Hunks and Legends

Today is the birthday of Varina Howell Davis, Frank James (Gary) Cooper, and George (Gabby) Hayes. What a variety of personalities and experiences. (Some day, I will write a book on the lives of folks named for Frank and Jesse James. Somehow, they're always interesting.)

Varina Howell (left) was the oldest of a bunch of a kids. The oldest girl of many siblings is a character-forming experience and it defined her personality forevermore. I admire her so much. She was a whole woman--bright, loving, giving, petty, funny, sensitive. While her husband, Confederate President Jefferson Davis, was too ill to attend to his affairs, she decided who would see him, what bills or letters would be signed, what orders would be issued. I would like to have known her.

Gary Cooper (top). What a hunk. Born in Montana in 1901 (though his parents were British), he was at one time the highest paid person, not just actor, in the United States. One of my favorite "Coop" movies is Along Came Jones. The scene where he's walking down the street eating canned peaches is a priceless slice of history, and just so real. He won two Academy Awards, one for High Noon the other for Sergeant York. He was awarded a special Academy Award in 1961 "for his many memorable screen performances and for the international recognition he, as an individual, has gained for the film industry." He asked Jimmy Stewart to accept the award for him because he was too ill. He died shortly after.

"Yer durn tootin'!" Gabby Hayes (right) was born in New York in 1885. NEW YORK?? No kidding. An erudite, educated, well-groomed gentleman, he was consistently listed as one of the top ten Western stars, right along with Gene and Roy. It's ironic, really, because Gary Cooper was just being himself and George Hayes was being someone entirely different.

Happy Birthday to these legends one and all. What a rich and wonderful country we have.

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John Brown as Opera

I'm off to the Lyric Opera in Kansas City to see Kirke Mechem's John Brown. There have been articles in the newspaper, interviews on Kansas Public Radio, and much hype among the hysterians we know. I'm really looking forward to this. Terry Hobbs is driving. Life is good.

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Norman Marshall

. . . portrayer of John Brown, was in town recently and lo, I was gone. But Norman did a splendid performance at the Kansas Museum of History and sent me this photo of himself and Annie Brown's great-great-granddaughter, Alice Mecoy. (Annie was john Brown's daughter.) This was taken at the gala just prior to the opera's premier in Kansas City.