Search results for ""Author Howard Kazanjian""

Long before the screen placed the face of Mary Pickford before the eyes of millions of Americans, this girl, born August 13, 1860 as Phoebe Anne Oakley Moses, had won the right to the title of “America’s Sweetheart.” Having grown up learning to shoot game to help support her family, Annie won first prize and met her future husband at a shooting match when she was fifteen years old. He convinced her to change her name to Annie Oakley and became her husband, manager, and number-one fan for the next fifty years. Annie quickly gained worldwide fame as an incredible crack shot, and could amaze audiences at her uncanny accuracy with nearly any rifle or pistol, whether aiming at stationary objects or shooting fast-flying targets from the cockpit of a moving airplane. Despite struggles with her health and even a long, drawn-out legal battle with media magnate William Randolph Hearst, Annie Oakley poured her energy into advocating for the U.S. military, encouraging women to engage in sport shooting, and supporting orphans.

Read more less

On May 17, 1876, Elizabeth Bacon Custer kissed her husband George goodbye and wished him good fortune in his efforts to fulfill the Army's orders to drive in the Native Americans who would not willingly relocate to a reservation. Adorned in a black taffeta dress and a velvet riding cap with a red peacock feather that matched George's red scarf, she watched the proud regiment ride off. It was a splendid picture. This new biography of Elizabeth Bacon Custer relates the story of the famous and dashing couple's romance, reveals their life of adventure throughout the west during the days of the Indian Wars, and recounts the tragic end of the 7th cavalry and the aftermath for the wives. Libbie Custer was an unusual woman who followed her itinerant army husband's career to its end--but she was also an amazing master of propaganda who tried to recreate George Armstrong Custer's image after Little Bighorn. The author of many books about her own life (some of which are still in print) she was one of the most famous women of her time and remains a fascinating character in American history.

Read more less

Take one well-oiled effective killing machine, add a familiar hero on the ground, in the air, and on horseback; stir in a ghastly end that’s surely impossible to escape, add action, add passion, made on a shoestring budget at breakneck speed, and you’ve got the recipe for Republic Pictures. Who, after all, cannot forget The Atomic Kid, starring Mickey Rooney, or The Untamed Heiress, with an un-Oscar-worthy performance by ingénue Judy Canova? Exploding onto the movie scene in 1935, Republic Pictures brought the pop culture of the 30s and 40s to neighborhood movie houses. Week after week kids sank into their matinee seats to soak up the Golden Age of the Republic series, to ride off into the classic American West. And they gave us visions of the future. Visions that inspire film makers today. Republic was a studio that dollar for dollar packed more movie onto the screen than the majors could believe. From sunrise on into the night over grueling six day weeks, no matter how much mayhem movie makers were called upon to produce, at Republic Pictures it was all in a day’s work. Republic Pictures was the little studio in the San Fernando Valley where movies were made family style. A core of technicians, directors, and actors worked hard at their craft as Republic released a staggering total of more than a thousand films through the late 1950s. Republic Pictures was home to John Wayne for thirty-three films. Always inventing, Republic brought a song to the West. It featured the West’s first singing cowboy. Republic brought action, adventure, and escape to neighborhood movies houses across America. And they brought it with style. Scene from westerns such as The Three Mesquiteers and the Lawless Range gave screaming kids at the bijou a white-knuckle display of expert film making. Republic Pictures became a studio where major directors could bring their personal vision to the screen. Sometimes these were projects no other studio would touch such as The Quiet Man (which brought director John Ford an Oscar) and Macbeth. Killer Bs, Cowboys, Creatures and Classics: The Story of Republic Pictures is for anyone who likes B movies magic. It is the honest account of an extraordinary production house, one whose ability to turn out films quickly boded well for its transition into television production. Not only were its sets used for such shows as Leave it to Beaver and Gilligan’s Island, stock footage from Republic’s movies was used on such shows as Gunsmoke and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp.

Read more less

History has a way of bestowing a more lasting immortality on important people who die at the height of their earthly achievements. Famous personalities who are cut down at the height of their fame leave people clamoring to know more about them. Books and songs are written about them. Pictorial mementoes and keepsakes are in demand. The celebrated military figure General George Armstrong Custer, whose life ended so abruptly, is no exception. Interest in him, and those associated with him, has never diminished with the passing time. Elizabeth Bacon Custer, George’s faithful wife, and more than two dozen women who lost their husbands at the Battle of Little Big Horn, fall into that category. Elizabeth Bacon Custer set the social tone at Fort Lincoln, Nebraska, where she and twenty-five other women were living when their spouses perished in June 1876. She helped the ladies deal with the difficulties of life on the Plains; how to handle frostbite, how to treat heat prostration due to the suffocating amount of clothing, how to obtain water through holes cut in the ice of lakes or rivers, and how best to entertain themselves while waiting for their husbands to return from a campaign. When a soldier left the fort, his wife never knew if he would return. Eliza Porter, wife of 1st Lieutenant Colonel I. Porter of Custer’s 7th Cavalry, described the last get-together Elizabeth Custer hosted for the officers and their families this way. “Here are those nice fellows gathered around the Custer’s table, all discussing the situation and all knowing they will never all come back. One leaves his watch and little fixings and says, ‘if one of those bullets gets me, send this to my wife waiting for me in Independence.’ One need not search any further to unearth the reason why “Boots and Saddles,” the call to battle written by Elizabeth Custer, struck terror into the hearts of Army wives. Each wondered if she would be widowed or if the role of widowhood would be forced upon her friends. After the men were assembled, they rode out proudly to the strains of “The Girl I Left Behind Me.” In order to hide their tears and anxiety from their husbands, many wives did as Elizabeth Porter did; they refused to watch the column’s ride away from the fort. They preferred to say goodbye behind closed doors. Fear and weeping were private. Nine months after the massacre at Custer’s Last Stand, Elizabeth Custer scheduled a reunion with the widows of the Little Big Horn. On June 25, 1887, the women met in Monroe, Michigan, to reflect on the events leading up to the battle, remember the loved ones that were killed, and share how they have been able to go on. The widows got together every year for more than twenty years. In between reunions they corresponded with each other, exchanged photographs, and supported one another through the difficult times. The never-before-seen materials that will be used to write the book entitled Elizabeth Custer and the Widows of the Little Big Horn will be provided by the curators of the Elizabeth Custer Library and Museum at Garryowen, Montana; an example of some of the historical materials that will be provided include letters between Elizabeth Custer and the other widows, letters to and from politicians and the widows supporting and criticizing General Custer, and agendas and pictures of the widows at the annual meetings. There have been many books written about General George Custer and a handful have been penned about Elizabeth Bacon Custer, but there have been nothing written about the widows of the Last Stand. This will be a first.

Read more less