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Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
World War II brought these top actors and spotlight of Hollywood to Fort Worth
Our Uniquely Fort Worth stories celebrate what we love most about North Texas, its history & culture. Story suggestion? Editors@ Hollywood was in Fort Worth news earlier this year with the nomination of Fort Worth's Abraham Alexander for an Academy Award for Best Song of the Year (from the 2024 movie 'Sing Sing'). The Nigerian-born Alexander attended Texas Wesleyan University before launching a musical career. Filmmakers' interest in Fort Worth might have originated in 1920 when the fledgling Lone Star Pictures announced plans to film its first motion picture here, 'a romance of the Texas oil fields.' It never happened, but in the years to come, some well-known Hollywood actors had a soft spot in their hearts for Cowtown. Gene Autry visited Fort Worth in 1936 and asked the manager of the New Liberty theater, 'Do they like my pictures here?' The manager assured him, 'Next to Buck Jones, you're tops!' Twenty years later, Fort Worth made Jimmy Stewart an honorary citizen and deputy sheriff. Fort Worth was also home to some top Hollywood talent during World War II. They were here because of Tarrant Field — renamed Carswell Air Force Base in 1948 — as part of the Army Air Forces Training Command. In the summer of 1942, the the command opened a combat training school at Tarrant Field for pilots on the heavy bombers being produced next door at the Consolidated Vultee plant (now Lockheed Martin). George Gobel was one of the Hollywood types who answered his country's call in 1942. At the time, he was a little-known singer-turned-comedian who had been performing since the age of 11. The military sent him to Fort Worth to teach men to fly the B-24 Liberator. When off duty, Gobel entertained the men on his guitar, weaving humor into his act. He got the nickname 'Lonesome George' for his low-key, self-deprecating humor. He also coined a catch phrase that would follow him the rest of his life: 'Well, I'll be a dirty bird.' After the war, Gobel performed in night clubs until in 1954 he got his own TV show. When that ended in 1957, he moved on to Broadway and the movies. In 1972, he became a regular on Hollywood Squares. Gobel attributed his success to compensating for what nature didn't give him and to luck. He told an interviewer years later, 'When I went into the Air Force, I was 5 feet 4½ inches. The limit was 5 feet 5. Life has always been like that.' Burgess Meredith may have been Fort Worth's favorite actor-turned-soldier and was certainly the biggest stage and screen star to come to town in uniform. Star-Telegram readers learned about him in 1937 when he was proclaimed 'the brightest young star on Broadway.' Five years later, he came through Fort Worth as a buck private on a troop train. In August 1942, he came back to Fort Worth, disembarking at the Texas & Pacific station as Lt. Burgess Meredith of the Army Air Forces. He was assistant public relations officer at Tarrant Field. He had spent the previous month making the training film 'Rear Gunner' with co-star Ronald Reagan. It was so good, the government released it in theaters. Lt. Meredith's work with the Air Training Command wasn't what intrigued readers after Fort Worth Press columnist Jack Gordon informed his female readers that the twice-divorced Meredith was available. In short order he was romantically linked with a Fort Worth woman, Mary Parker, though Meredith dismissed the rumors, saying, 'We're just good friends.' After the war, Meredith did not miss a beat resuming his film career. Eventually, he created the acclaimed roles of 'The Penguin' on the 'Batman' TV series (1966-68) and Mickey, Rocky Balboa's crusty trainer, in three Sylvester Stallone movies. William Holden was the third Hollywood star to 'play' Fort Worth during World War II. Born William Franklin Beedle, he took the stage name he is known by when he first began acting. In August 1942, he left behind a budding acting career to enter the Army, showing up in Fort Worth that fall as a private working behind a desk at Tarrant Field. He was soon off to Air Force Officer Candidate School in Miami. When Holden came back to Fort Worth he was wearing the gold bars of a second lieutenant. No flier, Holden was assigned to the public relations office, serving as liaison with the city of Fort Worth while doing weekly radio broadcasts of 'The Army Air Force Show' over the Mutual Broadcasting network, which included KFJZ. Rather than tell his listeners about the war in the abstract, he told human-interest stories about servicemen who had performed heroically. The broadcasts from (Will Rogers) Municipal Auditorium proved hugely popular with the local audience. And as an officer Holden got to move out of the barracks, initially into the Worth Hotel, then into an apartment near TCU. In January 1943, Holden was joined by his wife, actress Brenda Marshall, who had North Texas roots, having been a student in 1936 at Texas Women's College (Denton). Her latest movie, 'Life Begins at 8:30,' was playing at the Hollywood theater when she got to town. In May 1944, she was back in Fort Worth visiting her husband and appearing with him on his radio show. Holden's official duties took him out into the community doing public relations for the Army Air Forces. He was elected executive vice president of the Chamber of Commerce and coached third base for a Fort Worth Cats exhibition game. When not doing his military duties, Holden could be seen playing the drums, jamming with fellow musicians in the Den Room of the Hotel Texas. In 1959, while promoting his latest movie, 'The Horse Soldiers,' Holden cane through Fort Worth for the first time since the war. He reminisced with reporters about his two-year stay in Fort Worth during the war, mentioning sharing an apartment with big-league baseball player Hank Greenberg, another enlistee with the Air Training Command. Holden recalled how they hung out their wash on the railing of their second-floor apartment, much to the dismay of the owner. When the Army sent Holden back to California to work with the Motion Picture Unit making training films, he was replaced on the Army Air Forces radio show by another actor-turned-soldier, George Montgomery. Often compared to Clark Gable, Montgomery had worked steadily in Hollywood right up until 1943, when he joined the Army Air Forces' First Motion Picture Unit, a U.S. Army unit made up entirely of film professionals. Cpl. Montgomery came to Fort Worth for a month in January 1944 to be 'guest host' for the radio show while Holden was away. After the war, Hollywood seemed to have fallen completely in love with Fort Worth. In 1951, the major studios had three movies in production about our city: Warner Brothers' 'Fort Worth' with Randolph Scott, RKO's 'High Frontier' with Anne Baxter, and Twentieth Century Fox's 'Follow the Sun' with Glenn Ford. Only the Warner Brothers and Twentieth Century Fox films reached the screen, but Hollywood was not done with Fort Worth, nor Fort Worth with Hollywood. Author-historian Richard Selcer is a Fort Worth native and proud graduate of Paschal High and TCU.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lies about sad Frisco track stabbing don't help families or get justice
The Frisco track meet stabbing is sad for both families. (April 16, 8A, 'Frisco track meet stabbing suspect Karmelo Anthony released from jail on lower bond') Spreading lies about it hurts the cause of reaching a reasoned and just outcome. Some have objected to the lowering of Karmelo Anthony's bail from $1 million to $250,000. But it was clearly excessive, especially with the state of the criminal justice system. Defendants will wait two or three years before their cases make it to court. Bail is correctly set to ensure appearance at court and to prevent harm to the public. Anthony is confirmed at home with an ankle monitor, so any bail is redundant and excessive. - John Nolan, Arlington An April 23 headline on asked: 'Home insurance rates are through the roof. Can Texas lawmakers do anything?' Insurance rates reflect increasing risk. Texas had 20 billion-dollar disasters in 2024, its most ever and the most of any state. Texas, in fact, has been the leader in big storms consistently over the last few decades. Add the fact that the Lone Star State also leads the nation in lawsuit abuse and verdicts of $10 million or more, and that produces increased upward pressure on insurance rates. Lawsuit abuse leads to higher insurance rates that every Texan ends up paying. The Legislature can't control severe weather or economic inflation, but it can rein in lawsuit abuse. - David A. Sampson, Gainesville, President and CEO, American Property Casualty Insurance Association As a longtime librarian, I am appalled at the numerous attacks against libraries coming from the Texas Legislature. Bills in the state House and Senate would remove the affirmative defense to prosecution on charges of providing harmful materials to minors. The exemption prevents frivolous accusations and prosecutions. Without it, any individual who dislikes a book in a library could contact law enforcement and accuse the librarian of providing harmful materials to minors and law enforcement would investigate. No librarian should live in fear of being arrested for giving a child a book. Librarians study for years to ensure that patrons can access helpful information. We are public servants in the best sense of the word and don't deserve this. - Jennifer Franz, Grapevine I agree with the April 23 commentary 'If Texas wants to bolster school choice, it needs fair funding for charters.' Two of my grandchildren attend Uplift Education charter schools. It is an amazing opportunity for them. They live with their single mother and need every advantage they can obtain. It gives them an opportunity to get a quality education, which will make a huge difference in their lives. I am impressed with the dedication of the people I have seen there. I would like to think our legislators would see things the same way as the contributor, but I am not impressed with their understanding of the whole educational system in Texas. Any support for these schools is money well spent. - John Coleman, Quitman Like many people worldwide, I was saddened to hear of the passing of Pope Francis. He was a kind and humble man who had served admirably. He wasn't rigid, stuffy, self-centered or a stick in the mud. I liked it when he furthered the aims of Vatican II to enable the church to keep its local sphere of worshiping without walking in lockstep with the dead Latin language. Francis died with his boots on by being visible just one day before his death. It's unknown who the cardinals will select as his successor. But I hope it will be someone in the same vein as Francis, who brought fresh air to the papacy. - James A. Marples, Longview
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas jury got it right: Shelter worker deserved long sentence for torturing kittens
Thank you, jurors, for giving an individual accused of the rotten, sick act of killing so many kittens a long sentence. (March 21, 2A, 'Former Parker County animal shelter employee gets 40 years for torturing, killing kittens') It is beyond anyone's imagination how a person could purposely do a dastardly deed to a defenseless animal. - Ken Angya, Arlington Ryan Rusak makes valid points in his column about Vice President JD Vance's views on the attack on the Houthis. (March 25, 'Trump officials' war-plan goof was scary. What it revealed about Vance might be worse') America's interests have, to an extent, been threatened by the Houthis. However, I don't fault Vance for calling out Europe's 'freeloading.' He speaks the truth. Europe needs to defend its own interests and not rely on the United States to protect all Western concerns. - Steve Huddleston, Trophy Club History will not look kindly on the elected officials who were in positions of power but stood silently by while President Donald Trump dismantled America's government and destroyed our democracy. Texans voting in 2026 will not look kindly on a senator who chose to be silently subservient to Trump and Elon Musk's ego-driven, incompetent and heartless assault on this once-great country. America needs Sen. John Cornyn to step up now. He should be brave, be a leader, be a patriot, be a Texan and make it his legacy to be the first senior Republican to shout: 'The emperor has no clothes.' - David E. Voss, Dallas I don't think the president understands how government works. There are equal branches designed by the founders to provide a system of checks and balances: no king, no emperor, no single authority to govern. The actions of the new Department of Government Efficiency are an example of poor management. Elon Musk must go, along with his crew of tech employees. Government provides services to people. This is not a money-making business The election was no landslide. Many people are being hurt by the practices and policies endorsed by the administration. Stop the chaos and listen to the people. - Marilyn Joyce Kepner, Fort Worth Gov. Greg Abbott has made it clear he supports school vouchers. (March 23, 10A, 'Texas Sen. Cruz responds to GOP opposition, calls school vouchers a 'civil rights issue'') It's taxpayers' money, and we should have a voice in what's done with it. I do not support my tax dollars paying for the private education for children of wealthy families. It should be decided by the ballot. Have a special election so we who will pay for it have a say in who gets it. Otherwise, if Abbott gets his way, there should be a simple process for taxpayers to opt out. It's our money, after all. - Linda Carlow, Alvarado
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama firm told Texas politicians to close Fort Worth schools. Parents, take note
I am one of the parents feeling an 'array of emotions' from the presentation about closing my son's school. (Feb. 27, 'Fort Worth ISD's third community meeting on school closures sparks array of emotions') I am disappointed that FWISD paid $2.7 million in taxpayer money to an Alabama company to tell us we need to close schools because of a lack of funds. I am frustrated that Austin politicians want to divert more money away from public education with their voucher program for private schools. But I am energized as a voter to know that Fort Worth families care about education. We deserve better from our leaders. - Glenn Hutchinson, Fort Worth Diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, allowed me to succeed. I earned an MBA with a CPA license, became a college instructor and a manager of a communication plant supporting domestic and international sites, and am a published author. I remember the struggles I had when the government did not support DEI because I was defined by my disability (low vision). DEI afforded me a level playing field where merit and ability were seen as attributes and my disability was not seen as a liability. By receding from DEI, we are overlooking talent that would benefit our businesses and government operations and make our society more productive. Diversity, equity and inclusion policies allow people like me to let their work speak louder than their disabilities. Without it, we will all suffer. - Edgar Henderson, Fort Worth To those who support President Donald Trump, we must not let ourselves forget that all men are fallible. And when a leader, regardless of whatever good he may do on other fronts, goes astray, he must be called out on it. Trump erred in his treatment of Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy is not a dictator, and Russia started and is responsible for the the war in Ukraine. Zelenskyy has repeatedly thanked America for its support and was hardly 'rude' to Trump or to Vice President JD Vance. America has spent a lot of money, but it is the Ukrainians who are fighting and dying. Whatever may be the best outcome of this war, there is just no excuse for how Trump and Vance treated Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, and I am embarrassed. - Thomas F. Harkins Jr., Fort Worth Hens aren't egg machines — they're mothers. When they aren't confined to filthy cages on factory farms, hens lovingly tend to their eggs and 'talk' to their chicks, who chirp back while still in the shell. But in the egg industry, hens endure two years of hell before being sent off for slaughter. And countless male chicks are suffocated or thrown into high-speed grinders, often while still alive. A recent study found that going vegan saves Americans $650 a year in grocery costs compared with a diet with meat and dairy. More important, it spares animals from suffering and helps combat climate catastrophe. Instead of spending $9 for a dozen eggs, why not upgrade to a vegan option such as tofu or other plant-based products? Your wallet — and animals — will thank you. - Darbi Finney, Lubbock Anyone considering perpetuating tax cuts at the expense of cutting Medicaid is reprehensible. Doing so would force a vulnerable and underrepresented constituency to seek medical attention at hospital emergency departments, thereby skyrocketing costs for others who are able to pay. How can anyone be so cold and callous to those less fortunate? Just look at who's running the show, and that will tell you all you need to know. - Brent Neuenfeldt, Fort Worth
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
This homeschool dad backs school choice, but not if it hurts Texas public education
As a homeschool dad and supporter of school choice, I believe expanding educational options for Texas families is the right move. However, school choice should not come at the expense of our public schools, which remain the backbone of our communities. Public school funding hasn't been updated since 2019, while inflation has driven up costs. In Birdville ISD, the state's buying power has dropped by $1,340 per student, and the district faces a $14.5 million special education shortfall. At the same time, new state mandates require schools to spend more while receiving less. Lawmakers must ensure that as school choice expands, our public schools remain financially stable. We can support parental choice while also fully funding our schools, increasing local control and stopping unfunded mandates. Texas doesn't have to choose between the two — we can get this right. - Blake Vaughn, North Richland Hills Let Texas voters decide the fate of school vouchers. Our public education system is a great success that has served us well for many years. Just think how much it could be improved if the $1 billion the Legislature wants to spend on vouchers for private schools, which can pick and choose which students to accept, were instead put into public schools. I realize that some schools are not performing as well as others, but I think we would get more bang for our buck by spending more on public schools. Why does a handful of politicians get to choose what to do with that school tax money? Have a special election or a voter referendum. - Doug Taylor, Willow Park It seems obvious that the Keller school board wants to split the district for socioeconomic reasons to try and create a rich, elite district. (Feb. 11, 'North Fort Worth neighborhood forms legal fund to fight Keller school district split') It also appears that a small group is behind it all. Meanwhile, we have seen the value of our house drop by almost $25,000 in just a few weeks, according to Opendoor. It's mind-boggling that the board could have authority to do this. Board members were elected by residents and should answer to the majority vote. They don't own the schools. Legislators need to change the rules now to prevent a split without an election. Surely this action would initiate several class-action lawsuits. - Ron and Leslie Fox, Keller Texas Sen. John Cornyn has defended Elon Musk's mission of finding fraud in the federal government. That goal is completely justifiable. What is completely unjustifiable and even unconstitutional is Musk stopping funding for the United States Agency for International Development, an organization saving people's lives, and other Congress-approved government funding for organizations. Musk should be making recommendations to Congress and letting lawmakers decide what's funded. Do your job, Sen. Cornyn. Strip out all the waste and fraud found by Musk, but do it by exercising your power of the purse. - Larry Evans, Fort Worth Thank you for your excellent article covering the Feb. 6 meeting of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. (Feb. 9, 11A, 'Families, activists ask state to deem Tarrant County out of compliance for jail deaths') It was a little disingenuous of the commission's director to imply that the agency cannot lobby the Legislature for changes to laws. Agencies approach legislators all the time with their own agendas. My first bill to hit the floor of the Texas House was legislation to clean up a badly written section of state insurance laws. The jail standards commission is not doing its job to protect innocent people wrongfully incarcerated in our county jail. The same is true of our county commissioners, the Fort Worth police chief and the Fort Worth City Council. Please continue your excellent coverage of these failures in government. - Lon Burnam, former state representative, Fort Worth
