A closer look at Red Oak stars
I’ll be the first to admit I’m a sucker for history.
Next to ESPN, I watch the history channel more than any other, and it’s no surprise when I was a child, I dreamed of teaching history, or writing about the St. Louis Cardinals.
While I may have suffered from a somewhat limited imagination, my love for history continues to this day.
With that in mind, I really enjoyed putting together the special edition on Villisca’s infamous ax murders. I learned quite a bit about the ax murders, undeniably the darkest and most tragic chapters in this county’s history.
The foray also sparked an interest into other parts of the county’s history, specifically regarding the film industry.
Whenever I move into a new town, there’s a website I like to visit to determine if anyone from there ever made it big on the big screen.
The site is http://www.imdb.com/search/name?birth_place=Red Oak, Iowa, USA, and you can change out the town name/state with any one you want to search under. The site then lists all actors, writers, directors, editors and even costume designers born in the town.
One of our most well known local thespians is Raymond Hatton.
His career started with the silent films in 1909 when he played a detective in the short film “Tragic Love” and ended 58 years later when he played an elderly hitchhiker in the well known “In Cold Blood” based upon Truman Capote’s novel of the same name.
In total, he had more than 400 roles in films and television, acting along side the likes of John Wayne and appearing in popular TV shows such as Gunsmoke, Maverick, The Red Skelton Hour and Lassie. He was born in 1887 in Red Oak, and died Oct. 21, 1971 in Palmdale, Calif., five days after the death of his wife.
Stephen Shortridge was also born in Red Oak, but moved quickly to California. Best known for appearing in more than 50 commercials, including ones for Mennen, Head and Shoulders, Coke and Certs, he also appeared in the 1989 John Cusack film “Say Any-thing.” He also had bit parts in numerous television shows in the 1970s and 1980s, including Love Boat and Fantasy Island, and 19 episodes of my favorite, Welcome Back Kotter.
On the other side of the camera, Red Oak native Annie Bloom has served as a costume designer in the 2009 film “Surrogates” starring Bruce Willis and the 2007 film “Underdog.”
Red Oak can also boast an Emmy-award winning editor, Ellsworth Hoagland. Ellsworth received his emmy for his work on the t.v. series “Bo-nanza” in 1966, and was also nominated for an Oscar in 1936 for editing the film “The Lives of a Bengal Lancer.”
He also edited “Holiday Inn” starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire and Bob Hope’s “My Favorite Brunette.”
Duane Maloney was born in Red Oak in 1903 and appeared in about 52 movies from 1921-1937.
Elsewhere in the county, Judd Holdren represents Villisca, starring in “Zombies of the Stratosphere” in 1951. He finished his career with 42 roles, including appearances on the television shows “The Lone Ranger,” “Dragnet” and the “Jack Benny Program.”
And of course, the county’s most well known thespian hails from Stanton, Virginia Christine.
While she may be best known for her work selling Folger’s coffee, she also had an impressive resume beyond commercials, including appearing in the films “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “Judgment in Nuremberg.”
Plus, who could forget the 1966 classic “Billy the Kid vs. Dracula.”
They just don’t make films like that anymore.
Thank goodness.
Gregory Orear is the General Manager/Editor of the Red Oak Express. He can be contacted at publisher@redoakexpress.com