Re “John Kerr, South Pacific Star and ‘Culver City-The Reel Hollywood’ Narrator”
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John Kerr and Leslie Caron in a scene from ‘Gaby’
Actor John Kerr, who died on Feb. 2 at the age of 81, told me the film he enjoyed making the most was “The Pit and The Pendulum,” directed by Roger Corman and co-starred Vincent Price. He recalled that Corman was an excellent director and Price kept him laughing during the entire production.
In 1958, Kerr played Lt. Joe Cable, a Marine about to be sent on a dangerous mission in the film version of Rogers and Hammerstein's “South Pacific.” In spite of lukewarm reviews, “South Pacific” was a smash at the box office.
Nevertheless, “the film did nothing for the careers of any cast members,” Kerr wryly observed.
How to Pay for an Education
In the 1960s, Kerr financed his way through law school by working as an actor in television, including “Peyton Place,” “The FBI”and “The Streets of San Francisco.”
I was prepared to use the interview I did with Kerr when I was editing the first version of “Culver City-The Reel Hollywood.”
I was in negotiations with Roddy McDowell. He wanted to narrate the show. However, he became ill and died in October 1998. Since Kerr had been under contract to MGM for four feature films, he was a logical replacement as host-narrator.
In October 2011, I screened an updated version of “Culver City -The Reel Hollywood” at the Aero Theatre, Santa Monica. That memorable evening, John was in the audience for the screening. At the end, he got up and greeted me warmly. He told me that he was quite pleased with what I had done with it.
One of John Kerr's greatest achievements – for which he never received due credit – was launching the Screen Actors' Guild Legacy Program.
After the first two pilots were completed, the program was dormant until 1989 when the project was re-started.
Among the actors who have been interviewed for posterity there were Angela Lansbury, Charlton Heston, Cyd Charisse, Dennis Weaver, Ed Asner, Gil Perkins,Gloria Stuart, Leon Ames and Mickey Rooney.
In 2007, John arranged for a special screening of the Screen Actors' Guild Legacy with Henry Fonda during the Backlot Film Festival at the Fine Arts Theatre, Beverly Hills. At the screening, I learned for the first time, that John's mother, June Walker, had appeared with Fonda in the 1934 stage version of “The Farmer Takes a Wife,” the play that launched Fonda's film career.
Mr. Hawkins may be contacted at rjhculvercity@aol.com
