Karl Dane chose me, and not the other way around! In December 2005, my husband and I were watching an early sound serial called The Whispering Shadow with Karl Dane and Bela Lugosi. I’d always known who Karl Dane was, being an avid silent film buff, but he never made any special impression on me. However, this was the first time I heard his voice, and it intrigued me, since he was reportedly deemed unsuitable for sound film because of his Danish accent, and lost his Hollywood contract. This led to a steady decline into poverty and he committed suicide in 1934. To me, his speech was just fine, and it made me want to learn more about him and his life. I searched on Amazon for any available biographies, sure there’d be plenty to choose from–but I was wrong. Nothing had ever before been attempted. I would normally have given up, but my curiosity remained so strong that I decided to take on the project myself.

You have already published numerous articles about him in the US and Denmark. Did you always have the biography / filmography in mind?

Yes, from the beginning I knew I wanted to do a full treatment of his life. The articles were a way of generating publicity and interest for my research for the upcoming book, especially in Karl Dane’s native Denmark.

If you had known Karl Dane in person as a close friend, what piece of advice would you have given him to help him avoid the end that he eventually met and when would you have given it to him?

I would have definitely told him to not lose sight of what’s really important: true friends and family, rather than people who helped him spend his money and then abandoned him when he became down and out. I would have also urged him to refine his English skills earlier on so he could communicate more effectively with others: he understood what was said to him, but often couldn’t find the right words to respond, and this caused major misunderstandings for him in Hollywood. Many assumed that he was self-important or stupid, which definitely wasn’t the case. The people he unwittingly alienated could have possibly championed him when the talkies arrived. Lastly, I would have urged him to be more frugal with his money since Karl tended to spend his entire paycheck as soon as he received it, almost as if he assumed his career would go on forever.

How closely did you work with Karl’s family on this endeavor?

Early on, I tracked down Karl’s descendants, and they were very kind and eager to assist me, sharing the few photos, family stories, and letters they had. However, it was limited, since Karl left Denmark in 1916, never to see his family again, due to the breakup of his marriage a short time later when his wife discovered he had been unfaithful. In the years to come, his brother and children didn’t discuss him much, probably because of the unpleasant circumstances of the divorce, but also due to the fact that Karl died a suicide.

Did your skills as a teacher prepare you for writing the book or did you have to summon your inner muse?

Part of what makes me an effective teacher is a great passion for my subject, high standards, organizational skills, and sheer dogged persistence. I think I used these in good stead as a fledgling writer. I wasn’t afraid to make a fool of myself asking questions I needed answers to since I kept my ultimate goal in the forefront of my mind: getting a forgotten man’s story told.

To learn more about Laura Peterson Balogh’s book, visit: http://www.karl-dane.com/

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