There are some minor synchronicities and coincidences I've noticed over the last 20 years and, on their own, they might be dismissed as pure randomness. But given all the more significant coincidences and commonalities I've already discussed on the other pages, I felt it was worth mentioning them. I have noticed quite a number of small clues in some of Harry's movies that hinted at his eventual reincarnation. The first thing I noticed was the number of drag sequences in Harry's films. Sure, EVERY major silent and sound comedian donned a dress for laughs at some point -- it's an age old tradition, right? The difference with Harry was the frequency and the sequences were LONG! In THE CHASER, the plot of the movie centers around role reversal...Harry is punished by being forced to wear a skirt throughout most of the movie and becoming the "wife", while his wife becomes the "husband". In SEA SQUAWK and SKIRT SHY, he's wearing a dress for almost the entire duration of both films. I made a collage of scenes from each of these films. Top row: The Chaser, His First Flame, The Sea Squawk. Bottom row: Skirt Shy, Double Trouble and a soundie called Beautiful Clothes. The soundie (a 1940's version of a music video) ends with Harry going through a revolving door, then using a split screen effect, he comes out the other side wearing a dress! Another short film where Harry disguises himself in a dress is TIRED FEET (not pictured). So that's seven films in all, quite a lot. What I'm unsure about is how much involvement Harry had in the decision to implement drag sequences in so many films. THE CHASER was all his idea since he directed it, but the other films were not officially written/directed by Harry.

I forgot about ALL AMERICAN CO-ED! It's a Hal Roach mini feature from 1941. Harry himself doesn't engage in any cross dressing, but the main character does in order to enter a beauty pageant at a girls' school. There's a funny scene where the principal of the school says she refuses to allow any men on the campus, to which Harry replies, "Well, I'm a man." She responds, "You're safe." I included a clip of this scene.

Here's a short list of a few other "clues" I noticed in Harry's films that hint at his reincarnation. They're subtle to most, but jumped out at me.

SOLDIER MAN - a WWI soldier, who is the spitting image of the king, is forced to take his place, both roles played by Harry
SOLDIER'S PLAYTHING - Harry says, "If you don't hear from me, you'll know that I'm dead."
MISBEHAVING HUSBANDS - right after a brief scene of Harry walking into a bar, there's a cut to a scene of a party where someone says, "Are you sure that dog is dead?" Makes me laugh. I know it's simply the punchline of a joke but to me, sounds like they're referencing me/Harry.
BLOCK BUSTERS - one of the East Side kids sees Harry coming and says, "Here comes the embalmer's nightmare."
GOODNESS, A GHOST - Harry is guided by his grandpa's ghost, also played by Harry
THE HITCHHIKER - Harry wants to hitchhike to Chicago, where I was born
FLYING DEUCES - a Laurel & Hardy film Harry co-scripted. It has the blatantly obvious running gag where Stan & Ollie discuss reincarnation then the film ends with Ollie returning as a horse. I'd really LOVE to know who suggested this gag, if that's at all possible to find out. If it was Harry, then WOW.
BLOCK-HEADS - another L&H film Harry worked on. Right at the beginning, just before heading into battle, Ollie says to Stan, "I'll be back. We'll ALL be back."
A CHUMP AT OXFORD - yes, another one! When L&H arrive at Oxford, Stan is recognized as a brilliant student who got conked on his head years ago, lost his memory and wandered away. He gets hit on the head AGAIN and reverts to his old personality. Again, I'd like to know if Harry suggested this gag idea. By the way, CHUMP & BLOCK-HEADS are my favorite L&H feature films (I don't know why, maybe because I worked on them!)

A Few Personal coincidences

My mom was born in Partanna, Sicily (I uploaded her passport, you know how I like my proof) in 1950 and she was 2 when she immigrated to the States. Frank Capra, who was a prominent figure in Harry's life and career, was born in Bisacquino, Sicily. The two towns are very close each other. I circled them on the map. Isn't that a bizarre coincidence? Makes me wonder if Harry was thinking of or even dishing out ethnic slurs towards Frank, when he was feeling anger and resentment towards him. Not cool Harry, I wouldn't be surprised. And see what happened...that's karma for ya. That's why if people knew they could be reborn as those they hate, then the hatred, violence and prejudice would stop. That explains this coincidence that I'm now the same ethnicity that Frank Capra was. The prejudice Harry must've had, had to have been severe enough to warrant experiencing a lifetime growing up in a Sicilian family. I have experienced some minor discrimination in my life due to my ancestry. My dad's dad immigrated from Palermo.

Another Frank Capra related item...in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, the scene at the train depot where George Bailey's brother, Harry, introduces his new wife as “Ruth Dakin”. Then she corrects him by saying her full name, "Ruth Dakin Bailey". I might be grasping at straws with this one, but Dakin is the name of the street in Chicago my brother and I lived on for the first 25 years of our lives. That's an odd name and an odd coincidence. This has to be the most viewed Capra film. Keep in mind, this film came out in 1946. Harry died at the end of 1944 so I imagine his colleague's death was heavy on Frank's mind when this film was in its writing stage. I'm sure Frank was grieving somewhat. Perhaps that's why he chose Harry for the name of George Bailey's brother. And the character of Uncle Billy resembles the real life Harry to me in looks and personality. Clarence the angel, has a child-like nature that reminds me of Harry's screen persona.

And here is one last personal coincidence. In January 2002, on a whim, I contacted a person on the internet who does "spirit guide drawings". Somehow they channel the energy of our guides and try to capture how they look in a drawing. It was cheap enough and I thought what the heck, just for shit n' giggles. So I emailed them and sent my 20 bucks via Paypal. I was skeptical and didn't even expect to get anything in the mail. I thought this has to be a scam. But no, I did get the drawing as promised. And I was speechless....this person knew NOTHING about me. All they asked for was name, location, date of birth, and I was not on social media at the time. The drawing I received was of a woman with dark hair and the channel artist person heard her name, but as you can see they spelled it wrong. I can understand that. Mabel is not a common name so she spelled it the way it sounded. The real Mabel Langdon, Harry's widow, had died March 17, 2001. So I received this drawing January 2002. It may not be an accurate resemblance and the name is mispelled, but the odds are staggering that the one and only time I send for a spirit guide drawing, it turns out to be a woman named "Mayble". Skeptics would say, well it's probably not Harry's Mabel. Or accuse me of forging this myself. Oh please, give me a break....I've never drawn this badly! This drawing on its own isn't that impressive, but in light of all the other evidence I've presented, it becomes much more convincing and significant.

Miscellaneous Stuff

Got a few more things that didn't quite fit on other pages. I wanted to include a couple quotes from Columbia shorts director, Jules White, in which he describes how Harry was as a person. I really appreciate his honesty, empathy, and I can't help but feel enormous love and respect for the guy. I've read negative descriptions about how his directing style was violent, fast paced and cartoony. Well, so it was but he gave Harry a chance when he so desperately needed it and that says a lot about Jules' integrity. Quote is from a 1978 interview with Jules (year I was born). From LITTLE ELF pg. 253

Reincarnation of Harry Langdon

A Few Personal coincidences

Miscellaneous Stuff

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