Pork pie hat the "man-about-town", but its resurgence in the United States in the 1920s is credited to the silent film actor Buster Keaton who wore them in many of his films. The hats from his films were ones the actor made himself by converting fedoras and other hats into pork pies, creating more than a thousand in his lifetime. This kind of pork pie had a very flat top and similar short flat brim. Arguably the heyday of the pork pie hat occurred during the Great Depression. In this incarnation, the pork pie regained its snap brim and increased slightly in height.
James Finlayson (actor) James Finlayson (actor) James Finlayson (27 August 1887 – 9 October 1953) was a Scottish-born American actor who worked in both silent and sound comedies. Bald, with a fake moustache, Finlayson had many trademark comic mannerisms and is famous for his squinting, outraged, "double take and fade away" head reaction, and characteristic expression "d'ooooooh", and as the most famous comic foil of Laurel and Hardy. Born in Larbert, Stirlingshire, Scotland to Alexander and Isabella (née Henderson) Finlayson, he worked as a tinsmith before pursuing an acting career. After the death of both his parents, he emigrated to the U.S. in