Tribute to Frank Capra

Source: http://goo.gl/0FAH18

The following is an excerpt from my book about It's a Wonderful Life, which is currently looking for a home with a publisher:

An Italian immigrant, Frank Capra discovered at a young age “what would later become one of the most important themes of his movies: ‘One nation. . .with liberty and justice for all’” (Stewart 82). Capra often made movies about the little man doing great things, representing ideals and qualities that made the little man great. Those qualities included, common sense, family values, a religious (though not overt) dedication, fidelity, family values, and Americanism.

Capra’s films have been referred to as “Capracorn” because of their perceived “corny,” unbelievable, or over-the top endings. The crowning example of this is the closing scene of It’s a Wonderful Life, because it can be misconstrued as being sappy and too-happy of an ending for such a dark film.

Initially, this characterization hurt Capra’s feelings because he felt strongly about his films and the messages they carried. However, he later took this critical jab and turned it into a positive by calling most of his films “Capracorn” himself. To him, Capracorn came to mean

… a brew of the comic, the sentimental, the rhetorical, the 

idealistic, and the melodramatic in which the values of the 

man on the street were raised above those of official authority 

in which, even at the cost of gliding over specific plot points, 

there was inevitably a happy ending. (Dewey 268).

Capra has 58 film directing credits to his name, which reads like an American Film Institute Top 100 list.

Capra was born May 18, 1897 in Italy. He died Sept. 3, 1991, at age 94, but not before the Mayor of Los Angeles and the city council declared May 12, 1962 to be Frank Capra Day (Capra 488).

He is buried in Coachella Valley Public Cemetery, Riverside County, CA. If he was still alive, he would be 118 years old.

Source: Find A Grave

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Sources:

Capra, Frank. Frank Capra: the Name Above the Title, an Autobiography. New York: DaCapo Press, 1997.

Dewey, Donald. James Stewart: A Biography. Atlanta: Turner Publishing, Inc., 1996.

Stewart, Jimmy. “Frank Capra’s Merry Christmas to All.” Reader’s Digest Dec. 1991: 81-85.

   

Tribute to Argentina Brunetti

Frank Capra loved to name his film's characters Marie, Maria and Mary. That's an entirely separate blog entry that I need to remember to do one of these days.

Argentina Brunetti
Source: http://www.findagrave.com/

It's a Wonderful Life contains both a Mary and a Marie. There is Mary Bailey, of course. There is also Marie Martini, Mr. Martini's wife. She is the one who takes the bread and salt from Mary during the Martini home dedication.

Marie was portrayed by Argentina Brunetti, who has 165 acting credits to her name. She was also known for her roles as Filomena Soltini on the television series General Hospital in the 1960s; and Sarah Benedict in 7 Faces of Doctor Lao in 1964. She was also in an episode of The Lone Ranger in 1955.

Brunetti's first acting job was an uncredited role in the film Gilda, in 1946. Her final role was as Neighbor Woman in the film The 4th Nenor in 2002, just three years prior to her death. She was also in The Man From U.N.C.L.E., a television series that was turned into a movie and is in theaters now.

It's a Wonderful Life was only her third acting role, completed at the age of 38.

Today, we celebrate Brunetti's birthday. She was born Aug. 31, 1907, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She traveled America with the Bailey children to celebrate the 50th anniversary of It's a Wonderful Life.

She died Dec. 20, 2005, in Rome, Italy, at age 98. She was the last living adult actress from It's a Wonderful Life. If she were alive today, she would be 108. She was laid to rest in a mausoleum at Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum in Culver City, CA.

Argentina Brunetti's mausoleum stone
Source: http://www.findagrave.com/

Tribute to Frank Faylen

Source: http://goo.gl/nOOs9j

Frank Faylen says and does some of the more entertaining things in It's a Wonderful Life. It is he who has the wonderful line, "how would you like to...." which gets cut off and allows our imaginations to run wild. He also gives Bert the Cop a kiss at the honeymoon, which earns him a little chastisement.

He was born Dec. 8, 1905, in St. Louis, MO as Francis Charles Ruf.

Through the years, Faylen racked up 219 acting credits, beginning in 1935 in a short titled Double Exposure. His final performance was on an episode of the TV series Quincy M.E.

His credits include such classics as:

• The Many Lives of Dobie Gillis (1959), as Dobie's father, Herbert
• Gone With the Wind (1939)
• The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
• The Lost Weekend (1945)
• Road to Rio (1947)
• Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)

He also appeared in many military/war films, but he may be best known as a taxi driver. A quick survey of Internet Movie Database credits Faylen with portraying "Taxi Driver" in the following films:

• Four's a Crowd (1938)
• Saturday's Children (1940)
• No Time for Comedy (1940)
• Footsteps in the Dark (1941)
• The Palm Beach Story (1942)
• Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble (1944)
• The Well-Groomed Bride (1946)
• It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

He is credited as "Driver in Cafe" in They Drive By Night (1940), and even appeared in an unknown role (unknown to me, that is) in a film titled Taxi, Mister (1943).

I'm sure there are more instances in which he portrayed a taxi driver, but they are listed as named characters, not as "taxi driver" on Internet Movie Database.

I almost listed another film in which he played an ambulance driver. It's practically the same thing as a taxi driver. But I decided against it.

Faylen died 30 years ago today, Aug. 2, 1985, in Burbank, CA. He is buried in an unmarked grave at San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hill, CA.

Frank Faylen's star on the Walk of Fame, 

on the North side of the 6200 block 

of Hollywood Boulevard.

Source: http://goo.gl/nOOs9j

He would be 109 if he was alive today.

Sources:

Internet Movie Database

Find a Grave

Tribute to Joseph Walker

Source: https://goo.gl/AxKuxJ

Quite possibly one of Frank Capra's favorite cinematographers, Joseph Walker has 145 film credits to his name.

His first film was Back to God's Country, in 1919.

Among Capra films Walker captured are:

• Ladies of Leisure (1930)
• Dirigible (1931)
• The Miracle Woman (1931)
• Platinum Blonde (1931)
• American Madness (1932)
• The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933)
• Lady for a Day (1933)
• It Happened One Night (1934)

And way too many more to count, including, of course, It's a Wonderful Life.

Walker was nominated for four Oscars, but didn't win any.

He invented the zoom lens, and also helped develop the wireless transmitter.

Here is a bit of interesting trivia for you: Joseph Walker's middle name is Bailey.

His last film was Affair in Trinidad in 1952.

He was born Aug. 22, 1892 in Denver, CO. He died Aug. 1, 1985 in Las Vegas, NV. If he were alive today, he would be 122 years old.

Source:

Internet Movie Database

Tribute to Philip Van Doren Stern

It's a Wonderful Life wouldn't be a film without Philip Van Doren Stern. 

Source: http://goo.gl/zRaxHg

It was he who wrote the short story "The Greatest Gift" that inspired the film. "The Greatest Gift" takes elements of "The Gift of the Magi," Tom Sawyer, and A Christmas Carol and wraps them all together.

Stern was best known as a historian, who wrote biographies about Edgar Allen Poe and Robert E. Lee. He also wrote history books about the Model T Ford, a book called The Life and Writings of Abraham Lincoln, as well as another book titled The Man Who Killed Lincoln.

I have an interesting story about The Man Who Killed Lincoln. It was published in 1939. As a former Civil War reenactor, a Civil War enthusiast, and someone who is enamored with Lincoln, I was excited to find a beat up used book called The Man Who Killed Lincoln at my favorite coffee shop/used book store in the town where I grew up and currently live.

I never paid attention to who wrote it. I got it, put it on my shelf, and proceeded to ignore it for many years. One day when I was going through my books, weeding out the stuff I have read or wasn't interested in reading, I grabbed that book and almost threw it on the "toss it out" pile. As I was tossing it, I caught the words "Van Doren" on the spine.

Source: Personal Collection

As a BIGGER enthusiast of IAWL than I was of the Civil War, I snatched the book back up, knowing that "Van Doren" was not very common. I was surprised to find out that not only it was the same name, but I had been oblivious of its existence in my collection for many years. A quick search on the internet confirmed that it was indeed the same author. The book quickly made its way to my permanent IAWL collection, where it remains.

I write of Stern today because it was on this day in 1984 that he died in Sarasota, Fla. The location of his burial is unknown.

He was born Sept. 10, 1900 in Wyalusing, PA. If he were alive today, he would be 114 years old.

Sources:

http://goo.gl/e2evhw

Find a Grave

...That's a Wrap

From left to right: Grandpa Van Vorhis, my dad holding me,
and my great-grandfather, "Cap."

My apologies for not posting on my blog early Wednesday morning, as I have worked very hard to make my habit. I had good intentions, but I got a text.

The text came from my mom, consisting of three single-syllable words: "Please call me." This text felt different. There was no "love you," or "miss you," or "found a shirt you would like." This text carried weight. Deep down, I knew what that weight was.

So I called her right away, keeping my concern low, not ready to tip my hand that I knew what was coming. Being a pessimist sucks. My church calls it "the gift of prophecy." I call it the opportunity to say "I knew it," or "I told you so." Suffice it to say that I was having a less-than-stellar Tuesday, and I knew that whatever mom had to say was going to make it worse.

I knew it.

"They called 911 for your grandpa this morning and now he's unresponsive. He's dying. This is it."

I knew it.

We went through the process of where is he, should I come up, what do you need me to do, and keep me informed. This was around 5:45 in the afternoon.

At 8:15 p.m., while at work, I got a text from mom that said "Grandpa is gone."

Grandpa and Grandma sorting mushrooms in their kitchen
sometime in the 1980s.

I know that people are going to freak out that my mom sent a text to tell me the news. Spare me the vitriol. It was a planned communication since I had to be at work.

Grandpa died at age 94. He joins Grandma, wo died Feb. 10, 2011 at age 87

I think we all have regrets in life. I have regrets concerning Grandpa. I could have spent more time with him, tried harder, made an effort to figure out some things that it was never my responsibility...or my right...to poke my nose into or try to make sense of. I totally ended that sentence with a preposition, and I refuse to change it.

Grandpa was a woodworker. It was his hobby. He made me everything from a simple pair of drum sticks to items as cool as a toy box shaped like a barn, a magazine rack, and a wooden step stool with feet that flip up for storage. I still have all of those pieces. Everything he did was intricate. He saw a picture of a coffee table in a magazine and sent in for the instructions. I remember when he made it, over a period of months, and yet it still feels like that coffee table has been around forever.

I talked about my grandparents in my June 5, 2011 post, Memorial Day....more that military for me. I also talked about them in my Jan. 10, 2012 post, Family Traditions: Times They Are a-changin'.

A few memories before I go:

• I vaguely remember getting my barn-shaped toy box. 
• I remember Grandma and Grandpa coming to baseball games.
• I remember Grandpa, while still wearing his hat and maybe even his coat, laid down on the kitchen floor with me and helped me figure out how to put together a Matchbox race track. I have a picture of he and I lying on the floor sitting around somewhere. I wish I could find it.
• I remember eating out for my 16th birthday at Bombay Bicycle Club in Toledo.
• I remember Grandma and Grandpa taking me to bingo day somewhere. I don't know where it was. I just remember that it was fun.

Like every good film, every wonderful life must come to an end. I hope you can understand why I missed my early Wednesday regular post.

Grandma and Grandpa in their living room long ago.

Grandpa Cap, my grandfather, and his brother, Floyd.

Tribute to Mary Treen

Source: http://goo.gl/IbcEzS

I can't think of Mary Treen without hearing her holler through cupped hands "Here they come! Here they come!" during the wedding scene in It's a Wonderful Life.

With 213 acting credits to her name, Mary Treen was an accomplished character actress, known best among Lifers (fans of It's a Wonderful Life) as Cousin Tilly. Just like her brother Eustace, and Ma and Pa Bailey's maid Annie, Tilly's job was to bring levity to the film during the heavy scenes, and to show exactly how dire the situations were simply by the expressions on her face.

Treen's first acting job was a short film called Surprise in 1930. Her last acting job was a TV movie called Wait Till Your Mother Gets Home in 1985. In between, she appeared in the films Kitty Foyle (1940) and Room for One More (1952). I can honestly say I have not seen any of these movies...for better or for worse.

She also spent a great deal of time acting for the small screen, making appearances on The Love Boat, Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, The Brady Bunch, and if you can find it anymore, The Dukes of Hazzard, as Aunt Clara Coltrain. 

Treen was born March 27, 1907. She died July 20, 1989, in Newport Beach, CA. She was cremated and her ashes scattered.

Sources: IMDB, Find a Grave

A Tribute to Thomas Mitchell

Source: http://goo.gl/C15Ruh

What can you say about Thomas Mitchell that hasn't been said already? There isn't much. He has appeared in numerous well-known and award-winning films.

In fact, he is only one of 9 people ever to win the "Triple Crown of Acting" - an Oscar, Emmy and Tony.

According to Wikipedia, "He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for 1939's Stagecoach. In 1952, he won the Best Actor Emmy (Comedy Actor category), and the following year a Tony Award for best performance by an actor, for the musical Hazel Flagg (based on the Carole Lombard film Nothing Sacred). He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for his work in motion pictures at 1651 Vine Street and one for his work in television at 6100 Hollywood Boulevard."

He was born on this day, July 11, 1892. He has 106 acting credits to his name, including the Capra films:

• Lost Horizon (1937)
• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
• It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
• Pocketful of Miracles (1961)

The same year he appeared in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, (1939), he also appeared in another blockbuster film, Gone With the Wind, in which he played the memorable role of Gerald O'Hara.

It turns out that 1939 was a REALLY big year in his career. According to Internet Movie Database, in addition to appearing in three movies nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, (Gone With the Wind, Stagecoach and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington), he appeared in two other films that received nominations in other categories: The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Only Angels Have Wings.

He won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in Stagecoach, as well.

Mitchell's last film appearance was in Capra's A Pocketful of Miracles in 1961, as Judge Henry G. Blake. Mitchell died Dec. 17, 1962. If he were alive today, he would be 123.

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Sources: IMDB and Wikipedia.

In Memory of Charles Lane

Source: http://goo.gl/UlUvtR

This fine young man is Charles Lane. In It's a Wonderful Life, He played Reineman, Potter's rent collector who threatened to go work for George Bailey. You know....squirrels, buttercups, daisies.

Lane spent 64 years as an actor, giving his last performance at the age of 90 in a TV movie called The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes. However, Internet Movie Database now shows that Lane will act as the narrator in a version of The Night Before Christmas. This will be a bit of an interesting, if not unsettling feat, considering Lane died 8 years ago today (July 9, 2007).

Lane was born Jan. 26, 1905, in San Francisco, CA. His first role was an uncredited one, playing the hotel desk clerk in a movie called Smart Money. IMDB lists him with 363 acting credits. Among those are 10 films directed by Frank Capra, including:

• Broadway Bill (1934) (as Morgan's henchman)
• Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
• You Can't Take it With You (1938)
• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
• Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
• It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
• State of the Union (1948)
• Riding High (1950) (a remake of Broadway Bill, this time portraying Erickson)
• Here Comes the Groom (1951)

I'm missing one. Hmmm......

Source: http://goo.gl/4LISFr

In a letter to Lane, Capra wrote, "Well, Charlie, you've been my No. 1 crutch."

I have a newspaper clipping from around the time Charles Lane died. One of these days I will post it. But not today.

Today, instead, we salute Mr. Lane, the employee who was brave enough to tell his hard-hearted employer off in It's a Wonderful Life.

He died July 9, 2007 at age 102 in Santa Monica, CA. He is buried at Home of Peace Cemetery in Los Angeles, CA. If he were alive today, he would be 110.

---

Source: Wikipedia, IMDB, and Find a Grave

In Memory of Jimmy Stewart

Source: http://goo.gl/6Cjcoh

Stewart in his later years.
Source: https://goo.gl/00uxH7

James Maitland "Jimmy" Stewart, died on this day (July 2), in 1997.

He was born May 20, 1908 in Indiana, PA.

Jimmy (not James....Jimmy) almost didn't have to act. He lived an upright, honest life and was as trustworthy as George Bailey himself.

Stewart is often described as “Everyman” in his roles. Although it was a role he reprised several times, never was it more obvious than in the films he made under the direction of Frank Capra, including It’s a Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

“The part of Jefferson Smith in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington constitutes the quintessential Stewart: the upstanding, all-American, small-town boy, loyal to his family, his country, his church and his ideals; the personification of ‘rock-ribbed honesty,’” said biographer Jonathan Coe (43).

This persona was not a new role for Stewart. It was a role he lived off of the screen, as well as on. Stewart grew up with strong family and religious ties in his home town of Indiana, Pa. Later in his life, this small town dedicated the Jimmy Stewart Museum as part of the Indiana, Pa. Library.[i] In 1985, a statue of Stewart was erected in front of the museum. It faces the lot where the J.M. Stewart and Co. Hardware store stood before it was razed in 1969.

Stewart biographer Jonathan Coe calls Stewart an “incorruptible American patriot” (9). Stewart was able to further solidify this image when he enlisted in March, 1941, and became an officer in the Army Air Corps and a bombardier pilot during World War II.

Coe has drawn parallels between Stewart’s real life and the life of George Bailey. Stewart signed on to It’s a Wonderful Life on Nov. 5, 1945 (Coe 78). In addition to coming from a background similar to George’s, Coe says Stewart was drawn to the part for another reason:

“There were reasons, in fact, why a story about a hero who feels ‘despondent’ might have exerted a strong personal appeal to him (Stewart) at this time, since he was profoundly shaken by his wartime experiences, which caused him to doubt both his faith and the fundamental worth of his career” (Coe 79).

Coe’s statement does two things. First, it suggests that Stewart’s despondency reflects the country’s feelings immediately following World War II. It could have been the same despondency that prevented It’s a Wonderful Life from being a box office success. Secondly, Stewart’s life at that time reflected It’s a Wonderful Life, with Stewart doubting his own faith and career, as George Bailey does in the film. George always talks about and dreams of being an engineer or an architect, but never about being an executive of a lending company. George constantly doubts his job and its value.

My note from Karoly in which she gave me
Stewart's address. (Source: Blogger's private collection)

Through my friendship with Karoly Grimes, who played George and Mary's youngest daughter, Zuzu Bailey, I was able to get Stewart's address. I came right out and asked her for it, and I expected it to be denied. I told her that I only wanted to send him a copy of my college research paper about the film. To my surprise, she gave me his address. I filed the letter away, graduated, was hired a job at at my hometown newspaper just two days after graduation, and moved into my first apartment. 

I soon learned a hard lesson about not putting off until tomorrow what I can do today. On July 1, 1997, I was sitting on my porch when I realized that I hadn’t yet written to Jimmy, even though I had his address for nearly two months. It was late, so I decided to write to him the next day. As you may recall, he died July 2, the day I was going to write to him. That was a rough day for me.

This post is a tribute to Everyman....Jimmy Stewart. If he were alive, he would be 108 years old.

Here is a great interview with Stewart from 1989:

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[i] The Jimmy Stewart Museum is located at 845 Philadelphia St., Indiana, PA, 15701. To contact the museum, call (724) 349-6112 or toll-free at 1-800-83-JIMMY, or e-mail curator@jimmy.org. Visit online at www.jimmy.org.

Source:
Coe, Jonathan. Jimmy Stewart: A Wonderful Life. New York: Arcade Publishing, 1994.

Larry Simms Memorial - June 17

Larry Simms, who portrayed George and Mary's oldest child, Pete in the classic film It's a Wonderful Life, died June 17, 2009, in Chonburi, Thailand, of emphysema. He was 74.

Source: http://goo.gl/ub4dQe

Simms, while well-known for this role, was probably better known for his role as Alexander 'Baby Dumpling' Bumstead in the Blondie series. He also portrayed Hopper Boy in another Capra/Stewart film, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

He was born October 1, 1934, in Los Angeles, CA. His first film was as Joe Krozac Jr. as a baby, an uncredited role in the 1937 film, The Last Gangster. Most of his film career took place in the 1930s and 1940s, with a few more films in the 1950s.

According to Internet Movie Database, in a mini biography labeled as being written by "Brad Wimer, a close friend" of Simms, "After Larry's first retirement, he worked at Arabian-American Oil Company refinery in Saudi Arabia for Fluor Daniel. Later, Larry was tasked to spearhead the implementation of the Telecommunications infrastructure for a Shell refinery in Rayong, Thailand, also at the employ of Fluor Daniel. Then he remained in Thailand in true retirement."

Simms in his later years. (Source: http://goo.gl/ub4dQe)

Personally, I find it really interesting that Simms did in real life what his film father, George Bailey, dreamed of doing. He got to work in the oil fields. That makes me smile.

So on this day, the day of his death, we remember Larry Simms, who gave us many fine performances, including two films with Capra and Stewart, and most often as a child.

If Simms was alive today, he would be 80 years old.

(Source: Internet Movie Database)

Lionel Barrymore Birthday April 28

Source: http://goo.gl/qkoZyr

Today marks the birthday of Lionel Barrymore, who played Henry F. Potter in the film, It's a Wonderful Life. He was born April 28, 1878, (137 years ago) in Philadelphia, PA.

Barrymore, who is also know for his roles in films such as You Can't Take it With You, Key Largo, and many more, won one Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his part in A Free Soul (1931). He was nominated for Best Director for Madame X in 1947.

He was also a radio actor, composer and painter, and author. He died Nov. 15, 1954, in Van Nuys, CA.

Learn more about Lionel Barrymore here or here.

Source: http://goo.gl/TwsAf0

Antonio Varacalli Day - April 12

My plan was to only post my A-Z Blogging Challenge posts. This is not one of those, but yet it is connected to It's a Wonderful Life.

I just found out that today is Antonio Varacalli Day.

Who is Antonio Varacalli? According to the residents of Seneca Falls, NY, 98 years ago today, Varacalli saved a drowning woman near a bridge, just as George jumped to save Clarence. They claim that this event, and the bridge and town themselves served as inspiration for It's a Wonderful Life.

Interestingly, I cannot find any reference to Varacalli jumping from the bridge. All of my research indicates that the woman jumped. However, that same research indicates that Varacalli probably jumped in to save her from the bank, with a rope tied around him, which someone on the bank was holding.

Here is the Facebook post from the It's a Wonderful Life Museum:

Today, Seneca Falls celebrates Antonio Varacalli Day. On April 12, 1917, Antonio Varacalli saved a "despondent" woman...
Posted by It's A Wonderful Life Museum on Sunday, April 12, 2015

Here are some pictures from my trip to Seneca Falls in August, 2015: 

The sign commemorating Varacalli's act 

A plaque recognizing the bridge's connection to It's a Wonderful Life.

This is the bridge from a distance. 

See Varacalli's grave here. It contains my favorite Bible verse.

Learn more about Antonio Varacalli here.

Here is another news story about what happened the day Varacalli saved someone's life.

And other story about Varacalli's bravery.