Three birthday parties were celebrated, but yours truly received the best gift of all

Future fans of past movies at the Essanay Silent Film Museum in Niles, Calif. this weekend.

The big news this weekend at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum was not one but three kids' birthday parties at the Saturday night comedy show.

So I got to play 'Happy Birthday' three different times, with each version up a key for dramatic emphasis.

Really, it was a joy to see so many young folks in attendance at a silent film program. And what's more, they reacted.

Chaplin's 'The Cure' (1917) and Keaton's 'Neighbors' (1920) started things off strong.

But the films of the second half — Charley Chase in 'Dog Shy' (1926) and Laurel & Hardy's early 'The Second Hundred Years' (1927) — provoked a reaction that truly soared off the Richter Scale for laughter.

The Chase film, which I'd never accompanied before, is a crackerjack comedy that brought the comedy pot to a high boil.

That set the stage for 'The Second Hundred Years,' which I've always felt was Laurel & Hardy lite, or at least unformed, as it's from the time before their characters had been fully developed.

Well, that didn't matter last Saturday night. Seldom have I heard such laughter in a theater! And right from the very start, too. Everything the two did was capital F FUNNY! And everything everyone else did was funny, too.

I love it when this happens, just for the sheer joy of conjuring up laughter from the ghosts of comedians who worked nearly a century ago now. There's nothing quite like it.

But for an accompanist, it's also a gift because once the laughter barn starts burning, there are stretches where it doesn't matter what you play due to the uproarious, sustained laughter.

Really. I couldn't believe the laughs that Stan Laurel could get from using a spoon to chase a cherry around a saucer, again and again and again. Amazing!

So a good time was had by all, including the many young folks who crowded the front rows. What a pleasure to bring a silent film program to life for tomrorow's film fanatics. There may have been three birthdays being celebrated, but I felt like I was the one getting the gift.

Speaking of which, this weekend's performance resulted in a much-appreciated shout-out on Twitter from L.D. Writer, who was in attendance:

"@jeffrapsis was incredible by the way. Easily some of the best silent film accompaniment I've ever enjoyed. Thanks for flying out West!"

No, thank you for such kind words!

I'll be back on the West Coast on Friday, June 28 to accompany a Chaplin program at the Niles museum.

But right now it's time to focus on what's coming up later this week. Performances include a special pre-Memorial Day program on Thursday, May 23 at the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire, and then Harold Lloyd's classic comedy 'Safety Last' (1923) at the Wilton (N.H.) Town Hall Theatre.

More info coming!

You know you've arrived when your name gets written on cardboard! In permanent ink!

A long trip to accompany short films at the Niles (Calif.) Essanay Silent Film Museum

On this weekend's California-style menu: short comedies, including Chaplin's 'The Cure' (1917).

Before we talk film, let's hear it for frequent flier miles!

And also for cutthroat competition in the Boston-to-San Francisco market, where no less than four airlines are duking it out. Delta, United, JetBlue, Alaska. And I might be leaving one out.

That means something like 15 daily non-stops each way (I'm not kidding) between the two cities. And that in turn means low fares.

But who actually pays cash? Instead, I cross the continent with a paltry outlay of frequent flier miles. Take that, Lewis & Clark!

And this confluence of competition and machines that travel at 550 mph enables me to occupy a semi-regular schedule at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, across the bay from San Francisco.

Why Niles? Well, it's the only theater I can think of that runs a different full-evening program of silent films (shorts and features) each and every week all year round. And they've kept that pace going for more than a decade!

So just as religious pilgrims follow Spain's Camino de Santiago, as a silent film accompanist eager to practice the craft, I make my own pilgrimage to silent film holy ground. Plus, they often run William S. Hart features than never get shown anywhere else.

I love sitting in the dark and getting absorbed by an obscure drama that might have thrilled my great-grandparents.

By semi-regular, my visits work out to twice a year: usually May and then November. But this year, a scheduling quirk has enabled me to also be at Niles for their annual "Chaplin Days" festival in June.

But first up: Saturday, May 18, where I'll sit in for a program of comedy shorts starring many of the big names: Chaplin's 'The Cure'; Keaton's 'Neighbors'; Laurel & Hardy's 'Second Hundred Years,' and Charley Chase in 'Dog Shy.'

It's an honor to do music for these pictures, which for me and so many others were the gateway drug that got us into silent film. I love to think that the audience for Saturday night's show might be a few folks who will make their own discovery of this unusual art form.

That's important to remember. The films may be familiar, or even old hat, to long-time silent film fans (although I don't think I've ever accompanied the Chase comedy), but not to most other people. So a key part of accompanying them, I think, is to remember the spirit of surprise and delight that often also accompanies seeing them for the first time.

Well, if you're in the Bay Area, please stop in for a visit. And if you miss this weekend, I'll be back on Friday, June 28 to accompany Chaplin's 'Shoulder Arms' (1918) as part of the Museum's annual "Chaplin Days" celebration.

See, while under contract with the Essanay Film Co., everyone's favorite tramp filmed several comedies (including 'The Tramp') at the firm's studio in Niles, in and around the neighborhood. (Hence the "Holy Ground" reference above.

It's really quite a connection to Chaplin's early years, and the museum makes the most of it. And I'm delighted to be helping out with this year's edition.

For more info on the Niles Essanay museum, visit http://nilesfilmmuseum.org/. And for an idea of what "Chaplin Days" is like in Niles, check out the photo below: