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.
Frank Alexander (actor) Frank Alexander (actor) Frank Alexander (May 25, 1879 – September 8, 1937) was an American silent film comedian and actor. Alexander, who was morbidly obese (350 pounds), was best known for playing villains in the films of Larry Semon, who are often the father of Semon's love interest. He is best known to contemporary audiences for portraying a villainous interpretation of Uncle Henry, eventually proclaimed "Prince of Whales" upon reaching the Emerald City in Semon's "Wizard of Oz". He was also part of the comedy team called "A Ton Of Fun" with two other large actors, Kewpie Ross and Hilliard