Fred and Terry Crane: Tara To Tarleton Oaks, Early    

Hollywood, Media Career & George Reeves

 Interview by Carl Glass

Fred, it is such a delight and privilege to be able to spend this time together to talk about the upcoming  book Tara To Tarleton Oaks, the early years of Hollywood, relationships you built with fellow celebrities and your career in radio and television.

And someone you consider a dear friend and brother, George Reeves. Thanks Fred and Terry for giving me this opportunity. I know that Gone With The Wind fans, along with those of classic film and fans of George Reeves are anxiously awaiting your upcoming book.

Fred:  Thank you, Carl.  We are VERY excited about it, although it is certainly bittersweet to remember those days gone by and friends who are no longer with us.  There was a motion picture called The World According To Garp; this is Gone With the Wind according to Fred. 

Carl: What gave you the idea or concept to do such a book as this and why now? In addition, tell us what is in store for the fans.

Fred:  Actually, this book has been in the works since about 1999, when Terry and I had written almost 1,600 letters to each other!  Someone told us that this would make a great book!  The concept evolved from our original idea for a book with a working title of HEAVEN CAN WAIT, THIS IS PARADISE.  Once we opened Tarleton Oaks Bed and Breakfast and had the pleasure and experience of meeting the GONE WITH THE WIND fans, known as “Windies,” we were asked numerous times to write a book telling about my experiences during the filming of GWTW.  We had lots of dialog with our guests during their visits to Tarleton Oaks.  It was very rewarding.  There was just so much information that the “Windies” wanted to know!  And, of course, everyone wanted to know how Terry and I met and why we decided to open a bed and breakfast and museum in the little Georgia town of Barnesville.  So, the book evolved into FROM TARA TO TARLETON OAKS, A GONE WITH THE WIND SCRAPBOOK.  I think everyone has a great story to tell.  Some of us have the good fortune of having a story that intercepts something that has become unique, even a classic such as GONE WITH THE WIND.

Carl: Fred, tell me a little bit about life in Louisiana where you were born.

Fred: I thought it was the best of all possible worlds.  What did I know?  That is all I knew…just like a worm in the bottom of a horseradish jar.

Carl: I have read where your mother purchased you a train ticket and placed fifty dollars in your pocket and off to Hollywood you went. Exactly where and when did you get the acting bug, or, was that a desire of your family to live out a dream?

Fred: It was my mother’s wish for me to make money and, since I was a hopeless mimic, she felt that I would make a good actor.

Carl: Okay, you arrive in Hollywood. Did you have contacts?  How in the world did you begin the quest to achieve your goals and what work did you do prior to GWTW? Were you in awe of Hollywood? Did you feel like you were over your head, or, were you operating on a high confidence level?

Fred: I did not intend to get in the movies.  I had no agent.  I worked as a laborer for 35 cents an hour.  This was my chance to get away from home and away from my manipulating mother.  Everything was equated to the dollar for her…, which was worth a hell of a lot more than it is now.

Carl: Let us in on how you got the part as Brent Tarleton in GWTW.

Fred: It was my cousin, silent film actress, Leatrice Joy, who asked me to accompany her and her daughter, Leatrice Joy Gilbert, to the Selznick Studios.  Little Leatrice was hopeful to be cast for the part of Suellen O’Hara.  I had never been to a studio, had never read Margaret Mitchell’s book and I was not looking for a job.  The casting director heard my southern accent in my baritone voice and said, “Boy, you ever do any theatre?”  I replied, “Yes, Sir” He said, “Read this.”  After reading the script to several people…why I was not sure…I was taken by the hand to David Selznick’s office by George Cukor, the director.  Within 15 minutes of arriving at the studio, I was cast as Brent AND Stuart Tarleton.  They were going to do a process shot, but that would have limited the movement in the movie.  If I had known I was auditioning for a movie role, my knees would have turned into Jello! 

Carl: You land the part, but soon this actor named George Bessolo, fresh from the Pasadena Community Playhouse, shows up at the studio. Obviously, he makes an impression on you. Tell us about that day. 

Fred:  I do not remember what day it was…did not really matter to me.  All I can tell you is that I liked him and he liked me.  We hit it off just great.  There were never any adversarial feelings between us. 

Carl: How did you and George work together initially on the script? In addition, what was it like working with Vivien Leigh in rehearsal and the rest of the cast? 

Fred: We were not Shakespearean actors; it was more like play than work.  We were only a couple of “Johnny Rebs” setting the tenor for Scarlett’s obsession on Ashley Wilkes.  Working?  Let’s just say we were all in harmony and having a great time.  Our book gives more detail on each cast member. 

Carl: Just to name several of the cast; Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Butterfly McQueen, Victor Jory, Ward Bond, Ann Rutherford and Hattie McDaniel.  Did you have an opportunity to build relationships with some of these fine actors? 

Fred: Some of them.  George, Rand and I developed a nice kinship and friendship as regular guys.  While I saw Clark Gable and some of the others at various places in Hollywood, we never talked about pictures.  We talked about automobiles and other things of interest to us.  I still maintain a friendship with Ann Rutherford, Evelyn Keyes, Alicia Rhett and Olivia de Havilland, as well as some of the younger cast members, such as Cammie King who was Bonnie Blue, Mickey Kuhn, Beau Wilkes and some of the babies.  George was my best man when I got married to Marcelle Dudley in 1940 in Pasadena. 

Carl: The story is that you and George connected immediately and had a very strong bond. You have some fond memories of George in and outside filming GWTW. George’s Pasadena home on 1447 Michigan Avenue where you spent some time with George and his mother, Helen, stands today and still reflects some of the ambience of the day. What was the atmosphere in the Bessolo home and what kind of mementos and wall hangings would reflect George’s interests; let us say in his bedroom or other places in the house? 

Fred:  I am a guy.  I did not pay attention to décor, etc. and, unfortunately, the one time I was there; George and I were terribly hung-over from a night at Don, the Beachcombers, which was kind of a celebration for our parts as the Tarleton Twins in GONE WITH THE WIND.  I remember waking up sprawled across George’s bed sometime in the afternoon.  Our epiglottises seemed like they were hanging down to our navels! 

Carl: You obviously knew about Ellenora Needles, George’s fiancée at the time. What was she like and how did Ellenora and George interact?

Fred:  Ellenora was George’s girlfriend…not really my “cup of tea,” but a nice person.  He never slobbered all over her in public or anything like that.  When George and I would get together, he never talked about his love life or about girlfriends.  We used to be wild and crazy cut-ups…joking around…nothing ever serious. 

Carl: After GWTW you and George took different paths. I am curious as to how often you and George stayed in contact throughout the ‘40s and ‘50s? Were you monitoring each other and the progress of your careers? 

Fred: I did not count how many times we saw each other.  We would bump into one another and have brief encounters from time to time.  We talked about what we were doing at the time.  I broadcasted classical music and worked on TV shows and he did bit parts in movies mostly and Superman, which he was most famous for.  My kids and I loved watching him on Superman, which he hated to do. 

Carl: At anytime do you recall George ever being overtly pessimistic concerning life, and did you ever recognize any suicidal tendencies in him? 

Fred:  Never, never, never!  He did not commit suicide.  We had just seen each other a week or so before he died.  He was extremely upbeat and looking forward to a mock fight with Archie Moore, a trip to Australia playing his music; he loved the Spanish idiom.  He also talked about getting behind the camera and directing some Superman shows. 

Carl: Let us talk about your path into the 1940s and 50s. After GWTW what other film appearances can we find Fred Crane participating in? What other project were you involved in while working in Hollywood in those days and did you engage in military service in those years? What was it about radio that appealed to you? 

Fred:  Radio appealed to me when I lived in New Orleans.  That was the only medium…no television then.  The other film I made was The Cisco Kid with Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carrillo.  I did a lot of television including, Surfside Six, Lawman, Follow the Sun, Roaring Twenties, Hawaiian Eye, Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Twilight Zone, 77 Sunset Strip, Peyton Place, General Hospital. I did testimonials on the Jack Benny Show and Hit Parade and a narrator on a cartoon…all the time working as a classical music announcer and program director.  I did numerous armed forces radio broadcasts. 

Carl: How did you get that radio gig and why did that medium fascinate you? 

Fred:  I went to KFAC in 1946, a radio station owned by E. L. Cord, who built the Cord and Auburn automobiles.  Van Desautelle and Frank Graham had a show called “Three Alarm” on KMPC.  My friend, Millie, was married to Frank Graham before she married Trent.  Van Desautelle did “Unity Viewpoint” at KFAC.  She knew they needed an announcer.  I auditioned and, since my mother had me listen to classical music as a child, I was familiar with the classical composers.  I was hired…a job that lasted 40 years. 

Carl: You had mentioned in Speeding Bullet, The Life And Bizarre Death of George Reeves to our mutual friend, Jan Alan Henderson, that you had seen your pal George several days before his demise. Moreover, in Jan’s second edition you have given another angle or scenario none of us have ever read or heard before surrounding the events of George’s death. According to you, he seemed in great spirits looking towards his future. I cannot even imagine the devastating feelings that came over you when you heard the news on the morning of June 16, 1959. You were at work when the news came over the wire is that correct.

Fred:  Yes.  I was so devastated.  “Superman is dead” came over the wire from the Associated Press.  I do not know how I made it through the rest of the broadcast. 

Carl: I commend you highly for the statements you gave in the second edition of Speeding Bullet by Jan Alan Henderson, page 151. In it where you state that Bill Bliss had told Millicent Trent, of which you both knew, when after the shots rang out, and Bill was having a drink, Lenore came downstairs and said, “Tell them I was down here, tell them I was down here!” Fred, what motivated you to come forward with this information? 

Fred: It needed to be told and that is the way I heard it from Millie as told to her by Bill Bliss. Janet Bliss and Millie were very close friends.  I met Millie at Bill and Janet’s house up in Benedict Canyon on Easton Drive.  We lived on the same street. 

Carl: You and your lovely wife, Terry, had an opportunity to view Hollywoodland. Did Ben Affleck, in your opinion, capture any of the essence or character of your friend and brother George Reeves? In addition, feel free to share any other comments you had on the film. 

Fred:  Terry and I were the only two people in the theatre watching Hollywoodland when we saw it.  It was a contrivance and it did not depict the way I want to believe it was.  I feel that I have been privy to George’s character and moods and I cannot, in any way, imagine George taking his own life.  He was never in a slough of despond.  Why didn’t they mention Jerry Geisler?  Why didn’t they mention Lugar automatic pistol shells under his back or other holes in the wall or floor if the gun wasn’t supposed to be loaded.  It is horse +#*@! 

Carl: You continued to work throughout the 1960’s in both radio and television. You were in at least two episodes of Lawman. What other TV appearances did you make and when did you come to the point where you said to yourself, “enough is enough.” I want to go on to other things. 

Fred: KFAC was sold as a rocker and they tried to bust the union and make big bucks off the broadcasting stick on Mt. Wilson.  They didn’t want AFTRA in there.  After broadcasting, I spoke on many cruise lines.  They called it “Cultural Enrichment.”  My late wife, Anita, was also going through her struggle with Cancer a little later on.  I was the one who took care of her during this most difficult time. 

Carl: We have had a wonderful time getting to know you and your lovely bride, Terry. Moreover, Terry, please feel free to jump in here in case Fred gets it wrong. When and where did you meet? 

Fred/Terry:  We met on June 16 at the Hunt Phelan mansion gift shop on Beale Street.  Fred was there for an appearance and they were showing GONE WITH THE WIND.  The cross plugging enhanced their attendance.  Terry was getting ready to chair a Shirley Temple Collector’s Convention and came to the gift shop searching for Civil War memorabilia to use on the tables for the convention, which had a theme of “Shirley In The South.”  She came through the door and I greeted her with a “hello.”  She said, “Hello”…, which was the appropriate thing to say when someone says “hello” to you!  LOL  I said, “Wasn’t it wonderful?”  Terry said, “Wasn’t what wonderful?”  I said, “The house!”  She said, “Oh, I don’t know.  I have not been in the house.  I am just here looking for Civil War stuff."  We small-talked for a moment. Then, she went on her quest for her Civil War memorabilia.  She thought I was the gift shop owner! 

Terry:  While I was looking for my items, I came across a marquis that said, “Meet Gone With the Wind’s Brent Tarleton.”  I turned to the cashier and said, “What?”  She said, “You were just talking to him.”  I said, “No way!”  She said, “Way!”  After people cleared away from him…they were asking for his autograph, I went over and talked to him again.  I said, “Of course!  You were one of the Tarleton Twins on the front porch of Tara.”  He said, “Yes, that’s right.”  We talked about various things.  He told me that his wife had died in November of the previous year of cancer.  I asked him if he ever came to Atlanta.  He said, “Yes, and if Turner has a gala for the 60^th anniversary of GWTW, I will probably be there again.”  Immediately, I was going to “fix him up” with my former mother-in-law, who was an actress in Hollywood for many years.  She was widowed and I thought they would probably know some of the same people and hit it off.  I told him that if he came to Atlanta, I would get him a date.  We exchanged e-mails.  When I went to shake his hand, he kissed me.  I said, “I don’t know if Mumsey will go for you or not.  She likes singers.”  All of a sudden, Fred began singing to me in German translated to “Mine is Your Heart Alone.”  I said, “Don’t call us, we’ll call you!”  We had a good laugh.   When I arrived back in Atlanta, where I was living…you see, I was only visiting my father and mother in Memphis for a few days…I called “Mumsey,” my former mother-in-law, and told her that I had a date for her.  She said, “What?!”  I convinced her to go out with Fred if he came to Atlanta, that I was sure she’d have a great time.  I told her, “My goodness, you don’t have to marry him, just go out with him to the gala event if Turner has it in Atlanta.”  She agreed.  I then typed an e-mail to Fred with the heading of “YOU’VE GOT A DATE WHEN YOU COME TO ATLANTA.”  I began sending Fred pictures of Mumsey and telling him all about her.  Well, to make a long story, short…after around 1,600 letters, Fred and I got to know each other pretty well.  We got into each other’s head and heart and married in October of 1999.   

Carl: This story is just too sweet! What is family life like now at this point in your lives?  

Fred/Terry:  Present life is work-in-progress and has many interesting new elements.  At 89, everyday is like a breath of spring.  You must realize, Carl, that there are many great gaps in this cursory explanation of a few fleeting moments of a charmed life.  They will be in our book, FROM TARA TO TARLETON OAKS.  As the great Joseph Campbell said, “The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are” and that goes for everyone.  The joys of meeting the many folks who came from all over the world to Tarleton Oaks were great rewards and part of the intent of my dear, Terry Lynn, and me when we decided to make our place in Barnesville. As Terry so aptly wrote, “a gateway to a bygone era, where southern hospitality if NOT gone with the wind…”  When they came, I told them how glad I was that they were there and how glad that I was there… at my age, I was glad to be anywhere! 

Carl: Where did the concept of a “Bed And Breakfast” come from? How long did you facilitate it? 

Fred/Terry:  A man we knew at the time said, “You both like people.  Why don’t you open a Gone With the Wind-themed bed and breakfast?”  We bought the antebellum mansion, which served as a Confederate headquarters and hospital during the War Between the States on February 14, 2000 and opened for business on July 1, 2000.  We were open until late 2005.  

Carl: Now that you have sold the facility, what are you two planning to do with all this free time on your hands? 

Fred/Terry:  Free time?!  Finish the book…  We are also doing personal appearances from time to time, meeting new people and traveling.

Carl: Just make sure that when you are going to be on the left coast you let me know. I just cannot express to you both how grateful I am for the time you have allotted me for this interview. On behalf of all the folks out there, I wish you nothing but happiness and success for the future and for the upcoming book, FROM TARA TO TARLETON OAKS.

Fred/Terry: Thank you so much, Carl, for your gift of attention.