While everyone (probably) recognizes the names Clark Gable, Roy Rogers and Paul Newman, others are far less known. Barberton native Conrade C. Hinds is determined to change that in “Hollywood in Ohio.”
Everyone also knows of Milan native Thomas Edison, who submitted applications in 1888 and 1889 for his Kinetoscope, though there were challenges and he often took credit for others’ work. The “first public viewing of a film on a screen” took place in 1901 in Oberlin.
The book might be better called “Ohio in Hollywood,” as it features Ohio people who influenced Hollywood. (A Defiance County woman was responsible for the naming of “Hollywood” in 1887, and the first motion picture studio opened in 1911.)
Hinds moves to silent stars like Theda Bara and Lillian and Dorothy Gish, and to the builders of Ohio movie palaces, particularly Lowe’s. Akron’s Civic Theatre is not mentioned. In a chapter called “Lithograph Movie Posters and Merchandising,” Hinds mentions the Walt Disney-licensed toys made by Ohio Art in Bryan, but not Akron’s Saalfield Publishing, which made Shirley Temple paper dolls and “play kits.”
Hinds goes behind the camera to name the Cleveland engineer who invented a lighting system that was used in projection. Wurlitzer theater organs were made in Cincinnati; again, the Civic is not mentioned. The four Warner Brothers left Youngstown for Hollywood and founded a major studio. In 1955 Howard Hughes sold RKO Pictures to Akron’s General Tire & Rubber.
Hinds gives a list of voice actors, some radio stars, music stars including Dean Martin and Doris Day, and authors whose works have been adapted for the screen, not forgetting Superman. There’s a list of movies and television series made in Ohio.
The Golden Age chapter features Tyrone Power, Bob Hope and Margaret Hamilton, but also Cleveland native Greg Morris, Jamie Farr from Toledo and Willoughby’s Tim Conway, all of whom might qualify based on their dates of birth but might be better under “Post-Golden Age Actors.”
“Hollywood in Ohio” (192 pages, softcover) costs $24.99 from History Press. Hinds also is the author of “The Great Columbus Experiment of 1908: Waterworks That Changed the World,” about the city’s water treatment system, installed after a cholera epidemic.
‘Walking Through the Trauma’ by Viola E.
Twinsburg resident Viola Edwards, who uses the name Lotus – her “inner child” – acknowledges that “Walking Through the Trauma: My Wounded Spirit’s Journey Home” isn’t “about being grammatically correct or technical.” It’s more of a stream-of-consciousness testament of survival.
Lotus was born to a mother with addictions, one of 12 children from multiple fathers. Her mother would leave the home for days, returning with men who molested the little girl. Beginning at age 11, she was “sexually, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually abused” at knifepoint by her stepfather, which her mother enabled; at age 7 she was raped by an older brother. She refers to her home as a “house of horror … We grew up not knowing what it is like to feel safe and protected.”
An appalling sequence of rape and emotional abuse by almost every man in her life includes a prospective employer and a psychologist among the perpetrators.
Much of the text is taken from journal entries from the early to mid-1990s, including those from a two-week treatment program in Texas, with yoga and rage therapy; later, she went to a treatment program in Arizona. Lotus confronted her own addictions to cigarettes and food; she wrote letters to those who harmed her, expressing her anger at those violations.
Now 79 years old, Lotus is still committed to overcoming her appalling mistreatment, using her voice to assert that she has choices and resilience.
As the author acknowledges, the text is unedited, reading like a voice to text dictation. The book includes drawings and poetry.
“Walking Through the Trauma” (79 pages, softcover) costs $29.99 from online retailers.
Events
Fireside Book Shop (29 N. Franklin St., Chagrin Falls): K.W. Hound signs his picture book “Harry Hodak,” 1 to 3 p.m. June 28.
Akron-Summit County Public Library (Nordonia Hills branch, 9458 Olde Eight Road, Northfield): Misty Wilson, author of the young adult romances “Falling Like Leaves” and “Falling Like Snow,” presents “The Unseen Side of Storytelling” for grades 9-12, 6 to 7 p.m. June 29. Register at akronlibrary.org.
Cleveland Public Library (Carnegie West branch, 1900 Fulton Road): Amy Rosen reads from her storybook “Waiting for Max: A NICU Story,” 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. July 2. Register at cpl.org.
Loganberry Books (13015 Larchmere Blvd., Shaker Heights): Stephen Post signs “Pure Unlimited Love: Science and the Seven Paths to Inner Peace, at a reception from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m. July 2.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Strongsville branch, 18700 Westwood Drive): Edgar Award-winning author David Ellis talks about his mystery “Keep Them Close,” 7 to 8 p.m. July 2. Free, but $30 VIP tickets include signing line priority and a copy of the book. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Learned Owl Book Shop (204 N. Main St., Hudson): David Allan Edmonds signs his novels “Unexpected Love” and “Unveiled Love,” 11 a.m. July 4.
Advance notice for a popular event: Karin Slaughter, author of the Will Trent thriller series and “The Good Daughter,” appears in a virtual talk about “Small Towns and Big Secrets,” 7 to 8 p.m. July 14. Register at rrpl.org.
Advance notice for an event sure to sell out: Daniel Silva talks about “Ransom,” 26th in the Gabriel Allon series about an “art restorer and retired spy,” 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. July 15 at Parma-Snow branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library. The $30 admission includes a copy of the book. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Correction: My June 21 column said that poet Chrissy Martin is a graduate of the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts program. While she did earn an English degree from the University of Akron, her fine arts master’s degree is from Columbia College in Chicago. Incorrect information was provided.
Email information about books of local interest and event notices at least two weeks in advance to beaconbooktalk@gmail.com. I tweet at @BarbaraMcI.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: ‘Hollywood in Ohio’ looks at stars, those behind scenes | Book Talk
Reporting by Barbara McIntyre, Special to USA TODAY NETWORK – Ohio / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Barbara McIntyre, Special to USA TODAY NETWORK – Ohio | USA TODAY Network
