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Touched By a Star
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Canada’s vast expanses of raw natural beauty fills, and has filled, many a filmmakers camera lens. Oceans, mountains, prairies, PEI…..leaving behind stories and memories and very likely a few blushing smiles. We plan to bring you a few of those here...
KEEP WATCHING
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In 2004 I found myself chasing down information on the movers and shakers, past and present, that have created the cultural atmosphere that we find in Alberta. The historical figures that gave us things like Stony Plain Pottery, the Whyte Museum, the Winspear Centre and Alberta Film were suddenly forefront in my reading and traveling...
I was lured to all corners of the province to meet the people who continued the work of the original philanthopists and visionaries. Being a fledgling documentary filmmaker I was most fortunate to have met with folks like Fil Fraser and Bill Marsden. Two important figures in the building of Alberta's film industry.
Bill recanted his days as the Film Commissioner for the province and the people he had the opportunity to meet - like Christopher Reeves - aka Superman. "The people who work in film I have found to be the most interesting people in the world, memorable people. One passed away yesterday – Chris Reeves – I worked with Chris on four projects. I was very fond of him as I say in the book. An interesting young actor. Didn’t act like an actor. He did his own stunts – they tried stunt men – none of them were as graceful swinging from the crane. When done he would stand in line for lunch with the crew – he was very down to earth. Classical pianist and pilot – horseman and yachtsman..." Bill's memoirs 'Big Screen Country' are a must read for anyone wanting to know what Alberta's movie industry can and does represent.
Living in the Rockies has provided many occasions to hear similar 'touched by a star' stories. Jasper is home to many who remember vividly the days when Bing Crosby frequented the barber shop in the old Pyramid Hotel - or when Marilyn Monroe spent time in Beckers Bungalows on the Banff Jasper Highway.
"My dad had an old couch in the back of the barber shop. Bing would often wander in and hide back there where it was quiet and have a nap."
"I remember going down to the train station where Marilyn was being filmed - we were surprised at how tiny a woman she was."
"I was paid to drive Walter Brennan to the site every morning. I was a big kid so they never questioned my age, I was too young to be driving. He always tipped me."
Stories like these abound anywhere the 'Stars' have been. And they have been everywhere in Hollywood North!
"Its
September 2003 and I have finally made my way to the west coast and
Gibsons Landing – the home of the Beachcombers.
After checking out the wharf and Mollys Reach I head for the
galleries. Its 2 oclock in the afternoon and the gallery that has drawn
my attention has a note on the door that says, “Back soon”. So
we sit on the porch that is covered in pottery and plants and wait.
The porch looks out at Mollys Reach and you almost expect Nick or
Relic to walk by. Quietly
the door opens from the inside and is propped open because, even though
the crispness has crept into the Alberta air, it is still warm and sunny
in Gibsons Landing. The
gallery depicts the area as you would expect, but what really caught my
attention was the Kimono pinned on the wall behind the little kitchen
where the gallery owner was finishing her tea.
Its labeled as the Kimono worn by Nick in Episode 4 of the
Beachcombers! He must have at
some point , during the shooting of the series, wandered over to this
unassuming little home/gallery and befriended our host and then left
his…… The imagination knows no bounds….the possibilities bring a smile….sure she may have purchased it in an auction?? But maybe, just maybe……"
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Some of the artists that make the Muse Cruise possible
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This page is in memory of Bill Marsden Thanks Bill - for rekindling my pursuit of 'Touched By a Star' stories. |
