Hello – and welcome to my slice of real estate on the web. My name is Thomas Gladysz (it’s a Polish name, pronounced gwa-dish). I grew up in Harper Woods, a suburb of Detroit, and attended Michigan State University in East Lansing before going west as a young man. I lived in San Francisco for several years before moving to Sacramento, California. I’m married to a wonderful woman, Christy Pascoe, and have two dogs, Sherlock and Buster.
My interests include old movies, vintage television, visual arts, music of all kinds, literature and history. Believe it or not, I’ve been online since 1989, almost before there was a “world wide web.” I have bungee jumped, make a superb garlic soup, and once met a Beatle, Paul McCartney. I have shook the hand of one President of the United States, Jimmy Carter (the first President I ever voted for), and met half of the bridge crew of the original Star Trek, as well as the eighth Doctor Who (who turned out to be a fan of my work about a certain silent film star).
I am a longtime “culture worker,” which means I’ve held jobs in and related to the arts. I’ve worked as an art critic for a regional wire service, events coordinator at an independent bookstore, literary agent for a science fiction writer, and a content developer on the web. (One of my past clients was the acclaimed children’s author Remy Charlip.) I am, as well, an independent researcher. You’ll find my work acknowledged and footnoted in nearly two dozen books published around the world.
As an arts and entertainment writer, I’ve authored more than 1250 articles for various newspapers, magazines, literary journals and websites including, most recently, PopMatters Film International, and the San Francisco Chronicle. On the Huffington Post, I was known as the “pop culture archeologist.” The things I write about include books and authors, film, popular music, pop culture, and the visual arts. [read more]
My work has been included in books published by the National Gallery of Art, HarperCollins, University of Nebraska Press, University Press of Mississippi, and others. I also edited and wrote the introduction to the “Louise Brooks Edition” of Margarete Bohme’s classic feminist novel, The Diary of a Lost Girl, which film critic Leonard Maltin praised as a work of “passion” and “enormous research.” [read more]
I am the founding Director of the Louise Brooks Society, an online archive and international fan club dedicated to the iconic silent film star. As Director, I’ve curated exhibits, contributed to books, appeared on television and radio, lectured, and introduced the actress’ films around the world. I’ve authored three books on the actress, and contributed audio commentaries to two DVDs. The LBS and its award winning website & blog have been hailed in the New York Times, USA Today, and other newspapers published around the world. [read more]
For a number of years, I worked as a bookseller, mainly at The Booksmith in San Francisco. I launched their pioneering website, managed internet sales, acted as publicist, and ran the store’s widely acclaimed events program – putting on nearly 900 events over the course of a decade. I also represented the store at national conventions, served on the Board of Directors of the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (a trade group), and was a member of the booksellers advisory board of the Paris Review. [read more]
As both a bookseller and a film historian, I’ve given talks, introduced speakers, conducted onstage interviews, and participated in panel discussions at venues including the San Francisco Public Library, Castro Theater, Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, Detroit Institute of Arts, Village Voice Bookshop (Paris), and elsewhere. In 2019, I gave the keynote address at the 92nd annual Valentino Memorial in Hollywood. [read more]
As a critic, bookseller, and recognized authority on early film, I’ve also been the subject of stories in publications such as Wired, Publisher’s Weekly, and Film International, as well as on local affiliates of National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting System (PBS).
Explore this website to find out more about me and my activities. To reach me via email, please visit my contact page. Otherwise, friend me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter @thomas_gladysz, or offer me work via LinkedIN. Or, shop my amazon.com author page, or visit my pages on IMDb or GoodReads.
Thanks for checking me out.