Homage to Lulu (Homage to Louise Brooks)

  A homage is a kind of tribute, something meant to honor or show appreciation for someone or something. In the arts, a homage is an allusion to or imitation of one artist by another. A homage can take many forms, from an original composition or sampling of a work to a casual reference, mention, or “shout out”.

Over the years, artists and individuals have paid homage to Louise Brooks and the character she memorably played in Pandora’s Box, Lulu. From characters in movies, novels, plays, and comics — to poems, songs, art, and fashion — Brooks has been the subject of numerous tributes ranging across high art and popular culture. Aside from Charlie Chaplin, no silent film star — and few actors or actresses of today — have received so much cultural / creative recognition. Arguably, Brooks is a 20th century icon, and even something of a 21st century muse.

Homages to the actress go back to the late 1920s, though most date from the last 40 years. The best known of the early homages is J.P. McEvoy’s bestselling novels, Show Girl (1928) and Hollywood Girl (1929). The books’ main character, Dixie Dugan, was loosely based on Brooks and her time as a showgirl and aspiring actress. In fact, when first serialized in magazines and newspapers, McEvoy’s stories were illustrated with look-alike drawings of Brooks. What’s more, the novels were spun-off into a comic strip which had a life of its own and ran until 1966. Though Dugan’s look changed over time, her early appearance bears a striking resemblance to the actress, with some early panels of the comic strip mimicked movie stills from Brooks’ early films. Later, McEvoy’s novels were adapted into two movies, Show Girl and Show Girl in Hollywood, as well as a popular stage play.

The best known contemporary tribute may be Laura Moriarty’s novel, The Chaperone (2012), whose story centers on Brooks’ leaving home at age 15 to join the Denishawn Dance Company. Moriarty’s book was made into a PBS film released in 2019. Brooks also shows up in the works of the bestselling writer Neil Gaiman, as a character in a Dr. Who comic book, and in songs by OMD, Rufus Wainwright and Natalie Merchant, among others. Brooks’ has also been referenced on episodes of two television shows, The Simpsons, and Lost, and appears in scenes from the celebrated French film Blue is the Warmest Color (2013).

This section of the Louise Brooks Society website highlights some of the many tributes and cultural references to the actress, from the 1920s through today. These instances of homage are organized somewhat chronologically within their respective genre. Know of another tribute to Louise Brooks? We would love to hear about it. Please let us know by contacting the LBS.

  THE MOVIES

— A small boat seen in Now We’re in the Navy (1926) is named the “S.S. Louise”. The film was directed by Eddie Sutherland, Brooks’ husband at the time.

— In Dangerous Female (1931), the first film version of The Maltese Falcon, Brooks or someone who looks a lot like her, is pictured as Sam Spade’s girlfriend. (read more)

— A photograph of Brooks is displayed in an office in Zouzou (1934), a French production starring Josephine Baker.

— A 1928 portrait of Louise Brooks hangs on the wall in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1950 thriller, Stage Fright, starring Marlene Dietrich. (read more)

— The dancing femme fatale character played by Cyd Charisse in Singin in the Rain (1952) was modeled after Brooks.

— Anna Karina’s characters in Jean Luc Godard’s Une Femme est une Femme (1961) and Vivre sa Vie (1962) were modeled after Brooks.

— According to Liza Minnelli, her approach to her role as Sally Bowles in Cabaret (1972) was inspired on Brooks.

— In Jonathan Demme’s Something Wild (1986), Melanie Griffith plays a femme fatale who calls herself “Lulu” and adopts a bobbed haircut like Brooks.

— Stephanie Beroes‘ The Dream Screen (1986) juxtaposes a contemporary narrative with excerpts from Pandora’s Box.

— Paul Auster’s film, Lulu on the Bridge (1998), features a character acting in a remake of Pandora’s Box.

— A photographs of Brooks is displayed in the dressing room of the character played by bobbed Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago (2002).

— Brooks is mentioned by Mr. Burns on an episode of The Simpsons (2002).

— The Eddie Muller short The Grand Inquisitor (2008) features a Brooks’ inspired character named Lulu.

— Isabella Rossellini’s costume in Send Me to the ‘Lectric Chair (2009) was based on Brooks’ costume in Diary of a Lost Girl, according to director Guy Maddin.

— A photograph of Brooks is shown in the Martin Scorsese film, Hugo (2011).

— The edition of The Invention of Morel (with the Brooks cover) was flashed on the hit TV show Lost in an episode aired in 2012.

— Images of Brooks are seen a number of times in the French film Blue is the Warmest Color (2013).

— In 2018, PBS Masterpiece debuted its first ever theatrical release, The Chaperone, based on Laura Moriarty’s bestselling novel. The film was scripted by Downton Abbey’s Julian Fellowes, and starred Elizabeth McGovern in the title role and Haley Lu Richardson as Louise Brooks. (read more)

— An image of Louise Brooks is seen in the film Will You Ever Forgive Me? (2018), starring Melissa McCarthy. The film was based on the book of the same name by Lee Israel, which concerned the author’s forging of letters by famous personalities including Brooks.

—  Over the years, many actresses have stated in print their desire to play Brooks on the big screen, including Shirley MacLaine, Julie Roberts, Dana Delaney, Winona Ryder and Neve Campbell, to name a few.

Something Wild (1986) Jonathan Demme	Singin’ in the Rain (1952) Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen	Lulu on the Bridge (1998) Paul Auster	Blue is the Warmest Color (2013) Abdellatif Kechiche	The Chaperone (2018) Michael Engler

 

  BOOKS & LITERATURE 

Fiction

— Louise Brooks — as a character named Dixie Dugan — was the inspiration behind Show Girl (1928), Hollywood Girl (1929), and Society (1931), three bestselling comic novels by J.P. McEvoy. Each was serialized in Liberty magazine and later widely syndicated in dozens of American newspapers. This “avant-pop” trilogy was reissued in 2024. (read more)

— Brooks is mentioned in Love Letters of an Interior Decorator (1928), a comic novel by Bert Green. The story mentions and even pictures Brooks, and also notes her appearance in Beggars of Life. (read more)

— According to the Argentine author Adolfo Bioy Casares, the character of Faustine in his 1940 novel The Invention of Morel was inspired by Brooks. One of the very first works of magic realism, The Invention of Morel reportedly influenced both Alain Resnais’ film Last Year at Marienbad (1961) as well as the popular American television show, Lost. (read more)

— A character named Louise Brooks, who happens to resemble the actress, plays an important role in Willem Frederik Hermans’ The Saint of the Clockmakers (1987), a philosophical novel considered one of the finest works by one of the most important Dutch novelists of the post WWII era. Herman’s was an acknowledged admirer of Brooks.

— Brooks is mentioned in a number of contemporary American novels, including Paul Auster’s Leviathan (1992). Brooks is also a minor character in William Hjortsberg’s Nevermore (1994), which is set during the Jazz Age; the actress also appears on the cover of the English edition of the book.

— Other contemporary writers who have included Brooks in various novels or stories are Janet Fitch (White Oleander), Ann-Marie MacDonald (Fall on Your Knees), Jerry Stahl (I, Fatty), Theodore Roszak (Flicker) and Salmon Rushdie (The Ground Beneath Her Feet), as well as Audrey Niffenegger, Roddy Doyle, Gary Indiana, Mary Lee Settle and a few dozen others.

— Brooks plays a big part in one of the stories in Ali Smith’s debut collection Free Love and Other Stories (1995). The actress also appeared on the cover of the book at the author’s insistence.

— Brooks is mentioned or is a minor character in a number of genre novels or novels by genre writers including Kim Newman’s Anno Dracula (1992), Nancy Baker’s Kiss of the Vampire (1995), and Neil Gaiman’s American Gods (2001). In the latter novel, the character named Czernobog refers to Brooks as the greatest movie star of all time. In Houdini Heart (2011), a novel of supernatural horror, author Ki Longfellow uses Brooks as a character in the lead character’s visions. Brooks has also been referenced in works by Fritz Leiber, Jr., Clive Barker, Peter Straub, Elizabeth Hand, and Lemony Snicket.

— A novel by the French author Patrick Mosconi is titled Louise Brooks Est Morte (1993). Brooks is featured both in and on the cover of two contemporary French novels, Embrassez-moi by Katherine Pancol (2003), and Le Manuscrit Louise B by Matthieu Baumier (2005). Brooks is also name-checked in two novels by Michel Mohrt, La Guerre Civile (1986) and Un Soir, à Londres (1991). One of the earliest references to Brooks in French literature is in Leon Bopp’s novel, Jacques Arnaut (1933).

— The story of Brooks joining the Denishawn Dance Company is the basis of Laura Moriarty’s bestselling novel, The Chaperone (2012), which was later turned into the PBS film.

— In Gayle Forman’s popular YA novels Just One Day and Just One Year (both 2013), the bobbed hair female protagonist is called “Lulu”. The film Pandora’s Box is mentioned in both books.

— Louise Brooks’ appearance on the cover of various works of fiction published around the world can be found on an LBS gallery page, Contemporary Book Covers I.

The Dixie Dugan Trilogy J.P. McEvoy Tough Poets Press, 2024 fiction | USA	Een heilige van de horlogerie Willem Frederik Hermans Uitgeverij de BezigeBij, 1987 fiction | The Netherlands	Free Love Ali Smith Virago Press, 1995 fiction | UK	The Invention of Morel Adolfo Bioy Casares NYRB Classics, 2003 fiction | USA (read more)	Countess (Shincho Bunko) Shigehiko Hasumi Shinchosha, 2019 fiction | Japan

Non-fiction

— The famed humorist S.J. Perelman was a fan, and he wrote a piece about Brooks for the The New Yorker in 1969 in which he referred to the actress as ” . . . the immortal Louise Brooks.”

— In the realm of non-fiction, Brooks shows up more than once in the works of Hilton Als, Greil Marcus, Jerome Charyn, Kenneth Tynan, Folke Isaksson and others, as well as in various non-fiction works (essays, memoirs, reviews, letters) by fiction writers such as Angela Carter, Carlos Fuentes, Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Christopher Isherwood, Carl Sandburg, Anita Loos, Henry Clune, and even Robert Howard (author of Conan the Barbarian).

— Pulitzer Prize winning novelist John Updike reviewed Brooks’ Lulu in Hollywood (1985). Updike has stated that Brooks was the finest writer to ever come out of Hollywood.

— Louise Brooks’ appearance on the cover of various works of non-fiction published around the world can be found on an LBS gallery page, Contemporary Book Covers II.

Poetry

— A handful of newspaper and magazine poems either mention or are about Louise Brooks. See the LBS page Early Poems Referencing Louise Brooks.

— Riffing on the Brooks’ film, Frank O’Hara wrote a poem titled “F.Y.I. (PRIX DE BEAUTE)” (1961). Another poet associated with the New York School, Bill Berkson, also wrote a poem inspired by Brooks, “Bubbles” (early 1960’s). Additionally, Brooks is pictured in a book of 1978 film-inspired poems by Edward Field.

— Other poems about or alluding to Brooks include “The Touch of a Glance” (1970s) by the French Moroccan writer Tahar Ben Jelloun, “Watching Young Couples with an Old Girlfriend On Sunday Morning” (1997), by the American poet August Kleinzahler, and “Louise Brooks” (2008) by William Logan. As well as poems by Alexander Theroux, Stuart Mitchner, Ronald McGregor and others.

— Louise in Love (2001), a book of related poems by the acclaimed contemporary poet Mary Jo Bang, was inspired by Louise Brooks. The actress also appears on the cover of the book.

— Louise Brooks’ appearance on the cover of a couple of works of poetry can be found at the bottom of an LBS gallery page, Contemporary Book Covers I.

Drama

— Yvonne Rainer’s performance piece Lives of Performers (1971) includes a homage to Brooks in which Rainer reenacts a series of production stills from  Pandora’s Box.

— Kathy Acker’s performed but never published Lulu Unchained (1984) was inspired by Brooks and Wedekind’s Lulu plays.

— Yours, Lulu: Broadway to Berlin is based on the life of Brooks; the play was staged in New York and Los Angeles in 1993 and 1994.

— Janet Musil’s Emphysema (2000), based on the relationship between Brooks and Kenneth Tynan, was staged in Canada and England under the title Smoking with Lulu.

— Brooks is the main character in a work called Jazz Age Musical, performed in Switzerland in 1999.

— A one person piece, Elle! Louise Brooks, was written and performed by Hanna Schygulla in Italy and France in 2000.

— In 2006, the Silent Film Theater of Chicago toured the United States with Lulu: A black and white silent play.

— In 2019 and then in 2021, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a radio play by Katie Hims titled Opening Pandora’s Box.

— Louise Brooks’ appearance on the cover of a few works of drama can be found at the bottom of an LBS gallery page, Contemporary Book Covers I.

In Books

— Brooks has also been featured on the cover of a few vintage books not related to the actress, including Loot, a work of pulp fiction published in 1932. These titles are displayed on an LBS gallery page, Vintage Book Covers. Other examples of cover appearances on vintage books can be found in the Fictionalizations and Photoplay Editions Gallery.

Gods of Riverworld Philip José Farmer Putnam, 1983 fantasy | USA	Louise in Love Mary Jo Bang Grove Press, 2001 poetry | USA	Il Guanto Rosso Tadeusz Rozewicz Libri Scheiwiller, 2003 poetry | Italy	Flappers and Philosophers F. Scott Fitzgerald Penguin Classics, 2010 fiction | USA	Babylon Berlin Volker Kutscher Picador, 2018 crime fiction | USA

 

  COMICS / COMIX / GRAPHIC NOVELS

— Brooks was the inspiration behind Dixie Dugan, the long-running comic strip by J.P. McEvoy and John H. Striebel which ran from 1929 to 1966.

— Valentina was the name of a long-running erotic comix by the Italian artist Guido Crepax; the series began publication in 1965 and continued for many years. In the United States, Valentina appeared in Heavy Metal magazine. Notably, Crepax corresponded with Brooks late in her life.

— Brooks is a popular subject among European comix artists. Besides Guido Crepax, Hugo Pratt, another celebrated Italian artist, also found inspiration in Brooks and drew her likeness into various works and named characters after her, as did Tanino Libertote, Milo Manara, Vittorio Giardino, Cinzia Leone, and others. Two French graphic novels, Olivia Sturgess 1914-2004 (2005) by Floc’h, and Louise et les loups (2012), by Marion Mousse, were each inspired by Brooks and her look.

— The character of Death in the Sandman books by Neil Gaiman was originally based on Brooks.

— Brooks is a character and appears on the cover of a Dr. Who comic, Silver Scream (2009). (read more) [BTW: The eighth Doctor, actor Paul McGann, is also a big fan of the actress.]

— In 2015, cartoonist Rick Geary authored the book-length graphic novel titled, Louse Brooks: Detective. (read more)

Louise Brooks: Detective Rick Geary NBM ComicsLit, 2015 USA	Lulu Nicolas Mahler Suhrkamp Verlag, 2014 Germany	Louise Brooks Hugo Pratt, Milo Manara et al. Editori del Grifo, 1984 Italy	Louise et les Loups Marion Mousse Cheap Sheep Shi, 2012 France	Valentina Guido Crepax Fandango Libri, 2012 Italy

 

  THE VISUAL ARTS

— Louise Brooks has been depicted in a number of vintage and contemporary caricatures, drawings and illustrations by the likes of Alberto Vargas, Erte, Willy Pogany, Ralph Barton, Stanley Mouse, Rick Geary and others. For more, check out Louise Brooks – Caricatures and Illustrations.

— Famed caricaturist David Levine also drew a likeness of Brooks which appeared in the New York Review of Books (1982), and has been subsequently reproduced on calendars, postcards and other print media.

— Brooks’ likeness is incorporated into a 1929 photo-montage by the Bauhaus associated artist Herbert Bayer. She can also be found in a collage (c. 1930) by the English artist Edward Burra. (read more)

— The British artist Frank Martin drew Brooks on a few occasions (c. 1974), one of which is in the collection of the Tate in London. (read more)

— The acclaimed artist Don Bachardy (the companion of the writer Christopher Isherwood) made a few drawings of Brooks in the mid-1970s, which along with his diary entries about the actress are included in his book, Stars in My Eyes.

— Like Cindy Sherman, photographer Rita Hammond used masks and costumes to embark upon identity-blurring pictorial masquerades by casting herself as individuals of symbolic force, including Brooks.

— Artist Mark Tansey’s 2004 painting,”West Face”, includes Brooks, according to the New York Times.

— Two watercolors (2014) by the contemporary artist Max Ferguson feature Brooks. These images are included in an illustrated book of short fictions titled, Lulu in New York and other Tales (2017). (read more)

— The 2015 staging of Alban Berg’s opera, Lulu, by artist William Kentridge, owes a little to Brooks, whom Kentridge acknowledges as an inspiration.

— The Louise Brooks Society YouTube channel has a video playlist titled Drawing Louise Brooks.

  MUSIC

— The first rock music nod to Brooks may be from The Freeze, a punk/new wave band from Scotland. In 1980, they released a 45 rpm single depicting the actress. The A-side of the single features “Celebration”, which the back sleeve notes is “dedicated to Louise Brooks who inspired this song.” The earliest rock music video featuring footage of Brooks may be “It Hurts” by the Lotus Eaters, from 1985. The video was once shown on television during an episode of Max Headroom sometime circa 1986.

— News for Lulu (1988) is an album of hard bop compositions performed by the avant-jazz trio of John Zorn, George Lewis and Bill Frisell. More News for Lulu (1989) is a follow-up of live recordings. Brooks adorns the cover and linear notes of each recording.

— The British new wave group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) released a hit single called “Pandora’s Box” (1991) as a Brooks tribute. The lyrics are about the actress, and the video for the song uses footage of Brooks. (read more)

— International songs referencing Brooks include Jen Anderson’s “Lulu the song” (1993) from her Australian Pandora’s Box soundtrack; “Lulu” (1995) from the Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Hawkins; and “Interior Lulu” (1999) by the British prog-rock band Marillion. Another prog-rock band, TIMELOCK, from The Netherlands, released two songs about the actress, “Louise Brooks” from their 1994 album Louise Brooks, and “Louise Brooks Revisited” from a 2002 album. In 2014, Scottish singer songwriter Louise Rutkowski released Diary of a Lost Girl. That same year, the Tiger Lillies released Lulu – A Murder Ballad. In 2015, Wurlitza, a five piece band from the UK, released their original soundtrack to the Brooks’ film, Diary of a Lost Girl. And on a different note, there’s “Louise Brooks: Lulu’s Ragtime” (2007) by the Vienna Art Orchestra. As well, Brooks appears on the cover of Eliogabablus (1990), by the Italian-Slovenian experimental rock band Devil Doll. While a few images of Brooks appear in the video of Caro Emerald’s “Tangled Up” (2013).

— Brooks may be more popular in France than just about anywhere. Among the French acts that have recorded tributes to the actress is the musette revival band Les Primitifs Du Futur (whose line-up includes famed cartoonist Robert Crumb); in 2006, they reworked the theme song from Prix de Beauté into “Chanson pour Louise Brooks”. Among other French recordings there is “Louise Brooks” by Lady Godiva, from their 1999 release Louise Brooks Avenue, “Actress (Louise Brooks theme)” by Nouvelle Culture from 2005, and Olivia Louvel’s “Lulu a Hollywood” from her 2007 album, Lulu in Suspension.

— Soul Coughing’s 1998 song “St. Louise Is Listening” contains several references to Brooks. Composer Mike Doughty sports a Brooks’ tattoo.

— A number of indie acts have recorded tracks referencing Brooks, including Sarah Azzara’s “Like Louise Brooks” (2000), Paul Hayes’ “Louise Brooks” (2003), Gosta Berling’s “Berlin” (2008), and Ross Berkal’s ballad “MLB (for Louise Brooks)” from 2010.

— Rufus Wainwright’s 2010 recording, All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu, is an acknowledged tribute to Brooks. The Lou Reed / Metallica collaboration, Lulu (2011), can also be regarded as a more oblique homage to Brooks.

— Natalie Merchant’s self-titled 2014 album contains “Lulu”, a song which is a biographical sketch of Brooks.

— Performers who have sported bobbed hair and/or name checked Brooks include Siouxsie Sioux of Siouxsie and The Banshees, country music star Lorrie Morgan, singers Linda Rondstadt and Kylie Minogue, and pop superstars Madonna and Lady GaGa. The French musician and actress Jehnny Beth is also an admirer of Louise Brooks, according to this 2024 article in Far Out.

— Louise Brooks’ appearance on the cover of a number of CDs and LPs from around the world can be found on the LBS gallery page, Contemporary Album Covers.

The Freeze Celebration (45 rpm) A1 records, 1980 rock | Scotland	Zorn / Lewis / Frisell News For Lulu (CD) hat ART, 1988 jazz | USA	Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark Pandora’s Box (It’s a long, long way) (CD single) Virgin, 1991 rock | UK (read more)	Timelock Louise Brooks (CD) FREIA Music, 2022 (reissue) rock | The Netherlands

  POP CULTURE

Fashion

— “LouLou”, a French perfume first issued in 1987, was inspired by Brooks. (read more)

— A Christian Dior advertisement from 1998 is a take off of the famous 1928 Eugene Richie photograph of Brooks posing with a string of pearls.

— Yuna Yang, a New York City-based fashion designer, stated that her 2010 line was inspired by Brooks and 1920’s fashion. (read more)

— Famed French haute couture fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier has created a Louise Brooks inspired dress, coat, and scarf. In 2013, it was widely reported that Rihanna was modeling a coat by designer Jean Paul Gaultier. (read more)

— A number of celebrities — such as Juliette Binoche, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mischa Barton, Isabella Rosselini, Linda Ronstadt and Natalie Portman, as well as Vogue magazine editor Anna Winotaur, have at times modeled their appearance after the actress. As well, critic Kenneth Tynan was once photographed in drag made up like Brooks.

Other Tributes

— The Louise Brooks Society YouTube channel has a playlist of Odds ‘n Ends which includes a few pop culture tributes to Louise Brooks.

— “Impasse Louise Brooks”, a street named after the actress, is located in Bois d’Arcy, a village outside of Paris. (read more)

— In the 1990s, a well known dominatrix named Mistress Lulu modeled herself after Brooks.

— Singer songwriter Mike Doughty sports a Brooks’ tattoo, which he has worn since the early 1990s. More recently on social media sites, fans have posted images of their own Brooks’ tattoos.

— Graffiti and street art depicting Brooks has been documented in the United States and Europe. (read more)

— Shops in London, Paris and Rome have featured Louise Brooks in window displays. A movie memorabilia and poster shop in Lyon, France is named LouLou.

— A character modeled on Brooks has been spotted in Second Life, the 3D virtual world online computer game.

Jean Paul Gaultier dress France	Loulou perfume France	Louise Brooks tattoo United States