My Life as a Turkey Makes Timely Return to PBS Nature

Posted on November 24, 2021 by Judith Trojan
The year-long parenting experiment of wildlife artist and naturalist Joe Hutto in 1991 has been dramatically recreated in the marvelous PBS film, MY LIFE AS A TURKEY, starring Jeff Palmer.  Photo © David Allen.

The year-long parenting experiment of wildlife artist and naturalist Joe Hutto in 1991 has been dramatically recreated in the marvelous PBS film, MY LIFE AS A TURKEY, starring Jeff Palmer.  Photo © David Allen.

“I realized that this was going to be a very personal, emotional ride for me, and not just a science experiment.”—Joe Hutto, wildlife artist & naturalist.

What better way to usher in the Thanksgiving holiday than with a film about one man’s remarkable relationship with a clutch of young turkeys…the wild kind that is, not their farm-raised cousins served up on a platter for Thanksgiving dinner.

I’ve always loved films featuring the work of Jane Goodall and others who share her passion to protect, rehabilitate and bond with endangered wildlife.  My Life as a Turkey takes a more unorthodox dive into that milieu…one that began with a gamble and ended as a touching family saga.  As fresh and timely as it was when it debuted on PBS in 2011, the film returns to PBS NATURE tonight, Wednesday, November 24, 2021, 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. ET.  Check local listings for air times and repeat broadcasts in your region and below for streaming and DVD availability.

Based on the true story documented by wildlife artist and naturalist Joe Hutto in a journal that subsequently became a book, the film recreates the year (1991) that Joe spent “parenting” more than a dozen wild turkey hatchlings in the terrain surrounding his isolated cabin in the Florida Panhandle.  As portrayed in the film by Jeff Palmer, Joe Hutto is a sensitive loner who parlayed his fascination with imprinting and the wild turkeys that populated the region into a transformative life experience.

Jeff Palmer (Joe Hutto) and a fellow performer during the filming of Joe Hutto's real life saga, MY LIFE AS A TURKEY. Photo © David Allen.

Jeff Palmer (Joe Hutto) and a fellow performer during the filming of Joe Hutto’s real life saga, MY LIFE AS A TURKEY. Photo © David Allen.

A bowl full of abandoned turkey eggs, an incubator, and Joe’s knack for “talking turkey” to the eggs and, Voila!, more than 20 baby chicks emerged from their shells, made eye contact and instantly bonded with their new “mom” and protector, Joe Hutto!   Joe was hooked, but he had no idea what it would take to single parent this brood of dependent chicks through the most difficult transitions of their first year.

“I’m ignorant about being a turkey mother,” Hutto lamented.  But his learning curve was swift.

The imprinted chicks were relentlessly needy.  They wanted to cuddle.  They followed him over hill and dale to explore the terrain and hunt for food.  He followed them into their pen every night and sat with them until they fell asleep.  He worried about predators and strange diseases that struck when he least expected it.

It was a grueling parenting gig, but one that enlightened him about the birds’ surprising intelligence, innate survival instincts, emotional attachments and distinctive personalities.  Joe even named a few.  The tiniest of the lot, Sweet Pea, loved to be petted when she snuggled with him; and the boldest, Turkey Boy, briefly bonded with Joe like a brother.  But first feathers led to first flights.  Male-female shenanigans spurred fights for sexual dominance. And finally, like all cute kids, Joe’s turkeys grew up and flew the coop.  Off they went, for better or worse, leaving Joe with an empty nest and a broken heart.

On set in Central Florida during the filming of MY LIFE AS A TURKEY for the PBS NATURE series.  Photo © David Allen.

On set in Central Florida during the filming of MY LIFE AS A TURKEY for the PBS NATURE series.  Photo © David Allen.

Jeff Palmer’s understated performance as Joe Hutto, seasoned with Joe’s sensitive original journal musings and drawings, and highlighted by extraordinary nature footage all mesh marvelously to turn My Life as a Turkey into a touching evergreen family film that underscores not only how much we have to learn about species of wildlife that seem foreign to us but also the common threads that bind us as co-inhabitants of this planet.

Produced by David Allen, My Life as a Turkey is a production of Passion Pictures, THIRTEEN and the BBC in association with WNET New York Public Media.

The hour-long film will be rebroadcast on PBS tonight, Wednesday, November 24, 2021, 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. ET.  Check local listings for air times and repeat broadcasts in your region; http://www.pbs.org/nature and the PBS Video app for streaming info, concurrent with broadcast; and http://ShopPBS.org for DVD and Blu-Ray availability.

And if you’re interested in finding out more about Joe Hutto’s backstory and his turkeys, check out his book, Illumination in the Flatwoods: A Season Living Among the Wild Turkey (Lyons Press).  Happy Thanksgiving!–Judith Trojan

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My Garden of a Thousand Bees Makes Buzzworthy Debut on PBS Nature

Posted on October 20, 2021 by Judith Trojan
Gathering pollen from a dandelion, this Ashy Mining Bee is one of more than 60 species of wild bees found in Brit wildlife filmmaker Martin Dohrn's urban backyard garden. Photo ©Martin Dohrn.

Gathering pollen from a dandelion, this Ashy Mining Bee is one of more than 60 species of wild bees found in Brit wildlife filmmaker Martin Dohrn’s urban backyard garden. Photo ©Martin Dohrn.

“The hum of bees is the voice of the garden.”–renowned landscape architect Elizabeth Lawrence.

As a kid, family gardens were my playground. What happy memories my cousins, friends and I forged among those beautiful flowers and that tasty vegetation. But frankly, we took it all for granted. I had no idea how much work it took for my grandparents to maintain their robust crop of vegetables, flowers, fruit trees and vines, or my mom to plant, weed and water her lovely flowers year after year.

The only downside?  Bees!  They were not to be messed with. We had no idea that those stinging pests were not pests at all. They worked as hard or harder than my grandparents and parents to preserve the gardens we loved.

Now, I’m an avid gardener and am proud that my garden is buzzworthy.  I weed and prune surrounded by bees that used to terrify me.  On any given day in my garden, bees outnumber birds, butterflies, bunnies and groundhog Bob and his buddies, all of whom seem to enjoy snacking there.  Sadly, as an adult living in the 21st century, I have to face the fact that the worldwide honey bee population is dwindling due to parasitic and toxic chemical overload; and that without bees, our gardens, crops and planet would be toast.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that “Honey bees pollinate 80% of the U.S. insect crops–over $20 billion worth of crops each year.”  Albert Einstein once predicted, “No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.”

Martin Dohrn filming bees in his garden in Bristol, UK. Photo courtesy Hugh Campbell/©Passion Planet.

Martin Dohrn filming bees in his garden in Bristol, UK. Photo courtesy Hugh Campbell/©Passion Planet.

British photographer Martin Dohrn was accustomed to travelling the world, capturing the comings and goings of a wide array of wildlife on film.  But when COVID-19 deemed his canvas off-limits, he was confined to his home in Bristol, England.  Like many of us…me included…he turned to his backyard garden for solace.  It worked for me, and it sure worked for him.

His tiny, wildly unmanicured urban garden not only served as a much needed oasis for Dohrn and his family, but also provided a fascinating new focus for his work.  His garden was home to more than 60 species of wild bees, and Dohrn decided to tell their story.

Martin Dohrn’s breathtaking bee footage and charming narrative grace the Season 40 opener of the PBS Nature series.  My Garden of a Thousand Bees premieres tonight, Wednesday, October 20, 2021, 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. ET.  Check  local listings for air times and repeat broadcasts in your region and below for streaming and DVD availability.

A Red Mason Bee (Osmia bicornis) enjoys a forget-me-not in Martin Dohrn's garden. Photo ©Martin Dohrn.

A Red Mason Bee (Osmia bicornis) enjoys a forget-me-not in Martin Dohrn’s garden. Photo ©Martin Dohrn.

During the Spring 2020 COVID lockdown, Martin Dohrn unapologetically became enamoured with bees, perhaps the most difficult critters in any landscape to film. Their size and speed initially stymied Dohrn, but his determination to get up close and personal with his wild backyard bee buddies (more than 60 species!) paid off.  Dohrn literally rebuilt his extensive camera equipment on his kitchen table to meet the challenge.

Thanks to Dohrn’s patience and enhanced equipment, he was not only able to close in on the common bumblebee, eyeball to eyeball, but individuals of other unique bee species as well.  At first, Dohrn’s amazing close-ups may conjure up memories of those huge, scary faux Hollywood insects popular on screen in the 1950s.  But soon, you’ll marvel at the amount of detail Dohrn was able to record, including the sight and sound of bee wings flapping (they sound like helicopters!).

Dohrn misses nothing in Bee City, as he calls it.  From tunnel scouting and nest building, mating and egg laying, pollen collecting and tackling marauding bee opportunists and arch enemies like wasps and spiders, it’s clear that the short life of a bee is filled with high drama.  And much of it occurs in crevices, holes and tunnels.  In fact, Dohrn became so entranced with his backyard bee community that he embellished their habitats with additional holes, and soon began to identify and follow specific individuals.  One bee, whom he called Nicky for her nicked wing, even seemed to recognize him and allow him to film her without buzzing off.

British wildlife filmmaker Martin Dohrn comes face-to-face with his backyard obsession, bees! Photo ©Martin Dohrn.

British wildlife filmmaker Martin Dohrn comes face-to-face with his backyard obsession, bees! Photo ©Martin Dohrn.

“My hope is that Martin Dohrn’s emotional connection with the bees in his garden will resonate and lead to a new appreciation for these vital insects,” said Fred Kaufman, executive producer for #NaturePBS.

Thanks to Martin Dohrn and his determination to shine a light on bees’ complex lives and importance to our  ultimate well-being, I guarantee that after watching Nature: My Garden of a Thousand Bees, you’ll never take them for granted again.

Directed by David Allen, Nature: My Garden of a Thousand Bees is a production of Passion Planet, The WNET group and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios in association with Ammonite Films.  The film premieres on PBS tonight, Wednesday, October 20, 2021, 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. ET.  Check local listings for air times and repeat broadcasts in your region; http://www.pbs.org/nature and the PBS Video app for streaming info, concurrent with broadcast; and http://ShopPBS.org for DVD and Blu-Ray availability. –Judith Trojan

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Rita Moreno Just a Girl Who Decided To Go for It Debuts on PBS

Posted on October 5, 2021 by Judith Trojan

Legendary actress, singer, dancer RITA MORENO. Photo courtesy Austin Hargrave.

“I always wanted to be a movie star.”–Rita Moreno.

Rita Moreno’s dreams of movie stardom did come true, and then some. A boatload of prestigious awards and honors continues to replenish her trophy shelf and cap her amazing 70-year career, including an EGOT–she is the rare performer and the first Latina to have won an Emmy (2!), Grammy, Oscar and Tony. But it sure wasn’t easy.

Rita Moreno, feisty and fabulous at 87, recounts the highs and lows of her personal life and remarkable career in Mariem Pérez Riera’s delightful new documentary, Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided To Go for It.  Following its successful theatrical run earlier this year, the 90-minute film debuts on the Award-winning PBS American Masters series tonight, Tuesday, October 5, 2021, 9:00 – 10:30 p.m. ET (Check local listings and below for streaming info).

Culture shock best describes five-year-old Rita Moreno’s transition from her humble Puerto Rican farming community to Manhattan’s racially and ethnically insular neighborhoods.  After immigrating to NYC with her seamstress mom, Moreno studied dance and soon performed in clubs as a young teen to pay the rent.  A Hollywood talent agent spotted her at one of her dance recitals and arranged a meeting with powerful MGM boss Louis B. Mayer. With contract in hand, the young Hollywood hopeful headed West, determined to become a star like her idol, Elizabeth Taylor.

Rita Moreno during her grueling rehearsals for WEST SIDE STORY (1961). Photo courtesy MGM Media Licensing.

Rita Moreno during her grueling rehearsals for WEST SIDE STORY (1961). Photo courtesy MGM Media Licensing.

Mayer took one look at the 16-year-old Latina Liz Taylor wannabe and rubber-stamped her casting in an endless stream of sexy generic ethnic minority roles.  Like many young women in the industry, then and now, she was also targeted by the lascivious white, male film titans and flacks who ran the show in mid-century Hollywood.  Yes, she was propositioned by Hollywood heavyweights, tragically assaulted by her agent and pigeonholed into stereotypic ethnic and indigenous character roles dumbed down with muddy make-up, obscure accents and dire fates; but Rita Moreno persevered.

“Rita is an incredible inspiration … hers is a success story for all women who feel alone as they struggle to assert themselves with courage and bravery against heavy odds,” said director Mariem Pérez Riera.

A night to remember! April 9, 1962. Winners of the 1961 Academy Awards® for Best Supporting Actress (Rita Moreno) and Best Supporting Actor (George Chakiris) for their performances in WEST SIDE STORY. Photo courtesy of Everett Collection.

Moreno built her career in small roles on the big screen, culminating with her breakthrough performance and historic 1961 Oscar® win for Best Supporting Actress in West Side Story.  When the substantial film roles she coveted still passed her by, she segued to PBS, cable, Broadway and Netflix, where she continues to thrive.

Pérez Riera jampacks Moreno’s profile with an impressive line-up of notable film pros, cultural historians and celebrated Latinx performers who speak to the star’s barrier-breaking influence across the board in the entertainment industry and beyond.

But fasten your seatbelts!   Rita Moreno is by far the liveliest on-camera participant here, there and everywhere as she revisits the good, the bad and the ugly influences and influencers that shaped her life and career. In the mix are her beloved daughter and grandsons; the husband who adored her; the toxic relationship with Marlon Brando; the racist discrimination; the rape, suicide attempt and botched abortion.  Also noteworthy is her decades long, off-screen role as an outspoken Civil Rights and Women’s Rights’ activist.

Rita Moreno’s co-stars in Norman Lear’s Latinx reboot of ONE DAY AT A TIME. From lower left: Justina Machado, Isabella Gomez, Rita Moreno and Marcel Ruiz. Photo courtesy Everett Collection Inc/Alamy.

Glorious clips from Moreno’s feature film, TV and cable performances remind us of the wide range of iconic characters she originated, including Anita in West Side Story, Sister Pete on HBO’s Oz, and family matriarch Lydia in Norman Lear’s 2017-2020 Latinx reboot of One Day at a Time (Netflix/Pop TV). Especially dear to her heart is her character work with Jim Henson and The Muppets and five-year stint on The Electric Company.

Rita Moreno travels full circle and returns to the big screen as Valentina, a character reimagined just for her in Steven Spielberg’s much anticipated remake of West Side Story.  She also serves as Executive Producer. The film opens on December 10, 2021.

“I can’t think of anybody I’ve ever met in the business who lived the American dream more than Rita Moreno,” said Norman Lear.

And I can’t think of a better, more spirit boosting film than Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided To Go for It. Going forward, it will definitely fit the bill in college and university classrooms and library and community programs focusing on Latinx culture and film history, systemic racism, and women’s issues, especially those related to the #MeToo movement.

RITA MORENO always knew where she was going. Right to the top! Photo courtesy of Thirteen.

A production of American Masters Pictures and Act III in association with Maramara Films and Artemis Rising Foundation, Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided To Go For It debuts on the PBS American Masters series tonight, Tuesday, October 5, 2021, 9:00 – 10:30 p.m. ET.  Check local listings for air dates and repeat broadcasts in your region. It will be available for streaming concurrent with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org/ritamoreno, the PBS Video App and PBS Passport.–Judith Trojan 

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New PBS Doc Profiles 7 Young Adults Who Lost Dads on 9/11

Posted on August 31, 2021 by Judith Trojan
Photo courtesy Arrow International Media.

Photo courtesy Arrow International Media.

“My father was a firefighter on 9/11.  I never met him.”— Megan Fehling, born October 2001.

September 11, 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  Sadly, the number of casualties continues to grow.  9/11 First Responders have faced chronic illness and many have succumbed to cancer. And those who lost loved ones continue to carry the debilitating burden of grief.

Generation 9/11, directed by documentarian Liz Mermin and produced for PBS by a Brit-based team helmed by Emmy®-winner John Smithson, zeroes in on a unique population tragically affected by the 9/11 debacle. Among the victims of the terrorist attacks were 105 expectant fathers. The two-hour film introduces us to six of their children, born after the death of their dads.  The seventh was a toddler who had yet to meet his dad at the time of his death.

Generation 9/11 debuts on PBS tonight, August 31, 2021, 9:00 – 11:00 p.m. ET. (Check local listings for air times and repeat broadcasts in your region, and see below for streaming info.)

Young Nick Gorki at the 9/11 Memorial site in NYC honoring his dad, Sebasian Gorki. Photo courtesy of the Gorki family.

I was anxious to meet the seven young people profiled in this film. Born at the dawn of the 21st century, these culturally diverse young men and women, now 20-year olds and counting, don’t disappoint. Their stories contribute much needed  perspective to post 9/11 media coverage.

Megan Fehling’s firefighter dad was killed in the South Tower of the World Trade Center, leaving a pregnant wife behind. Nick Gorki’s mother, Paula, worked in the South Tower. On 9/11, her morning sickness made her late to work; but her partner, Nick’s expectant dad Sebastian, had an unexpected meeting in the South Tower and did not survive. Fares Malahi was three in September 2001, living in Yemen with his older brother and mother while awaiting their U.S. visas. Fares never met his father, Abdu, who was working as an AV engineer at the Marriott in downtown Manhattan and died helping guests evacuate the hotel.

Ronald Milam, Jr., modeling as a youngster. Photo courtesy of the Milam family.

Ronald Milam, Jr.’s parents both served in the military and were working at the Pentagon on 9/11 on opposite sides of the building. After Ronald Sr. was killed, Ronald’s mother left the Army and moved the family to Texas. Dina Retik’s father was a venture capitalist and a passenger on hijacked American Airlines Flight 11. Claudia Szurkowski’s father worked for the union of painters and wallpaper hangers in the North Tower on 9/11. Luke Taylor’s father, Lt. Colonel Kip Taylor, died in the Pentagon attack.  Luke’s mom passed away of cancer two years later.

Their lives may have begun on a horrific note, but their reflections, in retrospect, are surprisingly stoic.  As babies and toddlers, they were oblivious to why and how they lost their dads.  Some of their moms remarried, had more babies and, overall, the youngsters welcomed their new siblings and stepdads.  How do you miss someone you never met?  They adapted, and lived the hand they were dealt.

Their insights and those of their moms, stepparents and siblings are embellished with extensive period photos, home movies and media footage spotlighting various family, sports, and educational milestones, as well as the trajectory of 9/11 and the anniversaries that have commemorated it.

Claudia Szurkowski has family in Poland. Photo courtesy of the Szurkowski family.

That these young people grew up to be seemingly healthy, well-adjusted young adults during a 20-year period when our political, cultural, racial, environmental and global climate was anything but healthy and stable is pretty amazing.  Of course, as a young black man, Ronald, and his mom fear the ever-present threat of racist policing.  And Fares, who did know his dad, at least from afar, faces discrimination due to his ethnicity and sadly seems to have struggled to gain a footing in America.

Generation 9/11 is engaging when it focuses directly on the seven young people and their personal journeys. Clips of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama are clearly relevant to their stories. But attempts to broaden the film’s reach by piggybacking such topical hot button issues as Black Lives Matter, school shootings, the Capitol riot, the pandemic, climate change and Trump vs. Biden are clumbsy and distracting.

Fares Malahi spent his first three years in Yemen, never meeting his dad who worked and died in NYC on 9/11. Photo courtesy of the Malahi Family.

It’s at times like this that I remember how much I miss the late, great British filmmaker, Michael Apted (the brilliant director of the 7 Up documentary series).  How wonderful to imagine Apted’s take on the seven young people profiled in Generation 9/11. He would have followed them every seven years, in successive films, focusing squarely on their personal hopes, dreams, loves and loss, and the psycho-social issues that impacted them individually at those specific ages. Parameters matter!!

Instead, Generation 9/11 is an overlong film that covers 20 years in their lives… and frankly, ours too (via the inclusion of ongoing national and international issues facing all of us).  It bites off more than it can chew. Hopefully, the press screener that I viewed has been fine-tuned before broadcast.

Generation 9/11 will have potential in high school, university and college classrooms and counseling programs dealing with grief recovery, family trauma, single parenting, and, of course, post-9/11 studies.

Generation 9/11 premieres on PBS tonight, August 31, 2021, 9:00 – 11:00 p.m. ET. (Check local listings for air times and repeat broadcasts in your region.) The film will stream simultaneously with broadcast and be available on all station-branded PBS platforms, including www.pbs.org and the PBS Video App, available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV and Chromecast.  PBS station members can also view the documentary via PBS Passport.–Judith Trojan

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Mare of Easttown Nabs 16 Emmy Nods and an Upcoming HBO Marathon

Posted on August 14, 2021 by Judith Trojan

“I had a very specific vision. I wanted to tell a story about home and the people I grew up with and yet make it entertaining and wrap a mystery around it.”—Brad Ingelsby, screenwriter and creator, Mare of Easttown.

The lifelong friendship between Lori (Julianne Nicholson) and Mare (Kate Winslet) is shaken to its core in HBO'S MARE OF EASTTOWN. Photo: Michele K. Short/HBO.

The lifelong friendship between Lori (Julianne Nicholson) and Mare (Kate Winslet) is shaken to its core in HBO’S MARE OF EASTTOWN. Photo: Michele K. Short/HBO.

Brad Ingelsby, the Emmy®-nominated creator and screenwriter of the HBO limited series, Mare of Easttown, didn’t have to dig too deeply to recreate the Central PA working-class milieu that drives the series’ gripping family drama and murder mystery.  He grew up in the vicinity.

A microcosm of small town, blue collar America, Easttown, PA, is awash with vintage row houses, cookie cutter mid-century split levels and neighborhood bars. The distinctive dialect, deeply rooted Catholicism and faded memories of past basketball triumphs forever bind the town’s citizenry. The abduction of two young women and the murder of another open a Pandora’s box of long-standing secrets and lies that threaten to upend the town’s faux complacency–familial depression and suicide, teen pregnancy and prostitution, rape and marital infidelity–much of it tragically fueled by drug and alcohol abuse.

Detective Mare Sheehan (Kate Winslet) must come to terms with her own family tragedies before she can solve a township murder and double abduction in HBO's MARE OF EASTTOWN. Photo: Michele K. Short/HBO.

Detective Mare Sheehan (Kate Winslet) must come to terms with her own family tragedies before she can solve a township murder and double abduction in HBO’s MARE OF EASTTOWN. Photo: Michele K. Short/HBO.

Following in the footsteps of her beloved dad, seasoned Detective Mare Sheehan (Kate Winslet) is theoretically positioned to save the day. But she is deadened by grief over the suicides of her dad and son and fearful of losing custody of her tiny grandson. As she slowly works to overcome her demons, her skills as a detective begin to shine through. The seven episode series builds in intensity as Mare and her affable colleague, Colin Zabel (Evan Peters), investigate the murder and double abduction.

This is powerful stuff.  It’s a rare and welcome family drama and murder mystery focusing on flawed, resilient three-dimensional characters, most especially women, who as friends, lovers, mothers and daughters of all ages carry the ball to the finish line.

Mare Sheehan and her mom, Helen (Jean Smart), have a lot of weighty family baggage to unpack in HBO's MARE OF EASTTOWN. Photo: Michele K. Short/HBO.

Mare Sheehan and her mom, Helen (Jean Smart), have a lot of weighty family baggage to unpack in HBO’s MARE OF EASTTOWN. Photo: Michele K. Short/HBO.

I can’t remember when I’ve seen female relationships more sensitively rendered on screen.  It’s moving to watch the interplay between Mare (Kate Winslet) and her childhood friends, especially her best friend, Lori (Julianne Nicholson); Mare and her sassy mom, Helen (Jean Smart); Mare and her grandson’s troubled young mom, Carrie (Sosie Bacon); and Mare and her college bound daughter, Siobhan (Angourie Rice), whose lesbianism is refreshingly never an issue.  I truly hope that these women (the characters and the actresses who play them) will return to Easttown  and HBO for a second season.

Mare of Easttown is destined to have a long shelf life in college and university classrooms and grief and drug counseling programs, as well as in film screenwriting, directing and acting classes. The series has been nominated for 16 well-deserved Emmy® Awards, including series creator/screenwriter Brad Ingelsby, director Craig Zobel, and four of the series’ actors–Kate Winslet, Julianne Nicholson, Jean Smart and Evan Peters.

Although the drama debuted in April and May 2021, you can catch a marathon rebroadcast of HBO’s seven-part series Mare of Easttown today, Saturday, August 14, 2021, from 12 Noon – 6:00 p.m. ET/PT. The series is also available on HBO On Demand and streaming via HBO Max. Be sure not to miss it! –Judith Trojan

And the Winners Are…

Mare of Easttown swept the 73rd Annual Emmy® Awards in the “Acting in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie 2021” categories on Sunday, September 19, 2021:  Outstanding Lead Actress (Kate Winslet). Outstanding Supporting Actor (Evan Peters). Outstanding Supporting Actress (Julianne Nicholson).  Mare of Easttown also won Emmys for Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (one hour or more).  Bravo, Mare!–Judith Trojan 

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Super Hummingbirds Fly Again on PBS Nature

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Judith Trojan
A Chestnut-breasted Coronet Hummingbird sips nectar from a flower in the Ecuadorian cloud forest. From NATURE: SUPER HUMMINGBIRDS on PBS. Photo courtesy Ann Johnson Prum/©THIRTEEN Productions LLC.

A Chestnut-breasted Coronet Hummingbird sips nectar from a flower in the Ecuadorian cloud forest. From NATURE: SUPER HUMMINGBIRDS on PBS. Photo courtesy Ann Johnson Prum/©THIRTEEN Productions LLC.

“It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds.”–Aesop.

I love birds… and have loved them since I bonded with my chatty, cuddly (yes, cuddly!) little parakeet pal as a kid.  I also love gardening.

I weathered “pandemic isolation” by building a wildlife-friendly habitat in my backyard.  It’s amazing how much pleasure you can derive watching birds of various shapes, sizes and personalities feeding and nest building in your garden and jockeying for a cooling drink or a splash in an inviting birdbath. The list is endless: bullying Blue Jays, docile Doves, sweet-natured Robins, bonded Cardinals and loquacious Mockingbirds.  The daily show at their spa (my garden birdbath!) is a priceless lesson in interspecies conflict resolution, and the melodious summertime serenade that Mr. Mockingbird performs 24-hours-a-day sure beats the sound of silence during a pandemic shutdown.

Bird-watching was already on my radar four years ago when I previewed Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Ann Johnson Prum’s 2016 documentary, Super Hummingbirds. The hour-long film, her second film featuring these dazzling, tiny creatures, returns tonight in a welcome rebroadcast on the Award-winning PBS series, Nature.

A production  of Coneflower Productions and THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET, Nature: Super Hummingbirds makes its return visit on PBS tonight, Wednesday, July 14, 2021 (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET).  Check  local listings for air times and repeat broadcasts in your region and below for streaming and DVD availability.

A Green-crowned Brilliant Hummingbird guards his turf as another hungry hummer interloper tries to take a sip of precious nectar. From NATURE: SUPER HUMMINGBIRDS. Photo courtesy Ann Johnson Prum/©THIRTEEN Productions LLC.

A Green-crowned Brilliant Hummingbird guards his turf as another hungry hummer interloper tries to take a sip of precious nectar. From NATURE: SUPER HUMMINGBIRDS. Photo courtesy Ann Johnson Prum/©THIRTEEN Productions LLC.

If you live in the Americas and have a flower garden or have passed through one at some point in your life, you’ve possibly met up with one or two hummers.  However, they move so fast and are so small (the world’s smallest birds!), chances are you were unaware of their presence.  That is unless you’ve mounted a specially designed hummer feeder outside your window.

Thanks to the marvels of high-speed photography, Super Hummingbirds literally brings us eye-to-eye with various colorful species of hummingbirds, a rare occurrence in everyday life. We are privy to their intimate mating, birthing, nest-building and parenting rituals, as well as their amazing aerial feats. They can fly backwards, upside down and hover in mid-air, with wing speeds of up to 80 times per second.

The film also introduces the work being done with hummingbirds by ornithologists, behavioral ecologists and evolutionary biologists based at such institutions as UC Berkeley, the University of New Mexico and Cornell.  Marvelous footage highlights hummingbird feeding studies conducted by Dr. Alejandro Rico-Guevara in  Colombia; the astounding hummer high altitude oxygen comparables tabulated in the Peruvian Andes by Dr. Christopher Witt; and the flashy hummer mating dances  filmed by Dr. Marcelo Araya-Salas in the Costa Rican rain forest.

 

Actress Patricia Clarkson narrates NATURE: SUPER HUMMINGBIRDS on PBS. Photo courtesy Joseph Sinnott/©2016 THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC.

Actress Patricia Clarkson narrates NATURE: SUPER HUMMINGBIRDS on PBS. Photo courtesy Joseph Sinnott/©2016 THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC.

Fast, feisty and focused on fueling up at the nearest nectar-rich flower, hummingbirds may be small, but their high-energy lifestyle makes extraordinary demands on their tiny bodies. Hence, their waking, sleep and feeding cycles are unique to the species and quite remarkable. Significant pollinators (pollen sticks to their heads as they hover and draw nectar from flowers), hummingbirds are also noteworthy for their adaptability to new terrain, climates and altitudes.

Super Hummingbirds will introduce you to tiny, breathtakingly beautiful, ever-evolving creatures that defy categorization. Even if you’re not an avian aficionado, I encourage you to take a step outside your comfort zone and catch the rebroadcast of Nature: Super Hummingbirds on PBS tonight, Wednesday, July 14, 2021 (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET).  Check local listings for air times and repeat broadcasts in your region; http://www.pbs.org/nature and the PBS Video app for streaming info; and http://ShopPBS.org for DVD and Blu-Ray availability.–Judith Trojan

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HBO’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark Returns with Gripping New Episode

Posted on June 21, 2021 by Judith Trojan
Journalist and true crime sleuth MICHELLE McNAMARA (1970-2016) first became obsessed with solving unsolved violent crimes as a teenager in Oak Park, Illinois, an upper class enclave harboring a backlog of cold case rapes and murders. Photo courtesy HBO.

Journalist and true crime sleuth MICHELLE McNAMARA (1970-2016) first became obsessed with solving unsolved violent crimes as a teenager in Oak Park, Illinois, an upper class enclave harboring a backlog of cold case rapes and murders. Photo courtesy HBO.

“A violent crime never ends with a victim. A singular act reverberates, its wounds appearing in other people, sometimes months and years later. The pain ricochets.”—Michelle McNamara.

Nothing fascinates me more than twisty murder mysteries and psychological thrillers. Binging on smart fiction and nonfiction PBS and HBO whodunits helped me survive the pandemic shutdown and take a much-needed break from the political horror show playing out on the news every night.  One welcome discovery was Michelle McNamara, the author and journalist, and one of the most dogged online true crime junkies whose blog, TrueCrimeDiary.com, chronicled her obsession with solving unsolved crimes.

During the 1970’s and ’80s, roughly about the same time serial killer Ted Bundy was on the prowl in the Pacific Northwest, a string of idiosyncratic home burglaries, 50 brutal home invasion rapes and 12 murders were terrorizing clusters of low-crime neighborhoods in Northern and Southern California.  Dubbed variously as the Visalia Ransacker, the East Area Raper (EAR), the Original Night Stalker (ONS) and the Golden State Killer, the predator or predators stymied original investigators who failed to link cases occurring beyond their jurisdictions. The cases went cold, and 37 boxes of case files were stockpiled and forgotten.

Left behind were a long list of traumatized survivors–those who were brutally raped as teenagers and young women; the parents, spouses and children of those women; the families and friends of the men and women who were murdered; the detectives who failed them–and the amateur and professional sleuths who kept the EAR/ONS cases alive in online chat rooms and crime blogs.

Michelle McNamara's compulsion to reopen cold case rapes and murders eventually took a toll on her health, but resulted in the capture and conviction of the Golden State Killer. Photo courtesy HBO.

Michelle McNamara’s compulsion to reopen cold case rapes and murders eventually took a toll on her health, but resulted in the capture and conviction of the Golden State Killer. Photo courtesy HBO.

Michelle McNamara was determined to bring the East Area Rapist/Original Night Stalker (EAR/ONS), whom she dubbed the “Golden State Killer,” to justice and assure closure for the rape victims, their families and the families of the murder victims.  She began building bridges with the EAR/ONS victims, many of whom had never even shared their stories with their closest friends and families (rape victims were systematically marginalized by the criminal justice system in the 1970’s and ’80s).  Disturbing patterns emerged through her research, connecting the burglaries, rapes and murders in disparate California communities to a single perpetrator.  McNamara was hooked.

You can revisit the backstory of the case and McNamara’s obsession with it in my lengthy June 28, 2020 piece in FrontRowCenter– I’ll Be Gone in the Dark Makes Chilling Debut on HBO.  Based on her best-selling book of the same name, the gripping six-part HBO series documents the roadblocks she faced in her efforts to right a boatload of horrific wrongs perpetrated almost a half century ago and left unpunished. Did she, in fact, fulfill her dream to bring the diabolically evil perpetrator out of the shadows of time, enabling his victims and the criminal justice system to finally see him, as she had hoped to see him, in the light of day–old and powerless?

Thankfully, the filmmakers responsible for the original series, including Award-winning documentarians Liz Garbus and Elizabeth Wolff, answer that question and bring closure to a community of survivors in a new hour-long HBO film, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: Show Us Your Face, that I encourage you not to miss.  It also opens a window on an unsolved rape and murder case that first intrigued Michelle McNamara as a teenager in her privileged hometown of Oak Park, Illinois.

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: Show Us Your Face debuts on HBO tonight, Monday, June 21, 2021, 10:00 -11:00 p.m. ET/PT (see below for complete screening and streaming details for the new episode and the original series).

Unlike other young couples savagely attacked during home invasions and rapes by the Golden State Killer in the 1970's and '80s, Gay and Bob Hardwick managed to sustain their marriage and heal. Photo courtesy HBO.

Unlike other young couples savagely attacked during home invasions and rapes by the Golden State Killer in the 1970’s and ’80s, Gay and Bob Hardwick managed to sustain their marriage and heal. Photo courtesy HBO.

This new episode brings us face to face with the Golden State Killer, former police officer Joseph James DeAngelo, as he plays the physical and mental “incompetence card” to no avail and is sentenced to life in prison several times over without parole for the 50 home invasion rapes and dozen murders he committed during his reign of terror in the 1970’s and ’80s in California.

Several of the sociopath’s victims and their family members are reintroduced here as they convene with others for DeAngelo’s public sentencing hearing in August 2020.  We are privy to their powerful survivor impact statements spoken directly to wheelchair-confined DeAngelo.  He acknowledges his guilt to each individual charge and makes a blanket apology to his victims.  Michelle McNamara may not have lived to see this day (she passed away in 2016); but her determination to solve the case made DeAngelo’s capture and his victims’ closure possible.

As with the original six episodes of the series, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: Show Us Your Face is riveting.  The hour-long film seamlessly updates the case history, its resolution and the emotional scars that remain.  It closes one chapter in McNamara’s investigative work, but introduces yet another pivotal cold case that she credited with igniting her lifelong obsession with unsolved murders:  the 1984 rape and murder of Kathleen Lombardo in McNamara’s hometown of Oak Park, Illinois.

Although she was only 14 at the time, McNamara felt compelled to visit the crime scene.  Its impact was life-changing.  She returned to her hometown in 2013 to revisit the case and was immediately drawn to the ineptitude of the original investigation and missed connections between similar cases in the vicinity.

In 1982, teenager Grace Puccetti survived a brutal attack and rape in Oak Park, Illinois, two years before Kathy Lombardo was raped and murdered in the same vicinity.  Photo courtesy HBO.

In 1982, teenager Grace Puccetti survived a brutal attack and rape in Oak Park, Illinois, two years before Kathy Lombardo was raped and murdered in the same vicinity.  Photo courtesy HBO.

The filmmakers incorporate the late Michelle McNamara’s own archival research, voice recordings and interviews, most especially with Ms. Lombardo’s brother Chris, and another victim, Grace Puccetti, who survived a shockingly similar attack in the same vicinity just two years before Ms. Lombardo’s murder.  McNamara was unable to close this case before she died, but she incited like-minded community and family members to reopen the case and push for release of the evidence.

“Inside everyone lurks a Sherlock Holmes that believes that given the right clues, they could solve a mystery,” said Michelle McNamara.

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: Show Us Your Face not only explores the long road that Joseph DeAngelo’s victims travelled toward healing… a journey that Michelle McNamara set in motion.  The film also opens a window on another cold case with wide reach that first captivated Michelle McNamara at 14 and remained an obsession until her untimely death at 46.  Hopefully, there will be additional “special episodes”  tracking new developments and a viable perpetrator in that case that will make the Oak Park victims, their survivors and McNamara’s unrequited dream come true.

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: Show Us Your Face debuts on HBO tonight, Monday, June 21, 2021, 10:00 -11:00 p.m. ET/PT.  Check listings for repeat air dates in the days and weeks ahead and its availability in tandem with the original 2020 six-episode series, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, on HBO On Demand and streaming via HBO Max.–Judith Trojan

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Ann Roth Oscar Shoe-In for Ma Rainey’s Pitch Perfect Costumes

Posted on April 20, 2021 by Judith Trojan

ANN ROTH

“Nothing wrong with having nice shoes.  A man gotta have some shoes to dance like this.”— Chadwick Boseman aka Levee in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”

Nicole’s nose.  Meryl’s caftan.  Tippy’s mink coat.  Brenda’s red fox coat.  Viola’s gold teeth and horsehair wig.  And Chadwick’s yellow shoes.  Just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the signature accoutrements devised by legendary costume designer Ann Roth to transform mere mortals into iconic film and stage characters.

In a career that has encompassed more than 200 feature films, Broadway and regional plays, TV/cable films, operas and ballets, Ann Roth has costumed every character no matter how minor, down to their nail polish, shoelaces and noses (The Hours).  Her skill set defies pigeonholing.

There’s Miami Beach drag (The Birdcage); period literary adaptations (The Day of the Locust, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley and Cold Mountain); social issue-driven classics (Midnight Cowboy, Silkwood, The Paper and HBO’s Angels in America); aliens (Signs) and the alienated (Hair); big hair (Working Girl and Mamma Mia!); women in crisis (Klute, Doubt, The Reader and HBO’s Mildred Pierce); Broadway buffoonery (Gary) and burlesque (The Nance).

Ann & Tony & Oscar…

Ann Roth and Glenda Jackson fine-tune a costume for Jackson’s groundbreaking role in KING LEAR during Broadway’s Spring 2019 season.

The breathtaking range of Roth’s creative talent and exacting demand for period detail was never so evident than during the 2018 New York theater season when she was nominated for Tony® Awards for three critically-acclaimed revivals:  Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel, Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women and Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh.  In the 2019 season, she nabbed Tony® nominations for Taylor Mac’s quirky Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus and the blockbuster hit, To Kill a Mockingbird.  Prior recent Tony® nods include The Book of Mormon (2011), Shuffle Along (2016) and a win for my personal favorite, The Nance (2013).

Ann Roth accepts her 1996 Oscar for THE ENGLISH PATIENT. Photo AMPAS.

Her Academy Award® nominations—Places in the Heart (1984), The English Patient (1996), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), The Hours (2002), and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)—have spanned five decades.  And despite the industry’s yearlong pandemic pause, Roth’s run for the gold hasn’t skipped a beat.  A quarter century after winning her first Oscar® for The English Patient, she is poised to win her second for Ma Rainey’s head to toe costuming.  Should the film adaptation of August Wilson’s play seal the deal, as I believe it will, the Oscar® will land a cozy spot on her trophy shelf next to her 2021 BAFTA (British Academy Award), CDGA (Costume Designer’s Guild Award), and Critic’s Choice Award, as well as her boatload of regional critic’s awards and nominations for the film.

 Ann Roth & Ma Rainey…

While his themes transcend skin color, August Wilson’s cultural importance in the African-American community is irrefutable.  Wilson’s greatest achievement as an American playwright and his enduring legacy is his monumental 10-play cycle:  Each play tackles a different decade of the 20th century, beginning with 1900 (Gem of the Ocean) and ending with 1990 (Radio Golf).  All but one of the plays—Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (1920)—are set in Pittsburgh.

“I pretended that Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) had a relationship with a dressmaker in Mississippi — she had this yellow dress made and thought it was fantastic," recollected costume designer Ann Roth. "But when she saw those city women in the fancy Chicago hotel, she knew the fur had to come out even though it was July. It was her armor.”

“I pretended that Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) had a relationship with a dressmaker in Mississippi — she had this yellow dress made and thought it was fantastic,” recollected costume designer Ann Roth. “But when she saw those city women in the fancy Chicago hotel, she knew the fur had to come out even though it was July. It was her armor.”

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom centers on a fictional afternoon in the life of Southern blues singer and recording artist, Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, aka the “Mother of the Blues,” who has motored North in July 1927 with her sexy young girlfriend and nephew to record her signature songs in a steamy, bare bones Chicago recording studio. Flashbacks of Ma’s bawdy travelling tent show recall her dazzling stage presence and spirited fan base.

Hardened by her life as a black performer and gay woman in the Jim Crow South, Ma is wise to the ploys of her racist white record producer and condescending manager and her cocky young black horn player, Levee (Chadwick Boseman). All three men are trying to advance their careers and line their own pockets at her expense.

Big, bold and brassy, Ma is more than a match for the sidewinding white men who exploit her talent for their own financial gain, and for ambitious musician Levee who wants to kick-start his own career on her time, with her girlfriend.  Ma has every intention of recording her music her way, on her financial terms, and keep a firm grip on her girlfriend in the process.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom gave Roth the chance to work her magic in one of her favorite decades (the Twenties) and team up once again with director George C. Wolfe, the film’s producer Denzel Washington and star, actress Viola Davis.

Costume designer Ann Roth works her magic on the set of MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM. Photo: David Lee/Netflix.

Costume designer Ann Roth works her magic on the set of MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM. Photo: David Lee/Netflix.

“Ma Rainey was a tough, strong woman with gold teeth and a horsehair wig,” said Roth. “I loved it.”

Despite the project’s short lead time and few existent photos of the real Ma Rainey, Roth’s costume designs evolved from hours of meticulous period research in tandem with the film’s talented hair and makeup team. Roth, as always, set about transforming the actors into August Wilson-worthy characters, with viable backstories, no matter how brief their screen time.

“During the tent scene which must’ve had over 100 extras, I kid you not,” recalled Viola Davis. “Ann went up to every one of those extras. She explained where each part of their costumes came from and what it meant to be in that tent. It was a transformative experience.”

Roth bulked up Viola Davis with a rubber body suit, a mouthful of gold teeth, an authentic gold coin necklace, newsboy cap and fur stole, bodacious street and beaded stage garments, and advised the film’s hair and makeup team (also BAFTA winners and Oscar® nominees!) to top it all off with an extraordinary horsehair wig.

“Viola started moving in this new body, and experimented with how Ma’s going to swing that behind, and she started to find that woman and make her fabulous,” marveled Roth.

And lest we forget Levee’s fancy yellow shoes—the shoes he spots in a store window and splurges on en route to Ma’s recording session—Roth punched the character’s Florsheims up a few notches, tempting him instead with conspicuous yellow wingtips, signalling not only Levee’s exaggerated career aspirations but also their futility.  

Ann Roth’s lifelong fascination with all things dramatic, including the lives of the directors, writers and actors she admires, continues to propel her into grueling, overlapping film and theater assignments, most with repeat talent. She worked on 13 feature and cable films and numerous Broadway projects with her great friend, Mike Nichols; made three sweeping period films with director Anthony Minghella (The English Patient, Cold Mountain and The Talented Mr. Ripley); and lately has linked up theatrically with Ma Rainey director George C. Wolfe.  At 89 years of age, with her second Oscar® looming, she is, at this writing, on set in North Carolina working on one of three films in her pipeline.

Just You, Just Me, Just Right…

Coincidentally, after apprenticing with fabled five-time Oscar®-winning costume designer Irene Sharaff, Ann Roth landed her first solo film gig on one of the secret pleasures of my youth:  The World of Henry Orient (1964).  I wanted to live the lives of those girls, and I never forgot teenage Tippy Walker’s mink coat.  Ann told me she got it off the back of a truck.

I first met Ann Roth almost 25 years ago.  I was asked to profile her for a lengthy magazine piece.  It sounds corny, but it’s true:  She “had me at ‘Hello’.”  I’ve been extraordinarily fortunate to have met, interviewed and worked with scores of incredibly talented artists, writers and filmmakers during my career as a journalist, publicist and Awards program director.  But crossing paths with Ann Roth for the first time, for me, was akin to being struck by a bolt of lightning.

I grew up with dreams of becoming a fashion designer like Coco Chanel and admired Oscar®-winning costume designer Edith Head for her commanding sense of style and chutzpah. I studied art in college, departed quickly from a post-grad stint at The Fashion Institute of Technology, and happily found my niche in graduate film school at NYU, where I never remember hearing the words “costume designer.”  The first thing I learned when I called Ann Roth to set up our first interview?  It’s best not to mention Edith Head.

“Edith Head dressed movie stars,” Ann said, punctuating the moment with the deliciously throaty growl she uses to express impatience.  “She didn’t dress the elevator man, the mother-in-law, or the secretary.  She did the leading lady.  I costume characters.  I’m not dressing stars.”

"I bought this red fox coat for two hundred bucks,” Ann Roth recalled about costuming Brenda Vaccaro in MIDNIGHT COWBOY. “I told Brenda not to worry, that she wouldn’t have to lie there naked. How could you not fall in love with a naked girl in a fur coat?”

“I bought this red fox coat for two hundred bucks,” Ann Roth recalled about costuming Brenda Vaccaro in MIDNIGHT COWBOY. “I told Brenda not to worry, that she wouldn’t have to lie there naked. How could you not fall in love with a naked girl in a fur coat?”

To say that I’ve been blessed to have been able to continue my relationship with her over the years is an understatement.  My time spent with Ann in her studio, the Costume Depot, in New York, and at her bucolic 18th century farm in rural PA, while preparing my original manuscript, are days I will never forget.  And the moments since then when we’ve connected are precious to me.  Her concern and comforting words when my mom passed away and during my own brief hospitalization were especially touching and very much appreciated given her exhausting work and travel schedule.

Little did I know when I received that fateful phone call from my editor more than two decades ago asking me to interview a costume designer (not named Edith Head!) that a window would open for me that would not only turn my preconceived notions about costume design on their ear, but also…and more importantly…bring a feisty and captivating new friend into my life.

The way we were. Judith Trojan and Ann Roth, circa 1997. Photo: Paul Schneck.

The way we were. Judith Trojan and Ann Roth, circa 1997. Photo: Paul Schneck.

Extraordinary talent, creative vision and an indomitable spirit got Ann Roth where she wanted to be.  “I always wanted my life to be an adventure,” she confided to me.  Knowing Ann has been one of my life’s great adventures.–Judith Trojan

♦♦♦♦♦♦ 

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, directed by George C. Wolfe, adapted by screenwriter Ruben Santiago-Hudson, from the play by August Wilson, was produced by Denzel Washington, Dany Wolf and Todd Black, and is available for streaming on Netflix.  The 93rd Academy Awards® will be telecast on ABC, Sunday, April 25, 2021, 8:00 p.m.ET/5:00 p.m.PT.  Ann Roth is the subject of The Designs of Ann Roth (2014), one of the USITT’s series of monographs on theatrical designers.  Costume Magic: Ann Roth Turns Burlap into Velvet by Judith Trojan, was published by Carnegie Mellon (Spring 1998).  And you can source Ann Roth’s November 16, 2014, CBS News Sunday Morning profile at www.cbsnews.com/sunday-morning/ or on YouTube.–JT

And the Winner Is…

Ann Roth received her 2020 Oscar® for “Best Costume Design” for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at the 93rd Academy Awards®, on April 25, 2021. Bravo, Ann!–Judith Trojan 

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Ken Burns and Lynn Novick Tackle Hemingway in New PBS Series

Posted on April 5, 2021 by Judith Trojan
American novelist, short story writer, journalist and sportsman ERNEST HEMINGWAY (1899 - 1961) at his home in Cuba, circa the 1950s. Photo courtesy A. E. Hotchner.

American novelist, short story writer, journalist and sportsman ERNEST HEMINGWAY (1899 – 1961) at his home in Cuba, circa the 1950s. Photo courtesy A. E. Hotchner.

“Our intent is to offer viewers an honest portrayal of a complex and conflicted writer who left an indelible mark on literature.”–Ken Burns.

The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, The Old Man and the Sea, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, For Whom the Bell Tolls.  Novels, short stories, battlefield dispatches, magazine columns, newspaper reportage, and a raft of unpublished personal correspondence. Ernest Hemingway mastered them all, and has been deemed the “most revered American writer since Mark Twain.”

Ernest Hemingway’s distinctive pared down prose, deceptively masculine sensibility and impressive output during the first half of the 20th century grabbed the literary world and public by storm.  He garnered a Pulitzer, a Nobel Prize, a National Book Award nomination and a high profile celebrity presence, the latter ignited in large part by his troubled, testosterone and booze-fueled lifestyle that he fictionalized in his work and embellished into myth.  But, as is evident in the riveting new six-hour documentary miniseries, Hemingway, directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick and scripted by Geoffrey C. Ward, the lifelong mental and physical baggage festering just below the surface of his disciplined writing career not only informed his work but ended up destroying it and him as well.

Hemingway family portrait, circa October 1903, from left: Ursula, dad Clarence, Ernest, mom Grace and sister Marcelline Hemingway. Photo courtesy Ernest Hemingway Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Hemingway family portrait, circa October 1903, from left: Ursula, dad Clarence, Ernest, mom Grace and sister Marcelline Hemingway. Photo courtesy Ernest Hemingway Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Ken Burns and Lynn Novick orchestrate an uncompromising look at the man behind the myth in Hemingway, debuting on PBS in three, two-hour installments, beginning with Episode 1: “A Writer (1899 – 1929)” tonight, Monday, April 5, 2021, 8:00 – 10:00 p.m. ET.  Episode 2: “The Avatar (1929-1944)” and Episode 3: “The Blank Page (1944-1961)” follow at the same time on succeeding nights. (Check local listings and see below for complete screening info.)

Ernest Hemingway may seem like a surprising departure for filmmakers Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Geoffrey C. Ward who have collaborated on such lofty historical and cultural subjects as the Vietnam War, World War II, the Roosevelts, prohibition and baseball, to name a few.  But, in fact, Hemingway’s timeline, albeit relatively microscopic by Burns’ recent standards, has all the makings of a Shakespearean tragedy spanning multiple continents and an impressive array of transformative cultural, historical and socio-political milestones.

Ernest Hemingway in the American Red Cross Hospital in Milan, Italy, 1918, recovering from injuries suffered as a volunteer for the American Red Cross during World War I. Photo: © Henry Villard.

Ernest Hemingway in the American Red Cross Hospital in Milan, Italy, 1918, recovering from injuries suffered as a volunteer for the American Red Cross during World War I. Photo: © Henry Villard.

Traversing Hemingway’s 61-year life span, we thread through the Parisian ex-patriate art and literary scene of the 1920s; the gruesome battlefields of three major wars; the boudoirs of four wives and numerous mistresses; the high seas off the coast of Florida; the dive bars in Key West and Cuba; bullfighting rings in Spain; and big game hunts in Africa.  Add the upper middle class Midwestern childhood in Oak Park, Illinois, that unfolded idyllically at the turn of the 20th century, then turned sour, imprinting Hemingway’s facility for writing and fascination with pursuits that drew a flimsy line between life and death.

This is heady stuff.  Notable literary scholars, critics and authors provide ample commentary about Hemingway’s oeuvre and the lifestyle that informed it.  Actor Jeff Daniels initially seems an odd choice to voice passages from Hemingway’s work and unpublished correspondence.  But when we finally hear Hemingway’s actual voice via archival footage and audio clips (you’d think it would be huskier with all of his risky business, serial head injuries and heavy drinking), it’s clear that Daniels’ Midwestern twang was well cast.

Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley Richardson, in Chamby, Switzerland, circa 1922.

Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley Richardson, in Chamby, Switzerland, circa 1922.

“The effect upon women is such that they want to go right out and get him and bring him home…stuffed,” said Dorothy Parker.

Much of the film series is driven by Hemingway’s women… the ones that got away and the ones that didn’t and wish they had.  His four wives are major players… two of whom (Hadley Richardson and Pauline Pfeiffer) bit the dust when someone more alluring came along; one of whom (Martha Gellhorn) dared call it quits on her own; and his fourth and final wife, Mary Welsh, who stuck by him at the end of his life when he was at his most mentally unhinged and abusive.  His controlling, self-absorbed mom, who decided that he and his slightly older sister should dress as same sex twins, seems to have planted the seeds of Hemingway’s adult predilection for switching he/she roles with his female lovers.

Ernest Hemingway's second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer, cutting his hair.

Ernest Hemingway’s second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer, cutting his hair.

“Many women feel that Hemingway hated women and wrote adversely about them,” said Edna O’Brien. “I would ask his detractors, female or male, to read this story: Up in Michigan.  Could you in all honor say that this was a writer who didn’t understand women’s emotions and hated women?”

The exhaustively researched vintage footage and photos, passages from his work and correspondence are all wonderfully evocative.  I was especially taken with the rare clips of his pal Sylvia Beach, the proprietor of the legendary Parisian bookshop and literary hangout, Shakespeare & Company; and the many comments from 90-year-old Irish author Edna O’Brien, who touched me with her insightful and sensitive remarks about Hemingway’s work.

I also applaud the inclusion of Hemingway’s middle son Patrick Hemingway, who has some surprisingly positive things to say about his peripatetic childhood, his serial moms, and especially his dad.

The only visual downside here?  Hemingway’s obsession with bullfighting and big game hunting is covered extensively with graphic photos and film footage, especially in Episode 2. Animal lovers beware!

Ernest Hemingway and his third wife, war correspondent Martha Gellhorn, en route to China in 1941.

Ernest Hemingway and his third wife, war correspondent Martha Gellhorn, en route to China in 1941.

Hemingway aficionados and individuals with little previous knowledge of Ernest Hemingway will find much in this miniseries to incite revisiting and reading of his work. It will be an evergreen and indispensable asset in high school and college classrooms as well.

Hemingway Episode 1: “A Writer (1899 – 1929)” premieres on PBS tonight, Monday, April 5, 2021, 8:00 -10:00 p.m. ET.  Episode 2: “The Avatar (1929 – 1944)” debuts on Tuesday, April 6, 8:00 -10:00 p.m. ET.  Episode 3:  “The Blank Page (1944 – 1961)” follows on Wednesday, April 7, 8:00 -10:00 p.m. ET. (Check local listings for air times and repeat broadcasts in your region, and ShopPBS.org for DVD and Blu-Ray availability.)

Hemingway will be available to stream for free on all station-branded PBS platforms, including www.pbs.org and the PBS Video App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV and Chromecast.  PBS station members can also view the documentary via PBS Passport, as part of a full collection of Ken Burns’ films.–Judith Trojan

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