The late Jim Whaley of Atlanta created a show about the movies on Atlanta’s WPBA, called “Cinema Showcase” that ran from the 1970s-1990s. After Jim’s death, his family donated the film and tapes he had saved to us. See our collection here: https://bmac.libs.uga.edu/pawtucket2/index.php/Detail/collections/2
On the show, he interviewed movie stars and directors of the past and present, some of whom were passing through town doing dinner theater, others had written memoirs or were starring in new releases. Jim clearly was besotted by these stars and loved interviewing them. They opened up to Jim, apparently loved being on his show, and told some great stories. A personal favorite is Van Johnson’s interview. Johnson is really ON in the show and is just a terrific raconteur. A lot of the older stars appearing on the show were amazed and delighted that young kids and teenagers were writing them fan letters! Television had brought the old movies to a new generation.
Above are just a few of the interviewees from the show: Lillian Gish, Burt Reynolds, Lauren Bacall, Gregory Peck, Alexis Smith, Dana Andrews, Evelyn Keyes, Robert Preston, Shelley Winters, Maximilian Schell, Jane Powell, Van Johnson, Myrna Loy, Charlton Heston, and Frank Capra.
