Actor James Whitmore, whose one man shows brought three progressive heroes (Will Rogers, Harry Truman and Theodore Roosevelt) to life for later generations, died today of lung cancer. The LA Times Obituary is linked here:
James Whitmore dies at 87; veteran actor brought American icons to life
A few minutes ago, I was trying to remember a Will Rogers quote to add to comments in another diary. Googling "Will Rogers quotes" I wasn't finding the one I wanted, so I put in "Will Rogers James Whitmore", hoping I might find a script to "Will Rogers' USA", and be able to find what I was looking for. Instead I found Mr. Whitmore's obituary.
I remember watching "Will Rogers' USA" on television in '71 or '72. I was in Junior High, and had heard of Will Rogers, but didn't really know his work. When I was little, we'd taken a weekend trip to the Will Rogers Museum in Claremore, OK, and I still had a magic trick we'd purchased there. I'd heard from my mother several times about her father had been a real Will Rogers fan -- more than once, they'd gone into town on Saturday for shopping, but when he heard a Will Rogers movie was playing in another town he'd say "Everybody in", they'd all pile in the truck and drive (sometimes an hour over country dirt roads) to see the movie. And of course I'd heard "I never met a man I didn't like".
But that night I heard words that had been spoken when my mother was a little girl, and they described the world I was just beginning to become aware of around me. His description of Calvin Coolidge that could have been Nixon. His discussion of gunboat diplomacy that sounded like it was written about Vietnam, and so on. And James Whitmore gave me the gift of those connections. And later he brought us the gifts of Harry Truman ("Give 'em Hell, Harry!" - for which he received an Oscar nomination) and Teddy Roosevelt ("Bully!")
I know I haven't gone into the rest of his acting career beyond the three one-man shows (and it was a career well worth going into), or mentioned until now the fact that in 2007 he endorsed Barack Obama for President. This diary may seem more about Will Rogers than James Whitmore, but to me the two will always be intertwined. And tonight, I raise a glass to a fine actor and two great Americans.