Whitmore, James, 1921-2009

The National Park Service and Theodore Roosevelt Association invite the recipient to a reception at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site to celebrate the anniversary of Roosevelt’s birth and the opening of newly restored period rooms. There will be a special preview performance of James Whitmore in “Bully” prior to the reception. The cover of the invitation features an illustration of the Birthplace site as of 1923, when it first opened to the public.

Collection

America

Creation Date

1977-10-16

This lengthy edition of “News and Notes” opens with a report on the annual meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) held in New York City on November 8, 1987. The report details the election of the leadership of the TRA, and it highlights an address to the gathering by the Director of the Roosevelt Study Center in the Netherlands. A section on the Broadway musical “Teddy and Alice” follows with a listing of its cast and crew, numerous quotes from New York newspaper reviews, and comments on the actors’ performances. A section on the Roosevelt Studies Center in the Netherlands highlights the conferring of the first Lawrence J. Saunders Awards for essays on American history by Dutch university students.

Updates from the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site, the Navy League of the United States, and TRA member George Epstein also garner sections. A report on the second annual Teddy Bear drive sponsored by the TRA and the National Park Service, an update on the Roosevelt family genealogy project, and information about the 1988 TRA annual dinner to be held in Dallas, Texas, complete “News and Notes.”

Two scenes from the musical “Teddy and Alice,” three photographs from the Roosevelt Study Center, and a photograph of members of the TRA in Medora, North Dakota, join an illustration of both sides of the TRA medallion as supplements to the text.

This four page edition of “News and Notes” is divided into six sections and is mostly concerned with a series of celebrations and commemorations of the 125th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt’s birth. The article details the celebrations held in Indianapolis, Indiana, in New York State in New York City, Oyster Bay, and Buffalo, and at Harvard University. The Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace hosted events as did the American Museum of Natural History. Oyster Bay held a parade while the Indianapolis gathering saw the planting of a tree at the home of Roosevelt’s Vice President, Charles W. Fairbanks. The meeting at the American Museum of Natural History saw the awarding of the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal to four recipients. A dinner was held in Buffalo while at Harvard, John Morton Blum gave a lecture.

The article also discusses the 1983 Theodore Roosevelt Public Speaking Contest for the New York City public high schools held at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace, and it details the premiere of the documentary film The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. “News and Notes” closes with an obituary for Helen M. MacLachlan who worked for both the Theodore Roosevelt Association and the National Park Service at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace in New York City.

A photograph from the Oyster Bay parade and two photographs of members of the Roosevelt family at Theodore Roosevelt Island in Washington, D.C., are included in the article.

This edition of “News and Notes,” seven pages in length, is divided into six sections. “TR Quasquicentennial Year Ends” covers events marking the 125th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt’s birth at venues in Indianapolis, Indiana, Oyster Bay and Buffalo, New York, Harvard University, and the National Archives in Washington, D.C. It notes that the final event of the celebration year was appropriately held at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace in New York City, and it highlights some of the lectures and interviews given by John A. Gable, Executive Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA), during 1983. An illustration of both sides of the TRA medallion and a photograph from the 125 Anniversary Dinner in New York City supplement the section.

The “Annual Meeting of the TRA Board of Trustees” examines the financial health of the TRA and notes that there needs to be an increase of revenue for the Association. It also covers changes to the By-Laws of the TRA regarding membership categories and terms for members of the Board of Trustees. It closes by noting the governance of the TRA and listing its officers and members of the Executive Committee.

“Filming ‘The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt'” discusses the production of this documentary film and highlights the narration provided by actor George C. Scott and the music of John Philip Sousa. It notes its fluid mixing of reenactments and archival film footage. A photograph of the Roosevelt family as portrayed by actors and descendants and one of Gable in a cameo role accompany the section.

In “TR and the Wall Street Journal,” Gable attacks an article written by Art Pine of the Journal about the history of debt collection from foreign nations because of its sometimes “misleading” and “false” statements about Roosevelt. Gable enlists the work of historians Barbara Tuchman and Frederick W. Marks to refute some of Pine’s reporting.

John A. Gable reviews David McCullough’s biography of Theodore Roosevelt, Mornings on Horseback. He highlights subjects that he thinks McCullough has broken new ground on, and he discusses the book’s place in the historiography of Roosevelt, seeing it as part of a larger “Roosevelt revival.” Gable also compares McCullough’s biography with those of Carleton Putnam and Edmund Morris.

A photograph of Roosevelt in 1876 accompanies the review.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Article about the adaptation of the one man play “Bully,” starring James Whitmore as Theodore Roosevelt, into a film for theatrical release. The article lists the writer, director, and producers of the play and film and covers their career highlights. It quotes extensively from three newspaper reviews of the play and details Whitmore’s acting career. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1978

In addition to providing a summary of four of the articles published in this issue, John A. Gable uses the highlights the opening of Bulloch Hall in Roswell, Georgia, which was the childhood home of Theodore Roosevelt’s mother, Martha Bulloch Roosevelt. He notes the passing of Reginald Rose, a longtime member of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, and he talks about the lecture series celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of Sagamore Hill as a public house museum. He closes with a plug for the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1978

This article covers the elections, speakers, and ceremonies during the fifty-ninth annual meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association held at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site in October 1978. In addition to the usual reports of committees and officers, highlights of the meeting included the introduction of Edmund and Sylvia Morris, authors of biographies of Theodore Roosevelt and Edith Roosevelt respectively. The meeting also recognized, with a citation and picture of Theodore Roosevelt, the work of Harold Schafer and the Gold Seal Company in restoring and reviving Medora, North Dakota, the gateway community to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The article closes by listing members of the Roosevelt family and special guests in attendance at the meeting.

 

Two photographs of the meeting featuring Leonard W. Hall, John A. Gable, Theodore Roosevelt III, and Harold Schafer accompany the article, along with one political cartoon.

 

In the “Book Notes” column, John A. Gable reviews Bully: An Adventure With Teddy Roosevelt which consists of the script of the play of the same name, complemented by eight pages of photographs. Gable quotes from a review of the play and from Theodore Roosevelt IV’s introduction to the book. Gable, as he did in the case of the play and film adaptation, praises the book and author Jerome Alden because he “does not tailor T.R. to fit current social or ideological fashions.”

 

Marvin R. Morrison reviews The End of the Game: The Last Word from Paradise which deals with the plight of the African elephant. Theodore Roosevelt’s hunting and his African safari of 1909 figure in the book and review. Morrison quotes Roosevelt, lists some of his fellow hunters, and argues that hunters are conservationists.  

 

John A. Gable elaborates on the visit by members of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) to Medora, North Dakota, and on the Edward S. Curtis photography exhibit in Sea Cliff, New York. He endorses Edmund Morris’s The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt,  notes Theodore Roosevelt books by Nathan Miller and Jerome Alden, and discusses the extensive Theodore Roosevelt collections of Governor James Thompson of Illinois and his friend Daniel Weil. Gable closes with a paragraph discussing the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal, the work of the TRA, and the need to grow the association’s membership.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1979

John A. Gable reports on the work and achievements of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) for 1977. He notes a rise in membership and dues during the past year and discusses the many requests for help that the TRA office received from those pursuing work on Theodore Roosevelt. The report provides brief summaries of the work of the TRA that is covered in more detail in separate articles in this and past issues, such as the renovation and restoration of the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site and the visit to the White House by a delegation from the TRA.

 

The report also covers the annual student contests sponsored by the TRA, the research grants awarded by the American Museum of Natural History, the Association’s support of Youngs Memorial Cemetery and the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary for birds in Oyster Bay, and publications, such as the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal, produced by the TRA.

 

Details of the reopening of the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site after a two year restoration. The article describes the ceremony, lists some of the more notable guests, and reprints parts of messages from President Jimmy Carter, Senator Jakob K. Javits, and Mayor Abraham Beame of New York City. The article gives a brief history of the house, details the funding of the restoration, and credits individuals who led the renovation.  

 

A photograph of the exterior of the home and two photographs of notable guests at the reception accompany the article.

 

Set of three photographs that each show a different Theodore Roosevelt impersonator at work: Joe Earley, James Whitmore, and Bob Boyd.  

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1978

Brief notice about the production of a play, “Bully,” on the life of Theodore Roosevelt, starring actor James Whitmore. The notice lists the writer, director, and producer and quotes from a review of the play. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1977

Review of the one man play “Bully” with Theodore Roosevelt portrayed by James Whitmore. The article quotes reviews from four newspapers including the Boston Globe and Christian Science Monitor. The article and quoted reviews praise the production, and background information is provided about Whitmore as well as the play’s writer, director, and producer. The cooperation and assistance of members of the Roosevelt family and the Theodore Roosevelt Association in the production is also discussed. 

 

A photograph showing Whitmore dressed as Roosevelt in his Rough Rider uniform accompanies the review.

Executive Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) John A. Gable relates Theodore Roosevelt related news in his message to readers. He notes that the revitalization efforts undertaken by the TRA and other organizations in the neighborhood surrounding the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site has inspired the formation of another group to work on the area south of the Birthplace. He also reports that the Library of Congress received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to catalog the TRA Motion Picture Collection. Gable also details the work of Roosevelt impersonators on stage, television, and in school appearances. He closes by listing the various schools and historical associations to which he has spoken in his capacity as Executive Director.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1977