Happy Missouri Day! I was not born in Missouri but I count myself fortunate to have grown up there, moving to the Show-Me State from Kentucky when I was four and staying until I was sixteen. Of course, I ended up moving west (St. Louis is the Gateway to the West after all) to the great state of California, following in the footsteps of many before me. For this blog entry, I’d like to honor Missouri natives who worked in Hollywood film.
Also, there’s some sporting event involving a cricket Los Angeles and St. Louis — arguably the greatest cities in their respective states (well, arguably in St. Louis’s case). So forgo your animal-style fries, Cool Ranch tacos, French Dips, kogi tacos, and Mission burritos for one day and prepare a feast of BBQ, Cherry Mashes, gooey butter cake, Ozark Pudding, St. Louis-style pizza, St. Paul sandwiches, and toasted ravioli as we honor the Missouri-Hollywood connection.
MISSOURIANS IN HOLLYWOOD HALL OF FAME
(l-r: Basil Poledouris, Bert Convy, Betty Garrett, and Betty Grable)
(l-r: Brenda Joyce, Burt Bacharach, Cecil Cunningham, and Cedric the Entertainer)
(l-r: Charles “Slim” Whitaker, Chingy, Chris Cooper, and Cliff Edwards)
(l-r: Craig Stevens, Cy Kendall, Dan O’Bannon, and David Sharpe)
(l-r: Dee Wallace Stone, Dennis Weaver, Diane Brewster, and Dianne Wiest)
(l-r: Don Cheadle, Don Johnson, Doris Roberts, and Dorothea Kent)
(l-r: Eddie Griffin, Edward Pawley, Edwin August, and Ellen Drew)
(-r: Ellen Foley, Eulalie Jensen, Fannie Ward, and Frances Guihan)
(l-r: Gene Gauntier, George Hearn, Georgia Hale, and Geraldine Page)
(l-r: Ginger Rogers, Goodman Ace, Grace La Rue, and Hall Bartlett)
(l-r: James Gunn, Jane Novak, Jane Wyman, and Janet Jones)
(l-r: Jason Wiles, Jean Harlow, Jenifer Lewis, and Jim Bannon)
(l-r: Joe Besser, Joe S. Camp, Jr., Joel Huggins, and John Ashley)
(l-r: John Beal, John Goodman, John Hamm, and John Huston)
(l-r: John Kander, John Milius, John Pankow, and Johnny Haymer)
(l-r: Johnny Johnston, Josephine Baker, Joy Harmon, and Joyce Holden)
(l-r: Kathryn Adams, Kay Thompson, Ken Page, and Kevin Kline)
(l-r: Laura La Plante, Lee Falk, Leslie Charleson, and Lige Conley)
(l-r: Lincoln Kilpatrick, Linda Blair, Linden Chiles, and Lori Saunders)
(l-r: Melanie Fullerton, Mike Nader, Mildred June, and Monique Gabrielle)
(l-r: Morris Carnovsky, Moses Gunn, Mykelti Williamson, and Nathaniel Taylor)
(l-r: Nicholas Worth, Noah Beery, Olive Young, and Patricia Farr)
(l-r: Ray Young, Redd Foxx, Robert Altman, and Robert Cummings)
(l-r: Robert Guillaume, Robert Lowery, Roberta Sherwood, and Ronald Stein)
(l-r: Rosemary Theby, Ruth Warrick, Sally Long, and Sandahl Bergman)
(l-r: Sara Shane, Scott Bakula, Sean Gunn, and Stan Brakhage)
(l-r: Stephanie E. Williams, T-Bone Burnett, Taylor Momsen, and Teddy Infuhr)
(l-r: Todd Newton, Todd Susman, Tommy Rall, and Ub Iwerks)
(l-r: Vincent Price, Virginia Gibson, Virginia Mayo, and Walker Edmiston)
(l-r: Wallace Beery, Wallace Reid, William Christy Cabanne, and William S. Burroughs)
(l-r: Wilton Graff, Winston Miller, and Yvette Vickers)
(l-r: Marshall Bruce “Eminem” Mathers III, Dan Gilvezan, David Koechner)
Edie McClurg, Debbie Lum, and William Smith
Eric Brightwell is an adventurer, writer, rambler, explorer, cartographer, and guerrilla gardener who is always seeking writing, speaking, traveling, and art opportunities — or salaried work. He is not interested in writing advertorials, clickbait, listicles, or other 21st century variations of spam. Brightwell’s written work has appeared in Amoeblog, diaCRITICS, and KCET Departures. His work has been featured by the American Institute of Architects, the Architecture & Design Museum, the Craft & Folk Art Museum, Form Follows Function, Los Angeles County Store, Skid Row Housing Trust, and 1650 Gallery. Brightwell has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Magazine, LAist, Eastsider LA, Boing Boing, Los Angeles, I’m Yours, and on Notebook on Cities and Culture. He has been a guest speaker on KCRW‘s Which Way, LA? and at Emerson College. Art prints of his maps are available from 1650 Gallery and on other products from Cal31. He is currently writing a book about Los Angeles and you can follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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Eric Brightwell 