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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

The Scarecrow Goes to College!

In doing much research on the 1903 Wizard of Oz musical for my 2 CD set of Vintage Recordings from the show and my current book project, I have become a fan of Fred Stone who created the role of the Scarecrow. While I have only read of his amazing, amusing, and acrobatic antics on stage, I have seen quite a few of his films from later in his life, and I've got quite a little scrapbook of photos, clippings and odd bits relating to Fred Stone.

One thing I did not have until today was one of his Scarecrow sketches. Occasionally when he signed his autograph he would doodle a Scarecrow. I've seen a dozen or so of these over the years, but either lost out in the bidding, or thought the asking price was too high, but I knew I'd eventually find one.

I'm quite happy with this one. It is large, measuring about 6" x 9" and drawn in pencil which I think adds some subtlety to Stone's drawing. This particular sketch is on the back of a guide book for Knowles Memorial Chapel at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida dated 1937.

I have not yet deciphered the second autograph. Any guesses?
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5 comments:

  1. Bill CampbellOctober 6, 2011 at 7:03 AM

    It looks like it could be Larry O'Connor? At any rate, what a fun piece!

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  2. Nasal NoteworthyOctober 6, 2011 at 2:25 PM

    What's your current book project?

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  3. David MaxineOctober 6, 2011 at 11:39 PM

    It's a coffee-table type book on the 1903 Wizard of Oz musical.

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  4. David MaxineOctober 7, 2011 at 12:01 AM

    new pet theory on the second autograph: The "Larry" in the second autograph is quite possibly the same "Lawrence" that Fred Stone signed the autograph to. Larry" is simply giving his girlfriend "Jeannie" the Fred Stone autograph.

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  5. Nasal NoteworthyOctober 7, 2011 at 9:55 AM

    The news of your book project is most exciting. I have long been fascinated by the 1903 production and after purchasing your 2 CD set of the music I know you will do a fine job. I can hardly wait!

    ReplyDelete