Wayne Rogers Gets "The Big Kick"

Back in 2020 I posted an item about the 1959 crime film Odds Against Tomorrow which has a couple of Alabama connections, one of them tenuous. The other Alabama connection appears about midway through the movie. Robert Ryan's character goes into a bar for a drink, and a soldier and his girl are horsing around. Ryan takes offense and the final result is a fight in which the soldier ends up on the floor. The soldier is played by none other than Wayne Rogers. 

He was born in Birmingham on April 7, 1933. After graduating from Princeton in 1954 and a stint in the U.S. Navy until 1956, Rogers began appearing in small roles in Hollywood. 

His IMDB credits begin with one listing in 1958 and several in  1959, when he made appearances on the TV soap opera Search for Tomorrow and as that guy in the bar in Odds. In the 1960's he had numerous roles in TV shows ranging from Have Gun Will Travel to Gunsmoke and Honey West. He even appeared with fellow Alabama native Jim Nabors on Gomer Pyle USMC. 

Of course, Rogers went on to great fame in the popular M*A*S*H TV show where 
he was a regular for three seasons 1972-1975. He also starred with Lynn Redgrave in the medical comedy House Calls [1979-1982]. He continued acting in
films and TV movies and shows until 2003. In one of those roles he played Alabama native and attorney Morris Dees in the 1996 film Ghosts of Mississippi. 
Rogers died on New Year's Eve 2015.

Of course, Rogers went on to great fame in the popular M*A*S*H TV show where he as a regular for three seasons 1972-1975. 

Recently I happened to watch an episode of the TV show Alfred Hitchcock Presents as one does on hot summer days and it turned out to be the only appearance of Rogers on that program. The 37th episode of season 7, first broadcast 19 June 1962, is "The Big Kick" and one of ten written by suspense master Robert Bloch. His short story was published in 1959.  You know Robert Bloch, the guy who wrote the novel that served as inspiration for Hitchcock's movie Psycho. 

Rogers is joined in this episode by Brian Hutton [1935-2014] an actor who moved into directing such films as Where Eagles Dare and Kelly's Heroes. Anne Helm [b. 1938] had an acting career that lasted 45 years and included Broadway, film and numerous television performances. In "The Big Kick" these two play a pair of beatnik lovers always on the make for some dough to pay the bills. In the episode we get to see a poetry performance in a coffee shop and a party where the beatniks get together and share their wealth.

A straight-laced society type named Kenny [Rogers] shows up at the party, and Mitch tells Judy he likes hanging with the beatniks and always brings wine as his entrance fee. Mitch soon tells Judy to start making nice to Kenny, and she starts getting money from him. But Kenny is playing a different game, and since this story is from Robert Bloch you can imagine what that might be.

I'm going to leave the story at this point; you can read a longer piece on the episode here. 

Mitch and Judy listen to "Diagnosis" the poem recited in the coffee house.

Mitch introduces Judy to Kenny, the society cat. 

Kenny wines and dines poor Judy several times after they meet. 

And here comes Kenny's big kick. 

Warren Oates and Wayne Rogers in the "Angela" episode of Steve McQueen's series Wanted Dead or Alive  first broadcast January 9, 1960

Chamber of Horrors

Rogers as police sergeant Jim Albertson in this 1966 film

Richard Boone, Gale Garnett, and Wayne Rogers in "The Debutante" episode of Have Gun--Will Travel first broadcast 19 January 1963

 

Chloroform in Montevallo in 1848

General anesthesia using gases for surgery is one of America's great nineteenth century medical achievements. In early 1845 dentist Horace Wells used nitrous oxide to painlessly extract a tooth. In October 1846 dentist William T.G. Morton successfully demonstrated ether anesthesia in Boston during an operation by John Collins Warren. The Morton/Warren event soon made it's way around the world. The Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology outside Chicago maintains an extensive timeline that covers all sorts of anesthesia developments worldwide from ancient times until today. 

After a long search for an anesthetic without ether's smell and other side effects and lasting longer than nitrous oxide, Dr. James Young Simpson and colleagues in Edinburgh, Scotland, discovered chloroform in November, 1847. The following May, Dr. Andrews of Montevallo reported that he had used chloroform to amputate "a negro boy's leg, "immediately below the knee", while under the influence of this powerful agent. "[H]e declared he did not feel or know anything of the operation."

I have mentioned this event in Shelby County on a previous blog post about general anesthesia in Alabama and in an article I published in 1986. I found the Montevallo demonstration covered in a Montgomery newspaper item reprinted from the Tuscaloosa Observer, and I wanted to discuss it more here.

Since the "negro boy" patient is not named, I only had a "Dr. Andrews" in Montevallo to research. Luckily, I think I've tracked him down.

David Andrews is listed in the 1850 U.S. Census and living in Shelby County. He was a physician, 30 years old, and born in North Carolina. He was married to Harriet F. Embrey [b. 9 July 1823] and they had 5 children at that time, 3 daughters and 2 sons. She died on July 31, 1855, age 32 and is buried in the Montevallo Cemetery. According to an inventory of that cemetery, an infant son is buried there also. 

Also according to the 1850 U.S. Census--Slave Schedules Andrews was a slave owner. He had 5 slaves at that time, 2 adult males, a boy of 7 and 2 adult females. Thus Andrews was probably also a farmer; many physicians in the 19th century, especially in rural areas, needed additional income beyond what their practices could provide.

I have been unable to locate any more information on David Andrews, despite searches of census and cemetery records and American physician directories covering the period. Perhaps he left Alabama after his wife died. 

FURTHER READING

Wright AJ. Early Use of General Anesthesia in Alabama, 1847-1853. Ala J Med Sci 1986 July; 23(3):333-335

Montgomery Tri-Weekly and Flag Advertiser 30 May 1848

Source: Gale Historical Collections. 19th Century U.S. Newspapers database

The current Montgomery Advertiser was published under this title from January 1, 1847 until December 7, 1848.

Source: Encyclopedia of Alabama 

Red Hot & Lovely in Gadsden in 1941

"A Torrid Extravaganza" the ad declares. "Daring Glamorous Beauties in Risque Dances." 

In Gadsden, Alabama, in 1941? Well! Let's investigate. 

In my wanderings through old issues of the Gadsden Times I've encountered many such advertisements for revue-type variety shows in Gadsden in the 1940s. I'll be doing future blog posts on some others. Let's take a look at the performers and other elements of this production which played in Gadsden on Sunday, February 23 [according to the ad] and on Monday, February 24 [according to the photo caption and article below].

The advertisement promises "Eight Headline Acts-Music-Romance-Beauty" and "Extra-Petite Annette" who will "Undress with Finesse." Alas, I could find no information on the Petite Annette. Also on view for audiences was a musical film, The Boys from Syracuse released in 1940 and based on the 1938 stage production by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart. 

The photo caption and brief article below give us some other details. The Three Ross Sisters were a trio of singers, dancers, acrobats and contortionists. Their heyday was the 1940s; they appeared in the 1944 musical Broadway Rhythm. You can see that performance on YouTube. By the end of the decade the ladies were married and ceased performing as a group. The Wikipedia entry has details on their performance career and lives. Robert Ripley isn't mentioned. 

As noted in the caption of the Ross Sisters' photograph, The "Red Hot and Lovely" show was produced by Harry Clark. The closest I came to finding information about him was a Wikipedia entry for Harry Clark, the actor. That individual was involved with a revue type entertainment in 1937, before beginning an acting career. The revue combination of music, dancing and sketches often stretched the limits of public propriety at the time; perhaps these two Clarks are the same.

Among the unnamed performers in the article were "12 Ziegfeld Girls" presumably from the revived Ziegfeld Follies and a "stage full of star performers" from radio, screen & Broadway stage. I guess that's the Ziegfeld dancers shown in the ad. 

As we're also informed in that article, the Perry Twins were a favorite of the Duke of Windsor. The Twins were "sensational dancers" apparently resident performers at the Savoy Hotel in London. The pair frequently performed for the Duke during the 1930s and early 1940s; he liked their combination of dancing and comedy. 

This show was touring the country in 1941. Via Newspapers.com I found numerous listings, including one for the Anniston Star 31 August 1941, and others ranging from West Virginia to Pennsylvania and Ohio. 

Gadsden Times Thursday, 20 February 1941

Source: CineMaterial

Hospital News from Gadsden in 1944

In 2023 I posted an item related to my visit to Huntsville Hospital in 1958. That admission for a tonsillectomy was documented in a Huntsville Times newspaper article published on June 10, 1958. I was listed along with numerous other individuals who were admitted, born or discharged at Huntsville Hospital and Fifth Avenue General Hospital. 

These listings may have been common at one time and here's another one from the Gadsden Times on January 16, 1944. Specific diseases and surgeries except tonsillectomies don't seem to be mentioned; we just get a listing of names, perhaps cities if not Gadsden and the vague "undergoing treatment" or "minor operation." The later Huntsville Times article even gave addresses. All these patients were in Holy Name of Jesus Hospital; I've included a postcard and a bit of history below. 

I would imagine these listings were useful to people like my grandmother Rosa Mae Wright, who read the Gadsden Times daily and watched the obituaries for anyone she knew and hadn't already heard about. I hope Alex Farley fully recovered from his operation like I did and got lots of ice cream in the process. 

Source: Gadsden Times 16 January 1944

In 1917 the Sisters of Divine Providence opened Gadsden General Hospital and operated it until 1925 when the Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity took over and renamed it. The building above opened in 1931. In 1991 the facility was sold and renamed Riverview Regional Medical Center, which was bought by Prime Healthcare Services in 2015. 

Huntsville Times 10 June 1958

Polio in Alabama in 1941

As I often do, I was perusing some old issues of the Gadsden Times recently and in July and August 1941 issues I found several articles about polio cases in the state. Effective polio vaccines did not appear in the United States until Jonas Salk's in 1955 and Albert Sabin's in 1961, so what was the state and nation's status on the eve of America's entry into World War II? 

Polio [poliomyelitis] is a viral infection found only in humans. Although depicted in ancient art, the disease was not identified as distinct until 1789 by Michael Underwood, an English physician. The actual virus was identified by Austrian Karl Landsteiner in 1909. The highly infectious disease is spread through fecal-oral or oral-oral transmission. 

Most cases have mild symptoms, but permanent paralysis and death can occur. Major outbreaks began in Europe and the U.S. in the late 19th century. By the mid-20th century many cases of paralytic polio were affecting children age 5 to 9 years. In 1945 John Ed Robinson of Centre contracted the disease at age 6; he made many trips to Birmingham's Crippled Children's Hospital. On his first visit he stayed six months. The 1952 outbreak was the worst in U.S. history. The 58,000 cases included 3145 deaths, and 21,269 patients were left with mild to disabling paralysis. 

The articles below give an indication of the concern about polio at the time since it affected so many children and there was no cure or vaccine. As the first article notes, the highest number of monthly cases to that date was 176 in July 1936. 

FURTHER READING

Gillespie, Loretta. Polio took its toll on Lawrence County. Moulton Advertiser 2021 July 29

Polio: Forgotten but not gone. University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences, 2018

Rogers N. Race and the politics of polio: Warm Springs, Tuskegee, and the March of Dimes. Am J Public Health. 2007 May;97(5):784-95. Article freely available online here.

Turner T. Development of the polio vaccine: a historical perspective of Tuskegee University's role in mass production and distribution of HeLa cells. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2012 Nov;23(4 Suppl):5-10. Article freely available online here. 

Gadsden Times 30 July 1941

Gadsden Times 30 July 1941

Reports from Georgia also appeared in the Gadsden paper, at least on this date.

Gadsden Times 30 July 1941 

Gadsden Times 1 August 1941

Gadsden Times 26 August 1941

Gadsden Times 27 August 1941

Source: Journal of the American Medical Association
29 August 1936, 107(9): 719

Source: Our World in Data

Noccalula Falls Back in the Day [1000th post]

Well, here we are at my 1000th posting on this blog since March 2014. Scary. 

I thought I would devote this one to a bit of family history. 

In July 2016 I wrote a series of five blog posts about a cedar chest full of personal items belonging to my Dad's older sister Beulah Vee Wright. Part One gives a lengthy introduction. She died in December 1939 at the age of eighteen, so the items date from the 1920's and 1930's. Beulah Vee and my Dad and their parents lived in Gadsden, Alabama. In 2021 I wrote a follow-up post describing our donation of much of the material in the cedar chest to the Alabama Department of Archives and History. You can see a short video about the Beulah Vee portrait among those donated items at the Archives page on YouTube. The actual cedar chest and a small group of other items remain in the family.

We also have numerous photographs taken by her parents, Rosa Mae and Amos J. Wright, Sr. Some of these include a trip to Noccalula Falls in October 1938 and feature Beulah Vee and her boyfriend Porter,  and Rosa Mae. I've also included some photos I took on a visit in 1968. 

The city of Gadsden bought land including the falls in 1946 and has been developing the park ever since. The now expanded area includes campgrounds, a wedding chapel, butterfly and botanical gardens, a covered bridge, pioneer village, minigolf and other amenities. 

My brother Richard and I have some memories of several visits to the falls in the 1960s. Every year in August the Griffith families and other relatives on Rosa Mae's side met for a large reunion, and we often came from Huntsville for the event. Lots of good food was eaten and while the adults talked the kids could play on the rocks, walk the trails to see the old cabins and ride the little train. I seem to remember Dad taking us down the steep trail and under the falls at least once. Of course, the statue of Princess Noccalula reminded us of her legendary leap. 

More comments are below some of the photos. 

Beulah V., October 16, 1938

Beulah V., October 16, 1938. Those shadows must be Amos, Rosa Mae and Porter. 

Porter Hill [her last boyfriend] and Beulah V., October 16, 1938

I've obtained a copy of Beulah Vee's death certificate, which shows her passing at 9:30 a.m. on December 10, 1939. She was attended by Dr. J.W. Ford, who was the family physician. Cause of death is listed as bilateral pulmonary tuberculosis, which I guess explains why her funeral was held the next day. 

From September 7-27, 1939, Beulah Vee kept a diary in a small notebook while she was a patient at Holy Name of Jesus Hospital in Gadsden. A page is included above dated September 14. She notes that "No flowers came" but "Porter came." The notebook records such events as well as how she felt on particular days. In the back the names of her attending nurses are recorded. 

Some years later my mother's obstetrician in Gadsden, Dr. Ford's son, told her his father decided after her death that Beulah Vee may have died of leukemia. People can live for years with tuberculosis, but Beulah Vee's sickness began in March 1939 and she deteriorated rapidly until her death. There was also no treatment for leukemia at that time. 

Rosa Mae Wright [1900-1997]
You can see more photos of her and my grandfather Amos J. Wright, Jr., here and here. 

This photo and the ones below were all processed in June 1968; presumably the family trip to the Falls was in or around that month. I took the photos with a camera I bought on Friday, July 29, 1966, according to notes I made at the time. 

I'm not sure what this mound of stones was or if it's still at the park. Perhaps someone can tell us in the comments. 

I have been unable to determine who is buried beside this cabin. 

Here are a couple of postcards from my collection. 

Source and other photos of the Falls are here. A good account of the legend and its literature can be found on the BhamWiki site.