7/1/2009

"Stars of Kansas" highlights film and TV stars from Kansas

By GARY DEMUTH

Salina Journal

Quick, what do Buster Keaton, Dennis Hopper, Kirstie Alley, Ed Asner, Annette Bening, Hattie McDaniel, Vivian Vance, Fatty Arbuckle and Alfalfa from "The Little Rascals" have in common?

Correct, they are or were major movie or television stars.

If you also said they also were born or once lived in Kansas, give yourself an "A-plus."

Many Kansans are unaware of just how many famous movie and TV stars came from the Great Plains, said film historian Eric Monder. That's why he's created a multi-media program combining film clips and historical commentary called "The Stars of Kansas."

Monder's two-hour presentation, covering more than 100 years of Kansas-bred performers from the birth of cinema in the early 20th century to the present day, will be July 11 at the Art Center Cinema, 150 S. Santa Fe.

"There are a lot of very well-known people who were born or lived in Kansas," said Monder, who also is a professor of film and English at Bethany College in Lindsborg. "They range from full-fledged movie stars like Dennis Hopper or Buster Keaton to character actors who became famous."

Salina natives and stars

These Kansas stars include two Salina natives -- Patrice Wymore, a wife of movie legend Errol Flynn, and Dwight Frye, a character actor known for over-the-top performances in horror films.

Frye's most famous role was the crazed, bug-eating Renfield in the original 1931 "Dracula" starring Bela Lugosi. That same year, he also played the hunchbacked servant Igor in "Frankenstein" with Boris Karloff, as well as the sequel, "Bride of Frankenstein."

"(Frye) specialized in oddball horror roles," Monder said. "He usually had small but significant roles, but because he was so odd, he often stole the show in most of the films."

Wymore was a "long-legged and glamorous showgirl" before meeting the dashing Flynn, best known for his 1930s' swashbuckling roles in "The Adventures of Robin Hood" and "Captain Blood," Monder said.

"I'm going to show a rare clip of her tap dancing on 'The Ed Sullivan Show,' " Monder said.

Many of the clips come from Monder's own film collection. Others were compiled from home movies, outtake reels and rare archival film footage loaned to Monder by collectors and film institutions.

Although Monder is trying to include as many Kansas stars as possible, the line-up is not meant to be all-inclusive. Salina native George Murdock, a regular on the television sitcom "Barney Miller," will not be featured, and neither will "Miami Vice" star Don Johnson, who attended high school in Wichita.

Vivian Vance gains weight

Several film clips may surprise viewers, Monder said. For example, Vivian Vance, a Cherryvale native who gained fame on the 1950s television classic "I Love Lucy" playing Lucille Ball's an overweight neighbor Ethel Mertz, started her career as a sexy, slim showgirl.

"In her earlier incarnation, she looked great," Monder said. "She put on weight to play frumpy Ethel Mertz so she could match better with William Frawley (who played husband Fred Mertz) who was much older."

The same transformation applied to short, rotund and gravelly voiced character actor and Winfield native Eugene Pallette, immortalized for his performances in the 1940s comedies of Preston Sturges and as Friar Tuck in Errol Flynn's "Adventures of Robin Hood" in 1938.

"I have a silent film clip where he was a suave, thin leading man," Monder said.

Great starts, bad endings

Several Kansas stars had spectacular success at the beginning of their careers only to have them end tragically.

Jeanne Eagels, a native of Kansas City, was an acclaimed stage and silent screen actress who died at age 39 in 1929. Although cause of death was inconclusive, it was thought the cumulative effects of drugs and alcohol abuse contributed to her demise.

"She was portrayed by (actress) Kim Novak in a biographical film in 1957, so I'll show a clip of that and (Eagels) in a silent film so people can compare the performances," Monder said.

Another tragic case involved beloved former child star Carl Switzer, who gained fame in the early 1930s as Alfalfa in the popular "Little Rascals" series.

"He was so well-known as Alfalfa, he couldn't get work when he grew up," Monder said. "He had trouble with the law and was shot to death during a fight."

Switzer's connection to Kansas is a bit of a stretch, Monder said. Switzer actually was born in Illinois but lived briefly in Pretty Prairie as an adult.

"I just couldn't resist doing his story," Monder said.

Ed Asner and Buster Keaton

Other performers featured in "Stars of Kansas" include:

nBuster Keaton (Piqua) -- One of the greatest comedians of the silent film era.

nRoscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle (Smith Center) -- Another great comedian of the silent era, whose career was ruined by a sex and murder scandal.

nLouise Brooks (Cherryvale) -- One of the most provocative screen sirens of the silent era, most famous for her role in the German film "Pandora's Box."

nHattie McDaniel (Wichita) -- The first black actress to win an Academy Award for her iconic role as Mammy in "Gone With the Wind."

nEd Asner (Kansas City) -- Character actor best known for his role as Lou Grant on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

nDennis Hopper (Dodge City) -- Popular actor and director ("Easy Rider," "Blue Velvet," "Hoosiers," "Rebel Without a Cause").

nAnnette Bening (Topeka) -- Married to screen icon Warren Beatty, Bening starred in "American Beauty," "The Grifters" and "Bugsy."

What all of these actors and performers have in common, besides Kansas, is that none came from privileged backgrounds or from distinguished acting families, Monder said.

"Kansas was 'nowhereland' as far as Hollywood was concerned," Monder said. "All these stars had to make it on their own."

nReporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405 or by e-mail at gdemuth@salina.com.