HOLLYWOOD LEGEND NORMAN LLOYD TO SHARE SHOW-BUSINESS MEMORIES AT UNA

October 13, 2008
By Terry Pace

FLORENCE, Ala. – The University of North Alabama Distinguished Events Series and Pillar of Fire will welcome legendary Hollywood actor, director and producer Norman Lloyd to the UNA campus for two special appearances set for Monday, Oct. 27, and Tuesday, Oct. 28.

The 93-year-old Lloyd is best known to film and television audiences for his roles as Alfred Hitchcock’s sinister Saboteur (1942), the kindly Dr. Auschlander in the hit medical series St. Elsewhere (1982-88) and the stern headmaster in the Oscar-winning Robin Williams film Dead Poets Society (1989). Lloyd also served as producer, director and occasional star of the long-running television anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.

Described by fellow actor Karl Malden as “the history of our industry up to now,” Lloyd will discuss his memorable creative collaborations with Hitchcock, Charles Chaplin, Orson Welles, John Houseman, Jean Renoir, Lewis Milestone, Peter Weir, Martin Scorsese, Stephen Frears and Curtis Hanson during a special program titled “The Plummeting Man: A Conversation with Norman Lloyd.”

The free event will take place from 7-9 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27, in the Performance Center of the Guillot University Center on the UNA campus. The program – moderated by film historian Terry Pace, who teaches English at the university – will includes clips from Lloyd’s career as well as a question-and-answer session with the audience. Afterward, Lloyd will greet the public and sign copies of his 1994 book Stages … of Life in Theatre, Film and Television. Books will be available for sale that evening.

Film critic Leonard Maltin has called Lloyd “a show-business renaissance man,” adding, “What a treat to spend time in his company.” The New Yorker magazine proclaimed Lloyd “a fount of stage and movie lore, full of juice at the age of ninety-three.”

At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28, Lloyd and special guests James Best and UNA graduate George Lindsey will attend a Performance Center screening of “The Jar,” an Emmy-nominated 1964 episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. Based on a Ray Bradbury short story, “The Jar” was directed by Lloyd and stars the late Pat Buttram (a native of the northwest Alabama town of Addison), Collin Wilcox, James Best, George Lindsey, Slim Pickens, Jane Darwell, William Marshall, Jocelyn Brando and Billy Barty.

“I think I’m safe in saying,” Lloyd explains, “that ‘The Jar’ was Hitchcock’s favorite show of the series.”

Originally published in the pages of the pulp magazine Weird Tales, Bradbury’s eerie 1944 tale of “The Jar” deals with a gullible farmer in the Louisiana bayou (played by Buttram in the Alfred Hitchcock Hour adaptation) who purchases a mysterious and seemingly supernatural jar from a traveling carnival sideshow. Best-selling horror author Stephen King has cited Bradbury’s terrifying tale as one of his chief creative influences, noting in his book Danse Macabre, “I’ve never forgotten the effect of ‘The Jar.’”

Following the Tuesday night screening, Pace will moderate a panel discussion between “Jar” director Lloyd and actors Best (well known for his roles as guitarist Jim Lindsey in The Andy Griffith Show and Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane in The Dukes of Hazzard) and Lindsey (best known as Goober in The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D. and host of the Emmy-winning series Liars & Legends). The three guests will be joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Bradbury (via telephone from his home in Los Angeles) and actress Collin Wilcox Paxton (who will participate in the discussion through a video interview filmed especially for the occasion).

“In terms of unforgettable television, ‘The Jar’ is undoubtedly one of the medium’s finest hours,” Pace observed. “That singular episode of the Hitchcock series still has a profoundly haunting effect on anyone who sees it. We’re extremely thrilled that every surviving contributor to that classic television production will be part of this reunion event in one way or another. We’re also honored that several members of Pat Buttram’s family will be with us that evening. Like George, Pat is one of our area’s native sons.” 

Following the panel discussion, Lloyd, Best and Lindsey will greet the public and sign autographs. Books, photos and commemorative Pillar of Fire posters will be available for sale that evening. Bradbury and Wilcox will pre-sign several items for the occasion.

Admission is free to both events. For more information, call Pillar of Fire at (256) 366-4512, e-mail pillaroffire@bellsouth.net, or call UNA Distinguished Events at (256) 765-4208 or visit www.una.edu.

July 11, 2008
Contact: Josh Woods
Office: 256-765-4225
Cell: 256-856-2950
jlwoods1@una.edu

UNA’S GEORGE LINDSEY FILM FESTIVAL ISSUES CALL FOR ENTRIES

By Eric Hanback
UNA Student Writer

FLORENCE, Ala. — The George Lindsey UNA Film Festival has issued its official call for entries for 2008.

The Lindsey festival is a university-based showcase of student, faculty and professional works by local, state, national and international filmmakers.

The 12th annual festival will take place March 5-8, with screenings, workshops, panel discussions, parties, receptions and other film-oriented events taking place on the UNA campus and other locations throughout the Shoals area.

The festival – founded by UNA alumnus George Lindsey, best known for his work on television’s classic sitcom “The Andy Griffith Show” – awards cash prizes to Golden Lion Award winners in each competitive category.

A grand prize of $3,000 is awarded to the student, faculty or professional film named Best of Show. A $2,000 cash award is presented to the winner of the Clyde “Sappo” Black Sweet Home Alabama Award, honoring the Best of State entry filmed anywhere in Alabama.

The deadline for submissions is Sept. 1, with standard entry fees of $20 and student entry fees at $10.

A late deadline is set for Nov. 1, with $30 standard entries and $20 for students, and an extended deadline is set for Dec. 1, with $35 standard entry fees and $25 for students.

Previous guests for the festival range from Academy Award-winning actors Billy Bob Thornton and Ernest Borgnine, Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd, and Sling Blade stars Lucas Black and Natalie Canerday to Emmy Award-winning Seinfeld and NewsRadio writer Tom Cherones, Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer makeup-effects creator Robert Hall, and recording-industry figures Mike Curb and Ray Stevens.

For more information, contact Cynthia Burkhead at 765-4790, visit www.lindseyfilmfest.com or www.myspace.com/georgelindseyunafilmfest or e-mail lindseyfilmfest@una.edu.

 

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