American actress, Carla Laemmle, niece of Universal Pictures founder Carl Laemmle, will be celebrating her 100th birthday with her family and friends at the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles, California on Tuesday, October 20, 2009. She will be presented with Lifetime Achievement Awards by Tom Tangen, Inge Jaklin and Dr. Udo Bayer.

Special invited guests include Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Marvin Paige, Ray Bradbury, Leonard Maltin, Rick Baker, George Clayton Johnson, Sara Karloff, Bela Lugosi Jr., Leonard Neubauer, Scott MacQueen, Gloria Stuart, Earl Hamner, Lupita Tovar, Bob Burns, Ron Chaney, David Skall, and others.

Carla Laemmle’s birthday is a celebration of over eight decades in cinema. The actress has lived a most extraordinary life, growing up on her uncle’s Universal lot and witnessing the early years of Hollywood’s growth. At just 16 she was the prima ballerina who danced in the Lon Chaney classic The Phantom of the Opera (1925). She also spoke the first lines in Universal’s first “talkie movie” Dracula (1931) starring Bela Lugosi, the classic horror film that established the beginning of Universal Pictures’ success and legacy in popular horror films. Carla Laemmle is now the last surviving cast member of both films.

Laemmle continued to star in small roles until the late 1930s and recently became the subject of two biographies titled after her immortal opening lines. The first is a written biography by Rick Atkins called Among the Rugged Peaks: An Intimate Biography of Carla Laemmle. The second is a film biography, Among The Rugged Peaks, by actor, producer, and director, and interviewer, Tom Tangen, a red carpet favorite who has cataloged over 2,000 celebrity interviews. The film, edited by Emmy-winning Mary DeChambres, will debut in 2010 from Elusive Entertainment [AmongTheRuggedPeaks.com].

In May 2009, Carla Laemmle also co-authored a book with Daniel Kinske, Growing Up With Monsters: My Times at Universal Studios in Rhymes, detailing her experiences growing up on a motion picture studio lot. The instant hit offered an introduction by sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury and illustrations by Jack Davis and Hermann Mejia. Sponsored by Famous Monsters of Filmland and Universal Studios, the VIP private, invitation-only event will begin at 4:30pm with a dinner followed by special events. After-dinner celebrations include Carla Laemmle’s Lifetime Achievement Award Ceremony, a ballet performance organized by Famous Monsters of Filmland’s Robert Aragon, musical performances, a speech from the birthday girl, and concluding with a coffee and birthday cake social hour featuring live piano.

For more information visit: Famous Monsters of Filmland