Worth 1,000 Words: FESS PARKER’s DAVY CROCKETT
By Steve Crum
“Born on a mountain top in Tennessee” he was not, yet FESS PARKER, who died yesterday at age 85, will forever be DAVY CROCKETT, the frontiersman, congressman, and legendary hero of the Alamo. Thanks to Walt Disney and the millions of children who watched Davy Crockett and his adventures on TV beginning in 1954, Fess Parker (Aug. 16, 1924 in Ft. Worth, Texas-March 18, 2010) is THE coonskin hat wearer of all time.
After graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in History, and working toward a Master’s in Theater History, Fess Parker veered toward acting. After small roles in Warner Brothers films beginning in 1950, Parker was discovered by Walt Disney, who was casting the lead role of Davy Crockett in an upcoming miniseries on the Disneyland TV show. Disney, the story goes, caught Parker in a minute role in the sci fi classic, Them!, and soon selected Parker over Buddy Ebsen as Crockett. Ebsen was recast as Crockett’s sidekick, Georgie Russell.
Only three episodes were planned for the Davy Crockett saga, ending with Crockett’s death at the Alamo. It was one of the few, literally overnight sensations in the history of show business. The nation, and eventually the world, became Crockett crazy. Caught off guard, the Disney corporation had no Crockett merchandise ready to peddle. However, it did not take long for Davy Crockett toys, games, and coonskin hats to hit the market and sell in the millions. The Ballad of Davy Crockett, sung throughout the three TV episodes, was in the Top 10. In fact, there were no less than three singers of the same song in the Top 10 at the same time: Bill Hayes, Tennessee Ernie Ford, and Fess Parker himself. Disney rapidly released two prequels of the Crockett story, and they were ratings hits as well. Soon all five TV episodes were edited into two feature length movies.
Still under contract to Disney, Fess Parker starred in The Great Locomotive Chase, Old Yeller, and Westward Ho! The Wagons. Post-Disney, Parker starred in the short lived series, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Typecast as a frontiersman, Parker signed with NBC-TV for the series, Daniel Boone. From 1964-70, Fess Parker wore the moccasins, fringe leather, and cookskin cap once again. Before retiring from acting, Parker turned down the role of modern lawman cowboy McCloud. Instead, Dennis Weaver successfully took the role. Soon after, Parker opened the Fess Parker Family Winery & Vineyards in Los Olivos, California. His logo on the award winning wines produced under his name: “The Golden Coonskin Hat.” Fess Parker died of natural causes on his wife’s 84th birthday.
——————-The photo at right of the younger Davy Crockett was taken on May 28, 1955, when yours truly, then Stevie Crum, turned seven. For most of that day, I channeled Fess Parker’s Davy Crockett as I scouted our neighborhood for bears and cantankerous keelboaters like Mike Fink, King of the River. It was a joy portraying my hero, The King of the Wild Frontier. (from Steve Crum’s showbiz memorabilia collection)
——————–
Worth 1,000 Words: AL JOLSON & WILLIE RITCHIE
WHAT A KNOCKOUT PHOTO! Sitting in a 1920’s (or earlier) touring car are The World’s Greatest Entertainer, AL JOLSON (May 26. 1886-Oct. 23, 1950), alongside The World’s Lightweight Boxing Champion, WILLIE RITCHIE (Feb. 13, 1891-March 24, 1975). Someone has written their names in white ink on the photo. The vintage photograph, stamped on the back by the Laval Co. Inc. Commercial Photography of Fresno, CA, is rich in personalities depicted, but weak on any specific information as to the year, location and circumstances under which it was taken. [from Steve Crum’s collection]
Ritchie’s birth name, Gerhardt Anthony Steffan, was changed to hide the fact from his mother that he had taken up boxing. He began his boxing career in 1907, and eventually became the World’s Lightweight Champ (1912-14). He retired from boxing in 1927, the same year Jolson’s heralded talkie, The Jazz Singer, premiered. Willie Ritchie was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1962. ——————–
If anyone has information about the top photo with Jolson (a Where, What, Why or How would be welcome), please enter such in the comment link below.
——————–
For rarely seen footage of Willie Ritchie’s July 4, 1913 Lightweight Championship (which he won) vs Joe Rivers, link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfBmJZ401Qg
Worth 1,000 Words: GABBY HAYES leads the sidekick parade
By Steve Crum
GEORGE “GABBY” HAYES (May 7, 1885-Feb. 9, 1969) is arguably THE best of the cowboy movie sidekicks. Not taking anything away from Smiley Burnette, “Fuzzy” St. John, Max Terhune, Pat Brady, Andy Devine, and the dozen or so more sidekicks, it is Gabby Hayes who cowboy movie fans usually remember most fondly when the good old days of shoot ‘em up B-western films are discussed.
Gabby played sidekick, ie: backup, comedy support who could use his pistol and fists when necessary, with the best of the best western stars. He was first Hopalong Cassidy’s sidekick Windy Halliday from 1935-39. Then a salary dispute with Paramount triggered (good verb, huh?) a move to Republic Pictures, which became Hayes’ home studio for years. His screen name was changed to Gabby Whitaker as he rode alongside Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and Wild Bill Elliott in over 40 oaters through 1946. He supported Randolph Scott in six movies, and John Wayne in 20. Most of the time he was the sidekick, but he frequently played a character role outside his norm. Gabby’s last role was with Randolph Scott in 1950’s The Cariboo Trail. (He played “Grizzly” Winters in that one.)
Then Gabby moseyed into Saturday morning television with NBC’s The Gabby Hayes Show (1950-54). In 1956, his show moved to ABC for a brief time. At that time, there were popular Gabby Hayes comic books as well as a Gabby Hayes Children’s Summer Camp in New York.
It was an impressive career journey for one of seven Hayes kids born in Wellsville, New York. Gabby did not seem to age that much over the years he was a cowboy icon, probably due to the fact his greying, grizzled beard and removal of his false teeth kept him looking older than his real age. To this day, he is still considered (and often satirized) the premier and most beloved cowboy movie sidekick of them all. Check out Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles as well as the singing group Riders in the Sky. Their “Sidemeat” character is pretty much Gabby.
Every year in April, at the start of trout season, a group of old friends and admirers gather in Pennsylvania to participate in the Gabby Hayes Memorial Fishing Expedition. Gabby would surely get a “kick” out of it.
——————–
FROM A SMALL PHOTO taken from way back and above the crowd, Gabby Hayes rides in a convertible while in a parade. I acquired this unpublished snapshot years ago without any explanation as to the location and date. It appears to be in the late 1930’s or early ‘40s. If anyone knows anything about the location (using a magnifying glass might help ID the town), please leave a comment below. [from Steve Crum’s showbiz memorabilia collection]——————–
Here is some of the best of Gabby: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7koigiUq7GE
Depp + 3D visuals are ‘Alice in Wonderland’ draw power
By Steve Crum
With Alice in Wonderland in 3D, you get not only Johnny Depp, but Johnny In-Depth. That pun out of the way, be aware that Tim Burton’s partially live action remake of Disney’s Alice in Wonderland is an eyeful, and that is about it. Its 108 minutes seem laboriously longer, and Depp and company ham upon ham.
Without the 3D, which is frequently used cleverly, Alice would only marginally deserve a second looking glass look. Incorporating the songs from the 1951 cartoon would have helped immensely. Since Disney produced both films, why not? As it is, Burton has directed a surprisingly lifeless take on Lewis Carroll’s classic fairy tale. Even Depp’s endless mugging can’t save it from the pit wherein Alice falls.
But visually, which is where this Alice really radiates, there are many riches. Ken Ralston’s visual effects are stunning and surreal; Colleen Atwood’s costumes are dazzling; and Dariusz Wolski’s photography is spot on. However, all suffer because most scenes are so darkly shot. How can one fully appreciate their good work when even the brightest days seem like sundown or dusk? Either Burton and Wolksi purposely took the visual design from Arthur Rackham’s sepia-tone illustrations for the 1907 publishing of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (which includes dimly lit imagery) or the problem was at my screening. Perhaps the 3D projector had an under-watted bulb? From 1903 to the present, there have been 16 film adaptations and numerous TV and video productions of Lewis Carroll’s fantasy novel. Originally published in 1865, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was followed by Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871). So what has Tim Burton brought to the Hatter’s table? For one, he and screenwriter Linda Woolverton have included doses of Carroll’s poem Jabberwocky, first featured in Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass. In fact, Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter humorously recites its nonsensical lines at one point.
Unlike Disney’s classic animated film, most of Burton’s Alice features a young adult heroine (played by Mia Wasikowska), even though the story opens 13 years earlier when the child Alice first encounters or fantasizes about “Underland.” The older Alice, living in Victorian England, is about to be engaged to a young man about whom she does not care. Distracted by a large rabbit at an outdoor surprise party, Alice runs after the critter, tracks it to a large hole in the ground, and promptly falls in. She then arrives in Wonderland, aka Underland, encountering adventures familiar to most viewers. There are the potions she drinks for both shrinking and growing tall, the Mad Hatter’s tea party, encounters with the wise caterpillar and the floating cat, and her relationships with both the good White Queen and the evil Red Queen. I do like the Red Queen’s footstool. Talk about hamming it up!
For the record, Helena Bonham Carter sneers as Red Queen; Anne Hathaway is sweet goodness as White Queen; Crispin Glover’s head digitally sits atop a tall and evil knight called Stayne, Knave of Hearts; and Matt Lucas has his face morphed on the roly-poly, identical twins Tweedledee and Tweedledum. There is fine voice work by Stephen Fry (Cheshire Cat), Alan Rickman (Blue Caterpillar), Michael Sheen (White Rabbit), Paul Whitehouse (March Hare), Timothy Spall (Bayard), and Barbara Windsor’s Dormouse. What most will come to see, outside of the 3D, is Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Mad Hatter, and they won’t be disappointed. Depp is basically doing a blend of Willy Wonka and Captain Jack, which translates to goofy, yet heroic, innocence. That, as previously said, includes his patented facial takes and mugging. Nothing wrong here since our greatest screen clowns had their shtick too. Count how many times Danny Kaye repeated his facial contortions in picture after picture throughout his screen career. Kaye fans loved him for it, and so now do Depp fans.
Mention should be made that Alice in Wonderland is pretty heavy on beheadings and like violence, certainly too intense for younger kids. In days of yon, this PG rated film would surely have garnered at least a PG-13.
Incidentally, the 3D is effectively used throughout Alice in Wonderland, but the pudding’s plum occurs in the very last second of the film. While it doesn’t qualify as a grand finale, it certainly outgrabes the mome raths. My Hatter’s tip to Lewis Carroll.
——————–
On an A to F grade scale: B-
——————–
Beware the Red Queen as you view the Alice in Wonderland trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjMkNrX60mA
Worth 1,000 Words: ‘SPANKY’ McFARLAND at Harmon
By Steve Crum
HAS IT REALLY BEEN nearly 22 years since “SPANKY” McFARLAND spoke to a packed house of 1,000+ students and faculty members at J.C. Harmon High School in Kansas City, Kansas? Sure enough. It was mid-morning on Monday, Sept. 12, 1988, when I introduced Spanky at a special assembly in the auditorium. (I was teaching journalism, mass media and English at Harmon then.)
Earlier that morning, I had driven to the Doubletree Hotel in Overland Park to pick up Spanky, along with his golf clubs and luggage. He was in town as one of the celebrity players at the Peter Marshall (The Hollywood Squares) Celebrity Golf Tournament in K.C. Spank was drinking a cup of coffee, and waiting on the hotel sidewalk when I drove up.
On the drive to Harmon, Spanky complimented me on my safe driving in between talking about Alfalfa, his growing up in Texas, fellow “Rascal” Scotty Beckett, and show business in general. Regarding his memory of Scotty Becket, with whom he was paired in numerous Our Gang shorts, Spanky said, “Oh God, Scotty Beckett. Poor, poor Scotty. What a sad story. What a talent. So sad. He left us far too soon.” (Beckett had a relatively brief but illustrious career in film, radio and TV, but died at age 38 in a nursing home. Drugs, alcohol, martial problems and depression factored into his tragic circumstances.)
It was all prearranged by my good pal Jim Peters, the leader and founder of our Hog Wild Tent, which is the local chapter of the Laurel and Hardy, Sons of the Desert organization. (All the fan club’s branches are called tents, and each is named after one of Stan and Ollie’s classic comedy films.) Spanky met Jim at a Laurel and Hardy convention, and agreed–for a price–to appear at both of our schools. Jim was teaching at Eisenhower Middle School, a few miles away. So Spanky introduced clips (on 16mm) of vintage Our Gang/Little Rascals to an appreciative audience. At that time, the students were very aware of Spanky, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, Darla and the gang thanks to repeated showings on TV. Spanky talked and fielded questions about himself and other cast members for an hour. Then he was off to do likewise at Eisenhower. (Jim then drove him to the airport so Spanky could fly home.) He received $500 for each gig; students paid $1-$2 per admittance. Both Spanky and our schools profited. It was absolutely a very cool experience. Before the show, I introduced Spanky to the principal and his secretaries. All were thrilled.
I will add that Spanky was not an overly happy camper when I picked him up. He told me he had planned to play in the golf tournament, but hurt his leg just before playing, and had to cancel out. Still, he was in good humor.
——————–
BORN GEORGE ROBERT PHILLIPS McFARLAND on Oct. 2, 1928, SPANKY began his show biz career as a very young child, modeling clothes and appearing in print Wonder Bread ads. A reliable source says he was first nicknamed “Buddy.” Another source claims he was called “Sonny.” Nonetheless, it was “Spanky” that stuck when he auditioned for Hal Roach’s Our Gang series at age 3. Spanky was immediately a sensation, and became the virtual on-screen leader of the Gang, later renamed The Little Rascals in TV syndication. 
After 95 film shorts, Spanky retired in 1942. Typecast forever, and always looking very much like he always did in movies–thanks in part to his shortness, Spanky could not get work in Hollywood. He worked at various businesses, finding success as National Sales Director of Philco-Ford in Texas. For a time, he hosted a local kids’ TV show (featuring Little Rascals movies) in Texas, and participated in celebrity golf tournaments (as well as his own). On June 30, 1993, Spanky died of a heart attack at age 64 in Grapevine, Texas. The more recent photo of Spanky was taken at the Harmon assembly in 1988. [from Steve Crum’s showbiz memorabilia collection]——————–