Friday, June 17, 2005

Father, Godfather, Step-father -- Weekend Assignment #64

A tribute to three Fathers

My father who drowned when I was eleven months old, my mother, and me.

My Godfather, 1920's movie actor Richard Arlen

My Step-father, Bart, with a colt he raised, Nipper

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really like all those photos and would like copies of them so I can add them to the wall with Susan B. Anthony and other really nice portraits I have.
Love Kate

Anonymous said...

Though some biographers have him born in 1898 and some in 1900...there is a lot of info on the net about your Godfather.  Here's just a bit.

Biography
American actor Richard Arlen was working as a messenger boy at Paramount studios in the early 1920s when he was injured in a slight accident; the story goes that Arlen went to the studio heads to thank them for their prompt medical care, whereupon the executives, impressed by Arlen's good looks, hired him as an actor. Whether the story is true or not, it is a fact that Arlen soon became one of Paramount's most popular leading men, earning a measure of screen immortality by costarring with Buddy Rogers and Clara Bow in the first-ever Oscar winning picture, Wings (1927). Arlen was memorably cast as a World War I flying ace, a part in which he felt uniquely at home because he'd been a member of the Royal Canadian Flying Corps during the "real" war (though he never saw any combat!) The actor retained his popularity throughout the 1930s, and when roles became harder to come by in the 1940s, he wisely invested his savings in numerous successful businesses. Keeping in character, Arlen was also part-owner of a civilian flying service, and worked as an air safety expert for the government during World War II. Still acting in TV and commercials into the 1960s, Richard Arlen was reunited with his Wings costar Buddy Rogers in an amusing episode of the TV sitcom Petticoat Junction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Anonymous said...

Did Nipper get drunk? Enjoyed the pictures and very impressed. Paula

Anonymous said...

Thanks to the person who posted the AMG bio of your stepfather.  I'll have to hit IMDB, also. But I want to read more about the other two! - Karen
http://journals.aol.com/mavarin/MusingsfromMavarin/entries/1849

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing Chuck. Beautiful photo's but very sad. Please write more about your mum,  dad and stepdad. If it's not too upsetting for you.
Hope you are keeping well and keeping out of trouble.
Sylvia xx

Anonymous said...

What an adorable kid you were, Chuck! LOL And very interesting about your godfather.

Anonymous said...

Excellent photos. Would enjoy reading about your remising about any of these fathers... although you didn't have much time with your father. I remember a funny Petticoat Junction episode with Richard Arlen. Thanks for sharing these wonderful photos.
Here is my weekend assignment about dad... come on over when you can?

http://journals.aol.com/madmanadhd/ConfessionsofaMadmanInsightsinto/entries/1225

Anonymous said...

Wow, your dad was tall! What great pictures! Thanks for posting these! (3 years ago to!)
Hugs
Ang