Rare vintage 8x10-inch black and white portrait in captain's attire in an unknown silent comedy, boldly signed and inscribed in black fountain pen in the 1920s.  In good condition, overall, with three tack holes to the borders; a nick to the upper right-hand corner tip; and a gentle tear to the upper left-hand corner tip.  This is the only autographed portrait we have ever encountered of of silent comic actor Billy Dooley, whose vaudeville act with Al Christie made a smooth transition to motion pictures in the 1920s.  Wonderful in films like Dizzy Sights (1927), A Briny Boob (1926) and Sailor Beware (1927), he settled into character roles during the talkie era, notable in Harold Lloyd's The Cat's-Paw (1934), horror's Mad Love (1936), Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936), The Crime of Dr. Forbes (1936), A Star Is Born (1937), and Crime Takes a Holiday (1938).  He died of a heart attack at the age of 45 and his autograph is quite rare in any format.

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