Comments for Hank Whittemore's Memoir

Comment on Mamaroneck High School – A Photo from Class of 1959 by hankwhitt

hankwhitt — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 22:06:28 +0000

Ha! Well, it’s one of many photos of our class, being documented on Facebook by Barrie Proctor and others. We celebrated our 50th anniversary reunion in fall 2009 — a great time, reminding us of how “special” our class is — at least, that’s the way it felt and still feels. Thanks for dropping by!

Comment on Mamaroneck High School – A Photo from Class of 1959 by marlene

marlene — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 20:56:43 +0000

Oh, memories! Does the Larchmont historical society know about this photo? ( I see we’ve gone from cute with closed eyes to cute and distinguished.)

Comment on Sean Griffin of Seattle – The Actor’s Actor! by hankwhitt

hankwhitt — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 17:44:32 +0000

Thanks for your comment. Sorry to delay getting back — our power has been down in Nyack New York from the storm the last five days — anyway I am sure Sean would love to hear from you — If you haven’t read this yet, let me know…
if you need further help. Yeah, Sean is my friend and a great actor.

Comment on Sean Griffin of Seattle – The Actor’s Actor! by Katie Bradshaw

Katie Bradshaw — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 20:24:30 +0000

It was wonderful to read such high praise for one of the best actors I know. It was good to see he’s still ticking, too. My best to Sean, and I’d love to pass on my email in case he wants to get in touch.–Katie Bradshaw, kbrad@att.net.

Comment on World War II – Waiting for My Father to Come Home by hankwhitt

hankwhitt — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 23:43:21 +0000

Thanks, Anne. Those letter sound amazing. One of my brothers may have some, and I’ll ask them. All best – Hank
You could email me at hankwhittemore@gmail.com if you like.

Comment on World War II – Waiting for My Father to Come Home by Anne Wheelock

Anne Wheelock — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 20:08:21 +0000

Hank,
I’m fascinated by your WWII memories and your father’s story. I grew up in Larchmont; my parents grew up there before me. When my father went off to war, he wrote on a regular basis to his mother and sister, and I now have those letters – 1,400 of them. I’m writing a narrative of those years – 4/42-12/45 – drawing on his own words as well as various other sources and my own memories of Larchmont and my family. Many of the letters refer to Larchmonters at war. and the “roll of honor” that was installed near the Larchmont station undoubtedly carried the names of our fathers. What do you imagine it was like being a WWII veteran in postwar Larchmont? Did the men talk to each other about their experiences? I suspect not; certainly my father never talked about his to us at home. As far as I was concerned, the most important event of the war for my father was his coming home and seeing me for the first time. Your article resonates for me in this respect.
Sincerely,
Anne Wheelock
Boston, MA

Comment on Mom and Dad – 1940 Courtship by William Ray

William Ray — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 05:42:51 +0000

She was the sleeper in Key Largo. With all those powerhouse actors, Claire Trevor got the Oscar. Best singing voice in film until Meryl Streep came along in Silkwood and Ironweed, a generation later.

The movies were my Greek pantheon and subconscious Royalty. That was before civilizations fell and the stars were all torn down, i.e., when the Dodgers left Brooklyn.

A final artifact of the bygone Age yet living on film: your Dad’s two-tone wing-tips. The linen suit and cummerbund are also gone. We’ll not see their like again.

Comment on Mom and Dad – 1940 Courtship by hankwhitt

hankwhitt — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 02:39:10 +0000

Thanks, William Ray. When I decided to interview Claire for Parade magazine, we made a date for me to come to her place in NYC, and I showed up right on time. She then lectured me about the need to call the person before arriving — something I had neglected to do — and so I thought, well, this won’t go too well. In the next moment, however, and this is now about noon, we were in the kitchen while she made us Bloody Marys. The interview was fine.
Claire was a great friend of Wayne and also Bogart, maybe Bogart most of all, but also, later, with Rock Hudson, right up to the time of his death.
Well, I could go on, but —
Thanks again.

Comment on Mom and Dad – 1940 Courtship by William Ray

William Ray — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 00:13:43 +0000

As a piece of film history, Claire Trevor’s character was the first that conveyed credit for fallible humanity to a lowly prostitute, whom she portrayed very movingly as a female source of healing in ‘Stagecoach’. Akira Kurosawa especially admired John Ford among American directors and adopted his stark black and white morality-play approach depicting man in the shadow of fate. Parenthetically John Wayne went from bit parts to the big leagues in this film. He did not fix on the larger-than-life tough-guy persona until after the Korean War, when he consciously imitated Ted Williams, the abrupt independent baseball phenom who was also a crack jet pilot, originally trained at the end of WW II and pointedly drafted by the Navy to set an example for young America, so that more would join up in what became a tragically dubious cause. Williams served loyally for about forty missions and once jumped a burning wreck he had managed to land. Wayne wore the uniform too–in the same sense that Ronald Reagan did–for Hollywood promotional films in Burbank. My compliments to Hank’s second cousin Claire. She could act as someone else and be herself too. Not all Hollywood personnel could do that and there were world-changing consequences. Otto Preminger explicitly accepted responsibility for Reagan’s running for Governor and President. He stated, “If we had only given him a job, none of this would have happened.”

Another chapter of History from the piss-ant point of view from your correspondent way out West, William Ray

Comment on Sean Griffin of Seattle – The Actor’s Actor! by hankwhitt

hankwhitt — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 13:01:20 +0000

I’ll get Sean’s email for you and post it here.