Victor, welcome back, honey. I know that song, Maryland. It's by The Spaniels, right?
What in the world are you doing saying good night in the early morning?
A white ibis is fluttering its wings at my pond and there is actually condensation on the screen in my Florida room. I took a peek at my driver's license, and the picture looks rather decent.
Soooooo
Katherine Forman:
Rose-Colored Glasses
A word and I am nine
fussing with the floral pinkness
in my hair and on my hand,
Jumping impatiently around while the
all-seeing video camera catches my
dreadfully juvenile behavior at such an occasion,
Gorging on the pink mints that are the one
pink thing not imprinted with "Happy Anniversary"
or "Happy Fiftieth Louis & Lucile,"
Fidgeting with the pinkly poufy plumes of the
pen for the guest book I'm supposed to be
manning (nine isn't old enough to say "personing"),
Crossing my eyes for a video I never saw
and now that its taker is gone I never will
(but how could I know?),
Adding my smile to the rosy overdose
as the camera captures my crooked grin,
my flat hair and too-small Garfield glasses,
Wishing I could go home and discard
the unnatural concoction of lace and polyester
and the itching elastic binding the dyed carnations
to my little-used writing hand--
A word, and I am nine
And silent with a flood of memory.
The silence perplexes him
As the remembrance hinders me.
Errol Flynn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Birth name Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn
Born June 20, 1909
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Died October 14, 1959
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Spouse(s) Lili Damita (1935-1942)
Nora Eddington (1943-1948)
Patrice Wymore (1950-1959)
Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (June 20, 1909 - October 14, 1959) was an Australian film actor, most famous for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films and his flamboyant lifestyle.
Youth
Born in Hobart, Tasmania, he was taken to Sydney, Australia as a child, where he attended Sydney Church of England Grammar School ("Shore") from which he was expelled for fighting and, allegedly, having sex with the daughter of the school laundress[citation needed]. He was also expelled from the next school he attended. Shortly afterwards, he moved to New Guinea where he bought a tobacco plantation, a business which failed. A copper mining venture in the hills near the Laloki Valley behind the present national capital Port Moresby also failed.
In 1933, he starred in the Australian-made film In The Wake Of The Bounty directed by Charles Chauvel. In the early 1930s, Flynn left for Britain and, in 1933, got an acting job with Northampton Repertory Company, where he worked for six months. According to Gerry Connelly's Book Errol Flynn in Northampton, he also performed at the 1934 Malvern Festival, and also in Glasgow and in London's West End. He was discovered by a Warner Bros. executive, signed to a contract and shipped to America as a contract actor. In 1942, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
Acting career
Flynn became an overnight sensation with his first starring role, Captain Blood, in 1935. He became typecast as a swashbuckler and made a host of such films, including The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) (widely regarded as the best film in this genre and an acknowledged Hollywood classic[citation needed]), The Dawn Patrol (1938) with his friend David Niven, Dodge City (1939), The Sea Hawk (1940), and Adventures of Don Juan (1948).
Flynn played opposite Olivia de Havilland in eight films, including Captain Blood, The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood, Dodge City, Santa Fe Trail (1940), and They Died with their Boots On (1941). Film historian Rudy Behlmer asserted that during the filming of Robin Hood, de Havilland and Flynn were romantically involved (see the Special Edition of Robin Hood on DVD, 2003), but de Havilland herself has disputed this. Their relationship was, she said in an interview for Turner Classic Movies, platonic, mostly because Flynn was already married to Lili Damita.
During the shooting of The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), Flynn and co-star Bette Davis had some legendary off-screen fights, with Davis striking him harder than necessary while filming a scene. Their relationship was always strained, but Warner Brothers teamed them up on two separate occasions. Their off-screen fights were, in later years, reconciled. A contract was even presented to loan them out as Rhett and Scarlett in Gone with the Wind but the teaming failed to materialize. Davis claimed she turned down the role, refusing to work with Flynn, but researchers later revealed that Davis was never seriously considered for the part.[citation needed]
Flynn was a member of Hollywood's Cricket Club, along with his close friend David Niven. His suave, debonair, and devil-may-care attitude towards both ladies and life has been immortalized in the English language by author Benjamin S. Johnson as "Errolesque" in his treatise on the subject, An Errolesque Philosophy on Life. [1]
By the 1950s, Flynn had become a parody of himself. Heavy alcohol and drug abuse left him prematurely aged and bloated, but he still won acclaim as a drunken ne'er-do-well in The Sun Also Rises (1957). His colourful but somewhat exaggerated[citation needed] autobiography, My Wicked, Wicked Ways, was published just months after his death and contains humorous anecdotes about Hollywood.[1] Flynn wanted to call the book In Like Me, but the publisher refused. In 1984, CBS produced a television mini-series based on Flynn's autobiography, starring Duncan Regehr as Flynn.
In the 1950s, Flynn tried his hand as a novelist, penning the adventure novel Showdown, which was published in 1952.
Private life, family and death
Lifestyle
Flynn was famous for his drinking, womanizing, and brawling. His freewheeling, hedonistic lifestyle caught up with him in November 1942 when teenagers Betty Hansen and Peggy Satterlee accused him of statutory rape. A group was organized to support Flynn, named the American Boys Club for the Defense of Errol Flynn (ABCDEF); its members included, surprisingly, William F. Buckley, Jr. The trial took place in January and February of 1943, and Flynn was cleared of the crime. The incident served to increase his reputation as a ladies' man, which led to the popular belief that the term "in like Flynn" was based on Flynn's romantic exploits.
Although kept well hidden from the public so as not to tarnish his clean-cut screen persona, it was an open secret in Hollywood that Flynn had a voracious sexual appetite. He had countless affairs, flings, and trysts with women. Hollywood insiders have claimed that Flynn had sexual flings with Tyrone Power and numerous other, less well-known male actors during his Hollywood years. According to David Bret and other biographers, Flynn had an affair with supporting actor Ross Alexander (1908-1937) during the filming of Captain Blood. (Adding to the script, Flynn constantly refers to Alexander as "dear" and "darling.") However, Nora Eddington Flynn-Haymes said that if Errol were gay, she "certainly would have known about it after seven years of marriage" and that such rumors were just Hollywood gossip. None of his wives have ever come forth with stories that Errol Flynn was a gay or bisexual man.
Marriages
Flynn was married three times, to actress Lili Damita from 1935 until 1942 (one son, Sean Flynn); to Nora Eddington from 1943 until 1948 (two daughters, Deirdre and Rory); and to actress Patrice Wymore from 1950 until his death (one daughter, Arnella Roma). Flynn became an American citizen in 1942. In Hollywood he tended to refer to himself as Irish rather than Australian. His father Theodore Thomson Flynn was a biologist and a professor at the Queen's University of Belfast in Ireland for the latter part of his career. Flynn lived with Patrice Wymore in Port Antonio, Jamaica in the 1950s. He was responsible for developing tourism to this area, for a while owned a hotel named the Tichfield decorated by the artist Olga Lehmann, and popularised raft trips down rivers on bamboo rafts.[2]
In the late 1950s, Flynn met the 15-year-old Beverly Aadland at the Hollywood Professional School, whom he courted during his last few years, and cast in his final film, Cuban Rebel Girls (1959). He planned to marry her and move to their new house in Jamaica, but during a trip together to Vancouver, British Columbia, he died of a heart attack. His only son, Sean, became an actor and later a war correspondent who disappeared in Cambodia in 1970 during the Vietnam War. The younger Flynn's life was recounted in Inherited Risk by Jeffrey Meyers (Simon & Schuster).
Death
Numerous legends surround Flynn's death. According to Vancouverhistory.ca, Flynn flew with Aadland to Vancouver on October 9, 1959, to sell his yacht Zaca to millionaire George Caldough. On October 14, Caldough was driving Flynn to the airport when Flynn felt ill. He was taken to the apartment of Caldough's friend, Dr. Grant Gould, uncle of noted pianist Glenn Gould. A party ensued, with Flynn regaling guests with stories and impressions. Feeling ill again, he announced "I shall return" and retired to a bedroom to rest. A half hour later, Aadland checked in on him, finding him suffering a massive heart attack. He died in her arms minutes later. According to the Vancouver Sun on December 16, 2006, "When Errol Flynn came to town in 1959 for a week-long binge that ended with him dying in a West End apartment, his local friends propped him up at the Hotel Georgia lounge so that everyone would see him."
He is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, in Glendale, California. He shares coffin space with six bottles of whiskey, a parting gift from his drinking buddies. Both his parents survived him.
Post-death controversy
Author Charles Higham published a controversial biography, Errol Flynn: The Untold Story (Doubleday, 1980) in which he alleged that Flynn was a fascist sympathiser and that he spied for the Nazis before and during World War II. None of these allegations appear to be substantiated by declassified FBI records, particularly references to his close friend, Dr. Herman Erben (see below), whom the FBI had deported from the U.S. in 1940 for espionage activities. The suspicious activities investigated were mostly about Erben's movements, not Errol Flynn's.
Subsequent biographies ?- notably Tony Thomas' Errol Flynn: The Spy Who Never Was (Citadel, 1990) ?- have denounced Higham's claims as fabrications. Flynn's political leanings appear to be leftist. He was a supporter of the Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War and of the Cuban Revolution, even narrating a documentary titled Cuban Story [3] shortly before his death.
According to Flynn's own words in My Wicked, Wicked Ways, he considered Fidel Castro to be a friend. He went to Cuba to experience the Cuban revolution firsthand. He found Castro fascinating and declared in 1959, on the Canadian television program Front Page Challenge, that Castro would go down in history as one of the greats. This opinion was before Castro's regime favored the Communists.[4]
Audie Murphy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Audie Leon Murphy
June 20, 1924 - May 28, 1971
Most decorated U.S. combat soldier of World War II
Place of birth Kingston, Texas, USA
Place of death Brush Mountain near Catawba or Roanoke, Virginia, USA
Allegiance U.S. Army
Years of service 1942-1945 (USA)
1950-1966 (Texas National Guard)
Rank First Lieutenant (USA), Major (TNG)
Battles/wars World War II: Sicily (July 1943), Salerno, Anzio, Rome, France: Operation Anvil-Dragoon (Aug. 1944), Holtzwihr (Jan. 1945)[1]
Awards Medal of Honor
Distinguished Service Cross
Silver Star Medal (2)
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal (2)
Purple Heart (3)
French Legion of Honor[1]
French Croix de Guerre (+ Palm)[1]
Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 Palm[1]
Other work actor, songwriter, horseracing, oil
Also see: Audie Murphy legacy.
Audie Leon Murphy (June 20, 1924 - May 28, 1971) [2] was an American soldier in World War II, and later became a famous actor, in 44 American films,[2] plus a songwriter.[3] In 27 months of combat action, Audie Murphy became the most decorated U.S. combat soldier of World War II.[2][3] He received the Medal of Honor, the US military's highest award for valor, along with 32 additional medals,[2][3] plus 6 medals in France & Belgium.[1][2]
Murphy had a successful movie career, including the extremely popular To Hell and Back (1955), based on his memoir of the same name (1949),[3] also starring in 33 Hollywood Westerns. Audie Murphy died in a plane crash in 1971[3] and was interred, with full military honors,[3] in Arlington National Cemetery (the 2nd most-visited gravesite, after JFK).[3] [4] [1]
Biography
Early life
Audie Leon Murphy was born near Kingston, Texas,[2] [5] to Emmett Berry and Josie Bell Murphy (née Killian),[5] [6] two poor sharecroppers,[3][5] and grew up near Celeste, Texas (Hunt County).[2] Murphy went to school in Celeste until the eighth grade,[5] when he dropped out to work and help support his family. Murphy worked for a dollar a day, plowing or picking cotton, on any farm that would hire him.[5] He became very skilled with a rifle, hunting small game to help feed the family.[1] He also lived in the rural area of Farmersville, Texas and in Greenville, Texas.[6] Murphy was the sixth of twelve children,[6][5] only nine of whom survived to see their 18th birthday.[1][5]
During the 1930s, Murphy also worked in a combination general store, garage, and filling station in Greenville, Texas. In 1936, his father deserted the family and never returned.[2][5] At age 16, Murphy was working in a radio repair shop when his mother died[2][5] on May 23, 1941. Later in the year in accordance with his older sister, Corrinne, Murphy put his three youngest siblings into an orphanage[5] to ensure their care (but reclaimed them after WWII).
Enlistment
Immediately following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Murphy (then just 17 years old) tried to enlist in the military, but the services rejected him because he had not yet reached the required age 18.[4] Shortly after his 18th birthday in June 1942, Murphy was finally accepted into the United States Army,[3][4] at Greenville,[6] after being turned down by the Marines and the paratroopers for being too short (5'5"/1.65 m)[2] and of slight build[3][4]. He was sent to Camp Wolters, Texas, for basic training.[1][6] During a session of close order drill, he passed out. His company commander then tried to have him transferred to a cook and bakers' school[5] because of his baby-faced youthfulness and apparent physical weaknesses, but Murphy insisted on becoming a combat soldier. His wish was granted: after 13 weeks of basic training,[5] he was sent to Fort Meade, Maryland for advanced infantry training.[1][6]
Battles
Due to his fragile physical appearance, Murphy still had to "fight the system" to get overseas and into combat. His persistence paid off, and in early 1943 he was shipped out to Casablanca, Morocco as a replacement in Company B, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment (United States), 3rd Infantry Division.[4] Murphy saw no action in Africa, but instead participated in extensive training maneuvers along with the rest of the 3rd Division. His combat initiation finally came when he took part in the liberation of Sicily on July 10, 1943.[1][4] Shortly after arriving, he experienced his first encounter with death by killing two Italian officers as they tried to escape on horseback.[?] His captain promoted Audie to Corporal.[1] Murphy contracted malaria[2][5] while in Sicily, and this illness put him in the hospital several times during his Army years.[5]
After Sicily was secured from the Germans, the 3rd Division invaded the Italian mainland, landing near Salerno[1] in September 1943.[4] While leading a night patrol, Audie and his men ran into German soldiers but fought their way out of an ambush, and took cover in a rock quarry.[1] The German command sent a squad of soldiers in to get them out but were stopped by intense machine-gun and rifle fire:[1] 3 German soldiers were killed and several others captured.[1] For his actions at Salerno, Audie was promoted to Sergeant.[1]
Murphy distinguished himself in combat on many occasions while in Italy, fighting at the Volturno River,[4] at the Anzio beachhead,[4] and in the cold, wet Italian mountains. While in Italy, his instinctive skills as a combat infantryman earned him promotions and decorations for valor.[4]
Following its participation in the Italian campaign, the 3rd Division invaded Southern France[4] on August 15, 1944 (Operation Anvil-Dragoon).[4] Shortly thereafter, Murphy's best friend, Lattie Tipton (referred to as "Brandon" in Murphy's book To Hell and Back), was killed while approaching a German soldier feigning surrender.[1] Murphy went into a rage,[1] and single-handedly wiped out the German machine gun crew which had just killed his friend.[1] He then used the German machine gun and grenades to destroy several other nearby enemy positions.[1] For this act, Murphy received the Distinguished Service Cross[1] (second only to the Medal of Honor). During seven weeks of fighting in that campaign in France, Murphy's division had suffered 4,500 casualties.[4]
Just weeks later, he received 2 Silver Stars for two more heroic actions.[1] Murphy, by now a staff sergeant and holding the position of Platoon Sergeant, was eventually awarded a battlefield commission to second lieutenant, which elevated him to the Platoon Leader position.[1] He was wounded in the hip by a sniper's ricocheting bullet 12 days after the promotion.[1] Audie spent some ten weeks recuperating.[1] Within days of returning to his unit, he became the company commander (still wearing bandages, January 25, 1945) and suffered further wounds from a mortar round (which killed two others nearby).
The next day, January 26 (the high temperature was at 14 degrees with 24 inches of snow on the ground), the battle at Holtzwihr (France) began[1][4] with Murphy's unit at an effective strength of 19 out of 128. Murphy sent all of his men to the rear[4] while he took pot-shots at the Germans until out of ammunition. He then proceeded to use an abandoned burning, tank destroyer's .50 caliber machine gun[1] to cut into the German infantry at a distance,[4] including one full squad of German infantry that had crawled in a ditch to within 100 feet of his position. Wounded in the leg during the heavy fire,[1][4] this nearly single-handed battle continued for almost an hour.[1][4] His focus on the battle before him stopped only when his telephone line to the artillery fire direction center was cut by either U.S. or German artillery. As his remaining men came forward, he quickly organized them to conduct the counter attack,[1][4] which ultimately drove the enemy away from Holtzwihr.[4] These actions earned Murphy the Medal of Honor[1][4] near Holtzwihr, France.
Audie was removed from the front line and made a liaison officer: he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on February 22, 1945. On June 2, 1945, Lt. Gen. Alexander Patch, the Commander of the US Seventh Army, presented the Medal of Honor and Legion of Merit to Audie. The Legion of Merit was awarded for outstanding services with the 3rd Infantry Division during January 22, 1944 to February 18, 1945. On June 10, Audie left Paris by plane, arriving in San Antonio, Texas 4 days later.
Audie Murphy received 33 US medals, plus five medals from France and one from Belgium.[1][4] Audie Murphy's height and weight at his enlistment had been 5 ft 5.5 in and 112 lb.; after a three year enlistment, he grew to 5 ft 7 in and 145 lb.
Medal of Honor citation
The official U.S. Army citation for Audie Murphy's Medal of Honor reads: [1] [7]
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company B 15th Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division.
Place and date: Near Holtzwihr France, 26 January 1945.
Entered service at: Dallas, Texas. Birth: Hunt County, near Kingston, Texas, G.O. No. 65, 9 August 1944.
Citation: Second Lt. Murphy commanded Company B, which was attacked by six tanks and waves of infantry.[1][7] 2d Lt. Murphy ordered his men to withdraw to a prepared position in a woods, while he remained forward at his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by telephone. Behind him, to his right, one of our tank destroyers received a direct hit and began to burn. Its crew withdrew to the woods. 2d Lt. Murphy continued to direct artillery fire, which killed large numbers of the advancing enemy infantry. With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, 2d Lt. Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer, which was in danger of blowing up at any moment, and employed its .50 caliber machine gun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to German fire from three sides, but his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver. The enemy tanks, losing infantry support, began to fall back. For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate 2d Lt. Murphy, but he continued to hold his position and wiped out a squad that was trying to creep up unnoticed on his right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards, only to be mowed down by his fire. He received a leg wound, but ignored it and continued his single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way back to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack, which forced the Germans to withdraw. His directing of artillery fire wiped out many of the enemy; he killed or wounded about 50. 2d Lt. Murphy's indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company from possible encirclement and destruction, and enabled it to hold the woods which had been the enemy's objective. [1][7]
Lifted to "Living Legend" status
Audie Murphy was credited with destroying six tanks besides killing over 240 German soldiers and wounding and capturing many others.[4] By the end of World War II, he was a legend within the 3rd Infantry Division as a result of his heroism and battlefield leadership.[3] His principal U.S. decorations included the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Star Medals, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Star Medals with Valor device, and three Purple Hearts (for the three wounds he received in combat). Murphy participated in campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and Germany, as denoted by his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver battle star (denoting five campaigns), four bronze battle stars, plus a bronze arrowhead representing his two amphibious assault landings at Sicily and southern France.
The French government awarded Murphy its highest award, the Legion of Honor (Grade of Chevalier). [8] He also received two Croix de Guerre medals from France[8] and the Croix de Guerre 1940 Palm from Belgium.[8] In addition, Murphy was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (a complete list of his awards and decorations appears later in this article). Murphy spent 29 months overseas and just under two years in combat with the 3rd Infantry Division, all before he turned 21 years of age and was eligible to vote.[4]
In early June 1945, one month after Germany's surrender, Murphy returned from Europe to a hero's welcome in his home state of Texas,[4] where he was showered with parades, banquets, and speeches. Murphy was discharged from active duty with the U.S. Army as a first lieutenant, at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas on August 17, 1945,[6] and discharged from the U.S. Army on September 21, 1945.[1][4]
Audie Murphy gained nationwide recognition, appearing on the cover of Life magazine for July 16, 1945 (see image above).
After the Korean War broke out in June 1950, Murphy joined the 36th Infantry Division of the Texas National Guard. However, that division was not called up for combat duty, and Murphy remained in the United States during all his National Guard service. By the time he left the Guard in 1966, he had attained the rank of major.
Post war illness
Murphy suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after his return from the war.[2][3] He was plagued by insomnia, bouts of depression, and nightmares related to his numerous battles.[2] His first wife, Wanda Hendrix, often talked of his struggle with this condition, even claiming that he had at one time held her at gunpoint. For a time during the mid-1960s, Murphy became dependent on doctor-prescribed sleeping pills called Placidyl.[2] When he recognized that he had become addicted to the drug, he locked himself in a motel room, where he forced himself to stop taking the pills, and went through withdrawal symptoms for a week.[2]
Always an advocate of the needs of America's military veterans, Murphy eventually broke the taboo about publicly discussing war-related mental conditions. In an effort to draw attention to the problems of returning Korean and Vietnam War veterans, Murphy spoke out candidly about his own problems with PTSD, known then and during World War II as "battle fatigue" [2] and commonly known as "shell shock." He called on the United States government to give increased consideration and study to the emotional impact that combat experiences have on veterans, and to extend health care benefits to address PTSD and the other mental-health problems of returning war veterans.[2]
Personal life
Murphy married actress Wanda Hendrix in 1949.[2] They were divorced in 1951, having produced no children. He then married former airline stewardess Pamela Archer, with whom he had two children: Terry Michael Murphy (born 1952) and James Shannon Murphy (born 1954). Audie Murphy eventually became a successful actor, rancher, and businessman.[4] He also bred and raised quarter horses and owned ranches in Texas, Tucson, Arizona and Perris, California.[3]
In 1955, Murphy became interested in Freemasonry. He was encouraged by his close friend, Texas theater owner Skipper Cherry, to petition and join the Masonic Order in California. He returned to Texas to become a 32d degree Scottish Rite Mason and to join the Shriners. He was active in various Masonic events and was a member in good standing for the rest of his life.
Movie career
Actor James Cagney invited Murphy to Hollywood in September 1945, after seeing the young hero's photo on the cover of the July-16 edition of Life Magazine.[2] But the next few years in California were difficult for Murphy as he trained to become an actor. He became disillusioned from lack of work, was broke financially, and slept on the floor of a gymnasium owned by his friend Terry Hunt (Murphy would later name one of his sons Terry out of respect for his friend); but he eventually received token acting parts in the 1948 films Beyond Glory and Texas, Brooklyn and Heaven.[2][4] Murphy's third movie, Bad Boy, gave him his first leading role.[3] He starred in the 1951 adaptation of Stephen Crane's Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage, with critical success.[4] He expressed great discomfort in playing himself in To Hell and Back. In 1959, he starred in the western film No Name on the Bullet.[2]
First starring role
After returning home from World War II, Murphy bought a house in Farmersville, Texas for his oldest sister Corinne, her husband Poland Burns, and their three children. The idea was that Audie's three siblings, Nadine, Billie, and Joe, who had been living in an orphanage since Murphy's mother's death, would also be able to live with Corinne and Poland and would become part of a family again. Unfortunately, six children under one roof created too much stress on everyone. The arrangement didn't work out as smoothly as expected, particularly with Nadine and Joe, so Murphy came and picked them up.
Joe and Nadine wanted to stay with Murphy, but he was having a hard time surviving. Despite a lot of post-war publicity and James Cagney's help, Murphy's acting career had gone nowhere. Murphy's oldest brother Buck and his wife agreed to take in Nadine, but Murphy didn't know what to do with Joe.
Murphy went to James "Skipper" Cherry, a Dallas theater owner whom he had previously befriended, and sought his advice. Cherry was a member of a consortium of Texas theater owners who were part of Variety Clubs International and was involved with the Variety Clubs International Boy's Ranch, a 4,800 acre (19 km²) ranch near Copperas Cove, Texas. Cherry arranged for the Boy's Ranch to take Joe in. Joe loved it there and Murphy was able to visit him, as well as Skipper Cherry, frequently.
During one of these visits, Murphy confided to Cherry that even with Cagney's help and acting lessons, he wasn't getting anywhere in Hollywood. In a 1973 interview, Cherry recalled, "He was discouraged and somewhat despondent concerning his movie career." Variety Clubs was financing a film called Bad Boy to help promote the organization's work with troubled children.
Cherry called Texas theater executive Paul Short, who was producing the film, and suggested they considered giving Murphy a significant role in the movie. Murphy looked good in the screen test, but the president of Allied Artists did not want to cast someone with so little acting experience as a major character. However, by this time, Cherry, Short, and the other Texas theater owners had decided that Audie Murphy was going to play the lead or they weren't financing the film. Their money talked and Murphy was cast as the lead. He turned in such a fine performance that the Hollywood powers that be finally recognized his talent. As a direct result of this film, Universal Studios signed Murphy to his first seven-year studio contract.
Autobiography
Murphy's 1949 autobiography To Hell and Back became a national bestseller. In this book, which Murphy wrote with the assistance of his writer friend "Specs" McClure, Murphy modestly describes some of his most heroic actions ?- without portraying himself as a hero. Not once does he mention any of the many decorations he received for his incredible combat exploits. Instead, he chooses to praise the skills, bravery, and dedication of the other soldiers in his platoon.
Murphy played himself in the 1955 version of his book made into a film, To Hell and Back (film).[2] The film grossed almost ten million dollars during its initial theatrical release, and at the time became Universal's biggest hit of the studio's entire 43-year history. This movie held the record as the company's highest-grossing motion picture until 1975, when it was finally surpassed by Steven Spielberg's Jaws.[2] Universal gave Murphy latitude in choosing the various roles, as long as plenty of action was included. Terry Murphy, who played Joe Preston Murphy (at age 4), is in fact Murphy's oldest son (in real life, Murphy's brothers and sisters included Corinne, Charles Emmett (Buck), Vernon, June, Oneta, J.W., Richard, Eugene, Nadine, Billie, and Joseph).
Audie was reluctant to star in To Hell and Back fearing that he was cashing in on his war experience. He even suggested that his role be played by Tony Curtis.
The film To Hell and Back is introduced by General Walter Bedell Smith, United States Army, Retired. During World War II, Smith served as Chief of Staff to General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Harold B. Simpson's 1975 comprehensive biography, Audie Murphy, American Soldier, covers the breadth of Murphy's life. The book emphasizes Murphy's military exploits, and includes photos, maps, and battle-maneuver diagrams. Murphy's post-war career is also well-documented.
Hollywood Walk of Fame
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Audie Murphy has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1601 Vine Street.
Filmography
In the twenty-five years he spent in Hollywood, Audie Murphy made a total of 44 feature films, 33 of them Westerns.[2] He also appeared in several television shows[2] (see full list at: Audie Murphy legacy).
Music career
In addition to motion picture acting, Audie Murphy also became successful as a country music songwriter.[2] He teamed up with talented artists and composers such as Guy Mitchell, Jimmy Bryant, Scott Turner, Coy Ziegler, and Terri Eddleman. Many of Murphy's songs were recorded and released by such performers as Dean Martin,[2] Eddy Arnold,[2] Charley Pride,[2] Jimmy Bryant, Porter Waggoner, Jerry Wallace, Roy Clark, and Harry Nilsson. His two biggest hits were "Shutters and Boards" and "When the Wind Blows in Chicago". Eddy Arnold recorded the latter for his 1983 RCA album, Last of the Love Song Singers.
Death
While on a business trip on May 28, 1971[2][3][4] (during Memorial Day weekend), flying in bad weather with a pilot unqualified to fly on instruments, just after noon, Murphy's private plane crashed into Brush Mountain, near Catawba, Virginia, some 20 miles west of Roanoke.[4] The pilot and all five passengers, including Murphy, were killed.[2] Audie Murphy was 46 years old. In 1974, a large granite memorial marker was erected near the crash site. A close friend, Captain Carl Swickerath (who is now buried directly in front of Major Murphy), represented the Murphy family at the marker's dedication.
On June 7, 1971, Audie Murphy was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.[2][4] The official U.S. representative at the ceremony was the decorated World War II Veteran and future President George Herbert Walker Bush. Major Murphy's gravesite is in Section 46, located across Memorial Drive from the Amphitheater.[4] A special flagstone walkway was later constructed to accommodate the large number of people who stop to pay their respects.[4] It is the second most-visited gravesite, second only to President John F. Kennedy's grave.[4]
The tombstones of Arlington's Medal of Honor recipients are normally decorated in gold leaf, but Murphy had requested that his stone remain plain and inconspicous,[4] as would be the case with an ordinary soldier. An unknown person maintains a small American flag next to his engraved Government-issue headstone, which reads as follows:
Audie L. Murphy, Texas. Major, Infantry, World War II. June 20, 1924 to May 28, 1971. Medal of Honor, DSC, SS & OLC, LM, BSM & OLC, PH & two OLC.
(Key to abbreviations: DSC = Distinguished Service Cross; SS = Silver Star; LM = Legion of Merit; BSM = Bronze Star Medal; PH = Purple Heart; OLC = Oak Leaf Cluster.)
An Oak Leaf Cluster signifies a subsequent award of the same decoration. First Lieutenant Audie Murphy was one of very few company-grade officers ever to be awarded the Legion of Merit. That decoration is usually awarded only to officers in the rank of lieutenant colonel and above.
Other honors
An Audie Murphy National Fan Club was established in the 1950s. Headed by various fans over the years, the club still exists today, with over 400 fans in 9 countries.
On November 17, 1973, the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital in San Antonio, Texas was dedicated to Murphy. There is a one-ton bronze, eight-foot-tall statue of Murphy there, created by sculptress Jimilu Mason. He is dressed in battle fatigues holding a rifle with bayonet. Inside the hospital, a museum depicts Murphy's life and has items including a uniform, other clothing, books and pictures.
In early 1986, the U.S. Army established the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club at Fort Hood, Texas. This elite membership group recognizes noncommissioned officers (sergeants) who have displayed the integrity, professionalism, commitment to mentoring subordinate soldiers, leadership abilities and personal ethics as exemplified by Audie L. Murphy. In 1994, the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club spread Army-wide, to all commands with installations retaining the selection process for their own NCOs.
In 1996 the Texas Legislature officially declared his birthdate, June 20, as "Audie Murphy Day". U.S. Highway 69 North, from North Greenville city limits to Fannin County line was renamed "The Audie Murphy Memorial Highway". In 1996, he was inducted posthumously into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
In 1999, then-Governor George W. Bush also issued a proclamation declaring June 20 to officially be "Audie Murphy Day" in the state of Texas.
From the mid-1990s through the present, an annual celebration of Audie and other veterans in all branches of service has been held on the weekend closest to Murphy's birthday at the American Cotton Museum (recently renamed the Audie Murphy/American Cotton Museum) in Greenville and in Farmersville. The museum houses a large collection of Audie Murphy memorabilia and personal items.
In 2000, Audie Murphy was honored with his portrait on a thirty-three cent United States postage stamp. There is also an Audie Murphy Middle School in Fort Hood, Texas, named in his honor.
Cultural Influences
His highest grossing film was the autobiographical To Hell and Back, which was the highest grossing film for Universal Pictures, until "[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]", in 1975.[2][3]
His films earned him close to $3 million in his 23 years as an actor.[3]
Audie Murphy was the original choice to play the Scorpio Killer in Dirty Harry.
He purchased a Middle Eastern oil field in the 1960s which was blown up during the Six Day War, causing him to file for bankruptcy in 1968.[4]
Former World War II General and President Dwight Eisenhower did not enjoy Murphy's films, saying his combat scenes were unbelievable due to his small stature. However, Murphy's relatively short height is not particularly noticeable in To Hell and Back or in his other action movies.
Murphy was a life member of the National Rifle Association.
Always a modest hero, Murphy gave away his awards and decorations to friends. When these were replaced by family members, he again gave them to those closest to him.
In the PlayStation version of Medal of Honor, there's a cheat called Audie Murphy mode (activated by the password 'Mostmedals'), in which the player becomes invulnerable and with an infinite ammo supply.
Olympia Dukakis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born June 20, 1931 (1931-06-20) (age 75)
Lowell, Massachusetts
Spouse(s) Louis Zorich (1962-)
Academy Awards
Best Supporting Actress
1987 Moonstruck
Golden Globe Awards
Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
1988 Moonstruck
BAFTA Awards
Best Supporting Actress
1987 Moonstruck
Olympia Dukakis (born June 20, 1931) is an Academy Award-winning American actress.
Dukakis was born in Lowell, Massachusetts to Alexandra Christos and Constantine Dukakis, Greek immigrants to the United States.[1] She has a brother, Apollo, and is a cousin of Michael Dukakis, the former governor of Massachusetts who was the Democratic candidate for president in 1988. She is an alumnus of Arlington High School in Arlington, Massachusetts, and was educated at Boston University.
Dukakis has starred in films, including Steel Magnolias, Mr. Holland's Opus, The Thing About My Folks, and Moonstruck, for which she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. She also played the role of Anna Madrigal in the Tales of the City television mini-series, which garnered her an Emmy Award nomination. Her Broadway theatre credits include Who's Who in Hell, Social Security, and the one-woman play Rose. Her theater, film, and television work has won her an Obie Award, a Drama Desk Award, a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, and a Golden Globe.
Dukakis won the British Academy Award for Moonstruck and was nominated for the Canadian Academy Award for The Event. She provided the voice of Grandpa's love interest for The Simpsons episode "The Old Man and the Key." In 2003, Dukakis published her national bestselling autobiography Ask Me Again Tomorrow: A Life in Progress. Recent films include 3 Needles, The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines, In the Land of Women, and Away From Her.
Dukakis has been married to actor Louis Zorich since 1962.
