LETTER- Weiss: Here's why...
The late Gregory Peck and Jimmy Stewart at the now-closed University Theater in 1989.
VIRGINIA FILM FESTIVAL
The late Gregory Peck and Jimmy Stewart at the now-closed University Theater in 1989.
VIRGINIA FILM FESTIVAL
Your brief history of the Film Festival was nicely done ["Back story: 20 years of stars, screenings and survival at the Virginia Film Festival," November 1], but I want to clarify one item. Bob O'Neil spoke of a bit of tension between Gregory Peck and Jimmy Stewart, but there's a little more to it than the political differences Bob suggests.
As chairman of the Department of Drama at the time the two men visited, I was invited to a luncheon at Carr's Hill and then the final reception and banquet at Albemarle House. Thus I had an opportunity to meet and chat with both gentlemen.
It was very apparent that Stewart had begun to decline physically and was a little out of it mentally. His wife was very protective and always at his side, guiding him as he coped with the adulation and the confusion that went with the whole affair. He often had a "deer in the headlights" look about him, especially when he was being introduced to someone for the first time. He never looked at ease the way Peck did.
There was some concern when Stewart got up to speak at the showing of A Wonderful Life at the old University Theatre, but he managed well and got through his remarks without mishap.
These signs of decline were, from my viewpoint, the reason why Stewart and Peck didn't quite connect. Stewart simply had difficulty relating.
It was sad to see Stewart not quite with it, while Peck was still very much in command and still the icon we all knew. I had the great pleasure to sit at his table at the Carr's Hill luncheon. Hearing that marvelous and ever-so-distinctive voice chatting amiably with all of us was a definite highlight. I especially enjoyed a lively chat about some of his roles, a conversation I like to think he enjoyed as much as I did.
Having been in on the launch of the festival, I am very pleased to see how successful it has become. While it may have started out to be similar to many other festivals, there is now a unique quality to our festival that separates it from all the rest in a very positive way.
David Weiss
Charlottesville
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