Inspired by a Movie

[from My Photo a Day Adventure blog]

Saturday, November 6, 2021 … Serendipitous timing … Eleanor Roosevelt died November 7, 1962 … Sunrise at Campobello, 1960, was the movie that led me to the summer home she and Franklin shared … on FDR’s “beloved island” … Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada … June 15, 2003 … at the Roosevelt Campobello International Park …

Roosevelt Cottage … built 1897 … extension on left added 1915 … June 15, 2003

Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt were major humanitarian figures in American history when I grew up … so there was an immediate draw when Sunrise at Campobello was on color tv in the late 1960s, early 1970s … most memorable was the location  filming at Campobello …

Back porch … Roosevelt Cottage … water … facing west

Opening scenes of the lively family … sailing, putting out a small fire near the beach, running up to the cottage … August 10, 1921 … just before FDR is stricken with the paralysis of his legs that he struggled with, but didn’t let get in the way of his political career … elected President 4 terms, 1933-1945 …

One of my favorite rooms … Roosevelt Cottage … west end, first floor

Front porch family time … 1920 … FDR, his mother, Sara Roosevelt, and Eleanor … FDR’s parents brought him to the island in 1883, when he was a year old, building their own cottage in 1885 … In 1907, Sara purchased the 1897 Kuhn cottage on the adjacent property as a belated wedding gift … FDR and Eleanor married, 1905 … The Kuhn cottage became the now known Roosevelt Cottage – source …

5 kids … and a dog! … 1920 … Roosevelt Cottage … Photo of photo in cottage

Expanded cottage … 1920 … FDR didn’t return to Campobello for over 10 years after 1921 … His final brief visits occurred in 1936 and 1939, before his death in 1945, though his family continued to use the house until 1952 … By 1957, the Hammer brothers, who purchased the property, began to lobby Congress for the creation of an international park … which opened August 24, 1964 … jointly owned and managed by both Canada and the United States, created by a treaty that honors the memory of FDR and the legacy of friendship between the two countries  … the only such international park in the world. – source …

“Our house Campo 1920” … In 1915, FDR enlarged “the Roosevelt cottage” with an L-shaped extension (on the left in this view) … Photo of photo in cottage

Will the real Eleanor Roosevelt please stand up … 1960 … Eleanor visiting Ralph Bellamy and Greer Garson … Hyde Park, New York location … Sunrise at Campobello …

A special visitor … Eleanor Roosevelt with Ralph Bellamy, Greer Garson

Sunset, actually … at Campobello … Ralph Bellamy … reprising his Broadway role … Greer Garson

Sunrise at Campobello, 1960 … nominated for 4 Oscars: Actress – Greer Garson; Art Direction, Color; Costume Design, Color; Sound … But first, it was a 1958 Broadway play … winner of 4 Tony’s: Best Play; Actor in a Play – Ralph Bellamy; Featured Actor in a Play – Henry Jones; Director – Vincent J. Donehue (also directed film) …

Movie poster … Sunrise at Campobello, 1960 … makes FDR and Eleanor look a lot younger than they were!

The journey to Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada … June 2003 … train from Vancouver, Washington to Buffalo, New York … rental car through New York and Massachusetts … up the coast through New Hampshire and Maine … a night at a Lubec, Maine B&B … the easternmost edge of the U.S. … then across the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial Bridge to Campobello … the only bridge to the island … southern end of the Bay of Fundy … but wait! … The Bay of Fundy is one of the 7 wonders of North America. The highest tides on earth, the rarest whales in the world, semi-precious minerals and dinosaur fossils – source …

Map of Maine, with Lubec … and New Brunswick, Canada, with Campobello Island and Bay of Fundy

Before Hazel

Sunday, November 30, 2014, 12:30 pm — Shirley Booth, Humphrey Bogart! … Hell’s Bells, 1925, her first Broadway play … “Hazel” was quite a dish! …

Rolling Stone

Saturday, May 10, 2014, 9:30 pm —
Aargh! A cold … I’ve got a koad … Started with a sore throat Friday afternoon … Stayed late at work, left after 6:00 pm … Lots of Simply Orange high-pulp orange juice … and a few remaining Cold-Eeze sugar free cherry flavor zinc lozenges … Can’t take them together … And leftover Vancouver Pizza pepperoni pizza (best in town!) … And aspirin.

“When you’re sick, rest is best, rest is best!” – Daniel Gets a Cold, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood – good advice from PBS tv!

So that’s what I’m doing … restin’ and readin’ … Fred Stone’s autobiography, Rolling Stone, 1945 … interlibrary loan via Summit from U. of Oregon, Eugene … Checked out 4 times in 1945 … still has the original signed checkout cards in the back pocket! … Love this archaeological connection with the book’s past.

“Condition: Collectible – Good – Inscribed by the author to a previous owner on the ffe. There is also a gift inscription on the front paste down. Red boards with sunning to spine and some general wear. No dust jacket.”

Fred Stone of Oz

Dave Montgomery and Fred Stone … Tin Man and Scarecrow in the original theatrical  Wizard of Oz, 1903, Broadway.

 

 

No Stone Unturned

Sunday, May 4, 2014, 8:50 am — Just finished The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, 1936 … first feature film shot in Technicolor outdoors. Pristine color (recently purchased the DVD). Henry Fonda‘s fourth film. Beulah Bondi … Above and beyond all that goodness, I HAD to find out more about Fred Stone (Judd Tolliver, head of the Tolliver clan) …

Who is he, who is he, who is he? … Katharine Hepburn‘s beleagured father in Alice Adams, 1935 … His first of 11 sound films. His last, The Westerner, 1940.

Hot on the keyboard in pursuit of Fred Stone, 1873-1959, from my old standby, imdb.com:

“Hardly remembered today, if at all, Fred Stone was once one of the most multi-faceted circus performers to hit turn-of-the century America. There seemed to be nothing he couldn’t do–tightrope walking, acrobatics, clowning . . . you name it. This initial celebrity eventually led to his stellar headlining in vaudeville houses, stardom on the Broadway musical stage and character lead work in films.”

“Became famous as the Scarecrow in the 1902-1906 stage production of The Wizard of Oz, paired with David Craig Montgomery who played the Tin Woodsman. His performance inspired Ray Bolger, who based his performance on Stone’s incredible physical performances.”

“A very close friend of humorist Will Rogers … Fred and Rogers would sometimes appear on the same vaudeville bill and shared a mutual love of steer roping, polo, flying and even bulldogging. One of Will’s children was named Fred Stone Rogers.”

“Uncle of Gunsmoke (1955) actor Milburn Stone (“Doc” Adams).”

“A long-overdue biography of Fred Stone was published by Armond Fields in 2002″ … Just requested it via Summit! … Fred Stone: Circus Performer and Musical Comedy Star … Also, his autobiography, Rolling Stone, 1945.

That’s it! … He has a Scarecrow-esque quality of earnest yearning, to know more, be more, held back by a slight befuddlement (that word will have to do until I find the right one).

Left – On Broadway as the original Scarecrow, 1903, Wizard of Oz

• Fred Stone Collection, Kansas Historical Society

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Left – With Will Rogers, 1879-1935, swapping stories, 1930; Right – Bulldogging, 1919, Cheyenne, Wyoming

Left – The Goat, 1918 – getting tough;  Right – The Goat, 1918. Who’s standing behind Fred, wearing a straw hat? … Ramon Novarro! … an uncredited extra!

Left — “Fred Stone, an Old Favorite, Once More on Broadway”;  Right — “Fred Stone, Wonderful Dad, 1873-1959″, grave marker, Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills).