Category Archives: Memories-College

Memories-College, Memories-USMC

Thinking About Lyndon Johnson Inauguration, January 1965

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One of those moments from my University of Rochester life comes to mind as we approach inauguration day 2017.

Many, if not most, members of the NROTC unit of the University of Rochester were given the opportunity to march in Lyndon Johnson’s Inauguration Day Parade on 20 January 1965. Given the passage of 50 plus years since then, my memory is hazy, perhaps even invented in some ways.

I remember our unit being among three NROTC units invited to participate in that parade.  The others were, I think, Ohio State and Penn State. I think we marched near the end of the parade. It seemed we had lots of horse poop along Pennsylvania Avenue to avoid. But it was a seriously memorable event.

As I thought about it in recent days, I looked at CBS coverage of the event, posted to YouTube by the Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library, but I couldn’t spot our unit, let alone me. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVCfRm-0_DM). Lots of grainy footage in black and white, with, early on, brigades of cadets from West Point and then the Naval Academy. Maybe we trailed behind the Mids from Annapolis.

The event was, in any event, a proud moment, a once in a lifetime moment.  At the same time, in January 1965, the moment was unlikely to have spoken to our futures as participants in the war in Vietnam–at least for this marcher.

But the memory has led me to look at New York Times coverage of the event. The Times banner headline of the 21st read: “JOHNSON, TAKING OATH, PLEDGES EFFORTS TO BRING AN END TO TYRANNY AND MISERY; BOTH PARTIES’ LEADERS ACCLAIM ADDRESS.”  (Need I say in this age that the phrase “Both Parties’ Leaders Acclaim” is unlikely to appear in print any time soon?)

And then there was James Reston’s commentary on the speech.  I have attached it. JamesRestononJohnsonInauguralSpeech.

I think Reston’s column was prescient and nuanced, identifying the tensions of our time–beginning with the idea that we, the United States, was a beacon and symbol for good, one that nations of the world would see as such.

It was the idea those of us in uniform took into the war zone in those years., rightly or wrongly.

 

 

 

 

Memories-College

Reflections on Films during Years at University of Rochester, 1962–1966

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So, as I was reminded today of the announcement of the Academy Awards, I got to thinking of the movies that were in contention and won during our time at the U of R (and one year before and one year after). I’ll list the material that appears in http://www.filmsite.org/oscars60.html–first, the best pictures, and then a fuller list of the top five awards. I am no film scholar, but some reflections appear at the end of these lists. (copied from my-moderated University of Rochester Facebook site–open only to members of the class of 1966)

Short List
The best pictures (1962-1967) were Lawrence of Arabia (’62); Tom Jones (’63); My Fair Lady (’64); The Sound of Music (’65); A Man for All Seasons (’66); and In the Heat of the Night (’67).

Long List:
1962
Movie
Lawrence of Arabia
Actor:
GREGORY PECK for “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Burt Lancaster in “Birdman of Alcatraz”, Jack Lemmon in “Days of Wine and Roses”, Marcello Mastroianni in “Divorce – Italian Style”, Peter O’Toole in “Lawrence of Arabia”
Actress:
ANNE BANCROFT in “The Miracle Worker”, Bette Davis in “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?”, Katharine Hepburn in “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”, Geraldine Page in “Sweet Bird of Youth,” Lee Remick in “Days of Wine and Roses”
Supporting Actor:
ED BEGLEY in “Sweet Bird of Youth”, Victor Buono in “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?”, Telly Savalas in “Birdman of Alcatraz”, Omar Sharif in “Lawrence of Arabia”, Terence Stamp in “Billy Budd”
Supporting Actress:
PATTY DUKE in “The Miracle Worker”, Mary Badham in “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Shirley Knight in “Sweet Bird of Youth”, Angela Lansbury in “The Manchurian Candidate”, Thelma Ritter in “Birdman of Alcatraz”
Director:
DAVID LEAN for “Lawrence of Arabia”, Pietro Germi for “Divorce – Italian Style”, Robert Mulligan for “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Arthur Penn for “The Miracle Worker”, Frank Perry for “David and Lisa”

1963
Movie
Tom Jones
Actor:
SIDNEY POITIER in “Lilies of the Field”, Albert Finney in “Tom Jones”, Richard Harris in “This Sporting Life”, Rex Harrison in “Cleopatra”, Paul Newman in “Hud”
Actress:
PATRICIA NEAL in “Hud”, Leslie Caron in “The L-Shaped Room”, Shirley MacLaine in “Irma La Douce”, Rachel Roberts in “This Sporting Life”, Natalie Wood in “Love with the Proper Stranger”
Supporting Actor:
MELVYN DOUGLAS in “Hud”, Nick Adams in “Twilight of Honor”, Bobby Darin in “Captain Newman, M.D.”, Hugh Griffith in “Tom Jones”, John Huston in “The Cardinal”
Supporting Actress:
MARGARET RUTHERFORD in “The V.I.P.s”, Diane Cilento in “Tom Jones”, Edith Evans in “Tom Jones”, Joyce Redman in “Tom Jones”, Lilia Skala in “Lilies of the Field”
Director:
TONY RICHARDSON for “Tom Jones”, Federico Fellini for “8 1/2”, Elia Kazan for “America, America”, Otto Preminger for “The Cardinal”, Martin Ritt for “Hud”

1964
Movie
My Fair Lady
Actor:
REX HARRISON in “My Fair Lady”, Richard Burton in “Becket”, Peter O’Toole in “Becket”, Anthony Quinn in “Zorba the Greek”, Peter Sellers in “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying…”
Actress:
JULIE ANDREWS in “Mary Poppins”, Anne Bancroft in “The Pumpkin Eater”, Sophia Loren in “Marriage Italian Style”, Debbie Reynolds in “The Unsinkable Molly Brown”, Kim Stanley in “Seance on a Wet Afternoon”
Supporting Actor:
PETER USTINOV in “Topkapi”, John Gielgud in “Becket”, Stanley Holloway in “My Fair Lady”, Edmond O’Brien in “Seven Days in May”, Lee Tracy in “The Best Man”
Supporting Actress:
LILA KEDROVA in “Zorba the Greek”, Gladys Cooper in “My Fair Lady”, Edith Evans in “The Chalk Garden”, Grayson Hall in “The Night of the Iguana”, Agnes Moorehead in “Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte”
Director:
GEORGE CUKOR for “My Fair Lady”, Michael Cacoyannis for “Zorba the Greek”, Peter Glenville for “Becket”, Stanley Kubrick for “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying…”, Robert Stevenson for “Mary Poppins”

1965
Movie
The Sound of Music
Actor:
LEE MARVIN in “Cat Ballou”, Richard Burton in “The Spy Who Came In From the Cold”, Laurence Olivier in “Othello”, Rod Steiger in “The Pawnbroker”, Oskar Werner in “Ship of Fools”
Actress:
JULIE CHRISTIE in “Darling”, Julie Andrews in “The Sound of Music”, Samantha Eggar in “The Collector”, Elizabeth Hartman in “A Patch of Blue”, Simone Signoret in “Ship of Fools”
Supporting Actor:
MARTIN BALSAM in “A Thousand Clowns”, Ian Bannen in “The Flight of the Phoenix”, Tom Courtenay in “Doctor Zhivago”, Michael Dunn in “Ship of Fools”, Frank Finlay in “Othello”
Supporting Actress:
SHELLEY WINTERS in “A Patch of Blue”, Ruth Gordon in “Inside Daisy Clover”, Joyce Redman in “Othello”, Maggie Smith in “Othello”, Peggy Wood in “The Sound of Music”
Director:
ROBERT WISE for “The Sound of Music”, David Lean for “Doctor Zhivago”, John Schlesinger for “Darling”, Hiroshi Teshigahara for “Woman in the Dunes”, William Wyler for “The Collector”

1966
Movie
A Man for all Seasons
Actor:
PAUL SCOFIELD in “A Man for All Seasons”, Alan Arkin in “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming”, Richard Burton in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, Michael Caine in “Alfie”, Steve McQueen in “The Sand Pebbles”
Actress:
ELIZABETH TAYLOR in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, Anouk Aimee in “A Man and a Woman”, Ida Kaminska in “The Shop on Main Street”, Lynn Redgrave in “Georgy Girl”, Vanessa Redgrave in “Morgan!”
Supporting Actor:
WALTER MATTHAU in “The Fortune Cookie”, Mako in “The Sand Pebbles”, James Mason in “Georgy Girl”, George Segal in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, Robert Shaw in “A Man for All Seasons”
Supporting Actress:
SANDY DENNIS in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, Wendy Hiller in “A Man for All Seasons”, Jocelyn Lagarde in “Hawaii”, Vivien Merchant in “Alfie”, Geraldine Page in “You’re a Big Boy Now”
Director:
FRED ZINNEMANN for “A Man for All Seasons”, Michelangelo Antonioni for “Blow-up”, Richard Brooks for “The Professionals”, Claude Lelouch for “A Man and a Woman”, Mike Nichols for “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

1967
Movie
In the Heat of the Night
Actor:
ROD STEIGER in “In the Heat of the Night”, Warren Beatty in “Bonnie And Clyde”, Dustin Hoffman in “The Graduate”, Paul Newman in “Cool Hand Luke”, Spencer Tracy in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”
Actress:
KATHARINE HEPBURN in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”, Anne Bancroft in “The Graduate”, Faye Dunaway in “Bonnie And Clyde”, Edith Evans in “The Whisperers”, Audrey Hepburn in “Wait Until Dark”
Supporting Actor:
GEORGE KENNEDY in “Cool Hand Luke”, John Cassavetes in “The Dirty Dozen”, Gene Hackman in “Bonnie And Clyde”, Cecil Kellaway in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”, Michael J. Pollard in “Bonnie And Clyde”
Supporting Actress:
ESTELLE PARSONS in “Bonnie And Clyde”, Carol Channing in “Thoroughly Modern Millie”, Mildred Natwick in “Barefoot in the Park”, Beah Richards in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”, Katharine Ross in “The Graduate”
Director:
MIKE NICHOLS for “The Graduate”, Richard Brooks for “In Cold Blood”, Norman Jewison for “In the Heat of the Night”, Stanley Kramer for “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”, Arthur Penn for “Bonnie And Clyde”

Quick Reflections:

I do remember seeing many of these movies! But I don’t remember where I saw them or who I saw them with! Sorry!!!

I can’t help but think that, in a sense, these movies collectively capture a sense of a changing time–invoking a surfing image, a wave that we the members of the class of ’66 as a group gradually mounted and rode over the years that would follow!

Think of it: “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “In the Heat of the Night,” — two films that get at the state of race relations in our time (still unsettled, regrettably) (As a midshipman on the cruise, between our freshmen and sophomore years, this denizen of New York City discovered the ugly reality of Jim Crowe in Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi. I had made friends with a black sailor on the USS Beatty and suggested we run into town for dinner. He knew better. I had no clue.

“Seven Days in May,” which told of a plot to overthrow the president because he was supporting a nuclear disarmament treaty with the Soviets–c.f. the comment of former CIA director Michael Hayden, who said military leaders would disobey orders from Trump to do some of the things he is saying he would order. Then there was, in a similar vein, “Dr. Strangelove.” “Bonnie and Clyde” and “In Cold Blood,” looks at violence in our society, without exactly glorifying it.

And who knew–until very, very recent years that the novel “Dr. Zhivago,” included in this collection of films, only existed because of CIA machinations to get it published. And in this group, “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold,” would define spycraft and its dark tensions, which I came to learn about in my career. People still see it as the ultimate definition of the business of espionage.

And at the same time, the cotton candy of ” The Sound of Music,” “My Fair Lady,” and “Tom Jones.”