     
      |
| "THE
KENTUCKIAN brought Celebrities to Town" by Karen Owen This article appeared September 21, 2004 in Owensboro's Kentucky Messenger-Inquirer |
| continued
from Page 1
. . . transformed into a riverboat gambling casino for a scene. A steam engine was used to warm the water in the old Sportscenter swimming pool for a scene where Lancaster and another actor [Donald McDonald] fell into a river. Other scenes, including a whip fight between Lancaster and newcomer Walter Matthau, were filmed at Lincoln Pioneer Village, a Rockport, Indiana tourist attraction built by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression. Portions of the movie were also filmed at Cumberland Falls State Park and Levi Jackson Wilderness State Park in eastern Kentucky. Matthau actually broke a finger during filming, according to members of the Grose family. Five brothers and the father of the southern Indiana clan worked as extras on the movie. Their paychecks were sufficient to provide electricity, a water pump, a bathroom and an ice box for their home. `We were raised poor, but that movie put us on our feet," said Kenny Grose of Patronville, Indiana. Former Mayor Casper `Cap' Gardner's 6-year-old son, Chris, had a minor role in `The Kentuckian,' but he made enough to buy a bicycle. Restaurants and hotels also benefited from the film crew's presence [from] mid-August to October 1954. Lancaster's leading lady, Dianne Foster, and radio-TV script writer Joel Murcott were married in a private ceremony at Gardner's Robin Road home. County Judge Norris Vincent performed the wedding. Cast members mingled freely with local residents. Actor Carradine served as a judge at a beauty contest for a Hawesville sorghum festival and was the guest of honor for the victory celebration of Owensboro's Community Chest drive. The only negative publicity came when an 18-year-old Indiana man handcuffed himself to actress Diana Lynn at the hotel. He was arrested on a misdemeanor charge but the event was later denounced as a publicity stunt. The movie officially premiered in Chicago, but had its Owensboro debut on August 5, 1955 at the Malco Theater downtown. Area people who served as extras in the production held annual reunions for three years or more. The log cabins at Lincoln Pioneer Village eventually fell into disrepair but were restored in recent years. They are now on the National Register of Historic Places. |
| Various Source Notes |
| 1)
October 15, 1954 - Dianne Foster marries Joel Murcott,
a Hollywood radio-television scriptwriter, during location filming
for The Kentuckian, in Owensboro, Kentucky. The ceremony is performed at the home of Mayor and Mrs. Casper Gardner. He’s 38; she’s 25. Both have been married previously. County Judge Norris Vincent performed the wedding. 2) Gardner, Casper S. — also known as Cap Gardner — of Owensboro, Daviess County, Ky. Served in the U.S. Navy during World War II; Mayor of Owensboro, Ky., 1954; member of Kentucky state senate. Member, Rotary. Still living as of 2002. Previous < Page 1 < Page 2 < Page 3 |
