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.
Billy Gilbert (silent film actor) Billy Gilbert (silent film actor) Billy Gilbert (born William V. Campbell in Hollywood, California; September 15, 1891—April 29, 1961) was involved in more 150 American films between 1913 and 1936, working as either an actor, extra, or director. This Billy Gilbert should not be confused with the later film actor Billy Gilbert (born William Gilbert Barron), who became well known working for Hal Roach Studios in the 1930s. That "later" Gilbert's acting career in both short subjects and feature films continued into the early 1960s. The Billy Gilbert relevant to this page spent his entire career working almost exclusively in