My friend Gerry Beirne is a retired Rhode Island Parish Priest. We met as fellow baseball historians. Gerry is the leading authority on all trivia items having anything to do with New England.
He sends me lots of tidbits. A recent one was memorializing the anniversary of the death of the great cowboy actor, Charles Starrett, aka The Durango Kid. If you like old Westerns, you’ll love The Durango Kid.
While doing some checking on the Durango Kid serials I came across the name of one of the early villains — Ken MacDonald. He’s person #1 in this essay. Since I’m a big fan of the old Perry Mason TV series, I remember Ken as the actor who appeared in the second most episodes as the presiding judge. BTW, S. John Launer appeared the most times as the Judge and he was the best, by far. The worst, by far, was James Nusser, who played the town drunk, Louie Pheeters, in 74 episodes of “Gunsmoke.” But I digress.
MacDonald is one of nine people who have a strong connection. Read on and see what it is:
1. MacDonald had a 40-year career in films and TV. He’s one of those many folks you’ve seen dozen of times without recalling his name. He was in a neat Bogart film, “Dark Passage” and several Three Stooges movies. He died at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills (L.A.). That facility has been a wonderful location for the final years of many Hollywood performers.
2. My second fellow in this series of connections is Leon Ames. Leon lived in Fowler, Indiana in his early years. I’m familiar with Fowler because Jesse Roth, an outstanding Notre Dame grad, was born in Fowler. *See below. A fine actor, Ames was one of the founders of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). In 1964, he and his wife were kidnapped for ransom. Fortunately, the police were alerted and freed them and arrested the armed bad guy. Ames owned several Ford Dealerships. Like MacDonald, his final resting place is in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, in the Hollywood Hills.
3. Kevin Ford is not known to have owned any Ford Dealerships. Most of his driving was at a much higher altitude. He had a distinguished flying career as an Air Force Colonel. A veteran NASA Astronaut, he served as Commander of Expedition 34. He had previously worked at CAPCOM (no relation). His undergraduate degree was from my favorite local parochial school.
4. Who can’t love someone named Twyla Tharp? She was a noted dancer who became an award winning choreographer. She’s still alive, so I don’t know if she will be buried near MacDonald and Ames.
5. When I was a kid, I collected the wonderful Topps Baseball Cards. I did not collect as many football cards, but I vividly recall having the card of Pete Brewster, after recently seeing a copy of it on the internet. He was a fine basketball and football player for Purdue before having a nine-year NFL career, as a two-time Pro Bowler tight end. After retirement, he moved to Peculiar, Missouri. That’s odd, isn’t it?
6. Mary Meeker was anything but meek. She was a bold venture capitalist, nicknamed the “Queen of the Internet” for promoting it to her investor clients. It is unknown if she knows Al Gore, the inventor of the Internet.
7. Elwood Haynes was a prominent inventor, metallurgist, entrepreneur, and supporter of Prohibition. He was an early pioneer working with gasoline powered automobiles in the Kokomo area.
8. Pete Daily and his Chicagoans was a popular Dixieland band. Pete was a prominent cornetist and trombonist. Jack Webb studied Pete’s performing style in preparation for his starring role in “Pete Kelly’s Blues.”
9. The final person on this list of “connections” is Oscar Ray Bolin. He was a serial killer, executed in Florida. His life of crime started at a very early age. The most interesting thing in his Wikipedia bio was his last meal: A rib-eye steak, baked potato, salad, garlic bread, lemon meringue pie, and Coca-Cola. No milkshake or hot fudge sundae? This guy made poor decisions right up to the bitter end.
So, why did I put these nine disparate characters together as connections? They were all born in Portland. Oregon? No. Maine? No. Indiana. Yes. I had never heard of the town until I looked up Ken MacDonald.
It must be a teeming metropolis to have produced these nine folks (and several others of some notoriety). Nope, its population is around 6,000. Portland is the County Seat of Jay County and near the Ohio border. I’ve always been fascinated by small towns like this which produce famous persons.
*Here’s the ND guy from Fowler:
Roth, Jesse Henry
Born 6/6/1888, Fowler, Indiana; died 5/1/1951 (63), Tucson, AZ.
At Notre Dame 1906-1910, Valedictorian. Transfer from Marion Normal College. One game substitute end in 1908. Among the lines from his valedictory address were: “All of us realize that our worth must be put to the test; but this truth we know and hold fast, that if we cling to the ideals of Notre Dame, our duty will be accomplished and society will be the better for our presence,” Fine track athlete, participating in the broad jump; 40 yard dash; shot put; and high jump. Attended Chicago College of Physicians and Surgeons. Performed more than 300 eye surgeries in 10 months at Illinois Charitable Hospital. World Ward I — Lt. Colonel, assigned to Army Hospitals in Nantes, France. Eye, Ear, Nose, & Throat Physician, University of Illinois Medical School Faculty. President of Kankakee, Illinois, Medical Society. Buried in Arlington National Cemetery.