Dear Rowan

From the Ephemera Files. I was able to obtain a Playbill for a show that Eric Portman starred in and found a fun fashion article inside. Broadway... NYC... Fashion... the trifecta. So here is the article as read by Yours Truly. More to come from the Playbill in between the main Eric episodes.

Research based on available filmography, matters of public record and most of all the biography of Eric Portman titled "Our Eric" by Andy Owens of Halifax. Please click here to purchase a copy of this well written, thoroughly researched and dignified biography of our Eric. If you are Andy Owens and happen to be listening... I would love to speak with you. 

Thank you for navigating over to my maiden voyage here at Dear Rowan. This is part one of ... three? I feel like it will be three parts. Time will tell. 

This entertainment would not be the same without dear Mr. Adam Roche of The Secret History of Hollywood and Attaboy Clarence Podcast. Please, for the love of all things Holy and Just, go join him at his Patreon for the finest audio entertainment available today. Sincerely, it's true. Adam was such a gentleman to lend his velvety smooth vocals to bring you a quote by Eric Portman himself. 

Stay tuned for part two in ... 2 weeks? Let's remain hopeful. Until then, go look up and enjoy some of Erics films on Youtube. There are quite a few available surprisingly. Dear Murderer, Corridor of Mirrors and The 49th Parallel are the ones I speak of in this episode. 

Please join me on social media to share vintage movie memes and get chatty. 

Sincerely,

Papa

Dear Rowan,

It’s a warm evening in early September and I’ve just placed you peacefully in your crib for the night. I’m sitting nearby while taking in a chapter of “Our Eric” by Andy Owens. It’s the only biography of a phenomenal British actor named Eric Portman. I had located a film called “Corridor of Mirrors” during some research on Christopher Lee. This was one of Mr. Lee’s first films, often miscredited as his first film appearance. As expected it was a treat to see one of my favorite icons of Horror in a sophisticated black and white film from 1948. Little did I know that by the time I had finished watching the movie, I would be a devoted fan of Eric Portman. He so captivated me in the film that I immediately went looking for any and all information I could find on this mesmerizing man! After an exhaustive search I came to the conclusion that most of his legacy is on the screen as he was a private sort of fellow. However… I did not end up empty handed. I have much to report on his life, career and legacy. I’m so excited to introduce you to Eric Portman.

Now sleep little angel while Daddy does his research.

With all my Love and Admiration,

Papa

Dear Rowan,

For much of its history, the machine that is Hollywood has been synonymous with overindulgence, hedonism, glamour, vice and greed. But did you know that it was originally a Christian settlement? Free plots were given to churches. The list of ordinances and “do-nots” were long and the promises of “good wholesome living away from the devilish city” were strong.

Harvey Henderson Wilcox and his wife Daeida settled Hollywood from their own plot of land west of Los Angeles in 1887. Currently Hollywood is the town where careers are made and broken, worlds are created and sold to the masses and the most fantastical imaginations are set free, for a price. In the beginning though it was a wheelchair bound, prohibitionist shoemaker who; along with his wife and grieving over the loss of their newborn son, just wanted to build a utopian paradise.

From its humble beginnings to becoming the bastion of excess that it is today, the story of how Hollywood came to be is appropriately dramatic. I’m excited to tell the tale in future correspondence with you Precious girl.

With All My Love and Admiration,

Papa

Join me as I write to tell Rowan all about the Barrymore Dynasty

Dear Rowan,

Very soon I will be telling you all about a remarkably accomplished lady named Alice Ida Antoinette Guy-Blaché who was the very first female film maker. Not only that… she was the first film maker to create a fictional narrative movie. The men were busy making films of themselves gardening and racing cars while Alice was letting her imagination soar!

She experimented with amazing elements of film making that few others were at the time. She took a crack at syncing sound with her films, color tinting and she even cast her films interracially which was incredibly progressive for the late 19thcentury.

We can learn a great deal from such a strong and worthy role model. A visionary. Leader. Artist. … and Force of Nature. All before women even had the right to vote. One could say she was quite the rebel as well.

More to follow on Alice Guy-Blache, my dear Rowan. I just know that you’re going to love her.

With All My Love and Admiration,

Papa

Here we go! Just a quick announcement that there's a new Hollywood History Podcast on the block. Welcome to "Dear Rowan" The concept here is that I'm writing letters to my newborn daughter for a time capsule. These letters are for her to read and/or listen later in life. Rowan was born this summer during the pandemic. I love Hollywood History so much and we all know that children come to things in their own time so I don't want to force my obsession on her. This way she can enjoy this content at her leisure at any point in the future. In the meantime I invite you to follow along as I cover some of the more obscure parts of Hollywood History. Sure, for true Hollywood Historians there may be some oft-tread material but for a girl born in 2020 who may not listen to these for another 20 years, they will certainly be "lost history" by that point. 

Stay tuned for a few more announcements to follow to wet your whistle and prepare you for the style of content you'll expect from us here at "Dear Rowan".

Thanks for listening!

Papa