Reel to Real: 35 Years of Interviewing the Legends
Thanks to Annmarie and Classic Movie Hub for giving me the opportunity to introduce myself, or rather my long-time love affair with classic movies. For me, like many others, I was first introduced to show-stopping Hollywood moments when my parents took me at age 15 to see “That’s Entertainment!” in 1974 at a theater in my hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota. I was mesmerized by the artistry on the screen, and I guess I’ve been an unabashed film fan ever since.
That moment in 1974 was shared by a friend, Tom Johnson, and for more than 35 years we’ve been collaborators sharing in our mutual love for the “Golden Age” of Hollywood. Our interest took a major turn in 1978, just before we started college at the University of Minnesota. After persistent correspondence, we had “green-lighted” meetings set with the big two – Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. We had truly memorable meetings with filmdom’s two greatest dancers. It would open doors, mean several more trips to Los Angeles and hundreds of interviews with the legends, including James Cagney, Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston, Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Frank Capra, Vincente Minnelli, Hoagy Carmichael and the hit list goes on.
In 2004, our book, Reel to Real: 25 years of celebrity interviews from vaudeville to movies to TV
Despite some 250 celebrity interviews, I’m invariably asked which one was my favorite and least favorite interview. That’s like asking Astaire and Kelly who was their favorite dance partner. With rare exception, most “old school” stars were incredibly warm and welcoming.
Since Astaire and Kelly opened the floodgates to so many future meetings, let me give you a few tidbits from those memorable visits. If you want all the details, you’ll have to buy the book!
We met Fred Astaire in his business manager’s office on Brighton Way in Beverly Hills. As expected, Astaire at age 79 was nattily dressed, soft-spoken and humble. He NEVER lived in the past or wanted to dissect his work. Sitting across from this legend, while it should have been intimidating, was like chatting with your grandfather. He talked about his love of horse racing and how much he enjoyed John Travolta’s performance in “Saturday Night Fever.” It was (and remains) hard to believe that we were in the presence of such artistic greatness, but he put you at immediate ease.
David Fantle with Fred Astaire
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Now Gene Kelly was still a youthful 66 when we met him for the first time at his Beverly Hills home. We talked about his joy of working with Judy Garland, the underrated complexity of the “Moses Supposes” number from “Singin’ in the Rain,” and other more contemporary topics. When we parted, he stood at the doorway of his home and he gave us both a thumb’s up as we left, the same affirmation he said he would give Barbra Streisand after a successful take in “Hello Dolly,” which he directed. When we re-visited Kelly some 15 years later, it was like we never lost a beat. His first words to us was, “The college boys are back” although Tom and I were now in our mid 30s.
The memories of these visits and so many more are indelibly etched in my mind and I’m so thankful that two young guys from St. Paul had the tenacity to do it.
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David Fantle (left) and Tom Johnson (right) with George Burns
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I currently teach the history of television and the Hollywood musical at Marquette University in Milwaukee and Tom and I continue to interview the few remaining stars that could still be called “classic.” We’re also researching an authorized biography of songwriter and MGM musical producer Arthur Freed.
That’s a snapshot of the past 40 years. Hopefully, I’ll have a chance to write a sequel on Classic Movie Hub in the weeks ahead.
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–David Fantle for Classic Movie Hub
A BIG THANK YOU to David Fantle for sharing this wonderful post with Classic Movie Hub! You can follow David on Twitter at @fantle or reach him via email at david.fantle@gmail.com
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