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Robert Taylor’s Nebraska Yearsby E.A. Kral

Preface

“Robert Taylor: A Golden-Era Hollywood Movie King from Nebraska,” Beatrice Daily Sun,October 8, 1993, 48-page supplement, text version.

“Robert Taylor: Glamorous movie star of Hollywood’s golden era, role model of decency, andworld patriot,” The Crete News, April 1, 2009, p. B–12.

Outline of Robert Taylor Accomplishments and Recognition on the National and State Levels,Gage County Historical Society, May 2009, 12 pages.

Gage County Historical Society MuseumRobert Taylor shown in 1936

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Preface

This Internet text version of my previous manuscripts on Robert Taylor is provided foruse by the Gage County Historical Society Museum in Beatrice, Nebraska, so that anyone maylearn more about the formative years of Gage County’s famous movie star during Hollywood’sgolden years.

I first began my study of Taylor after 1991 when I retired from 30 years as a publicschool teacher and returned to my home area at nearby Wilber. While researching varioussources and interviewing many who knew the movie star before and after his professional actingcareer started in 1934, I benefited not only from Taylor’s family, especially his son Terry, butalso from the generous efforts of many in Gage County, including the staffs at the Gage CountyMuseum and the Beatrice Daily Sun.

Special mention must be made of Dr. C.T. Frerichs, who helped initiate the annual RobertTaylor Film Festival in the early 1990s, and contributed in so many other ways, includingassistance in fundraising efforts for the Robert Taylor Scholarship with the Beatrice EducationalFoundation.

Another who provided leadership was David I. Maurstad, former Beatrice Mayor,Nebraska State Senator and Nebraska Lieutenant Governor, as he played a major role in thedesignation of the Robert Taylor Memorial Highway on the portion of the U.S. Highway 136between Beatrice and Filley. The idea to recognize the movie star had been presented to him byHollywood biographer Jane Ellen Wayne during her visit to Beatrice in September 1992.

An unexpected benefit from my study of Taylor for the 1993 publication was thediscovery that many Nebraskans had distinguished themselves nationally in the performing arts.So I decided in 1995 to investigate Nebraskans who became high achievers nationally in allfields of endeavor – from agriculture to education to music to science and sports. As aconsequence of my part-time efforts since then, I was able to create what has become the Internetdocument titled 900 Famous Nebraskans, which is hosted on the websites of the Nebraska StateEducation Association, the Nebraska Press Association and the Gage County Historical Society.

For being able to make such good news available about nationally distinguishedNebraskans, I remain indebted to Robert Taylor for awakening me to pursue such a worthwhile,exciting project. And in the preparation of this Internet document titled “Robert Taylor’sNebraska Years,” I am grateful for the encouragement of Museum Director Lesa Arterburn andCurator Rita Clawson as well as the marvelous assistance of typist Joan Allen and graphicdesigner Shayde Goracke-Voller.

E.A. KralMay 1, 2009

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Robert Taylor: A Golden Era Hollywood Movie King From NebraskaCopyright © 1993 by E.A. Kral

Original 48-page supplement published with October 8, 1993 Beatrice Daily Sun

Several native Nebraskans have enjoyed successful Hollywood careers to date. Amongthe notables are Fred Astaire, Montgomery Clift, Dorothy McGuire, and Nick Nolte, Omaha;James Coburn, Laurel; Ruth Etting, David City; Hoot Gibson, Tekamah; and David Janssen,Naponee. Film director Darryl F. Zanuck was born in Wahoo.

The most celebrated are Marlon Brando, Omaha, who won Academy Awards in 1954 and1972; Sandy Dennis, Hastings, who won an Academy Award in 1967 for best supporting actress;Henry Fonda, Grand Island, who appeared in 83 films, received an honorary Academy Award in1981 for lifetime achievement, and won an Academy Award in 1982; and Harold Lloyd,Burchard, who received an honorary Academy Award in 1952 for his citizenship and his roles asa silent film comedian.

Also achieving the stature of the most celebrated is Robert Taylor, who appeared in 80screen and television films from 1934 to 1969. One of the most decent famous Hollywoodpersonalities that ever lived, Taylor never forgot his Nebraska roots.

A 1929 graduate of Beatrice High School, he was born Spangler Arlington Brugh inFilley on August 5, 1911. His name Robert Taylor (a name he legally adopted in February 1943)was given to him by L. B. Mayer, chief executive of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in CulverCity, California. The city was coincidentally founded and built by Nebraska-born Harry H.Culver, a real estate developer who had purchased on July 25, 1913 the land on which the citywas established.

Culver was a native of Milford, attended Doane College and the University of Nebraska,lived in the Philippines, and while there, worked on the William Howard Taft-owned newspaper.In 1916, he married actress Lillian Roberts. By the time Culver died in 1946, he had amassed afortune of some $3 million and was also known as the founder of what he planned to call"University City", which presently is the home of Loyola Marymount University in theWestchester area of Los Angeles.

According to Hollywood biographer Jane Ellen Wayne, author of Robert Taylor(1973,1987), the first book-length history of the Filley native, Taylor was "the man with theperfect face". Cast by MGM as a romantic hero in the 1930s, the blue-eyed, black-haired 175-pound Nebraskan stood almost 5 feet 11 inches tall, and had a widow's peak that added to hisBox Office appeal, ranking fourth in 1936, third in 1937, and sixth in 1938. In a New York DailyNews poll of 20 million people in key American and Canadian cities in 1937, he placed second toClark Gable as "King of the Movies". He also set two records as an actor. Taylor was the lowest-paid contract player in Hollywood history with $35 per week in 1934, and he was under contractwith MGM for 25 years, the longest ever with one studio.

The closest Taylor came to an "Oscar" was as narrator of the Academy Award-winningThe Fighting Lady, the 1944 documentary of a U.S. aircraft carrier in World War II. He was thefirst American actor to appear in a film made at MGM's studio in England; it was A Yank AtOxford (1938), a movie in which he bared his hairy chest to counter critics of his "pretty boy"image. He also played the lead role in Quo Vadis? (1951), the most expensive motion pictureproduced at the time; its $7 million in production costs surpassed the $4 million spent on the1939 classic Gone with the Wind. In 1952, he became the first Hollywood film studio contract

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star to appear on television when he made a guest appearance on CBS-TV's The Ed SullivanShow along with film clips of his movie Above And Beyond. In the spring of 1954, he was votedthe most popular star by the Foreign and Hollywood Press Association, which represented somehalf a billion moviegoers worldwide. And after his death in 1969, a building on the MGM lot inCulver City was named after him until December 1989.

Robert Taylor is one of only 170 persons to leave their footprints, handprints, andautographs cemented in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theater at 6925 HollywoodBoulevard in Hollywood. (This most famous movie house in the world was built in 1927 fortheater magnate Sid Grauman. Since 1972, it has been renamed Mann's Chinese Theater.) It wason June 11, 1941 that Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck, his 5 feet 5 inch-tall, auburn-haired, blue-eyed first wife from 1939 to 1951, wrote "To Sid - We love you" on a block of cement near themain entrance. She was a famous star with 88 films to her credit and in 1982 a recipient of anAcademy Award for lifetime achievement.

More immortality was gained on February 6, 1960 when he was among the original 1,558movie stars to have his star placed on the Star Walk (or Walk of Fame), which extends somethree-and-a-half miles along both sides of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Streets. Taylor's staris located at 1500 Vine on the east side of the street near the famous intersection of Hollywoodand Vine. Nearby are the stars of Henry Fonda, John Wayne, Gary Grant, Frank Sinatra, andMae West. Many tourists stay at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the site of the first publicpresentation of the Academy Awards in 1929, which is across the street from Mann's ChineseTheater and just a few blocks from Taylor's star on the Walk of Fame. As of September 30,1993, there have been 1,993 such stars unveiled, according to the Hollywood Chamber ofCommerce.

Fame came to him initially after his performance opposite Irene Dunne in MagnificentObsession (1935), his eighth film. Later, on January 18, 1937, Time magazine called him"cinema's most passionately admired matinee idol since the late Rudolph Valentino." The presscompared Taylor to Gary Cooper and Clark Gable. His many leading ladies included JanetGaynor, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Hedy Lamarr, Greer Garson, VivienLeigh, Norma Shearer, Lana Turner, Katharine Hepburn, Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr, EleanorParker, and Elizabeth Taylor, the latter receiving as a seventeen-year-old her first screen kissfrom him in The Conspirator (1950).

His screen roles as a romantic lover brought him acclaim along with some bittersweetpublic experiences. Unlike Valentino and Gable's screen approaches, the slick and dangerous, therough and rugged, that attracted a female following, "Taylor was all-American, innocent andgentle. Women wanted to mother 'Pretty Boy'. Their dreams of him were clean; their search formale kindness, loyalty, softness and perfection ended in Taylor's image," wrote biographerWayne. He exemplified what MGM executive L. B. Mayer wanted in his actors and actresses,and Taylor was content to conform, being a "company man" throughout, and happy with hiswork. In later years, he refused to play opposite female roles considerably younger than his.

The November 23, 1936 Life magazine article "MR. BRUGH...pronounced ROBERTTAYLOR" reported that in his first love scene rehearsal with the incomparable Greta Garbo inCamille (1937), "Taylor was so nervous that he allowed her to slip from his arms to the floor.But Garbo treated him much less like a schoolboy than she has some of her 16 previous leadingmen..." (Years later he admitted to having one date with Garbo during the filming, but heprovided few details, which was characteristic of him.) In the summer of 1936, he made apersonal appearance at the Texas Centennial in Dallas, and was met at the airport by two

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thousand women, all wanting to touch him. Later as he was about to greet one of the beautycontestants before 36,000 people at the Cotton Bowl, she "put out a pretty hand, took one look atthe screen star, and fainted." He admitted later in life that this was one of his most embarrassingmoments, he continued to have mixed feelings about being mobbed by fans, and he resentedsome of the critics who belabored the issue of his "beautiful face".

Aside from Magnificent Obsession and Camille, his best movies involved roles as asoldier, an outlaw, a tough-guy, a hard-bitten sergeant, and a shining knight in armorrespectively. His Waterloo Bridge (1940) earned praise, and Taylor himself considered it hisfavorite film. About Billy The Kid (1941), one reviewer wrote, "Taylor gives a distinguishedperformance in the title role," and others commented favorably. It was the first of severalWesterns for him and his first color film, and he once said, "I'll tell ya — if I could have lived inanother century, I'da chosen somewhere in the West. I'd be a Cowboy, and maybe that's why Iliked Billy." For Johnny Eager (1942), there were mixed reviews, but off-screen, Taylor fell inlove with his co-star Lana Turner, though she would not break up his then-marriage to BarbaraStanwyck. (Though most of his involvements later were discreet, he did have a brief affair in1948 with actress Ava Gardner when his marriage to Stanwyck was unsatisfactory to him afterhe returned from the Navy in World War II.) There was much praise for his performance inBataan (1943), and his role as the knight Ivanhoe opposite Elizabeth Taylor and Joan Fontaine inthe costume epic Ivanhoe (1952) helped it become one of the top-ten grossing films that year.

His most notable television performance was as the star of The Detectives and RobertTaylor's Detectives on ABC-TV and NBC-TV from 1959 to 1962, which included appearancesof 5 feet 7 inch-tall, black-haired, brown-eyed Ursula Thiess, his second wife. He was also hostand occasional star of the syndicated Death Valley Days from 1966 to 1968. Earlier in his career,he performed at various times on radio, especially Lux Radio Theater (1934-1951), Screen GuildTheater (1939-1951), and The Prudential Family Hour of Stars (1941-1949). In 1938, he was theemcee of Good News, which aired from 1937 to 1940.

One of the most beloved Hollywood stars ever, Taylor had a personal life just asdistinguished if not more so than his professional accomplishments. Aside from critics whobelabored his handsome looks during early portions of his career and headlines about hismarriage to and divorce from Stanwyck, publicity centered around his outdoor interests and hisfamily life after his marriage to actress Ursula Thiess in 1954. Featured on the cover of Lifemagazine on June 4, 1951, Ursula Schmidt Thiess was born on May 15, 1924 in Hamburg,Germany, and appeared as a leading lady in five movies in the 1950s. To them were born sonTerence on June 18, 1955 and daughter Tessa on August 16, 1959. There was a full-page colorphoto of his wife Ursula and him in Western attire alongside their horses on the cover of theSeptember 25, 1960 Parade magazine. And a classic full-page color photo of Taylor and hisdaughter Tessa in the December 1965 issue of McCall's magazine, to mention the mostprominent press coverage.

A private person, a perfectionist, a no-nonsense kind of man, a person who often stated“I’m just a punk kid from Nebraska,” Taylor understood his obligations to his fans. And hislifelong humility despite his stardom was best described in a March 3, 1968 Omaha SundayWorld Herald Magazine of the Midlands article, when an anonymous Grand Island resident wasquoted as saying, "You know, I'd like Robert Taylor even if he were a plumber." On the nationallevel, biographer Wayne quoted New York Herald Tribune reporter Joe Hyams as writing thatTaylor "is so normal he is almost a bore. He has never been involved in a scandal, never beenawarded an Oscar and never been scalded by the critics. No one in Hollywood seems to have a

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word to say about him other than he's too damn nice." And columnist William F. Buckley in theFebruary 1, 1990 New York Daily News quoted film director George Cukor as commentingbefore his death in 1983 that "Robert Taylor was my favorite actor. He was a gentleman. That'srare in Hollywood."

As an outdoorsman, he was "a man's man" and was beloved for that, too. His flyinginterest emerged after the movie Flight Command (1940), when he bought a single-engine planeand took lessons for a pilot's license. After World War II, when he served in the U.S. Navy from1943 to 1945 as a flight instructor and narrator of 17 training films, MGM bought him a twin-engine Beechcraft which he, along with a private co-pilot, flew regularly until the early 1960s. Ina feature in the May 21, 1961 Family Weekly magazine, Taylor stated he became a hunter duringhis more mature years after he met actor Gary Cooper at Sun Valley, Idaho in 1939. Occasionalhunting companions of note were novelist Ernest Hemingway and actors Wallace Beery, ClarkGable, Robert Stack, and John Wayne. (Taylor and Gable were good friends, and Taylor was oneof the active pallbearers at Gable's funeral in November 1960, reported Jane Ellen Wayne in her1993 biography Clark Gable, Portrait of A Misfit.) Taylor hunted pheasants and ducks nearBakersfield, California, in central and western Nebraska, especially the Ord area and Lisco,where he stayed a few times at Omaha brewer Arthur Storz' famous Ducklore Lodge. He alsohunted in north central Wyoming near Buffalo, where he and his wife Ursula, who became ahunter and outdoor enthusiast, often stayed at an old homestead cabin from 1954 to 1963. Theyalso fished and rode horseback there, and Taylor frequently went elsewhere to do his deep-seaand trout fishing. In 1959, when he purchased a 113-acre ranch at 3099 Mandeville CanyonRoad in Brentwood, a suburb of Los Angeles, his outdoor interests expanded. There were some16 miles of bridle paths, and the family kept a dozen horses as well as rabbits, goats, chickens,and dogs.

The Outdoorsman of the Year Award for 1954 from the Winchester Repeating ArmsCompany of New Haven, Connecticut was given to Taylor "as the man who through hisprominence and personal example has done most to increase interest in our American heritage ofgood marksmanship and sportsmanship in the field." And he was posthumously inducted into theHall of Great Western Performers in 1970 by the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and WesternHeritage Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Taylor was the sixth of the 39 motion picture andtelevision actors to be so honored by 1993; Tom Mix was the first.

Opened in 1965, the Western Heritage Center, housed on 38 acres of land at 1700Northeast 63rd Street, represents 17 western states, including Nebraska. A portrait of Taylorhangs in a special gallery alongside those of his fellow inductees, such as Gene Autry, GaryCooper, Hoot Gibson, Ronald Reagan, Roy Rogers, Barbara Stanwyck, and John Wayne.

That Taylor never forgot his Nebraska roots has been documented by the testimony ofvarious individuals who knew him personally and in various newspaper accounts. BiographerWayne quotes his first wife Barbara Stanwyck in an interview about their marriage just afterWorld War II as saying, "He never broke away from Nebraska and still has a sense of belongingthere." Sometime after his marriage to his second wife Ursula Thiess in 1954, he expressedinterest in a 160-acre farm at the northeast corner of 19th & Dorsey in Beatrice. According toreal estate and farm manager William A. Eyth, the property, which had a white frame house andred barn, had been owned at the time by Dr. Frances Knapp, but Taylor never pursued the matter.And in his November 7, 1967 letter to Robert Marvin, then co-owner and editor of the BeatriceDaily Sun, Taylor wrote, "It may seem strange to a lot of people but what the 'people back home'think has always been a very important thing to me — and many a time a decision on my part

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has been influenced by what I figgered (sic) my old friends and associates back in Nebraskawould think of it"

Of the 19 documented visits made to his home state between 1936 and 1968, most werein conjunction with his hunting trips and his Mother's visits to Beatrice. Four others arenoteworthy for other reasons. His first return to Beatrice as a movie star occurred in 1936, and itwas celebrated as a homecoming. The front page of the Beatrice Daily Sun carried the bannerheadline "CHEERING THRONG GREETS TAYLOR ON ARRIVAL." On October 25, 1963,he returned to Doane College in Crete, where he attended classes from 1929 to 1931, to helppublicize a $5 million campaign to raise funds. While there, he received the honorary degree ofDoctor of Humane Letters. In February 1967, he gave a presentation at the Nebraska CentennialBanquet in North Platte sponsored by the local chamber of commerce and attended by 1,000people. In mid-January 1968, he was presented the "Big Wig" Award in Grand Island, where hewas present for the opening of Multi-Vue TV, of which he was an investor and board chairman.He had become a member of the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce in July 1966.

Robert Taylor's death of lung cancer at the age of 57 occurred on June 8, 1969 in SantaMonica, California, and his obituary was reported the next day on the front page of the New YorkTimes. His funeral service at the Church of the Recessional at Forest Lawn in Glendale wasattended by a crowd of some 400 members, including his former first wife Barbara Stanwyck,who had vowed after their divorce that became final in 1952, "There will be no other man in mylife," and there never was. Long-time friend and then governor of California Ronald Reagan,later the 40th President of the United States from 1981-89, delivered the eulogy, in which hecommented in part, "Bob Taylor became one of the all-time greats of motion picturestardom...His face instantly recognizable in every corner of the world…I'll remember how afellow named Bob really preferred blue jeans and boots.”

In an emotional conclusion, he turned to widow Ursula and her children, and said, in part,"You are going to be proud of simple things…he had like honor and honesty, responsibility tothose he worked for and who worked for him – standing up for what he believed and, yes, even asimple old-fashioned love for his country, and above all, an inner humility." In New York City,his former leading lady Greta Garbo broke down and wept when she learned of his death.

With the kind of accolades, fame, and success Robert Taylor earned after 1934, the yearhe began work for MGM, with the loyalty to Nebraska he retained for the rest of his life,intriguing questions arise. For example, what were the various family, childhood, and culturalfactors that may have contributed to his success, even though he inherited his handsomeness andtalent and benefited from the mentorship of MGM executive L.B. Mayer? Is there an explanationfor his attachment to his home state of Nebraska? And what has happened to his family since hisdeath?

AncestryA br ief review of Taylor's geneal ogy reveals the ear li est known ancestor on the pat er nal

side of hi s fam il y was Her manus Bruch, bor n in 1722 in Bruchsal , Ger many, whi ch is located int he present- day stat e of Baden- Wur tt em ber g. Nest led in the Rhi ne Val ley al ong the Bl ack For est area just south of Hei delberg and some 30 ki lometer s nor th of the Fr ench border , Bruchsal had apopul at i on of 37, 351 in 1980. It has one of the finest Bar oque cast l es in the nati on, and is adj acent t o some of the fi nest vi neyar ds in Europe. Fir st ment ioned in 796 AD, the cit y has been rebuil taft er 80 per cent of it was dest r oyed in Wor l d War I I.

Accor di ng to a genealogy compil ed by Phoebe Brugh St uart in 1969 and pr ivately

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publi shed in T he B rugh- St uart Fami l y by Dr. Rober t B. St uart of Eri e, Pennsyl vania in 1977, Her manus Bruch (1722- 1794) , the fi ft h gr eat gr andf at her of Taylor , set tl ed in Yor k Count y in thesouther n par t of Pennsyl vania af ter arr iving in Phi ladel phia in 1743. He was a count y off icial, andbel onged to the Conestoga Bapti st Chur ch. His son Jacob (1752- 1828) , one of six chi l dr en of Her manus and Cather i ne M. Bruch, was a farm er who changed the spell ing of Bruch (whi ch inGer man means "m ar sh") to Brugh. He marr ied Sophi a Tri mm er, daught er of a fami ly li ke theBrughs, which owned land near East Ber li n in York and Adams Counti es. The four th gr eatgr andf at her of Taylor , Jacob Brugh and hi s wif e Sophi a wer e mem ber s of the Ger man Bapti st Congr egat ion, and they, li ke ot her imm igr ants fr om Germ an lands, were referr ed to as"Pennsyl vani a Dut ch", a ter m Taylor used wi t h pr i de i n descr i bi ng hi s Brugh ancest r y.

I t is t hrough S ophi a T ri m mer Brugh ( 1752- 1835) t hat T ayl or became related to Richard M. Nixon, the 37th President of the Uni t ed Stat es and earl i er Vi ce President wit h Dwi ght D.E isenhower , the 34t h President. S ophi a's fat her was Andr ew Tr im m er , brother of AnthonyT ri mm er (1724-1754) , t he f our th gr eat gr andf at her of P resi dent Nixon. Accor ding to a Jul y 9, 1993l et ter from Missi onary Joe Hi ll of the Fami l y Hi story Li br ar y of the Chur ch of Jesus Chri st of L at ter Day Saints in Sal t Lake Cit y, Ut ah, Taylor and Pr esident Nixon wer e si xt h cousins oncer em oved. (Coi ncident al ly, Missi onary Hi ll met Taylor in 1945 as a weat her obser ver at the Dall asNaval Ai r St ati on at Grand Pr ai r ie, Texas. Taylor had landed ther e and needed fl ight cl earance tot ake off . Said Mr . Hil l, "He was a ver y hum ble m an, and di d not t ry to i mpr ess anyone wit h who hewas. He just took hi s tur n at the desk wher e fli ght clearances were issued. ") Neit her Nixon norT aylor reali zed they wer e rel at ed to each ot her even though bot h di d have som e contactprofessi onal l y. In Oct ober 1947, Nixon, then a Cali forni a Congr essm an, congr at ul at ed Taylor for his pat r ioti sm in test if ying bef or e the House Un- Am er ican Act ivit ies Com m it tee inqui r ing int oCom muni st act ivit y in Hol lywood. I n the 1950s, Tayl or , a Republ ican, was a member of then-ViceP resi dent Ni xon's Celebr i ti es Comm it t ee.

T he ancest ry of Tayl or cont inued wit h his thir d gr eat gr andf at her Andr ew Brugh (1782- 1860) , one of seven chil dren of Jacob and Sophia Tr im mer Brugh. His second gr eat gr andf at her was Jacob Brugh (1807- 1859) , one of eight chil dren of Andr ew and Mar y Dit to Brugh. His fi rstgr eat gr andf at her was S pangler Brugh (1830- 1917) , one of five chi ldr en of Jacob and LydiaS pangler Brugh, who moved fr om Yor k Count y, Pennsylvani a to Hart f or d Cit y, Indi ana about 1837. They subsequentl y moved to Dodge Count y, Nebr aska in 1861, where he was one of theear ly sett ler s, livi ng on a far m for three years, then becom i ng one of the founder s of Fr em ont ,where he engaged in a hot el busi ness. In 1875, S pangler Brugh became a farm er near Wahoo inS aunder s County f or some 15 year s bef or e ret ur ni ng to hi s ol d hom e in Fr emont .

His gr andf at her Jacob Andrew Brugh (1853- 1937) , one of five chi ldr en of S pangler andNancy S hi ck Brugh, recei ved his earl y school ing in Fr em ont , then mar ri ed Laur a E. Davis i n 1875. He li ved on his fam i ly farm near Wahoo unti l 1887, when he then moved hi s fam il y to I dali a, Col or ado t o hom estead and engage i n the cat t le busi ness. I n 1897, he r el ocated to a far m in Sect i on9 of Rockf or d Township in Gage Count y, Nebr aska, and af t er 1916 resi ded in the vil lage of Hol mesvi ll e, which is locat ed 2 mi les east and 4 mi les south of Beat ri ce. The seven chi ldren ofJacob and Laura Davi s Brugh were Maude, L eRoy, Mil ow, Nanci e, Aur thur , Maybell e, andS pangler .

T aylor's fat her was S pangler Andr ew Brugh ( 1881- 1933) , who r eceived hi s educati on fr omt he F rem ont and Arl i ngton, Nebr aska Publi c School s, and who, li ke m ost of t he m ales in the Brughancestr y, far med for som e t im e, in hi s case, i n Rockf or d T ownship east of Beatr i ce.

T he ancest ry on the mater nal si de of Tayl or 's fam il y is Engl i sh and Scot ch, that is, the

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S tanhope nam e ori gi nat ed in Dur ham County, England in the 14t h Cent ury. The ear li est -knownancestor on his m ot her 's paternal si de is sevent h gr eat gr andf at her Jonathan S tanhope (1632- 1702) ,f ol lowed by sixth gr eat gr andf at her Joseph S tanhope, fi f th gr eat gr andf at her Jonathan S tanhope,and four th gr eat gr andf at her Samuel S tanhope Sr. , all of whom lived in Sudbur y, locat ed about 50m il es nort heast of London. It was thi rd gr eat gr andf at her Samuel S tanhope Jr. (1756- 1839) , whoemi gr at ed to Nor t h Am er i ca and ar ri ved in tim e to ser ve in the Am er ican Revol ut ionar y War for nearl y a year , enli sti ng a few days aft er the bat tl e in Lexi ngt on, Massachusett s in Apr il 1775 andr e- enli sti ng in Sept em ber 1776. Second gr eat gr andf at her Levi S tanhope (1783- 1861) lived inAtt ica, New Yor k, but gr eat gr andf at her Char les S tanhope (1813- 1874) rel ocated to Waukesha, Wisconsi n by mi d- century. There, one connect ion wit h Scotch ancestr y was made when hem ar ri ed Nancy McL aughl in, a nat i ve of New York and daughter of Ar chi bald McLaughli n, anat ive of Scotl and. F rom thi s mar ri age cam e gr andf at her Ar chibal d L evi S tanhope (1850- 1930) .

T he Scot ch ancest ry connect ion was furt her advanced on the mother 's mater nal si de whenT aylor's gr andm ot her Eva Adel e Bar ber S tanhope (1856- 1950) , al so of Waukesha, Wisconsi n,m ar ri ed A.L . S tanhope on Decem ber 24, 1874. Eva was the daught er of Manvi l le Bar ber (1829- 1873) of Ver m ont, who mar ri ed Adeli a Cam pbell (1835- 1908) of Groton Hol low, New Yor k; Adeli a Cam pbell Bar ber , whose f ather was War ren Cam pbel l of Scotl and, di ed in F il ley, Nebr askai n Apri l 1908.

T he Archibal d L. S tanhope fami ly li ved in Oceana County, Michigan for thr ee year s, thenr ode in a cover ed wagon to Gage Count y, Nebr aska to est abl ish their home on a farm pr eviousl yowned by Andr ew Nickell about 1 1/2 mi les south and 1 mil e west of F il ley in Sect ion 6 ofS herm an Townshi p. Fr om 1878 to 1893 they owned up to 230 acr es, and li ved in a four-r oomf rame house. Af ter Novem ber 1889, they li ved in F il ley on the nor theast cor ner of the int er secti onof Ford and Johnson St reets just east acr oss from the Methodi st Chur ch. The house was of woodf rame, wit h four rooms on t he fi rst floor and thr ee on the second. From 1888 to 1933 the S tanhopef am il y owned this pr oper t y in Bl ock 10 Lots 13-14. (One bl ock east at the cor ner of Livingst on andJohnson St reets near the Luther an Church was the locati on of the hi t -and-r un acci dent involvi ngA.L . S tanhope on Oct ober 19, 1930. Despit e Dr. Brugh's noti ce publ i shed in t he October 31 edi ti onof the B eatrice Dai l y Sun that a rewar d of $100 woul d be gi ven for inform ati on leading to thearr est of the hit -and-r un dri ver , the per son responsi bl e for the incident was not di scovered.) Fr om 1897 to 1918, the S tanhope fam i ly owned the Haymes E am es El evat or (l at er renam ed the Centr al Granari es El evator) , one of two gr ai n el evator s in the town. Aft er that, they report edly li ved oni ncom e from oil leases on land near Muskogee, Okl ahom a. The seven chil dr en were Burt on andE va, bot h of whom di ed in inf ancy, Et hel, Myrt le, E ff ie, Maplet, and Rut h, the lat ter becom ingT aylor's m ot her . Sever al of t he chil dren at t ended t he F il ley Publi c S chool s.

The p arent s and Tayl or's chi l dh ood exp eriencesT he basi c facts of Taylor 's imm edi at e fam il y hist or y bef or e Hol lywood can be recount ed

wit h much accur acy. The mar ri age of his fat her S pangler Andr ew Brugh (1881- 1933) and hi sm ot her Rut h Adela S tanhope (1887- 1974) occurr ed in the Gage County vi ll age of F il ley onJanuary 21, 1904, st at ed T he Beat ri ce Weekly Ti mes of the same date. It was par t of a doubl eweddi ng wi th Ruth's si st er Et hel t o Rober t Flaws of Webster Cit y, I owa. S pangler Brugh was li stedas a resident of the ham l et of Rockf ord, si nce he eit her far m ed the Brugh land located four mil eseast, two mi l es sout h and one-f our th mi le west of Beatr i ce in Secti on 9 of Rockf or d Townshi p orr ented a far m nearby. Fr om about 1905 to 1909, he was manager of the S tanhope-owned el evator, and thei r hom e fr om 1907 to 1913 was located on the sout hwest cor ner of the int ersect ion of Gage

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and Peor ia St reet s near the present- day bui l di ng of F il ley Consol idat ed School Di st r ict 166. TheBrugh house was one st or y, had 4-5 r oom s, f aced nor th, and m i ght have had a back por ch, r eport edRichard Bay, a 1940 F il ley High gr aduate who in 1937 helped tear down the wood- fr ame str uct ur eowned at the ti me by his mother . It wasn't insul ated, and there wasn't running wat er . The fami lywould have used a hand-pump f or water , and hom es in F il ley had outdoor toi let s. The st ove wouldhave been wood or coal burning. The 1910 popul at i on of F il ley was 194.

E lt on P er key, a 1931 gr aduate of F il ley High and aut hor of P erkey' s Nebraska Pl ace Namesi n 1982, presented a sum m ar y of hi s knowl edge of Robert Tayl or for publi cat ion in the 1983 F il leyhistory ti tl ed Once Upon A Ti me. In it he recal led that his gr andf at her John Bur bank hir ed Tayl or 'sf at her to husk corn one aut um n, and wrote, "Gr andfather said that 'S pang' was the fast est cor nhusker he ever knew. " P er key also recol lected that in 1927 Ar li ngt on and hi s fat her att endedt he Gage County cor nhusking contest held at the Er nest Dell farm . Dr. Brugh want ed to ent er thecontest , but fr iends sai d, "S pang, you have been away too long, and your hands won't hol d out ."P er key fel t sur e Dr . Brugh entered t he cont est anyway.

Because doct ors coul d not cur e Rut h Brugh's ai li ng condi ti on (she had been in poor heal thall her young l if e) , S pangler deci ded to st udy m edici ne i n order to f i nd a way to help her. S o dur ingt he 1909-10 school year, both enroll ed in the Am eri can School of Ost eopat hy in Kir ksvil le,Missour i (now cal led the Ki rksvi ll e Col lege of Osteopat hic Medi ci ne) . Whi le ther e, the coupl er esided in a house at the southwest com er of 4th & Pi er ce St r eets, and Ruth's heal th im pr oved. Aft er one year, they ret urned to F il ley, wher e S pangler resumed wor k at the S tanhope fam i ly'sgr ai n business.

On August 5, 1911, Ruth gave bi rt h to S pangler Arl i ngton Brugh (l at er known as Rober tT aylor) . According t o bi r th cert if icate #508-11 on fi l e at the vi t al st at isti cs secti on of the Nebr askaS tate Depart m ent of Heal t h, the at tendant was Dr . George H. Brash, who was a physi ci an andsur geon in Beat ri ce fr om 1899 unti l his deat h in 1924. The August 14 issue of the Beatr ice Semi -W eekl y Express r epor ted, "Mr. and Mr s. S. A. Brugh ar e the proud parents of a baby son bornAugust 5…. " He was their only chil d, and the mot her had chosen the middl e nam e of Ar l ingt onaft er a romanti c her o in a novel she had read as a young gir l .

Aft er young Arl ingt on was onl y two weeks ol d, Anna T homsen Andr ew at the age of 17m oved in wit h the Brughs and took car e of young Ar li ngt on, accor di ng to a Febr uar y 10, 1984l et ter by Dr . Har ry Hepperl en on fi le at the Gage County Hi st or i cal Society in Beat ri ce. And herniece Lola Thom pson Ar mst rong report ed that Anna kept a scrapbook of Robert Tayl or 's acti vi t iest he r est of her lif e. The Septem ber 5, 1911 Semi-W eekl y Express report ed that Dr . Prest on Y. Gass, a Beatr i ce osteopat h, "was out to see Mrs. S.A. Brugh between trains on Monday. " And onF ebruar y 15, 1912 it car r ied the news that the "t he lit t le son of Mr . and Mrs. S.A. Brugh has beenser iousl y il l the last week, but is much bet ter at this wr it i ng." Not much el se is known of Tayl ordur ing these very earl y years. But in 1913, the fam il y did li ve for sever al mont hs in Muskogee,Okl ahom a, looki ng af ter far m pr opert y t hey owned ther e.

T hey ret ur ned to Ki r ksvi l le in February 1914, where the father resum ed hi s st udi es andgr aduated in January 1916 af ter com pl eti ng the thr ee-year progr am . Accor di ng to the 1917Ost eobl ast , the year book of the Am eri can School of Ost eopat hy, Dr . Brugh was a mem ber of theAtl as Cl ub, a frater ni ty devoted to advanci ng sci enti fi c trut h and elevat ing "t he int el lect ual , mor al ,social, and professi onal condit i ons of it s mem ber s. " (T he 1916 Ost eobl ast publ ished a phot o ofArl ingt on at the age of 8 mont hs am ong photos of ot her babi es of mem ber s of the Cl ass of 1916. ) Dur ing these two years, the fat her someti mes took young Ar li ngt on to his medi cal classes, andwhi le tr yi ng to pronounce diff icul t Lat in and medical term s, the boy developed a stam mer. So the

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f am il y moved to a farm home 1 1/2 mi les from Ki r ksvi l le to live wit h a far m coupl e and to per mi t Arl ingt on to roam i n t he outdoor s. He soon qui t stamm er i ng, and developed a l ove f or the out door st he r est of his l if e.

I n January 1916, S. A. Brugh, hol der of a doctor at e in osteopathic medi cine, moved toF remont , Nebr aska, whi ch in 1910 had a popul at ion of 8, 718. Accor di ng to the 1916 edi ti on of t heF remont Ci ty Di rect ory, hi s off ice was in Rooms 416- 417 of the Fir st Nati onal Bank Bui lding at501-503 Main St reet . (Cur rent ly the str uctur e is an off ice bui lding wit h an address of 505 Main.) Whi le an ost eopat h in Fr emont for 1 1/2 year s, Dr . Brugh deli ver ed in Lincol n a pr esent ati onent it led "Technique" at the Sept em ber 1916 annual meeti ng of the Nebraska State Associati on of Ost eopat hs, whi ch was fi r st organi zed i n Decem ber 1900. At t his t im e, ost eopathy was a new field.

Accor di ng to Geor gi a Ann Walt er 's Ost eopat hi c Medicine: Past and Present, 2nd edi t ion( Ki rksvi ll e Col lege of Osteopat hic Medi ci ne, 1987), for m ul at i on of its theori es was fir st made in1874 by Andr ew T. St il l, a nati ve of the st ate of Vir gi nia. The fir st school of osteopathy waschart er ed at Ki rksvi ll e, Mi ssour i in 1892. In St i ll 's 1910 book Osteopathy, Research & P ract ice,r epri nt ed by E astl and Press of Seat tl e in 1992, osteopat hy is defi ned as a system of treat ingdiseases by sci enti f ic m ani pulat ion of the spi ne, m uscl es, and li gam ents. I t is based on the idea t hat"a si ck person is i l l al l over and m ust be treat ed as a whol e indivi dual and not j ust f or one ai l ment ."Also advocat ed were sani t at ion and hygi ene, but drugs were di scouraged.

A bi ll to regul at e and author i ze the pr act ice of osteopathy in the state of Nebr aska hadbecom e law in 1901; it outl ined qual i fi cati ons for a doctor of osteopathy, establi shed cr it eri a for obt ai ni ng a license, and pr ohibi ted an osteopath fr om pr escr i bi ng dr ugs and per f or mi ng oper ati vesur gery. (By the 1950s, most of the nat ion's ost eopat hs had the sam e legal st at us as a medi cal doctor and coul d di agnose and tr eat vir tual l y any ail ment, using dr ugs and perf orm ing sur ger y int he vast maj ori ty of stat es. Many al so used mani pul at ion less oft en and appli ed techniques sim il art o those of medical doct ors.) Pr esent ly Nebr aska st at ut es adm inister ed by the St at e Depar tm ent of Healt h per mi t ost eopat hs to use surgi cal pr ocedur es com m only used by general pr act it i oner s and t oser ve as an assistant in more complex sur ger y. And those who have sati sf i ed cer t ai n training andknowl edge requi rements set by the Board of Exami ner s in Medi cine and Sur ger y may prescr ibeand adm i ni st er dr ugs and medi ci nes i n Nebraska.

Accor di ng to the 1931 M embership Di rect ory of the American Osteopathic Associ ati on,t here were 88 ost eopat hs li st ed in Nebr aska; i n 1992, t her e wer e 42 li st ed.

Dur ing the 1 1/ 2 years the Brugh fami ly li ved in Fr emont , they resided at 450 East 6t hS tr eet. In the fall of 1916, Ar l ingt on at tended kindergart en at East Elem entary School locat ed at 540 E ast 3rd St reet . His teacher was G. Mount. According t o recor ds at the Cent r al Admi ni st r at ionBui lding of the Frem ont Publi c School s, he att ended the 1st sem ester , then was promot ed. Ver yl it tl e else is known about Ar li ngt on's educati on in Frem ont other than the encouragem ent her ecei ved f rom his m other to r ead books.

By Sept ember 1917, the S . A. Brugh f ami ly had moved t o Beatr i ce, whi ch, accor ding to the1920 census, had a popul ati on of 9,664, maki ng it the 5t h lar gest ci ty in Nebraska at the ti me. Dr. Brugh went into par t nership wit h his acquai ntance Dr. P.Y. Gass, al so a doct or of osteopat hy whohad a large pract ice and served that fall as president of the Nebraska Associ at i on of Ost eopat hs. F ir st ment ion of the Brugh fami ly in t he Beat ri ce Dai ly Sun was on Novem ber 1, 1917 in the local news: "Drs. Gass and Brugh yest er day moved their off ices fr om over the Mercer B. Walker Dr yGoods St or e to room s over the Union State Bank." At the ti me, the Walker St or e was located at505 Cour t, the Union Stat e Bank at 422 Cour t . In 1920, Dr. Gass moved to San Bernar dino, Cal if or nia, leavi ng Dr . Brugh as sol e owner of the pr act ice. On June 22, 1925, Brugh moved his

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off ice to room s on the second floor of the br ick bui lding at 104 1/2 Nort h Sixth St reet, wher e her em ai ned unt i l hi s death in Oct ober 1933. T he sui te of r ooms was then occupied from 1933 to 1935by Dr . Hel en M. Wieters, who, recor ds in the Count y Court of Gage Count y reveal , pur chased al loff i ce equi pm ent , furni ture, and fi xt ur es fr om the Est at e of Dr . Brugh for $1, 500, payabl e wit hi nf ive years.

Dr. Wieters, a nati ve of L anham, Nebr aska, had wor ked in Beat r ice banks duri ng Worl dWar I, and in 1929 ear ned her doct or ate in ost eopat hy at Kir ksvil le. Bef ore and af ter her br iefpract ice in Beatr ice, she ser ved in L anham and in hospi t al s in Gr ove Cit y, Pennsyl vania andBenni ngt on, Ver mont . According to an obit uar y in the Oct ober 11, 1983 issue of the F ai rbury( NE ) Journal - News, she was an ost eopat h in F ai rbur y from 1941 unt il her ret ir em ent in 1971. Meanwhi l e, the suit e of rooms at 104 1/ 2 Nor th 6t h St reet was occupi ed by chi ropract or Edgar E.Best fr om 1935 to 1959. The bri ck bui lding sti ll st ands, and is presentl y owned by S cull y Est at es, whi ch i nit ial ly t ook out a lease on the proper ty in 1950.

T he Brugh f ami ly at f ir st resided i n a wood-f ram e house at 922 Nort h 9t h S tr eet , a proper tyt hey bought in 1919 for $3, 500 and sold in 1924 for $4, 000. (The house curr entl y bel ongs toMil ton F. Brase, who has owned and li ved in it si nce 1941. ) F or Dr . Brugh, the r esi dence was a 12-block walk to his off ice, though he did own a touri ng car for longer tr ips. As the July 16, 1919i ssue of the B eatrice Dai l y Sun di sclosed, his car "was damaged badl y at the cor ner of 8t h & Court when it was run int o by R. Jobman, who off er ed to pay for al l repair s. " For Ar li ngton, the 9th &Gar fi el d hom e was only a fi ve-bl ock wal k to Fair view El ement ary School located at 13t h &S um mi t.

F rom som et im e in 1921 unt il the spri ng of 1924, the Brughs rented the fi rst floor of awood- fr ame house at 812 High St r eet from Mar ia Neuhauser, a ki nd woman who was the owner and lived upstair s. Both fami li es shared the mai n bat hr oom and Ar li ngt on, accor ding to bi ogr apherWayne, was of ten invit ed to have breakf ast in "Aunt ie" Neuhauser's kit chenett e. In the June 7, 1950 issue of the B eatrice Dai l y Sun, a lett er fr om Tayl or was publi shed in which he fondl yr ecal led "Mr s. Neuhauser's wonderf ul pancakes. " Thi s house, cur r entl y owned by Har old F. Cox,was a fi ve-bl ock wal k to Dr . Brugh's off ice, and for Arl ington, it was only a four - bl ock wal k toCentr al El em ent ar y School , which was in the same locati on as the pr esent Juni or Hi gh at 510 El kS tr eet.

T he final residence of the S. A. Brugh fami ly in Beat ri ce was the six-r oom br i ck bungal owi n P enner's Addi ti on at 901 Nort h 6th St reet , whi ch was pur chased in Apri l 1924 for $8, 500 from Grant Ford, the ori ginal owner. As report ed in the Novem ber 18, 1921 B eatrice Dai l y Sun, thispar ti cul ar bungal ow was const ructed for $6, 500, and it was one of 34 sim i lar houses erect ed that year. Af ter the deat h of Dr . Brugh in Oct ober 1933 fr om an infect i on aft er em ergency surgery att he Lut her an Hospit al for an inf lamed or ruptured gal l bladder the previ ous August , var ious fami l ypossessi ons wer e aucti oned off . Owner ship of the house, 320 acr es of land in Kit Car son County,Col or ado, and 160 acres of land near Muskogee, Oklahoma passed to hi s wi dow Rut h A. Brugh.

I n Apri l 1935, the house at 901 Nort h 6th St reet was sol d to Paul Hender son. T oday i t isowned by publ ic school teacher Sue S indl ar . Com plete wi th an att ached garage, whi ch later wasexpanded int o a double garage, the one- st or y house cont ains a small ki tchen wit h an adj acent dining room and an alcove, al l facing Logan St reet on the south. There ar e three bedr ooms faci ngnor th and west, wit h one bathroom in the center that has fixt ur es dati ng to 1931. Asi de from thebasem ent bei ng "f ini shed", a few windows fi l led in on the nor th, the sun porch rem odeled int o analcove, and the fir epl ace conver ted to gas fuel, the hom e is st il l ver y much as it was when theBrughs lived in i t.

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T hough these basi c facts about his fami ly hi st or y and it s genealogy do pr ovide backgr oundabout T ayl or 's root s, the i nf luence of the S tanhope and Brugh f ami li es duri ng hi s f or mat ive years i sof inter est. T aylor him sel f was quoted in January 1937 by Gladys Hal l , aut hor of R obert Tayl or'sT rue Li f e St ory (Del l Publi shi ng Company), as saying, "No one except my mot her , fat her, andgr andpar ent s reall y 'infl uenced' my lif e or left any mar k upon me. " Moreover, it i s clear ther e wer eother indi vi duals who contr ibut ed to hi s devel opm ent, incl udi ng those in the school, in thecom muni t y, and at Doane Coll ege, and he acknowl edged t hem l at er in li fe.

T aylor's fat her was by al l account s an excel lent osteopath, ver y consi der at e of ever yone, and a wonderf ul nei ghbor . About 5 feet 10 i nches tall , black- hair ed but bal di ng, stout, nice l ooking, wel l dr essed, and outgoi ng, Dr. Brugh or dered fir st ai d procedur es, del iver ed babies, made housecal ls, and was caref ul not to exceed rest ri cti ons placed on his prof essi on by st at e law. Ed Bede Jr . ,now a Li ncol n resident , was a neighbor who as a chi ld li ved at 814 Nor th 6t h St r eet. He recall edt hat Dr . Brugh was ver y gent l e and had a sense of hum or . Once when Bede was at his off ice, thedoctor put hi m on hi s knee, twi sted his ear , and asked, "Have you had your vi ol i n tuned?" (T he earwas the vi ol i n. ) On anot her occasi on in the late 1920s, the doctor visit ed the Bede hom e to tr eatE d's mot her, and the doct or , li ke ot her s in the nei ghbor hood, spoke in the Germ an language. Jeanne Bar ger St. John, now a Beat ri ce resi dent who was a neighbor acr oss the st reet when theBrughs lived at 812 Hi gh St reet , r ecall ed an i nci dent when she was a 4th gr ader. S he was for bi ddent o use a bike, but had ri dden a neighbor's bike when suddenl y she saw her fat her com i ng. Jeannel ost contr ol and dr ove into a row of peony bushes on the Bar ger proper ty. Af t er her fatherexpressed di sappoint ment in her and conti nued hi s wal k, Dr . Brugh came to the rescue by hel pingher up and br ushi ng off t he ants t hat col l ected on her clot hes.

St . John al so remem bered that Dr. Brugh vi si ted her si st er Gr ace every day for a year togentl y manipulate her thr oat af t er she fr act ur ed her lar ynx on a stair st ep accident. Though her sister was voi cel ess and medi cal doctor s could find no cur e, she recover ed total ly aft er Dr . Brugh'sm inistr ati ons. Eva Jam ison War kent i n Unr uh, a fir st cousi n of Tayl or 's and now a resi dent of F er gus Fal ls, Minnesot a, recall ed on her vi sit s to the doctor 's off ice that there wer e vial s of malt powder, and when Dr . Brugh gave her the powder wit h a tongue depr essor sti ck, it tasted likecandy. Unr uh report ed that Dr . Brugh was ver y gener ous, many bi ll s wer e not pai d, and muchm oney was owed to hi m when he di ed. Recor ds at the Count y Court of Gage Count y reveal edunpai d not es and account s wer e est im ated at $3,500.

T aylor's m ot her was a qui et and somet im es r eserved person, of a smal ler bui ld, about 5 feet 2 inches tal l , 120 pounds in wei ght, fr agil e-appear ing but underneat h st r ong and occasi onal l ydem andi ng, and al ways concerned about her fami ly. Rut h Brugh's at ti r e was like that of a f ar mwom an whil e in Beat r ice, but af t er movi ng to Hol l ywood, it changed com pl etely. She worked as ar ecepti oni st at the doct or's off ice, and was known to make the rounds wi th her husband when shehad tim e. On occasi on pat ient s cam e to the hom e for treatm ent . To many Beat ri ce peopl e, her dom inant char acteri sti c was her infi r mi ty, and the gener al publ ic percept ion was that "she enj oyedher ill ness. " She was obser ved seated in a wheel chair downtown, and the doctor and Ar li ngtonescor ted her to the Paddock Hot el on Sunday noons f or di nner. In t he wi nt er of 1929-30, when Dr .Brugh became il l wi t h tonsi ll it i s, he and Ruth were quar tered for part of the wi nt er at the PaddockHot el , an accom modat ion that lessened the housekeeping chores for them , since she was her sel fr epor ted i ll but im provi ng.

Unr uh st at ed that the Brugh house was spi c and span, and there may have been help wi tht hat. Neighbors bel i eved that Dr . Brugh di d most of the laundry and much of the cooki ng at hom e,and that Arl i ngton hel ped, too. Indeed, Rut h Brugh hersel f seemed to confi rm this in her ar ti cle

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"Fate, Fam e, and Rober t Taylor" publ ished in M ovie Cl assi c magazi ne in the months ofS eptember, October, and Novem ber 1936. She wrote that Ar li ngt on "tol d me he didn't li ke to seem e worki ng, that nei ther Dad nor he liked me to wor k, that he liked to fi nd me dressed up pr et tyand sit t ing down wi t h a book in the par lor when he came home. " When her healt h was good,however , she di d cook for the fami ly, though Unr uh noted, "Mrs. Brugh al ways seem ed to be sickaft er the Jam isons wer e there for a meal. " Stel la T yser Vlcek, a Wil ber resi dent who is a si ster of t he lat e Rose T yser S hi merda, who along wi th her husband Anthony wer e fri ends of the Brughs, had dinner at the Brugh home a few ti m es. Vlcek recall ed that whil e Rut h did not keep a gar den, she did make chicken for di nner al ong wit h hom em ade food from scr at ch, and al so baked her ownwhi te br ead. In a 1957 interview publ ished in the June 2 issue of the Omaha World Heral dM agazine, Rut h Brugh st at ed that Ar li ngt on's f avori t e food when at hom e was Bost on baked beans. I n 1937, Hal l quoted Tayl or as saying, "I can rem em ber sti ll the war m, mi xed odors of i odof or m and hot corn br ead and hot chocolate which wer e the mixed ar omas of my dad's sur gery and mym ot her's kit chen — the sm el l of home to m e. "

T he mot her and father had a rel ati onshi p based on mut ual love and respect , and fam il yval ues wer e impor tant. They wer e mor e qui et rather than talkati ve, recol l ected fir st cousin Earl Jam ison, now a Beat r ice resident . "T hey spent their evenings at hom e, and t here were no quar rels. "I n 1937, Hal l quoted Tayl or as saying, they "condit ioned my young idea of what mar ri age shouldbe, of how a man shoul d be wi th a wom an. My father used to say to my mot her , al m ost every dayof hi s lif e, ‘you ar e the m ost beaut i ful wom an i n the worl d to me. E very day we li ve together I loveyou mor e.'" As for young Ar li ngt on, his mot her wr ot e in 1936 that "he was a thought ful boy. Henever forgot bi rt hdays or anniversar i es eit her . .. ," and whi le "he was apt to be bl unt andout spoken, .. . he would never com e int o the house that he woul d not kiss us both. He thought thewor ld of his father , who al so worshi pped hi m ."

T hough the S. A. Brugh fami ly di d not spend much ti me wi th the Brugh relati ves evenbef or e Arl ington went to Holl ywood, they wer e cl ose to the S tanhopes, the mother's side of thef am il y. They vi si ted on occasion the A.L . S tanhope hom e i n F il ley and st ayed f r om ti me t o tim e att he I ssac and E ff ie S tanhope Jam ison farm located 1 mil e east and 3 1/ 2 mi l es sout h of El li s, aham let just 8 mil es west of Beat ri ce. The gather i ngs in F il ley frequent ly found Arl ingt on and hiscousi ns Earl , Charl es, and Eva Jam ison engaged in som e sport or act i vi ty in the S tanhope yar d oron the dir t st r eet bet ween the S tanhope house and the Methodist Chur ch. In the history Once UponA Ti me, their hopes were hi gh, F il ley, Nebraska 1883- 1983, P er key is quoted as sayi ng, "Onegam e we pl ayed on the di r t st reets of F il ley that they di dn't play on the paved st reet s of Beatr icet hat Ar l ingt on real l y enj oyed was our arr ow game. We secur ed gr een tr ee twi gs, li m ber enough tospr ing an ar r ow. We ti ed a cord to one end of the twi g and put a knot on the ot her end of the cor d. We used wood roof ing shi ngl es to make arr ows wit h a shaf t and a not ch to hold the knot. Wepul led the twig back and let loose wi th its spri ng to see how far it woul d go and st i ck in thegr ound."

E ar l Jam ison repor ted that there was much hunt ing at the Jam ison farm near El li s, and her em em ber ed that Arl i ngton, hi s fat her , hi s gr andf at her S tanhope and hi s Uncle Wi ll iam Moore, husband of Ruth's si st er Maplet, woul d hunt rabbi t s on Thanksgiving. Ar li ngt on used a .410 gaugeshotgun, Ear l at age ten used a 12 gauge, and gr andf at her used a 10 gauge. Then, too, the Jam isonf am il y went to the Brugh home ever y Chr istm as, wher e, cousin Eva Unr uh recall ed, thei r bel oved"Uncl e S pang woul d always have to leave to del iver a baby, but real l y retur ned as Sant a, whoknocked on t he east wi ndow" of the home at 901 Nort h 6t h S tr eet . In an i nterview, cousi n Ear l al sor em em ber ed havi ng lunch or supper at the cabin the Brughs used on the Ant hony S hi merda farm

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along the Bi g Blue River on the sout h edge of Beatr ice along Beaver Avenue. It was ther e thatArl ingt on, Earl , and Char les would pl ay cat ch wi t h a basebal l and in the fall hunt squi rr el s. Theadult s in the fam il i es mainly engaged in conversati on, and Earl stat ed, "Ar li ngt on was notargum ent at ive when present wi th hi s elder s, especiall y gr andf at her S tanhope, who was a tall man, about 6 feet 4 inches in height . "

T here was agr eement between the father and mot her on how Arl i ngton shoul d be handl ed, and they emphasized moral s, respect for aut hor it y, responsibl e independence, and ear ning whatone received. Many of the Brugh ancest ors wer e aff il iated wit h the Germ an Bapt ist Chur ch, and iti s known that Taylor 's gr andf at her Jacob A. Brugh was appar entl y aff il iated wit h the Beat ri ceChurch of the German Bapt ists ( now call ed t he Church of Br et hren) . I t is located 4 m i les east and 3m il es sout h of Beat r ice in Rockf or d Townshi p. Accor di ng to Harold L. Kel l ey of Beatr i ce, a fir st cousi n once rem oved to Tayl or ; "The Brugh si de of the fami ly was com pr ised of non- dr i nker s andnon-smoker s. They al so di d not use pr of ane language." The S tanhopes wer e very reli gious; by oneaccount , gr andf at her S tanhope was a st ri ct Bapti st , and "his wif e Eva was a fai thf ul Met hodist ,att endi ng church regul ar l y, " st ated Mer na Jensen, a F il ley resident and 1932 gr aduate of F il leyHigh School. Unr uh remembered that on Sundays the chil dr en pl ayed rel igious games such asbapti sm (a person st ands on a st ai rs and di ps som eone down), and dr i nking alcohol was for bi dden. Dr. and Mr s. Brugh al ong wit h Ar l ingt on regul ar ly at tended the Centenar y Met hodi st Church at thenor theast cor ner of 6t h & Elk in Beat ri ce. Cyr us Hum mer, a 1929 gr aduate of Beat ri ce Hi gh, r em em ber ed that he att ended Sunday school at the Methodi st Chur ch in the same cl ass asArl ingt on fr om about 1924 to 1928. Hal Ruyle was the teacher. "All the boys at tended regul ar lybut none was any mor e rel igious than any ot her ," said Hum mer.

T he concept of respect for authori ty was taught in the hom e in basi cal ly a humane manner, and the parents ther ef or e did not fear Ar li ngt on's being spoi led by thei r gener osi ty. They provi dedhim wit h a pony when he was eight years old, a pony car t , a har ness and saddl e, a bi cycle, a dog, and guns of all kinds. But "along wi t h those playthings went a lot of responsibi li ti es, " wr ote T ayl or i n hi s aut obi ogr aphy publ ished in the March 1, 1937 issue of the Lincol n Nebraska St ate Journal. "Father and mot her wer e str ict about that , and I don't ever rem em ber bei ng able to evade anypunishm ent s ... the notable thi ng about these spankings was not that ther e were many of them but t heir r eli abi li ty. As sur e as t hey were due I col lect ed. "

Rut h Brugh di d wr i te i n 1936 about one instance of paddl ing. On a Saturday eveni ng whent he fam i ly deci ded to vi sit downtown Beat ri ce, the father war ned young Ar li ngton bef ore they lef t hom e not to tease, but when downtown, he di d tease the par ent s. So when they ar r ived home, thef at her adm ini st er ed the punishm ent . Usual ly, though, the fat her expl ai ned rat her than scolded, fort he mot her comm ented that Arl ington "was ver y sensi ti ve — he st il l hat es harsh cri ti cism; both hi sf at her and I were t hat way. " A. J. Myers, now an ost eopat h in Yaki ma, Washi ngt on, lived across theall ey fr om the Brugh home duri ng Worl d War I. In a telephone interview on August 17, 1992, her em em ber ed that once he and Arl i ngton took Dr. Brugh's gunny sack of bl ack wal nut s, and thr ewt hem one by one int o the garden, pret endi ng to bomb the Germ ans. "Dr . Brugh's puni shm ent wast o make the two of us gat her up al l the wal nut s and count them. "

E ar ly on, the devel opm ent of responsi bl e independence, resour cefulness, and the workethic was fostered. Young Arl ington had chor es at hom e, such as keeping the wood organi zed andi n the boxes for use in the fur nace and fir epl ace. He al so mowed the fam i ly lawn. In 1937, Hal lquoted him as saying, "I cl eaned and kept my own room in order. I di d my own hom ewor k ... Iunder st ood that that was my job and that a man does his job alone." Perhaps a defi ni ng momentoccur red in his lif e at the age of el even when he decided to ri de hi s pony Gypsy to the S tanhope

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hom e in F il ley over 12 mi les away. Af ter one hour , he tel ephoned his mother , com plaining thepony would not obey. In 1936, Ruth wr ot e that she sai d, "Now, Arl ington, just make the ponyknow you'r e the boss. Cut yourself a swit ch, and the fi r st t i me she doesn't do what you tel l her , uset he swi t ch." Ar li ngt on di d just that , but the pony catapul ted him into a di tch and ran off , leavi nghim to wal k alone at dusk. Later , the pony ret ur ned, and they arr ived at the hom e of thegr andm ot her , who washed the bl ood and di rt off his face and hands. In the Mar ch 6, 1937 issue of t he Lincol n Nebraska Stat e Journal , he wr ot e, "As a result of thi s expedi ti on, I had si nce shared af am il y opi ni on that I act uall y showed Gyp who was boss and that I'm real l y quit e a fell ow at handl ing hor ses and autos and such t hings."

He al so want ed to do var i ous jobs for money, and hi s par ents encour aged him . The lat eDel or es Harm on Dr ew, a 1934 gr aduate of Beat ri ce Hi gh, lived across the str eet from the Brughswhen she was a chil d. She rem em ber ed that Ar li ngt on mowed the Har mon lawn wit h a pushm ower f or about 24 cents an hour , and when he was a 9th gr ader , he would also beat t he Har mons’ r ugs over a clothesl ine dur ing the f all housecleani ng. Dur ing t hi s tim e, he also wor ked on a f ar m i nt he sum m er , shocking wheat. When 16 years ol d, he had a summ er job pai nt i ng car s, but thepar ents woul d not l et hi m keep the j ob af ter school r esumed. Af ter gr aduati on fr om hi gh school, hehad a summ er job as an assi st ant bank tel ler , and mowed lawns aft er banki ng hour s. Duri ng hi ssenior year in hi gh school, Arl i ngton was gi ven a 1929 Bui ck beige- and-or ange-t i nt ed, rum bl eseated sport s coupe, som ething unusual for par ent s to have done i n the 1920s. T he mot her wr ote of t hat decision, "But we told him that he was such a good boy, and so tr ust wort hy, that we knew wecould t r ust him wit h t hi s. It was hi s proper ty and hi s responsi bi li t y. "

I n addi t ion to incul cati ng the previ ously ment ioned val ues, the mot her and father wer ef actors in Tayl or 's soci al devel opment, incl uding att it udes and int erest s, as were hi s exper ienceswit h ot her indi vi duals and gr oups. Dur ing his chil dhood year s, Ar li ngt on associ ated lar gely wi thadult s. As ment ioned bef ore, hi s fat her took him to medi cal classes when the fam il y ret ur ned toKir ksvi l le, Missour i i n Februar y 1914, but a f ew mont hs later aft er the Brughs moved to l ive wit h af ar m coupl e out si de of town, he di d play wi t h their lit t le boy. In Fremont, aft er com pl et ingkindergart en in one semester, he was infl uenced by hi s mot her t o read at home.

Aft er t he fam il y moved t o Beatri ce by S eptem ber 1917, he was as a boy of ten i n hi s f at her 'soff ice, and accom panied him on som e of hi s rounds, even assisti ng once duri ng an em er gencyprocedur e on an inj ured far mer. Tayl or hi mself descri bed one experi ence when a far mer 's wif enearl y died. Af ter an al l -night vi gi l by the doct or , the husband and chi l dr en, Hal l quoted Taylor in1937 as sayi ng, "It was prett y fine. "

His cont acts wi th hi s gr andf at her A.L . S tanhope, a man who "knew how many pi eces of apple pi e a fel low could eat, " resul t ed in a gr eat fr i endship. P er key rel ayed sever al fond mem ori esof A.L . S tanhope in his 1982 stat em ent for the 1983 F il ley histor y, assert ing, "I admi red Mr. S tanhope as a per fect example of physical fi tness for a man in hi s sevent ies. .. As long as he li ved,Mr. S tanhope wal ked t hr ough the snowdr if t s wi th a coat, m uff ler, and overshoes, and as I watched,he went through our fi el ds to hi s fur traps. He also mai nt ai ned his vi gor by cut ti ng and sawing hisown stove wood. .. .When I was del iveri ng m i lk on m y route i n t own wit h my roll er coast er wagon, Iwould of ten stop in the sum mer eveni ngs and li st en to Mr . S tanhope play his fl ut e on the front por ch. Thi s fasci nat ed me, and in the meant i me, Mrs. S tanhope, a fine lady, off er ed me cookies toeat ." Ar li ngt on loved hi s gr andm ot her Eva S tanhope, a pet it e whi te- hair ed lady who bel onged tot he Ladi es Ai d Soci ety of the Methodi st Chur ch in F il ley, wher e she constantl y tal ked about Arl ingt on, i t was r eport ed. At his homecomi ng in Beat ri ce in 1936, Taylor was observed swoopingup hi s preci ous gr andm ot her who was wai ti ng at the Paddock Hotel doorway, and car rying her

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i nside the Hotel. Of her , P er key also com ment ed, "I had anot her oppor t unit y to enj oy Mr s. S tanhope's cooking when I par ti cipat ed in a pi e eat ing contest at the Met hodi st Chur ch pi cni c hel di n the Smi th Gr ove. I had no tr ouble wi nning the cont est by consumi ng her del ici ous Concordgr ape pi e…. Anot her gourm et deli cacy I also associ at ed wi th the S tanhopes was young tenderaspar agus for t he f i rst tim e. "

Other si gnif i cant adul ts in Tayl or 's chil dhood were Ant hony and Rose T yser S hi merda, af ar m coupl e of Czech descent who from 1907 to 1924 owned a 160- acre farm in Sect ions 2 & 3 ofRiver si de Townshi p on the south si de of Beat ri ce adjacent to the Bi g Blue River and Chaut auquaP ar k. T he Brughs got together soci all y wi t h the S hi merdas per haps m ont hl y from 1918 to 1924, t heyear the S hi merdas moved to Wil ber , af ter whi ch the two fami li es cont i nued to visi t wi th eachother . Meanwhil e, the Brughs made social visit s to the far m along Beaver Avenue, which wast aken over by Mrs. S hi merda's br ot her Rober t T yser and hi s wif e F lossie.

T he two fami l ies had become acquai nt ed af ter Mrs. S hi merda cont ract ed infl uenza duri ngt he inf amous 1918 worl dwi de epi dem ic of Spanish flu. She went to Dr . Brugh for tr eat ment , andf ol lowed his recomm endat i on that she and her husband spend the foll owi ng summ er in a tent inCol or ado f or heal th reasons.

T he S hi merdas rai sed cor n and wheat , far m ed wit h hor ses, and car ed for a sizabl e or chardi n the ear ly year s, sell i ng appl es, cherr ies, gr apes, peaches and plums to the near by Thom psonS tore, a gr ocer y locat ed al ong the rail road tr acks towar d the cit y. They al so raised thei r ownpoult ry, hogs, and cat tl e and butcher ed by themselves. Wood made fr om the tim ber along the river was used for the wood- bur ni ng oval st ove and cook stove, and havi ng no el ectr ici ty, they usedker osene l am ps. I n many ways the S hi merdas li ved l ike m ost f ar mer s dur ing the 1920s.

A skil led hom emaker, Mr s. S hi merda car ed for their poul tr y, and always had a largegar den, canni ng dil l and sweet pickl es, pickled beet, gr een beans, cor n and por k. She made typical Czech food, wit h roast chicken, duck, por k, and beef, and hom em ade sauer kraut in the wi nt er andsweet -sour cabbage in the sum mer . Lar d was used for ever yt hi ng, and she made rye bread andpastr ies, such as appl e pie, cr escent rol ls, cinnam on roll s, donuts and kol aches. In the wi nter therewas hom emade hand-cr anked ice cr eam. T he S hi merda house, which sti ll st ands today at 1320Beaver Avenue, is pr esent ly owned by Robert T yser 's chil dr en – Arl ingt on T yser (who was nam edaft er Ar li ngt on Brugh) of Beatr ice and Glennys T yser Z iegl er of Cr et e. Ther e wer e roses,hol lyhocks, and pur ple li lacs, and the fami l y rai sed hor ses and kept a br own- and-whi t e shepher ddog.

I n 1919 or 1920, when Ar l ingt on was eight year s old, the Brughs bought and kept hi s pony"Gypsy" at the S hi merda f ar m , and he could r ide it in the pastur e anyt i me year around. He came tot he far m alone, usuall y on a bi cycle, and cont inued ridi ng hi s pony through his hi gh school year swhen the f ar m was under the ownershi p of the Robert T yser f ami ly. In 1936, hi s mother wrote t hat "he always said that he was goi ng to have a bi g ranch and be a cowboy. " Taylor him sel fcom ment ed in hi s Mar ch 1, 1937 art icl e that hi s fat her "had always been amused at my chil dhoodadm ir at i on for cowboy fi l m actor s and at my eff or ts to imi t at e them on the pony he bought mewhen I was a Boy Scout .”

Also about 1920 the S hi merdas const ruct ed on thei r far m a cabin about a quar ter of a mi l ef rom the Big Bl ue Ri ver. It s int er ior had two bedroom s, a sm all kit chen, a li vi ng room, and awood- bur ni ng st ove. The Brughs stayed in it each summ er perhaps two weekends a month, Stell aT yser Vlcek report ed, and they had meals wi th the S hi merdas at ot her tim es of the year unti l 1924when the cabi n was moved to near t he farm house and used as a wash-house.

Whi le at the cabi n, Dr . Brugh, Arl ington and Ant hony S hi merda went pol e fishi ng for

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cat fi sh in t he Bi g Blue, the men ski nned the f ish, and Mrs. S hi merda did the cooki ng. I n the wint er t he men hunt ed for rabbi t s, ski nned them, and Mr s. S hi merda cooked the meat and ser veddum pl ings wi t h pr une r abbit gr avy.

When the Brughs visit ed the S hi merdas at the far mhouse, they had di nner andconversati on, though each August they would walk to near by Chaut auqua Park and enjoy thecul tural act i vi ti es. According to Vlcek, who was pr esent at a few of these meals, Mrs. S hi merdawould of ten ser ve chicken and dumpli ngs, a favor i te of Dr. Brugh and Ar l ingt on, and someti m est here woul d be roast duck, pork or beef , a typical Czech meal wit h all the tr im m ings. Mrs. Brughdrank coff ee, Ar l ingt on mi lk.

Vlcek al so remember ed, "Dr. Brugh woul d dress in trousers wi th a whit e or bl ue shir t , but no ti e. He woul d tal k about col l ege, hi s hom e far m near Rockf or d, and laugh a l ot. Occasi onall y hewould talk about hi s brot her L eRoy, who st ayed on a farm , and how he him sel f lef t the far m tobecom e a gr ai n dealer and t hen a doct or ." Glennys T yser Z iegl er , now a Cr et e r esi dent , was pr esentas a young gi rl at one dinner her par ents Robert and F lossie T yser m ade f or the Brughs about 1932,and r ecall ed, "Dr . Brugh l oved fri ed chicken, and there was much laughter at the t able. "

Aft er the di nners, the women washed the dishes, and ther e was mor e conver sati on. Vlceknot ed, "Young Arl ington basical l y li stened, sm il ed a lot , and l aughed at the jokes. He took af ter hisdad because of the hunti ng and fishi ng, and hi s idea of gett i ng ahead. Dr . Brugh had to work t o put him self through col l ege, and Ar l ingt on was like him . He lear ned wor k habi ts f rom his dad. "

Beatrice and Tayl or's elem en tary school exp eriencesT aylor's soci al developm ent was al so li kely aff ected by the com munit y of Beat r ice and the

var ious event s that occur red at the tim e he li ved there. Nam ed on July 4, 1857 aft er Juli a Beatr i ceKinney, the eldest daught er of a Nebr aska Ci ty judge, it had by 1930 a populati on of 10,291 andwas the 8t h lar gest ci ty in Nebr aska that year . The cit y was served by four bus li nes, by threer ai lr oads wi t h 27 dail y trains, and was located at the int er secti on of two gr avel ed tr anscont i nent alhighways ( today paved U. S . Hi ghways 77 and 136).

I t was thi rd in per capi t a weal t h in the Uni ted States, accor di ng to the June 3, 1930 i ssue of t he B eatrice Dai l y Sun. Whil e the ci ty and Gage County led the ent i re st at e of Nebr aska in dair yand agr icul tur e, the comm uni ty al so had 30 fact or i es and industr ies that employed over 1,100per sons and had an annual payrol l of over $2,500, 000. T her e wer e al so som e 150 small busi nesses, all of whi ch helped make Beat ri ce the t rade cent er for the sout heast er n secti on of Nebr aska and thenor ther n area of Kansas.

T he lar gest com pany at the ti me was the Dem pster Mil l Manuf act ur i ng Com pany, a fi rm t hat suppl ied the nati on and the wor l d wi th farm machinery, gas engi nes, well suppli es, andwindm il l s. Ther e wer e al so St or e Kraf t Manuf actur ing, a company that made speci al st ore fixt ur esand dist ri but ed them nat i onwi de, and Swif t & Com pany, one of three such lar ge pl ants devoted topoult ry and produce.

I n 1920, t he Beat ri ce Publi c Library, a Car negie Li br ar y l ocated at 218 Nor th 5t h St r eet andnow list ed on the Nati onal Regi ster of Hi st ori c Places, was the 4th largest out of 118 t ax suppor tedl ibrari es in Nebr aska. I t had 11,855 volumes and a ci rculati on of 36,512, but by 1930 it hadbecom e the 3r d largest in the st at e. Al so in 1930, it s publi c school syst em housed 2, 305 pupil s int en bui ldings, and the Cat hol ic and Lutheran par ochi al schools combined had an enrol lm ent of 188pupil s. The com muni t y had 20 churches wit h a tot al membershi p of 6, 000 persons and threehospi tal s wi t h a 175-bed capaci t y. I t was al so t he si te of a st at e insti t ut ion housi ng some 900 youngpat ient s who had mental def icienci es. Today it is known as the Beat r ice State Development al

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Center. At the tim e, Beat ri ce was also a com m unit y that att ract ed thousands of vi si tors for a var iet y

of cult ural event s, many of t hem at Chaut auqua P ark along the Big Bl ue River. F r om 1889 t o 1910, i t was the si te of the renowned Chaut auqua, an annual assem bl y of nat ional ly-known speaker s,m usicians, pr eacher s and tr avel ers. Event ual ly the park expanded to 50 acres and became the si teof tenni s court s, summ er pi cnics, fam il y reuni ons, reli gious gather i ngs, and band concert s. In the1920s, the Chaut auqua was revi ved and held each August unti l 1927. Today the Chaut auquat aber nacle fi rst used in 1889 is list ed on the Nati onal Regi ster of Hi st ori c Pl aces, and Chaut auquasare organi zed to ent er tai n the publi c and ar e hel d annuall y in conj uncti on wi th Homestead Days.Another tour i st att r acti on for many years was the Venet i an F est ival of f l oats on t he Bi g Bl ue Ri ver .I t was hel d annuall y unt i l 1927, and some year s drew as many as 20, 000 onlooker s.

Another popul ar event for many was the Gage Count y Fair , located at Beat r ice si nce 1872.I n the sum mer of 1925, Ri verside Par k, an am usem ent par k on the nor t hwest edge of the cit y, wasnewly opened, wit h a picnic area, swi mm ing pool and dance pavil ion. It successf ull y com petedwit h Fi nk's Par k, a si mi l ar amusem ent area near Wym or e, a town just 13 mi les sout h of Beat ri ce. Opened in 1923, F ink's P ark att r acted m any Beatr i ce yout h.

T he P addock Opera House, located at the nor t hwest cor ner of 6th & Cour t, was a center f or ent er tai nm ent as wel l as a hotel aft er it fi rst opened in 1889. Nam ed af t er Alger non S. Paddock, aBeatr ice resi dent who ser ved two ter m s as a U.S . Senat or repr esent i ng Nebr aska, the or iginalstr uctur e bur ned down on August 1, 1919. Af t er an ext ensive fundr ai sing cam paign in whi ch Dr .Brugh was a $100 donor , the Paddock Hot el was rebui lt for approxi mat el y $430, 000 provided bysom e 800 hom e sharehol der s. It re- opened on January 14, 1924, and was a five- st ory buil di ng wi th105 room s. At the pr esent tim e, it has been renam ed the Paddock Kensi ngt on, and rem odeled int oan independent li vi ng center for seni or cit i zens.

Beatr ice also had a tr adi ti on of suppor ti ng form al educati on. Nor thwester n Busi nessCol lege, aft er being open conti nuousl y for 35 years, cl osed in the fal l of 1923. Then thecom muni t y was ser iousl y consi der ed for relocat ion of Doane Coll ege from Crete to Beat ri ce. But when the cit y could not rai se the pr oposed $2 mi l li on, the tr ustees of Doane Coll ege in ear ly 1927decided to keep i t in Cr ete. Dr . Brugh was a $100 donor f or this pr oj ect , too.

A major event that aff ected everyone in the Beat ri ce ar ea in 1917, the year t he Brughf am il y arr ived fr om Fr em ont , was Wor l d War I. It was an uncom fort abl e ti m e for Ger man-Ameri cans nat ionwide, and it was no diff er ent in Gage Count y, wher e they wer e the dom inant ethni c gr oup. The nat ionwide treatm ent of the ethni c gr oup is ably descr ibed by Fr eder ick C.L uebke, a Uni versit y of Nebraska-L incol n hi stori an, in his book B onds of Loyalt y ( Il li noi sUni versi ty Pr ess, 1974), and it is cl ear that pat ri ot ism was defi ned by the concept of "one count ry,one l anguage, one f l ag."

T hr oughout t he war, the Beatr ice newspapers carr i ed var i ous account s of the r egulati on andhar assm ent on the nati onal, stat e and local level s. In Apr il 1918, Nebraska passed a law thatl im it ed the teaching of for ei gn language in the schools of the st at e, and by the end of that school year, Beat ri ce Hi gh had dropped the Ger man language from its curr iculum. That same year am inister in Gage Count y was publ icly char ged at a meeti ng in Wym or e wit h having wri tt en asedit ious ar t icle in the Chi cago Exami ner the pr evi ous sum mer . And the publ isher of the localGer man weekl y Die Nebraska Post , which was ci rcul at ed for nearl y 25 years i n Gage Count y, waspressur ed int o swit chi ng to the Engl i sh language. On occasion, names of peopl e who had notcontr ibuted to Red Cross and li ber ty loan dr ives were publ ished. And there wer e r eport s of yell owpai nt being used on st or es and pri vat e pr opert y of peopl e adj acent to Gage Count y, t hough an Apr i l

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11, 1918 edit ori al i n t he B eatrice Dai l y Sun di scour aged that ki nd of behavi or .T here is no evi dence that the Brugh fami ly was di r ectl y victi m ized for it s ethnicit y at thi s

t im e, though they cert ai nly had to endure the cl i mate of the er a. Dr . Brugh was wel l respect ed andl iked i n the comm uni ty, and according to for mer nei ghbor Ed Bede Jr . , the Brughs oft en di splayedt he Amer ican fl ag on the fr ont por ch of thei r hom e at 901 Nor th 6th in the late 1920s. Rober tT aylor's pat r ioti sm becam e vi si ble in the 1940s when he served in the U. S . Navy duri ng Worl dWar II and test if ied bef ore the House Un- Am eri can Act ivi ti es Comm it t ee in 1947. An edit or ial about Tayl or 's vi ews publ ished in the Oct ober 24, 1947 issue of the Omaha World Heral dconcl uded, "I t is good to hear a young Am er i can, uncont ami nat ed by the gr acel ess 'i sm s' of theday, speak, as an Am er ican, t o Ameri cans, f or Am eri ca."

Concurr ent wi th Wor l d War I was anot her event of worl dwi de pr opor ti ons — the Spani shf lu epi dem ic in the fall and wi nter of 1918- 19. The thi r d wor st pandem ic in hist or y, af ter theplagues of the 6t h and 14th cent ur ies, it account ed for some 21 mil l ion deaths wor ldwide, i ncludi ng just over 548, 000 i n the Unit ed S t at es. Many deaths wer e caused not only by t he f l u it sel fbut also when it devel oped into pneum onia. In Nebraska, for example, wher e a st atewi dequarant i ne existed from Oct ober 26 to Novem ber 2, stati sti cs fr om the Nebraska State Depart m entof Heal t h for 1918 reveal that out of 15, 637 deat hs that year , ther e wer e 1,043 caused by the fl uand 4,175 by pneumonia. These fl u-r el at ed deat hs outnumber ed those of other causes such as 867by cancer, 80 by car acci dent , and 58 by dr owning, though dat a can be mi sleading when com par edt o pr esent -day st at i st ics, si nce age 45 was the average li fe expect ancy in 1918.

E xact data f or the preval ence of t he Spanish f lu in Gage County f rom Oct ober to Decem ber1918 is not avail abl e, but newspaper account s reveal churches, schools, theat er s and several businesses and or ganizat i ons in Beat r ice wer e cl osed at varyi ng tim es. In Oct ober there wer e over 90 cases report ed each week, and t he December 22, 1918 issue of t he B eatrice Dai l y Sun i ndicat edover 200 cases and 21 deaths wer e recor ded in one week in the month of December . According toA.J. Myers, a nei ghbor of the Brughs at the tim e, medi cal doct or s wer e skept ical of osteopaths'abi li ti es. But some ti me af ter the epidem ic ended, Myer s’ fat her, a medi cal doct or in Beatr i ce,stated at the dinner tabl e to hi s fam il y, "T hat S.O.B. (Dr . Brugh) acr oss the al ley never lost apat ient duri ng the Wor ld War I flu epidem ic. "

I t is not cer tain i f young Ar li ngt on cont racted the S panish flu, but i t is li kel y, f or hi s mot her did wri t e in 1936 that whil e he had good heath except for measl es at the age of ten and flu once or t wi ce, he di d cause much worr y one ti me. "T hat was when he got up and answered the telephonewhi le he had the fl u, and had a setback. Most of the peopl e who died dur i ng these fl u epi dem icswer e the ones who di d cr azy t hi ngs. For weeks hi s f at her and I never knew what it was t o go to bedand get a good ni ght 's rest . We al most lost hi m. " For mer nei ghbor on High Str eet , Mr s. St . Johnr ecal led that when Dr. Brugh tr eated her si st er Gr ace in the ear ly 1920s for an inj ured lar ynx, hestated that Arl ingt on as a chil d had a br onchi ti s spot on one l ung.

T he com m unit y of Beatr ice did off er Tayl or the chance to expand his joy for the outdoor sbeyond what he gained fr om hi s par ent s, the S tanhope rel ati ves, and the S hi merda and T yser f am il ies. He was, f or example, a mem ber of the Boy Scout s of Am er ica. And in hi s Mar ch 1, 1937art icle, he inf or med t he reader s t hat "wi th the other ki ds in Beatr i ce, I played sandlot basebal l — asa scr ub; went swi mm i ng at River side Par k; pl ayed tennis, and had a lot of fun outdoor s. " Hi sm ot her also wrote t hat he swam at the YMCA, took long bi cycl e rides, and went horseback ridi ng.I ndeed, as form er ri di ng compani on Fr ed P em bert on, a 1932 gr aduate of Beat ri ce Hi gh, recal l ed,"Ar li ngt on was an excell ent hor sem an, and the two of us rode horses toget her nor th of town for nearl y thr ee hour s about twice a week for si x months or so." And Cyr us Hum mer, a schoolm at e

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and 1929 Beat ri ce Hi gh gr aduate, stat ed, "Ar li ngt on wor ked out wi th the high school track team ,and even want ed to play footbal l , but his mother object ed because she feared he mi ght hur t hisf ingers for playi ng the cel lo." Then, too, as descr ibed earl i er , nearl y all of his part -t im e jobst hr ough hi s years i n Beat ri ce i nvolved outdoor work.

At the tim e Taylor began the fi r st gr ade in the fal l of 1917, aft er compl et ing kinder gart en inF remont the previ ous year , the Beatr i ce Publ ic School s had ei ght el ement ary school s (gr ades 1- 8) and one hi gh school (gr ades 9- 12), wi th a total enr ol l ment of 2,023 for the 1918-19 school year .Accor di ng to the Februar y 6, 1921 B eatrice Dai l y Sun, t he school syst em r anked 6t h in the state inpupil s per teacher and 4t h in aver age teacher's sal ar y. On June 9th of the same year it was repor tedt hat at t endance figures wer e im pressi ve for each school , and on November 10th it was announcedt hat Beatr ice High had im pr oved it s Engli sh pr ogr am by encour aging good speech thr ough avar iety of acti vi ti es. By t he f all of 1922, a ci nder tr ack was added t o Athleti c P ar k.

I n the winter and spri ng of 1923, an ar t exhibit under school auspi ces was held at theYMCA and a local parent - teacher associ at i on was form ed. A vocati onal guidance pr ogr am wasalso endor sed. T he East El em ent ar y School orchestr a under the di recti on of B. P. Osbor n, a musicsuper vi sor at Beatr i ce Hi gh, per form ed at a comm uni ty si ng at the Fi rst Congr egat ional Chur ch,and pet i ti ons wer e prepar ed for a $400, 000 bond issue for a new juni or hi gh and ot her str uct ur es. And the Beat r ice Publi c Library, a Carnegie Li br ary, opened in 1904 and locat ed across the str eet f rom Beatr ice High, was rat ed thir d best in the state in ter m s of si ze, equipment, patr on usage, andgener al ci rculati on. I t was t he li br ary f or the schools, t oo.

I n the sum mer of 1923, el ectr ic li ght s were inst all ed in ever y room at the hi gh school aswel l as a shower bat h for the gi rl s and dri nki ng fountai ns. A year later, al l of the element aryschools had centr al heat i ng, el ect ri cit y, and moder n conveni ences. In Novem ber 1923, the 4t h &5th gr ader s at Centr al El em ent ar y gave an exhi bi t ion of musi c appr eciati on by li st eni ng to musicalexercises pl ayed on a phonogr aph and repeat ing them. In the fall of 1925, the new junior hi ghcom pl et e wit h a lar ge audit or ium opened at the si te of the ol d Cent r al El em entar y School, whosepupil s wer e moved to the fi rst floor of the Juni or Hi gh. For the 1928- 29 school year , the Beat ri ceP ubli c School s had an enr ol lm ent of 2,234, an increase of just over 200 since the 1918- 19 school year.

T aylor's school year s nat ur al ly aff or ded oppor t unit ies for soci al i zati on wi th hi s peers andf or int ell ect ual gr owth, though his char act er trai ts and hi s par ent s remai ned dom inant fact or s. Heenr ol led in the fir st gr ade in the fal l of 1917 at Fai r vi ew El em ent ar y School locat ed at 13th &S um mi t. In hi s lett er of March 24, 1948 to his cousin Nel da Brugh, then a fif th gr ade pupil at F ai rview, Taylor recal led that he at t ended there one sem ester or so, and call ed it "a ver y wonder fulschool at the tim e. " He also rem em ber ed that his teacher was Mr s. Hor tense S axton. Even then hi shandsom e feat ur es were evident. Ar li ngt on had bl ue eyes, pink cheeks, and ver y dar k brown hair ( later off -black) that was heavy and wavy. He al so was di st i ngui shed by hi s widow's peak. Hism ot her dressed hi m in Lor d F aunt ler oy suit s, that is, shor t black velvet tr ouser s and a whit e sil kblouse, at ti r e he wore through the 6t h gr ade, r ecoll ect ed Mr s. St . John. Tayl or report ed that he wassom et im es ni cknam ed "Buddy" but fr iends and relat ives of ten used "Arl y", a shor tened ver si on of Arl ingt on, hi s mi ddl e nam e.

Of hi s ear ly school exper iences, T aylor was quot ed by Hal l in 1937 as report i ng, "I wasalm ost always alone. I went t o school . I was a good l it t le boy, I am afr aid. I liked school . I di d well i n my lessons and li ked them. I never played hooky. I never was sent to "see the Pri nci pal". I goton wi th the boys and gir l s in my classes. I was usual ly the room monit or and the president of theclass or what ever that off ice is call ed in the gr ades. I played baseball on the school pl aygr ound in

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t he baseball season and footbal l i n the f oot ball season. I r oll er -skat ed and pl ayed jacks and mar bl esand hopscotch and al l the gam es of the moment. I usuall y ate my lunches in the lit tl e town caf e orwent hom e for l unch. "

But he also suff er ed f r om peer pressure. Biogr apher Wayne wr ot e that he was ridiculed andclassmat es ran af ter him in thei r desir e to di rt y his cl ot hes. Accor di ng to Est her Heff el fi nger Dockhor n, a 1927 Beatr ice High gr aduate and now a resi dent of Gr eeley, Color ado, "peopl e ingr ade school would refer to Ar li ngt on as 'li t tl e Lor d F aunt ler oy' in jest because of his im maculat edress. Thi s was especi al l y tr ue of people in the nort h par t of town in the Fair view area. " And St .John com ment ed, "Because he was consi dered a sissy by the ki ds, his teacher s could haveappoi nt ed hi m m onit or of hi s cl ass in gr ade school as a way of hel pi ng hi m. " In hi s Mar ch 1, 1937art icle, Tayl or expr essed his di sl ike for hi s nam e gi ven to him by his mother , and wr ot e, "But I'vef or gi ven her for that and for those Lor d F aunt ler oy suit s I once had to wear. " At the tim e hism ot her appar ent ly di d not know of hi s hat red for hi s at t ir e, for "he never found faul t wi th the waywe dr essed hi m, " she wrot e in 1936.

I t is not cl ear how long he att ended Fair vi ew El ement ar y School or when he enter edCentr al El em ent ar y at the cor ner of 6th & El k St r eets. But when the Brughs lived at 812 Hi ghS tr eet from 1921 to 1924, St. John knew Arl i ngton when he was in the 6th & 7t h gr ades and shewas in the 3r d & 4t h gr ades. Centr al School was just four blocks away. St . John recal led that Mrs.Brugh used to dress hi m in shor t black velvet pants, a whi te shir t, and a huge str aw hat, andArl ingt on sat on the por ch at home but wasn't per mi tt ed to pl ay wit h the neighborhood kids aft er school and on weekends. “ T h e neighborhood kids made fun of Arl y because he coul dn't come off t he por ch and play wit h them, " St. John sai d. And i f the kids went to the Brughs' yard, "Mr s. Brughasked t hem t o go back to thei r own yard. She didn't want t hem playi ng wi t h Arl y. " In the sum mer s, t here were no clubs to at tend, or pl aygr ounds other than those adj acent to the school s, so Arl i ngtonsat on the top st ep of the porch, pr obabl y read and ent ert ai ned him sel f, and the onl y per son het al ked to was his m other .

T aylor's r ecoll ecti ons of his chil dhood bear out hi s shy and seri ous t rai ts. He was quoted byHal l in 1937 as report ing, "Aft er school I didn't play wit h the other ki ds. I li ked to be al one bym ysel f. And I was al one. I never r an wi th a gr oup. .. I wasn't unhappy. On the cont rary, I read a l ot . Not lit eratur e, I fear . .. .No, I read al l the boys' books ther e wer e. The Henty books and the Alger books and books of advent ur e. I di dn't read poet r y. I wasn't at all the dr eam y sort . I had my horse. Ihad my bike. I al ways had a flock of anim al s to car e for . I just had enough to do on my own andt hat's how I pr ef er r ed to do and be. " St. John was of the opi ni on that hi s shyness mi ght have beenr el at ed to the ti me he had to si t on the por ch. And she remem bered Mrs. Brugh "as overl yprotect i ve of Arl ington, who was always wit h her when going downt own or to chur ch. Alt houghshe was of sl ight buil d and t ook good car e of her self , there were few vi sit or s to the house. " On oneJul y 4t h, however , the Brughs wit h Arl ingt on di d go to the Bar ger residence to watch t he f i rewor ks( usuall y Rom an candl es) whi ch Mr . Bar ger had purchased for the enj oyment of neighborhoodchi ldren. In 1936, Mrs. Brugh took anot her per spect ive when she wrot e that Ar li ngt on "wasnat ur al l y a high- st r ung chi ld. If we had not known how to handl e hi m , he coul d easil y havebecom e a problem. He was very sensit i ve. If anyone spoke har shl y to hi m about some li tt le thinghe had done, he woul d not be abl e to eat or sl eep." She al so wr ot e that oft en "he would not be ablet o eat if he had done som et hi ng that he regr et ted—and discour agements used to upset hi mt er ri bl y." Hi s tendencies f or perf ect ioni sm and for wor r yi ng had for med ear ly.

He coped wit h the pr essur es of bei ng di ff er ent by rel yi ng on counsel fr om hi s par ent s andby seeki ng pr ivacy. Tayl or was fond of a passage fr om Br it ish wri ter Hugh S. Wal pole's 1913

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novel F orti tude, which was taught t o him at about 10 year s of age by hi s f at her . In Ki tt y Cal lahan'sart icle "Robert T ayl or " publi shed in the Jul y 23, 1943 issue of T he F ami ly Ci rcle m agazine, he wasquoted as rem em beri ng it as a cr edo of sort s: "Bl essed be al l sor rows, torm ents, har dships, endur ances t hat dem and cour age. Bl essed be these things, f or of these thi ngs com et h the maki ng of a man. Make of me a man, to be afr ai d of not hi ng, to be ready for ever yt hing — love, fr iendshi pand success. To take it if it comes — to car e not hi ng if these things ar e not for me. Make mebrave." And in 1937 Hall quot ed hi m as sayi ng, "I was not, I st il l am not , gr egar ious. I was then asI am now, uneasy when I am wi th more than one person. I pr ef err ed being alone on t he pr ai ri e or mt he woods, t o playi ng footbal l wit h the gang."

Academics, activities, and friendships in the secondary school yearsDur ing his juni or hi gh year s, Tayl or benefi t ed fr om school acti vi ti es, was a fi ne st udent ,

and for m ed fr iendshi ps. Aft er he became involved in musi c under the di recti on of Beat ri ce Publ icS chools musi c super visor B.P. Osborn, he became a member of a quar tet of gif ted studentscom pr ised of Don Abbot t, on trum pet, Herber t Jackson, cl ar inet, Ger hart D. Wiebe, violi n, andhim self on cell o. Hi s music act i vi ty, whi ch becam e an im port ant step in his eventual acti ng career, enabl ed hi m to form a fr i endshi p wit h Wiebe, who li ved at 609 Grant and whose fat her Wi ll iamowned t he Wiebe Dr y Goods S tore located at 501 Cour t. Of thi s relat ionship, Hal l quoted T aylor i n1937 as sayi ng, "When I was in the ei ghth gr ade, I made my fir st and onl y real fri end — Gar r yWiebe. Gar ry's folks kept a dry goods empor i um in Beatr i ce. We used to hang around ther e a lot .S om et im es Gar ry's dad let us get behi nd a count er and pl ay mail man. I liked that . I thought I'dhave a store some day. " They wer e cl ose fri ends thr ough hi gh school and at Doane Coll ege, wher eWiebe gr aduated in 1933, and lat er went on to di st i ngui sh hi mself . Aft er earning his doct or ate atOhi o St ate Univer si t y, he ser ved as a cli ni cal psychologist in Worl d War II , then wor ked in NewYor k Ci t y for t he Columbi a Br oadcast i ng S yst em ( CBS ). F or a tim e he was per sonal assi st ant to it spresi dent Fr ank Stanton, accordi ng to the July 15, 1955 Beat ri ce Dai ly Sun. F rom 1962 unt il hisr et ir em ent , Wiebe was Dean of the School of Publ i c Comm uni cat ion at Bost on Universit y. In1988, he died i n E scazu, Cost a Rica.

"Ar li ngt on was consi dered eff em inat e unt i l hi gh school because the boys were jeal ous ofhis good looks and he di dn't par ti ci pat e in spor t s, " accor di ng to Paul Dr ew, a school fri end ofT aylor's, and 1928 Beatr i ce High gr aduate. Arl i ngton’ s populari ty had gr own suff icient l y by the9th gr ade for him to be the fi rst el ect ed st udent body presi dent of Beat r ice Junior High, which hadbeen newly opened in the fall of 1925. It s lar ge audi tor ium wit h a seati ng capacit y of 1256 wasused for var i ous act ivit i es of the enti re school syst em , and Ar li ngt on's leader shi p posit ion gave him val uabl e experi ence in faci ng an audi ence. Lat er in his li fe, in hi s Sept em ber 5, 1966 lett er toBeatr ice publ isher Rober t Mar vi n, he wr ot e, "I shal l never forget the fears t hat over came me ever yt im e I had to presi de over a 'm eet ing' in t hat audi tori um or intr oduce guest speaker s. Nothi ng si ncehas ever fri ght ened me as much. " His cl assr oom perf or mance duri ng the 9t h gr ade resul ted inexcel lent gr ades in ever y inst ance except Lat in, a one- year cour se in which he st ruggl ed to ear naverage gr ades. For the remai nder of his cour sewor k, however , he recei ved the equi valent of A'sand B's, and hi s course sel ecti on revealed diver sit y. Ar li ngt on enr oll ed for the ent i re year inE ngli sh, Algebr a, Indust r ial Ar t s and Physi cal Educat ion, the lat ter bei ng ungr aded. He al soenr ol led f or one sem ester i n Music, Oral Engli sh and Gener al Science. Hi s i nt er est i n m usic wi ll bedescr ibed in more dept h in a lat er sect ion, but it is cl ear that he took school seri ously at thi s stage, and m ade an eff or t to devel op what educator s ter m "a well -r ounded personali ty. "

Also about this tim e Tayl or 's fi rst ser ious romance occurr ed, accor ding to hi s mot her , who

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wrote in 1936 that he had "cr ushes" on gi rl s and rarely spoke of them, but "t he only gi rl I ever knew for sur e that he was excit ed about was a li t tl e gi r l nam ed Hel en Rush. " Thi s happened justbef or e high school. Tayl or hi mself wr ot e in hi s Mar ch 9, 1937 art icl e in the Li ncoln NebraskaState Journal that "I was over heel s in love wi th Helen Rush, " who, obser ved St. John, was "short , happy, had li ght br own hair and a bi g smi le. The worl d was ri ght wi t h Hel en." Her fat her was Dr. Weaver A. Rush, a radi ol ogi st whose off ice was in the Arcade Buil di ng at the sout heast corner of 6th and Cour t .

Dur ing his seni or hi gh year s, Tayl or incr eased hi s part i ci pat ion in school acti vit ies, was anexcel lent st udent , gai ned a few more fr iends, especiall y fem ales, and achieved a measur e of popul ar i ty. His musi c and drama inter ests ar e descr ibed af ter thi s secti on on soci al development , but he was involved in ot her ways, too. A benefi cial act ivit y, li kel y gai ned at fi rst as a resul t ofvol unteeri ng, was hi s rol e as pr esent er or master of cer em oni es for a var iety of school functi ons.As a sophomor e, he was i nvolved in t his capaci ty in an amusi ng inci dent. When t he fam ed Ger m anopera and concert si nger Er nest i ne Schumann- Hei nk tour ed the Uni ted States in the mid-1920s, she was invi t ed to per for m at an evening concert at the Juni or Hi gh Audi t or ium in May 1927. Accor di ng to the lat e Rober t S. Marvi n, a school m at e and 1931 Beatr i ce Hi gh gr aduate as well aspubli sher lat er of the local newspaper, on the day of her per form ance, some people at the hi ghschool ref er r ed to her as "human shank. " So Ar li ngt on, when int roducing her at the concer t, err oneousl y stated, "I 'm happy to pr esent t o you Madam Hum an Shank. "

As a junior, he was el ect ed as presi dent of the Junior Class, and was in char ge of toasts at t he annual Beat ri ce Hi gh Juni or - Seni or Banquet held on May 8, 1928 at the P addock Hot el . And att he Seni or Hi gh chapel exer ci ses, he pr esent ed to the school the st r ing quart et cont est cup. Hisschool fri end Paul Drew also recal led that Arl ington was in debat e that year, and di d wel l in local com peti t ion but was not on the var si t y debat e team. Drew was not in any academi c class wi th hi m, but r ecall ed "he was ver y i nt el l igent i n debat e. " Arl ington also par ti ci pat ed t hat year ( and his seni or year) in an inf or mal act i vi ty known as the Junior /S enior Olym pi cs, an or ganized ri tual am ong theboys on the footbal l f iel d af ter school i n lat e spr ing. It i nvolved the juniors form i ng a ci rcle ar oundt he seni or s, select i ng an opponent , then wr est li ng thei r opposi te, but wi th no real hosti li t y. T he July21, 1957 B eatrice Dai l y Sun report ed that he gained fame in school wit h his at hl et i c abi li ty in thi sr it ual, and quoted a teacher who anonym ousl y stat ed, "Ar li ngt on did not pick som eone hi s ownsize. I nst ead, he t ook on t he bi ggest boy i n t he seni or cl ass, an al l- st ate athl et e who wei ghed a good50 pounds mor e than he di d. " Dr essed in a cl ose- f it ti ng t ur tl e- neck sweat er and clean, pressedpants, the sl ender Arl ington "not onl y threw him , but sat on hi s chest . When the aft ernoon wasover, though hi s sl acks wer e tor n, you know he came out of those fi ght s looki ng al most as well ashe went in." Hi s abi li ty in athl et ics was al so shown, however bri ef l y, in his part ici pati on in tr ack. Rober t Connett , a 1935 gr aduate of Wym or e High, assert ed that "Arl y was a hurdler at Beatr iceHigh, but the mot her did not want hi m to conti nue because he mi ght inj ur e his face." Many year sl at er , in one scene in t he 1938 MGM movie A Yank A t Oxf ord, T aylor dem onstr at ed hi s prowess asa hur dl er.

As a senior, he was a mem ber of the Boys Gl ee Cl ub, Student Council , the Homesteaderstaff , and Crabt ree For ensic Cl ub as wel l as the Dramat ics Club, Nati onal Honor Soci et y, andOrchest r a. He was al so Seni or Soci al Chai rm an. At the May 16, 1929 Beatr i ce Seni or Hi ghConvocat ion, vari ous awar ds wer e presented, incl udi ng gold medals to Arl i ngton as wel l as JoeMil ler and Ger hart Wiebe. On May 29t h, the 50t h Com mencement of Beat ri ce Hi gh School washel d, wi th 112 seni ors awar ded diplom as. Ar li ngt on was int roduced as one of the three gol d medal f inal ist s, and he was am ong the ten mem bers of the Beat r ice High School Chapt er of the Nati onal

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Honor Soci et y. Of interest is t he com m encem ent address deli ver ed by Lincol n Pastor Paul C. Cal houn — it s tit le was "Turn Faces to the Fut ur e." Two key statements in his addr ess wer e asf ol lows: "Guard agai nst becom ing stuck in the past" and "I t is up to you to det erm ine whether youwil l be mast ers or slaves t o change. "

His classr oom wor k thr oughout the thr ee year s at Beat ri ce Senior Hi gh was excel l ent, especial ly when one consi ders Ar li ngt on was enrol led in a col lege pr epar atory pr ogr am . Hi scoursework incl uded a sem ester of al gebra and ci vics, a year of biol ogy, two years of Engli sh andhistory, a year of geomet ry and three years of Fr ench, wit h the rem ainder of the cour ses invol vi ngboys gl ee, dr am a, or chest ra and st ri ng quar t et . He al so took two sem ester s of gym and thr ee of t yping for cr edit , as gr ades were not assi gned in these cour ses. Out of a total of 28 gr aded cour sesi n three year s, Arl i ngton ear ned twel ve B's and sixteen A's, and whi le hi s cl ass rank cannot bever if ied in any off icial school recor ds, Mr s. Brugh wr ot e that he fi ni shed second out of the 112gr aduati ng mem bers of the Cl ass of 1929. Thus it was most fit t ing to have publ i shed al ongsi de hisphotogr aph in the 1929 Homesteader the mot to: "Few thi ngs are impossibl e to di li gence andper sever ance. "

T hough Arl ington had several casual fri ends in school , his af ter- school fri ends most of tencam e fr om musical gr oups, most not ably cl assmate and best pal Ger hart D. Wiebe and Cl yde P faff , t he lat t er a member of the Cl ass of 1928. Both were accompli shed vi oli ni sts, and aft er gr aduati onP faff for a tim e was a vi ol in tutor at Wi l ber and other towns in the area. They and Arl ington wer em em bers of the comm uni ty- based L enhart 's Or chest ra, whi ch held pr act ices each Sunday at theBar ger residence. S t . John, a part ici pant i n t hi s orchestr a, recoll ect ed that Wiebe was a nice per son, shy, hel pf ul , and soci abl e, and he at tended the Mennoni t e Church four mi l es nor t hwest of the cit y.P faff , on the other hand, was wi thdr awn, qui et , and wore long hai r , about shoulder length. Theywor e sport -j acket s and cont rast i ng tr ousers, and St . John rem em bered, "Ar li ngton was al ways well gr oomed, but he was rem ot e and di dn't associ ate wi th people. He never want ed his appearance tobe out of pl ace, or to make a mi st ake, and never real ly relaxed wit h his peer s. " P faff seem edm or ose, and didn't ent er into any di scussion, she repor t ed, and the happi est ti m e of hi s li f e waswhen he pl ayed musi c. "Wiebe was the l eader of the t hr ee boys, " asser ted S t. John.

Acquaint ances from Arl ington's high school days recal l he was always so handsom e, andhad pink cheeks thr oughout hi s school years. He was also always imm aculat el y dr essed in slacks,sweat er s, and wor e sil k clothes. And accordi ng to his mother , fri ends and rel at i ves oft en spokeabout hi s beaut y. Yet she was quot ed by Hal l i n 1937 as repor ti ng, "But we cared m or e about what went on insi de of hi m than about the way he looked. His looks wer e wel l enough. It was hi s mindand his soul we wer e concer ned wit h. The ki nd of man he woul d be, not look, his char act er , not hi scharm ." Some of his ot her trait s reveal he had a complex nat ure. A fr iend of the Brugh fami ly, Mar vi n not ed what many ot hers observed: "Taylor was a pr ivat e per son, not out -going, not ver yt al kati ve. " And Tayl or hi msel f adm it t ed to insecuri ty when Hall quot ed hi m as sayi ng, "I've never expected people t o like me. I 've always t aken it for gr anted that they won't . I can't make advances. I don't mi x easil y, " a stat em ent confi r med by hi s mot her who wr ot e in 1936 that "he was always al it tl e too backward; he sti ll is." He could al so be generous, a trai t repor ted by Rober t Dr ew, now aBeatr ice resi dent and a 1932 Beatr ice High gr aduate who par ti ci pat ed in a talent show at al uncheon sponsored by the Beatr i ce Cham ber of Com merce. Am ong the si x contest ant s wer eseniors Ger hart Wiebe and Ar l ingt on. Sai d Drew, "I pl ayed m y har m onica and pl aced f i rst! One of t he f ir st to congr at ul at e m e was Arl i ngton Brugh."

Despi te or because of hi s imm ense success, his looks, and hi s popul ari ty, Arl ington had toendur e som e resentm ent even in high school. Accor di ng to the March 5, 1929 B eatrice Dai l y Sun,

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som eone st ol e a spar e ti r e fr om hi s car whi l e he was at t endi ng a rehearsal of the operett a at theJunior High Audit or i um the pr evi ous eveni ng. The culpri t was never apprehended. T he ter m "pr et ty boy" was occasional ly used by som e, repor ted P em bert on, though perhaps not di rect l y tohim . Mar vi n stated that "one of Ar li ngt on's ni cknam es in jest and someti m es in pri nt was 'HomeBrugh,' or more lit erall y ‘home br ew'." According to Paul Dr ew, Arl i ngton was addr essed as"Arl y. " A ni cknam e that Ar li ngt on hi msel f adopted in hi gh school developed because of hi schi ldhood car eer pr eference. As fi rst cousi n Ear l Jam ison recal led, "Arl y tal ked about being adoctor when we were ki ds, " and so, as Paul Drew rem em ber ed, "Ar li ngt on was somet im es call ed'Doc'," a ter m Ar li ngt on used when he att ended Doane Coll ege.

Taylor's f em ale f riend sh i ps i n h igh sch ool His fem ale fr iendshi ps incr eased, as mi ght be expected, and his populari t y wi th them was

not ed duri ng hi s junior year in the 1928 Homesteader. Under his phot o towar d the back of theannual was the capt i on "One At A Ti me, Gir ls. " Whet her or not this edit or ial judgment wasaccur at e may never be known, but som e quest i ons of inter est do ar ise. What were hi s dat ing habit si n hi gh school? Who were the gi r ls he dat ed? And what , if anything, di d they say about hi m?

His dat i ng habi ts in high school wer e, of cour se, aff ected som ewhat by the at ti tudes,customs, and moral val ues of the com m unit y at the t im e, incl udi ng hi s own f am il y. Nat ionwide t he1920s was t er m ed t he "j azz age" and t he er a of the "fl apper ." Beat r ice rem ai ned conser vati ve, wit h,as st at ed pr evi ousl y, over half the popul at i on aff il iated wit h t he city's 20 chur ches, sever al of whichf rowned not onl y on al cohol but al so dancing on Sunday or any other day of the week. It was a ci t yi n which movi e theat er s wer e cl osed on Sunday unt il a ci ty-wi de vot e in Apr il 1940 al lowed themt o open seven days a week. The maj or i ty of the adul ts al so expect ed conf orm it y to the m or es of t hecom muni t y, and react ed when transgr essi ons occurr ed. For example, an 8 p.m . cur few for al lyoung people under the age of 16 was announced in the October 12, 1923 B eatrice Dai l y Sun. I twas the resul t of complai nt s of parked cars of boys and gi rl s of hi gh school age lat e at ni ght ini solated sect ions or out l yi ng ar eas of the cit y. And a let ter to the edi t or publ ished on August 14, 1928 com pl ai ned about the "reckl ess disregar d for all modest y in Beatr ice" and "sever al youngl adies (si c) paradi ng our str eet s bar e- legged and wit h just enough clothes to successfull y cover t heir equator . Must I com pel my wi fe and chi ldren t o st and before such an exhibi ti on wi th a mi xedm ul ti tude, t o m ost of whom it suggest s but the gr ossest sensual it y?"

Oppor tunit ies for mi xi ng between the sexes exi st ed at chur ch gather i ngs, fami ly funct ions,m ovie t heater s, and school. But Beat r ice Hi gh, l i ke m ost Nebr aska hi gh school s at the t im e, di d not off er such opport unit i es on cam pus beyond the norm al cl assroom and school organizati onact ivit i es, and in fact there was segr egat ion at school ent rances, wi t h the gir ls enter ing fr om thesouth si de and the boys from the east . St udent s who want ed to dance woul d go to those hel d at theP ar ish Hal l of Chri st Epi scopal Chur ch and to the newly opened Ri ver si de Park in the nort hwest secti on of the ci ty. They also went danci ng at Fi nk's Park near Wym or e and Hor ky's Park near Crete, accor ding to St . John. St udent s woul d go aft er dances or the movi es or school functi ons tot heir favori t e "hangouts" whi ch incl uded Owl Phar macy and P enner's Phar macy, the latt er of whi ch af ter 1924 em ployed Charl i e Scott , a "soda jerk" wit h a gr eat sense of hum or . Of him ,Mar vi n recal l ed t hat "Charl ie m ade the best chil i I ever ate, " and Taylor , who in Oct ober 1936 wasphotogr aphed wit h Scott at P enner's soda fount ain in the Ar cade Buil di ng, remember ed Scott "fedhim sodas and cokes fr om the ti m e he coul d see over t he count er ."

"It was typi cal of Beatr i ce boys to start dati ng as a juni or in high school ," said Paul Drew,“and Ar l ingt on pl ayed the 'fi el d' as a juni or and senior in high school. " Wit hi n two or thr ee dat es,

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t he gir l s per mi tt ed ki ssi ng in the car (t hen cal l ed necking) . There was also an under st andi ng thatt he gir l s would be taken home by 11 p.m . Drew also rem em ber ed that dat i ng a gi rl for si x or sevent im es ( once a week) at Beat ri ce Hi gh meant it was ser ious. But "a 'nice' gi rl had to be ver y discreet wit h the boy, and he had to make the fi rst advance, for the gir l, if she was 'ni ce', woul d not bef or ward. If a gir l had ‘l oose' mor al s, she was consider ed to have 'r ound heel s'. " Whi le it cannot bedet er mi ned wi th cer t ai nt y, Drew's educat ed guess was that "Tayl or, like a few of the boys, probabl y had hi s fi r st sexual experi ence whi le i n high school ."

Movie-going was a popular act ivi ty on dat es, as was dancing for som e, though Hum merr ecal led, "T he boys who danced wer e consi der ed si ssies by many of the boys. " Dr ew st ated that"any Beatr ice gir l dat ed was taken to an ice cream parl or cal led Davison's on the mai n fl oor of theYMCA on Cour t St r eet and also to P enner's Phar macy." He also not ed that he took gir ls to theopen ai r dances at River side Par k in 1930 and 1931 when the fam ous band of Lawr ence Wel k'splayed there. Then, too, there wer e Beatr ice boys who tr avel ed to Wym or e to meet gi rl s at theMet hodi st Church on Sunday eveni ngs. Af ter the yout h meeti ng, whi ch was under the charge of at eacher or mi ni st er , the boys woul d give the gir l s a car ride, and som et i mes take them danci ng at t he open air dance at Fi nk's Par k near the town. Dr ew al so reveal ed that "Arl ington and I datedCharl ot t e Mar ti n, a farm er's daughter of rur al Bl ue Spr i ngs, duri ng the sum mer and fall of 1929. He and I dat ed her about two or three tim es each. A br unet t e wi t h bl ue eyes, she was 5 feet 4i nches tal l, cute, qui et , i nt el l igent , well read, and a ni ce person. I dr ove her around and we had sodapop." Accordi ng to Drew, anot her Wym or e area gir l dat ed by Arl ington was Jean F eese, a 1930gr aduate of Wym or e High School. Her fat her was a dent ist .

T aylor had several dat es in high school , and in a 1936 int er view he st at ed that he li ked todance very m uch. Hi s m ot her wrot e that he l ear ned how t o dance at t he age of si xteen at t he Casi noat Lake Okoboji , I owa, wher e she and her husband spent t hree consecut ive sum mers vacati oni ng ina cot tage, and Ar li ngt on woul d joi n them at summ er's end. In hi s May 20, 1967 lett er to the ArvidE yt hs, Taylor com mented, "I 'm not sur e that I can even hear the musi c anymore — let alone keept im e and generate enough power to pr opel mysel f around a floor. Rem ember the out door dancehal l we used to have out at Riverside Par k?" According to Ear l Jam ison, "Ar l ingt on's par ents lethim att end dances duri ng hi s hi gh school years, but they woul dn't al low him to go wi t h the wrongcrowd or dri nk al cohol , som et hi ng that gr andm ot her S tanhope, a str ong Met hodist, was against ."

As descr ibed pr eviousl y, the fi r st romance of Taylor's lif e was wit h Hel en Rush in the 9t hgr ade, and it may have lasted int o the senior high years. A hi gh school fr iendshi p that meant mucht o hi m invol ved Cat her ine "Kate" Heff el fi nger , also a 1929 gr aduate. In his Mar ch 9, 1937 ar ti cl e,he wr ot e that Kat e was "a tiny, pr et t y gi rl I used to take out, " and they rem ai ned fr iends long aft er she m ar r ied classmat e Edgar Weekes Jr. , also one of Arl ingt on's best fr i ends. About 5 feet 2 inchest al l, wi th bl ack hai r and blue eyes, Kate was, remember ed St . John, "an asser ti ve, outgoi ng gi rl who liked a good ti m e, and had many fri ends. " T hi s was conf ir med by Kat e's si ster Est herHeff el fi nger Dockhor n, a val edi ct ori an of her Cl ass of 1927, who al so st at ed that Kate, or "Kay",l iked to sew and was a decorator . The Heff el fi ngers li ved at 1423 Gr ant Str eet at the ti me, andDockhor n recall ed that Ar li ngton dat ed Kate a few tim es duri ng thei r juni or year . "Kate andArl ingt on wer e consi dered par t of the 500 Gr oup, the mor e sociall y promi nent peopl e in hi ghschool at the tim e. He was a qui et fell ow, even on St udent Counci l, had a cream y whi t e face, rosycheeks, and medium brown, wavy hai r, " she said, and he was "m uch bet ter looki ng in person thanhe is on the screen. " The par ent s of Kate were soli d ci t izens, and the father was co- owner ofHeff el fi nger Meatm ar ket l ocated at 625 Court . .

E st her Legat e All er , a 1928 gr aduate and lif e- long resident of Beatr ice, dated Arl ington in

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t he fal l and wi nt er of 1928-29 when they wer e bot h in the com muni ty pl ay "Aunt Lucia" Oct ober25- 26. About 5 feet 4 inches tal l wi t h dark br own hai r and bl ue eyes, Est her was ori ginal lyatt ract ed to hi m when he pl ayed in the hi gh school or chest ra duri ng assem bl y pr ogr am s. He woul dsom et im es look at her in the audience but they never had conver sati ons. In the fal l of 1928, hephoned Est her for a di nner date at Wi nner 's Cafe in the town of Odell on a Sunday noon. Theydrove in his "sport y" car , and Dr. and Mr s. Brugh in thei rs. They sat at a table separat e fr om thepar ents, and talked a lot , but not about pol it ics or sport s, and never hi s mother or father .

He then took her danci ng several Sat urday evenings to the El ks Cl ub in adjacent F ai rbur y,where they di d the popul ar dances of the ti m e, i ncl uding the fox tr ot and the walt z. "Once we wer ecaught in a snowstor m on the way back from F ai rbur y, and we st opped in a farm yar d and stayed awhi le unti l we coul d move on. Arl y tr i ed to kiss me but I never let him because there were rumorshe was ver y int er est ed in a gir l in another town, " Esther sai d. She di d not bel i eve she meant mucht o hi m, so the relat ionship was one of danci ng part ners. Also, Esther reall y di dn't want anyoneyounger "because I didn't want to be known as a cradl e- snatcher , a sil ly idea at t he ti me." Ar li ngt onwould al ways come to E st her's hom e at 1005 East Cour t to pick her up, and if her par ents were at hom e, they woul d tal k to hi m. Ther e wer e no "goodni ght kisses" at the door. One day Ar li ngt onand E st her dr ove to Li ncoln t o her Aunt Ann Hobbs' home, wher e they chat t ed bri efl y.

"Arl y li ked turt le-necked sweater s in hi gh school , and he wor e a sui t to dances. It was hi sbig event. Af terwar ds we woul d stop at an ice cr eam par l or , probabl y the Gr een Lanter n Inn at1101 Sout h 6t h Str eet. Ther e was no smoki ng or dr inki ng, " sai d Est her, whose fat her Ed Legat ewas a barber and al so leader of a band that pl ayed for dances around Nebr aska. And she al sor ecal led that "Ar li ngt on was the nicest boy I ever dated. Ver y much a gentl em an wi th very ni cem anners, he was reserved, ser ious, honest , int el l igent, a ver y good musi cian, and a ver y gooddancer. "

At the tim e, Esther worked as a cashi er at the Iowa-Nebr aska Gas Com pany, and af terT aylor was in the movi es, he tel ephoned her at least twi ce for dates when he cam e back toNebraska, but she decl ined because she was dat ing Car l All er , her husband- t o- be. At the Oct ober1936 hom ecom i ng for Tayl or, she and co- worker Fr ed S toll went to the hi gh school and wai tedout si de the door for him . Fred sai d to her, "Why don't you ki ss him ?" Est her repor ted that shedidn't because at the ti m e she thought, "I didn't let hi m when I dat ed hi m, so why should I do it now because he is a celebri ty?"

Mar ri ed to Carl All er , owner of All er Gr ai n & Feed Com pany in Beat ri ce, Est her had onedaughter , was a m em ber of the YWCA and the Red Cr oss dur ing Wor ld War II, played br idge andgol f, and was act ive at the Beat ri ce Countr y Club. St ar t ing in 1964, Est her travel ed for fi f teenconsecut ive years, visit i ng Alaska, Austr al i a, Canada, Chi na, Eur ope, Japan and Sout h Ameri ca. T here wer e ot her Beat ri ce gi rl s that Arl ington dat ed, repor ted Paul Drew and Cyr us Hum mer. Onewas 1928 gr aduate Helen Alexander, whose fat her was a Ford car dealer. Helen was a li kabl e gir l ,about 5 feet 4 inches tal l, wit h dar k blonde hai r and bl ue eyes. He al so dated classm at e Ger tr udeHam il ton, daughter of Pearl Ham i lt on, a baker . About 5 feet 2 inches tal l, "she had ver y darkbrown hair , blue eyes, and was a nice, outgoing, li vely gi rl , " comm ent ed Dr ew. Another cl assmatewas Rosana Kil patr i ck, daughter of Charl es Sher wood, but adopt ed by Mr. S. D. Kil patr i ck, am ul ti -m i ll ionai re rail road cont r actor . She had br own hai r, bl ue eyes, and stood about 5 feet 3i nches. St il l another cl assmate was Kat hl een Mum ford, whose father Char l es was owner ofMum ford Furni ture at 113- 115 Sout h 6th St reet . Kat hleen was tal kati ve, had a good personali ty, and was about 5 feet 3 inches tall wi th brown hai r and blue eyes. Accordi ng to Wym or e HighS chool gr aduate Mari an Howe Boett cher, "Arl ingt on was present at Kathleen's sixteent h bi r thday

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par ty." Al l of these gir l s were in dr am a and other acti vit ies in whi ch Ar li ngton also par ti cipat ed. Despi te hi s statement in a March 4, 1936 let ter on MGM stati onery to the late Delores Har monDrew, a 1934 gr aduate and for mer nei ghbor as previ ously noted, "I was not his gir l fr iend, " shepoi nt ed out.

Another gi rl Tayl or dated whi le he was a junior at Beat r ice High was Omaha nati veBer ni ce Grunwal d, a Uni versi ty of Nebraska-L i ncol n gr aduate in musi c in 1928. A member of Kappa Delt a Sor or it y and a concert pi anist in Li ncoln, testi f ied daughter Ber nal Ander son, "m ym ot her met Ar li ngton on a bli nd date whil e she was in coll ege, and on one of their dates he was a'wi ldcat dri ver ', spinni ng hi s car on a gr avel road. " According to Ear l Jam ison, the car would havebeen hi s f at her 's Buick sedan.

Music and drama experiences in BeatriceT aylor's int erest in musi c or igi nated wit h the S tanhope side of the fam i ly. He was fond of

hol idays spent wi th the gr andpar ent s, t he clan oft en gathered, ther e was a large dinner , and "wesang car ol s and played games. .. ," and hi s fir st cousi n Eva Jam ison War kent i n Unr uh report ed that t heir aunt s Rut h Brugh, Ethel Fl aws, and Myr tl e Beal occasional ly sang duri ng ent er tai nm ent s heldat Chaut auqua Park. Ar l ingt on hi mself sang in the choi r of the Centenar y Met hodi st Chur ch whil ei n hi gh school. Vlcek remembered t he piano was played by Mrs. Brugh, who in 1936 wrote, "When he (Ar l ingt on) was about ten, we had him st ar t pi ano lessons from a man who cam e toBeatr ice. When he was about t wel ve, he want ed to take saxophone l essons. I di d not want him to; asaxophone was so noi sy and jazzy." Meanwhil e, Beatr ice Publi c S chools musi c super visor B.P .O s b o r n , who t aught inst rum ental music at al l schools f r om 1923 t o 1926, had begun appr eciat ionof cl assical musi c. He al so encour aged st udent s to compete in music event s st at ewi de. JeanneBar ger St. John, a Centr al School music par t icipant in the 4t h gr ade, added, "Osbor n's favori teswer e st r inged instr ument s." It was Osbor n who "went to some tr oubl e to convi nce Arl ington thatt he cel l o was the inst rum ent for a gent leman," wr ot e Kyl e Cri chton in his art i cl e "Hear t Bum per "publi shed in the Oct ober 3, 1936 i ssue of Col li er’s.

Arl ingt on then took cell o lessons in Li ncol n once a week on Sat ur day mor nings duri ng theschool year from Februar y 1925 to 1929 wi th Herbert E. Gray, an inst ruct or at the Uni versit yS chool of Music, a pri vat e inst i tuti on founded in 1894 that off er ed a bachelor's degr ee in musicunt il it was purchased in 1930 by the Uni ver si ty of Nebr aska, and that was full y int egr at ed by theUni versi ty i n 1937. At t he ti me Ar li ngt on t ook l essons, the Uni versi ty S chool of Musi c was locat edat 1 l t h & R St r eets, t he si te pr esentl y occupi ed by Kim bal l Hal l. Of i nt er est i n t he hi st or y of musicat these two inst it uti ons is Mar il yn Hamm ond and Raym ond Haggh's ar ti cle "Wi l lard Ki mbal l :Music Educat or on the Gr eat Plai ns" publi shed in the F al l 1991 issue of Great Pl ai ns Quarterly. Rut h Brugh in 1936 wrote of Tayl or 's exper ience wit h Gray: "I shal l never for get the day we tookhim to Lincol n for his fi rst lesson wit h Pr ofessor Gr ay. He tol d us that Robert di d not handle thecel lo awkwar dly, as most begi nners do. .. .And those cel lo lessons wit h Prof essor Gray, more thanany other si ngl e factor, later led hi m to Holl ywood and fame. "

Whi le an inst ruct or in Li ncol n from 1923 to 1931, including the two year s at DoaneCol lege in Cr et e when Ar l ingt on at tended there, Gray ear ned his bachel or 's degr ee in 1929 fromt he Uni ver si t y School of Musi c. He was a cel li st in the Li ncoln Sym phony founded in 1926, andper form ed as a tenor sol oist st atewi de for orator ios such as the Messi ah. He al so mar ri ed Ul yssesnat ive Mar y T. Creekpaum, a 1925 gr aduate of t he Universit y of Nebraska. A for mer st udent of hiswas Emanuel Wishnow, a vi ol inist and musi c professor at the Uni versi ty of Nebraska-L i ncol nf rom 1933 to 1975, who st at ed in an Oct ober 29, 1992 int er vi ew that "Gray cam e from the East

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Coast , where he played for Vi ct or Her bert and ot her s. He was a large, tal kati ve man who was aper suasi ve, dom inant per sonal it y."

Bef or e his tenure in Nebr aska, Gray was trul y an accompl ished musici an. Bor n in Butt e,Montana in 1893, he at tended Gri nnel l Col l ege in Gri nnel l, Iowa, t hen ser ved i n Wor ld War I at Ft . Bli ss, Texas, where he pl ayed cel lo, violi n and tr um pet in the band. Af ter wards, he was engagedf or a ti me in pri vat e st udy in voi ce and in cell o wit h teachers in Chi cago, Los Angel es and NewYor k. For a tim e, Gr ay was a concert and operati c tenor soloi st wit h var i ous gr oups nati onwide, i ncludi ng the French Oper a in New Or l eans. He pl ayed cel lo for Vi ct or Her bert , a com poser of m or e than 40 oper et t as f r om whi ch cam e such songs as " Gypsy L ove S ong," "Kiss Me Agai n," and"The St r eets of New York. " And he also played for the New Yor k Sym phony Soci et y led by thedisti nguished Wal ter Dam rosch, a com poser and musi c educat or who pr esent ed on the NBC radionet work fr om 1928 to 1942 the M usic Appreci at ion Hour f or Amer ican and Canadianschoolchil dr en.

T ut or ing wit h Gray, a musician of much talent and statur e, was indeed a signi fi cant event f or Arl i ngton. But he al so gained many oppor tuni t ies in the schools and the com m unit y of Beatr icet o appl y his cell o lessons. Musi c super vi sor Osbor n conti nued to gi ve special inst ruct ion to hism ost gi f ted musicians, incl uding Arl i ngton on the cel lo, Ger hart Wiebe, the vi ol in, Her ber tJackson, the cl ar inet, and Don Abbot t , the trumpet. Dur i ng the 9t h gr ade, Ar li ngt on was a mem berof the Junior High Orchestr a under t he di recti on of I rene F aulder , and in Mar ch 1926 he was one off our sol oi st s to per form before an audi ence at Wym or e. In May of that year , the orchestr a alsoplayed for t he Juni or Hi gh Oper ett a.

Dur ing the 10th gr ade, he was a member of the st r ing quart et al ong wit h Ora Dunn, Cl ydeP faff and Ger hart Wiebe that gave a publ ic perf or m ance in Apr i l 1927; Arl i ngton per for med acel lo solo ti tl ed "T he S wan." A week l ater he was one of five students, includi ng the str ing quart et, t o repr esent the Beatr ice Publi c School s at the State Musi c Contest . Dur i ng the l l t h gr ade, thestr ing quart et of Ar li ngt on, Al ber ta L am phear , P faff , and Wiebe won second pl ace at the St at eMusic Cont est in Li ncoln in May 1928. And in the 12t h gr ade, he cont inued as a mem ber of thestr ing quart et and of the orchest r a whi ch provided musi c for pl ays, banquet s, and ot her speci alprogr am s.

Out si de of the schools Ar li ngton also gai ned val uable experi ences in mor e ways than one.E special ly im port ant was hi s par ti ci pat ion in the 35- mem ber com muni t y or chest ra di rected byF rank E. L enhart , a m ort ician wit h the Ber gm ei er Funer al Home, and m ai ntained fr om about 1924t o 1929. Com pr ised of volunt eer s that pr act iced each Sunday evening at the Bar ger residence at 807 High Str eet , it was an or chest ra that pl ayed wher ever L enhart coul d obt ai n engagement s,i ncludi ng church socials, town fai rs, and even the Nebr aska St at e Penit ent iary. In Oct ober 1926and Mar ch 1929, it played on radio st at ion KFAB, then in Lincol n, and in May 1927 on WOW inOmaha. There was at least one perf or m ance at the Rivol i Theat er in Beat ri ce; that was in Januar y1927.

Arl ingt on al so had an associati on wi t h the Rivol i Theat er at 516 Court . Dur ing high school, he li st ed hi m self in the ci ty di rect ory in 1929 as a musician there, and the May 5, 1929 B eatriceDai ly Sun r epor ted that he was a mast er of cer emoni es for the Rivol i Revel ers, a new 12-pieceband that pl ayed 30 mi nut es bef ore the main feat ure. Som et im e in the 1920s, probably as a result of hi s act ivi ti es at the Rivol i, he form ed what pr oved to be a lif el ong f r iendshi p wi t h Arvid E yt h, a1920 gr aduate of Beat ri ce Hi gh. He met E yt h when the lat ter was a "soda shooter" at the OwlP harm acy at 420 Cour t. E yt h was quot ed as saying that Arl ington's "favor it es were malt ed mi lksand a chocol ate i ce cr eam soda, " and that "he wanted the wat er to be car bonat ed and not f lat ."

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T he handsome and tal ented E yt h becam e som ewhat of a rol e model as wel l as a lif e- l ongf ri end. When he att ended the Uni versi ty of Nebraska, he was an actor in student pr oduct ions, andgai ned menti on in the B eatrice Dai l y Sun i n Febr uar y 1924 for his act in the Lincoln Mi nst relS how that appeared at the Gil ber t Theat er in Beat ri ce. In an ar ti cl e tit l ed "Music and Comedy byBlackface Local s Del ight Packed House" on Febr uar y 26, E yt h was accl ai med for hi s part in acom edy ski t wit h another perf or m er , and the cr owd was "unwil l ing to let them qui t. " In 1931, hewas honored in nati onal com peti t ion of the Junior Chamber of Comm er ce as edit or of the local sem i- monthly publ icati on, and was nam ed to the Cham ber's Nat i onal Boar d. He was later to gai nhis l iveli hood in Beat ri ce by m anagi ng farm pr opert y fr om hi s off ice at 113 Nort h 6th St reet .

T aylor's int erest in the theater developed dur ing chi ldhood as a resul t of exposur e to local m ovies, associati on wi th "hom e tal ent " perf orm er s such as E yt h, and exper iences ini ti at ed byhim self . In a June 2, 1951 ar ti cle in the Omaha World Heral d, i t was repor t ed that "whi le goi ngt hr ough school in Beat ri ce, young Ar l ingt on went each Saturday ni ght to a pictur e show wi th hi spar ents. " The mot her also wrote in 1936 that "he used to mim i c Char l ie Chapl in — the shuff le, thesni ff le, everythi ng" and from tim e to ti m e "he was pl aying that he was Tom Mi x or Wi ll iam S.Har t, " the gr eat com ic and cowboy si l ent scr een act or s respect ively.

Aft er Worl d War I, the Brughs and ot her resident s of the com muni ty had access to si l entf il ms at t he Ri al to Theat er at 112 Nort h 5th and the Gil ber t Theat er at 618 Cour t. The lat ter was t hem aj or theater at the tim e, and in 1921 it had a new "mam moth screen of 18 feet in di m ensi on andwas m ade of 'famous Velvet Gold F ibre'. " T he Gi lber t was al so t he fi r st t o instal l a cooli ng syst em . On October 4, 1926 the Rivol i Theat er at 516 Court opened. Dur ing his 1936 hom ecomi ng toBeatr ice, the Oct ober 29 L incoln Eveni ng Journal quoted him as saying, "I sat in the fir st row thef ir st ni ght ... and beli eve i t or not , I once sang on t his st age (of t he Rivol i) . " He al so r eport ed he hadbeen usher as wel l as a master of cer em onies of a style show ther e. In Febr uary 1929, the Rivol iwas the fi rst theat er to have "t al ki es" wit hin a 50-m il e radi us of Beatr i ce. A year earl ier in May1928, the Ri t z Theat er opened at 613 Cour t but was soon af ter renam ed the Fox. Local audi enceswer e aware that Bur char d nat i ve Har old Ll oyd, a famous si lent scr een com edian, had lived inBeatr ice for a shor t tim e just aft er the tur n of the century, and it was on Sept em ber 1-2, 1920 thatt he f ir st showi ng of one of his fi lm s occur r ed i n Beatr i ce. It was Haunted Spooks at t he Gi lbert . Hi scousi n Kei th Ll oyd was at hl et ic di rector at Beat r ice Hi gh at the ti m e, but in t he fal l of 1923 m ovedt o Los Angel es to at tend the Uni versi ty of Southern Cal i forni a and roomed wit h his fi lm star cousi n. Harol d Ll oyd did return to t he comm uni ty for a visit in ear l y Novem ber 1949.

T here were ot her indicat i ons that Ar l ingt on had dramati c tal ent and inter est dur ing hiselement ary school year s asi de fr om im it at ing cowboy act ors he saw on the screen whil e riding hispony at the S hi merda f ar m . It was repor ted by the S eptem ber 1936 issue of T he P laybi ll , an annualpubli cat ion of the nat ional dram at ic fr at er nit y Alpha P si Omega, that "when onl y ei ght year s ol d, he made hi s fir st publ ic appear ance. He wrot e, and gave befor e hi s school in publi c assem bl y, apiece enti tl ed ‘T he Si ck Monkey'. At the age of ten, he wr ot e another pi ece on 'China' andpresent ed it before sever al chur ch and school gr oups." Accor di ng to St. John, who as stated bef orel ived across the st r eet from the Brughs when they resided at 812 Hi gh St reet , nei t her of theelement ary school s Arl ington at t ended — Fai r vi ew and Centr al — had an audit or ium , "but Cent r al had a large hal l where pl ays could have been per f or med. It was more li kel y he gained theseexper iences in language classes that had 'show and tell ' proj ects and som et im es had class pr oj ect si nvol vi ng dr amati zat ion of fair y t al es such as ‘L it tl e Red Ri di ng Hood'. " She al so remember ed thatArl ingt on di spl ayed an ur ge t o playact infor mall y whi le li vi ng on Hi gh S t reet .

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T he boys in the nei ghbor hood would ki ll bir ds wi t h sl ingshot s, and then som e of the other chi ldren woul d coll ect them and hold funeral s. "Arl ingt on couldn't par ti cipat e because hi s mot her wouldn't let hi m pl ay wi t h the nei ghbor s for fear of get ti ng injured, but he wanted to ei ther pr eachor si ng, " she sai d. Somet im es when the bi rd funer al s wer e hel d, he would, whi le si tt i ng on thepor ch of t he Brugh home, yel l to the other chil dr en, "Let me do it . Let me sing now." St . John al sor ecal led, "On one occasi on, Jane Robert son, who wor e a thi ck br ai d, and Arl ingt on got int o a spat on the lawn of the Brughs aft er she had preached at a bi rd funeral. Enti rel y out of hi s nor m al behavior , he pull ed her braid and swung his whol e wei ght on it. "

Whi le in Beat ri ce, Taylor also becam e an adm ir er of act r ess Maude Adam s (1872-1953), whose roles in such pl ays as P et er Pan in 1905 and W hat Every Woman Knows i n 1908 enabl edher to represent the spi r it of youth and innocence. Her fr equent tours made her admi r ed f rom coastt o coast , and accor ding to S cr ibner ’s 1977 Dicti onary of American Bi ography, "her insistence onpri vacy inevi tabl y made her the most publ ici zed act ress in Am er ica. " Aft er her ret ir ement in 1918,she reappear ed on st age in 1931 and in 1934. According to Hol lywood wr it er Harol d Heff er nan'sart icle publ i shed in the Om aha Sunday World Heral d on Mar ch 5, 1939, Taylor was quot ed assaying of Maude Adam s, "S he repr esent s a tr adi ti on of the st age whi ch I was t aught to adm ir e as ayoungst er. .. She was a favori te, too, wit h my par ents." In the same ar ti cle, it was revealed that healso li ked actr esses Jean Art hur , Cl audet te Col bert , Bet t e Davi s, Myr na L oy, and Bar bar aS tanwyck, aut hors Pear l Buck and Mar gar et Mi tchel l, fir st lady El eanor Roosevel t , and concer tcel li st Raya Gar bousova.

Oppor tunit ies did exist in Beat r ice for par t icipati on in com muni t y theat er . The Gi lber t wast he locati on for hom e tal ent pr oduct i ons, host ing in 1924, for exam ple, the Lincol n Minst rel Showwit h Arvid E yt h, the pl ay "Rut h," and a benef it concer t by the com m unit y sym phony di rect ed byWil li am Fult on. In 1925, the newly opened Juni or Hi gh pr ovided an audi tor ium wi t h a seati ngcapacit y of 1256, and it has rem ai ned to thi s day an im por tant locat ion for fine art s per for mances. I n 1927, Beat ri ce Hi gh S chool off er ed f or the f ir st ti me a cour se in dram at ics, though cl ass plays or operett as had been annual event s f or year s.

Dur ing the 12th gr ade, he expanded hi s dr amati c exper i ences, though hi s mot her wrote in1936 that "we int ended t o l et hi m decide what he woul d like to be." She stated that many, i ncl udi ngC.B. Dem pster , a High St r eet nei ghbor and head of the Dem pster Mil l Manuf act ur i ng Com pany, had suggested educat ing Arl ingt on in dr am at i cs, and predicted, "S om e day that boy of your s wil lbe a bi g movi e st ar ! " Taylor hi m self conf ir m ed the ur gi ngs in his March 1, 1937 ar ti cle when hewrote, "Perhaps such kind encour agem ent did gi ve me ambi ti on to act in hi gh school pl ays. " InOct ober 1928, he pl ayed the rol e of a freshm an in "Aunt Luci a," a pl ay st aged by the adul ts in thecom muni t y. Ot her act s wer e pr esent ed on the same occasi on, and hi s fat her Dr. Brugh was one ofsever al to take par t in the com edi c "Bul a Bul a Col lege Gl ee Cl ub." Accordi ng to a revi ewpubli shed in the Oct ober 26 Beat ri ce Dai ly Sun, an enthusi ast ic, overf low crowd of 1, 500 at t endedt he f ir st per form ance.

I n hi s senior year at Beatr ice High, he att ended dr am at i cs cl ass, and was a mem ber of theDramati cs Cl ub. A major event that year was the thr ee- act com edy "Nothing But The Tr ut h"per form ed in December 1928. Arl i ngton had one of the maj or roles as a har d- headed stockbr okerwho was not too scr upulous. In the December 16 B eatrice Dai l y Sun, a rave review was publ ishedunder the headl ine "Hi gh School Pl ayers Stage Best Show In Number of Year s. " However , it wasGer hart Wiebe who recei ved the most prai se for hi s per for mance as the young hero. In the spr i ngof 1929, however, Ar li ngt on had the mal e lead in the Senior High Operett a tit led "CaptainCrossbones" label ed in t he 1929 Homesteader as "a gr eat success. " It r evolved ar ound a love theme

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i n which Arl i ngton played opposi te cl assm at e and fr iend Gert r ude Ham il ton.I n Apri l 1929, Ar li ngt on won fi r st pl ace in the oratori cal category of a sect ional cont est

hel d at Lewi ston and at the Dist ri ct 1 cont est at Beatr i ce wi th his talk enti tl ed “I deali sm in AS chool Teacher. " Ger hart Wiebe won fi r st place in the dr amati c cat egory wi th his perf orm ancet it led "The Finger of God." At the 12th annual st at e dr ama cont est hel d at Nebr aska Wesleyan inL incoln, Arl i ngton was the st at e cham pi on in the or at or i cal cat egor y. A total of 1, 400 studentspar ti ci pat ed in the st at e meet. By the end of hi gh school, however, hi s per form ance in dr am ati csappar ent ly di d not att ract wi despr ead att ent ion local ly, for hi s mot her wrote, "No teacher in hi ghschool ever par ti cul ar ly encour aged him about hi s act ing. We never thought much about hisdramati c abi l it y; neit her did he. To us, it was onl y one of sever al talents he showed us. "

Aft er gr aduati on fr om Beat r ice High School in 1929, Tayl or did not know what car eer hem ight pursue. But he made the decisi on to att end Doane Coll ege in Cr ete, Nebraska, at the ti m e at own wi t h a 1930 popul at i on of 2,865 resi dents and only a 33- mi le dr ive nor thwest of Beat ri cealong the sceni c Bi g Blue River Vall ey. Arl i ngton may have been predisposed to sel ect Doane, for as Esther Legat e All er recall ed, "Many young people who coul d aff or d it in Beat ri ce in the 1920sand 1930s went to Doane because it was a sm al ler school , and par ent s thought a bi gger school was'wi lder '." Hi s father had contr i buted $100 to the fundr aising eff or t to br ing Doane to Beat ri ce,r epor ted t he December 13, 1925 Beatrice Dai l y Sun. And hi s Doane dr am a coach-to-be Mar y El l enI ngli s, who was a judge at the Apr il 1929 decl am atory cont est in Beatr ice, met him af terwar ds andurged hi m to select Doane as his coll ege.

His mot her wr ot e that he went to Doane because Professor Her bert E. Gr ay, hi s cel l ot eacher si nce 1925, woul d be a par t- t im e facul ty member ther e in addit ion to hi s dut i es in Lincol nat the Uni ver si ty S chool of Musi c. And Tayl or was quoted by Hal l in 1936 as sayi ng, "I coul d t akem y choi ce of going to Nor thwest ern Univer si t y (i n Evanst on, Ill inoi s) al one, or I could go toDoane in Cret e, and take Garr y Wiebe wi th me. Dad would fi nance him for two year s. We wouldbe toget her. Garr y was the only pal I had. I want ed to go to Nort hwest er n for many reasons but ,aft er due consi derat ion, none of those reasons seem ed to wei gh as m uch as that Gar ry and I shoul dgo on t ogether. "

Two years at Doane College at CreteDoane Col lege, founded in Cr et e in 1872, and named in honor of Thom as Doane, chi ef

engineer of the Bur l ingt on and Missouri River Rai lr oad, was — and st il l is — a co- educati onalf our- year li ber al ar ts inst it ut i on aff il iated wit h the Congr egat ional Chur ch, now cal led the Unit edChurch of Chr ist. The Mar ch 1930 Doane Coll ege B ul leti n r epor ted, though "denomi nat ional inori gi n, it has never been subject to eccl esi asti cal cont rol, nor has its work been in any sensesectari an. At the same ti me, it s rel i gi ous spi ri t and infl uence have always been str ong and vi tal ,having for thei r inspi rat ion wor ds of the coll ege mot to ‘We Bui ld on Chr i st ’. " Locat ed on thebluff s, or hil l, over looki ng Cr et e, Nebr aska in the Big Blue River Vall ey, it is a small coll egesit uated on 320 acr es. It off er s cl ose st udent/ f acul t y relat ionships in a "hi ll top set ti ng of quietseclusi on and beaut y," wr ot e Donal d J. Z iegl er in A Col lege on a Hi ll , Lif e at Doane 1872-1987, ahistory publ i shed i n 1990 .

Dur ing his two year s that Taylor att ended Doane, there were ten bui ldings on campus. TheCar negi e Sci ence Bui lding contai ned biologi cal , chemi cal , and physi cal laborator ies as well as am useum and cl assr oom s, and Boswell Observat ory housed astr onomi cal equipm ent, incl udi ngeight -i nch aper ture telescope and met eorological inst rum ents. Whi ti n Librar y held 22,300 volum esand 17, 200 pamphl et s, and Sim on At hl eti c Fi eld was newl y constr ucted. Enr ol lm ent was al most

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300 students wi th 24 ful l -t im e teachi ng facult y mem bers, the vast majori t y wi th degr ees fr omcol leges around t he nati on.

S tudent s dur i ng the 1929- 30 school year coul d choose am ong sevent een maj ors: bi ology, chemi st r y, physics, mathemati cs, econom ics, hi st ory, social sci ence, Engl ish, Fr ench, Ger man,S pani sh, Lat i n, Greek, musi c, phil osophy and psychology, rel i gi ous educat ion, and speech( dr am at i c ar t and publ ic speaki ng) . Of the 128 hour s requi red for gr aduati on, about hal f a student 'swor k was com pri sed of el ect ives. Many of it s gr aduates r eceived cert if i cati on to t each in the publi cschools.

F or the two years, Arl ington was regi st er ed wi th the Depar tm ent of Music, and over al l heear ned average gr ades in academ ics. Duri ng hi s freshm an year , he received cr edi t for one- year courses ti tl ed Engl i sh Composit i on, 2nd Year French, Fr ench Com posi t ion, Coll ege Algebr a &T ri gonom et ry, Inorgani c Chemi st r y, Or chestr a, and Physi cal Tr ai ni ng. He also took one sem est er of Fr eshman Ori entat ion. In his sophomore year , he recei ved credi t for one- year cour ses tit l ed theOld & New Testament , Pri nci pl es of Econom ics, Eur opean Histor y, General Psychol ogy,F undamentals of Speech, and Physical Tr ai ni ng, and one- sem est er cour ses in the Histor y of S ociali sm, P r inci pl es & Probl em s of Gover nm ent , and Orchestr a.

I n the area of acti vit ies, however , Arl ingt on excel led, especiall y dur ing his fr eshm an year . He was elect ed pr esi dent of the largest f reshm an cl ass at the t im e — som e 90 mem bers, he becam ea mem ber of Iot a Del ta Chi, one of the local frat er ni ti es not aff il iated wit h a nat i onal or gani zat ion,and he was a member of both the Doane Symphony and the Doane Pl ayer s. He al so exhi bi tedathleti c prowess, though he apparent l y di d not care for at hl eti cs. Boyhood fr iend A. J. Myer sr ecal led that as a col lege st udent at Nor fol k, Nebr aska, he encount ered Arl ingt on at a tr ack meet atYor k. And in the ar t icle "He's Sti ll Ar li ngt on to Beatr i ce Home F ol ks", publi shed in the Novem ber 1, 1936 Li ncoln Sunday Journal and St ar, it was report ed that "i n the spr ing, he went out for trackand r an the hur dl es fast er than anyone el se. T hen he ret ir ed fr om compet i ti on."

A memorable accompli shm ent that year was winning an or at ori cal contest hel d in Cr et e onDecem ber 18, 1929 under the auspices of the Anti - Saloon League of Nebr aska. The topi c was"Ten Years of Prohi bit ion", but Ar li ngt on was at fi rst rel uct ant to enter despi t e ur ging by MaryE ll en I ngli s, Head of the Speech Depar tm ent , because he bel ieved that thr ee ot her cont estants whower e mi nister s had the advant age. He di d ent er af ter hi s mot her , who appr eciated the value oforatory and the int erest I ngli s took in hi s speaki ng abi l it ies, pr om i sed him t hat if he won, he woul dr ecei ve a coonski n coat, a pr est igious it em he want ed badl y. As the cont est winner , he gained not onl y the coat but al so a tr ip to Det r oi t, Mi chigan fr om January 14- 21, 1930 to att end the nati onalconvent i on of t he Anti -S aloon L eague of Amer ica as a guest of t he L eague.

Another si gni fi cant accom pl ishm ent as a freshm an was par ti ci pat ion in a music tr iocom pr ised of Ar li ngt on, cel li st , his Beat ri ce pal Ger hart Wiebe, violi nist, and Fr i end nat ive RussGibson, a pi ani st who al so pl ayed tr umpet and Fr ench hor n. The tr io had for med in the fal l of1929, and al ong wit h Doane pr esident Edwi n Dean, they travel ed to David Ci ty for a per form anceat a Doane Day ser vi ce at the Fi rst Congr egat ional Church in Decem ber 1929. On February 13,1930, they perf or med at the annual Valent ine's Day Banquet at Doane, where Ar li ngt on al so gavea speech ent i tl ed "Heart s Resound to Cupi d's Tread". The Febr uary 18, 1930 issue of T he DoaneOwl , the col lege's st udent newspaper , com ment ed, "hi s theme was of romance not only am ong thestudent s but of t he al um ni and students f or Doane Coll ege".

Dur ing a week's road tri p in Mar ch 1930 wit h the Doane Pl ayer s, a dr amati cs gr oup, topromote the col lege at several Nebraska com m unit i es, the t ri o went ahead of the tr oupe to si ng andplay in the high schools of the town wher e the dr am a gr oup would perf or m in the eveni ng. When

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t hey got to the town of Har vard, it was Russ Gibson who suggest ed the t ri o go to near by Cl ayCenter and perf or m on radio stat ion KMMJ to adver ti se the dr ama producti on. According toGibson's let t er of Septem ber 3, 1977, along wi th ot her paper s on fi l e at the St ate Ar chives at theNebraska Stat e Hi st ori cal Societ y in Li ncol n, the tri o did br oadcast on KMMJ on March 28- 29. T hey al so audit ioned at the hom e of stati on owner H. H. Johnson, who "hi r ed us then and t her e for t he sum of $100 a week f or the thr ee of us. "

T hat sum mer, the tr i o had becom e known as "T he Harm ony Boys", a tit l e that may havebeen bor rowed aft er a Li ncoln gr oup cal led "The Har mony Gi rl s", whi ch pl ayed at a F il ley danceon August 18, 1926. And one of their feat ur e songs was "Kathr yn", composed by Dorothy J.Brandon, i nst ruct or of pi pe organ and piano at Doane f r om 1928 t o 1930. It was publ i shed i n 1930by Jazz of Chicago, and cont ai ned on it s cover a photogr aph of "T he Harm ony Boys".

Taylor's experiences at KMMJ in Clay CenterI n the sum mer of 1930 — and the foll owi ng summ er of 1931, Taylor gai ned his fir st

professi onal experi ence in the ent er t ai nm ent indust ry at KMMJ, which had begun broadcasti ng onNovem ber 30, 1925 in Clay Center , a town of 933 resident s in 1930, and located 65 mi l es west ofCrete. The radi o st ati on was one of many ent er pr i ses in the town owned by the Johnson fam il y,descended fr om M. M. Johnson (af ter whom the cal l let ter s in KMMJ ar e chosen) , who in 1896m ade the fir st poul t ry incubator in Nebraska. Af t er the or igi nal Sur e Hat ch Incubator Com panywas sol d i n 1910 and m oved to F r em ont , the fam il y for med a new company t hat m anufact ured Ol dT rust y incubators and br ooder s used to hatch and raise chi ckens on the farm s. Fr om an old Cl ayCenter lum ber yard the Johnsons bui l t the ori gi nal KMMJ Studio, but on January 1, 1931 theS tudi o occupi ed a new br i ck and concr et e bui lding. Both buil dings were located at 321 Glenvil , where today stands the Cl ay County Museum . Accor ding to Gi bson, it was al so "lar ge enough tohouse t hei r store, whi ch had many pr oduct s for sale, bl anket s t o incubat ors, fl y spr ayers t o candy. "

I ts towers at the Cl ay Cent er Ci ty Park, KMMJ operated wit h 1,000 watt s of power , andhad a l i st eni ng area t hat ext ended some 100 mi les i n al l dir ect ions. Geor ge C. Kister was one of t heear ly announcer s who spent hi s 43- year career wi t h KMMJ, even aft er it s rel ocat i on in Januar y1939 to Gr and Isl and, where today it is Nebr aska's 6t h oldest conti nuousl y li censed broadcasti ngstati on, oper at ing on 750 kil ohert z wit h 10, 000 wat ts of power. In a manuscri pt of hi s January 5, 1979 int er vi ew housed wi t h ot her item s in the NS HS St at e Archives, Kister repor t ed its"pr ogr am mi ng was mostl y of rur al nat ure wi th f ar m -ori ent ed pr ogr am s dom inat i ng."

T he two summ ers at KMMJ provi de an i nsight into the ear ly days of radio and the tal ent Arl ingt on and the two ot her tri o mem ber s had. Accor di ng to Kister, ther e wer e no net works at thet im e, so the st at ion had it s own announci ng and ent er tai nm ent staff s. Ther e wer e 12 or mor eannouncers, a staff of 35 to 50 ent er t ai ner s, and al l progr am mi ng was live fr om 8 a.m . to 7 p. m .dai ly. The st at ion broadcast news gat hered from an earl y mor ning newspaper, "wi t h the OmahaB ee the fi r st sour ce of news," com m ented Kister. T hough "later on one of the KMMJ radi ooperator s who could copy Morse Code used short wave radi o to pi ck up a news sour ce in T eaneck, New Jer sey, and he would spend most of the day copying news from thi s short wave news st at iont o be used i n sever al newscasts duri ng the day on KMMJ. "

T he ent ert ai nment st aff included "hil lbil l y si ngers, old-t i me fiddlers, orchestr as, bands, gospel singer s. They wer e all part of the dail y progr am mi ng and many uni ts were identi fi ed wi th acer tain pr oduct that was sold," Kister sai d. The Har mony Boys, who were given every otherS unday off , had thr ee or four tim es a day thei r 15-m i nute pr ogr am . And som eti mes, as the August6, 1930 KMMJ schedul e revealed, they had a few 30-m inut e progr am s. Accordi ng to Gibson, they

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wer e used to sell Ol d Tr ust y Fl y Spr ay, and the tri o, when not on the ai r , woul d rem ain at theS tudi o, "r ehear si ng for anything from the Polka Band to the Sym phony, par ti cular ly if you coul dblow a hor n, tell j okes, si ng, or whatever. " He also repor ted t hat the tr io sang i n addit ion t o playi ngwit h the inst rument s they used at Doane, and "pat terned our style af ter the Rhyt hm Boys of Paul Whi teman," a renowned or chest ra di rector on network r adi o for alm ost f our decades.

T he Har m ony Boys of KMMJ were remembered by Kister for si nging "Mi ssi ssippi Mud", but Gibson wr ot e about an amusi ng anecdot e invol ving Ar l ingt on. One day announcer "DentHol comb deci ded to make thi ngs a bit more real ist ic and st ar t ed to moo li ke a cow. He yel led atBrugh to run out in the store and fet ch an Old Tr usty Sprayer so we coul d keep the fl ies off oldBessy. Whi le the St udi o was j am m ed wi th people, Brugh r an to the st ore, final ly found t he st ack ofspr ayer s, pi cked one, pr oceeded to run back to the St udi o, which had thr ee st eps leading to theS tudi o, tr ipped on the top st ep, and came sl iding hom e wit h the winning spr ayer . " Meanwhil e,Hol comb was “holl er i ng ‘hur ry, hur ry, ’ and mooing and I want to tel l you we coul d not conti nue,we went off the ai r, the audi ence out front was dyi ng at the si ll y ant i cs, and it was a bad day for Old Trusty Fl y Spray." Gi bson then pr esented the punch lines: "Brugh recover ed, cam e runni ng tot he micr ophone, onl y to find out too late that he had pi cked a sprayer that cont ai ned a lit t le of thespr ay, and he gave us al l a good shot , incl udi ng announcer Hol comb. .. I coul d not br eathe for fi vem inut es, t o give you an idea of the pot ency of t his stuff ."

Whi le li vi ng in Clay Cent er for the two sum m er s, the tr i o st ayed in the sam e room at thehom e of Ford deal er John F or sell at 321 Nort h Clay Str eet . In the Februar y 20, 1937 issue of theHasti ngs Dai l y Tribune, Gibson was quot ed as sayi ng, "Hi s (Ar li ngton) favor it e food in Cl ayCenter was hambur ger steaks. He was especial ly part icul ar about his cl ot hes. He had ten sui t st here, and took all the closet space, " and that "we wer e never extr emely popular wit h the radi oaudience, and our fan mai l was pract i call y nil , but we did have lot s of fun." Of his experi ences int he sum m er s of 1930 and 1931, Tayl or was quoted in the Oct ober 26, 1963 issue of T he Lincol nStar as sayi ng, "Clay Center was a quai nt and wonderf ul li tt l e town. "

Whi le he wor ked at KMMJ, Tayl or di d dat e at least two gi rl s. One was Ver a BascomChurch, now a Nat hr op, Col orado resi dent wi th whom he had "a casual relati onshi p", stat ed ClayCenter resident Mid Thom as, who, l ike Ver a, was a 1925 gr aduate of Edgar Hi gh School at near byE dgar . At the tim e, Vera worked in a Cl ay Cent er bank, and was al so a secretary at KMMJ. Whenshe moved to Li ncol n, he occasi onall y dat ed her whi le he was at Doane. They kept their f r iendshi pt hr ough occasional cor respondence at least unt il October 1936, when Tayl or retur ned fromHol lywood for his Beat ri ce homecom ing, and took the tim e to meet her at her Lincol n hom e at 1809 G Str eet for what he had hoped would be a pr ivat e dat e. Inst ead, it — al ong wit h a phot o of Ver a — was report ed in a lengthy art i cl e in the Oct ober 30, 1936 L incoln Eveni ng Journal. P er haps Ar li ngt on's gr eatest love interest dur ing hi s tim e at KMMJ and Doane Coll ege, accor di ngt o Doane dr am a classmat e and fri end Bet h Naden Kel lar, now of Fr ankli n, was Bl anche Gil sdor f Hoeppner , who wor ked in Hasti ngs in the sum m er of 1930. "Blanche Gil sdor f had a boyf r iend at t he tim e, and kept tur ni ng down Ar li ngt on's invi t at ions, but fi nall y she dated him a few ti m es. Hewas crazy about her , and want ed to pursue t he fr i endshi p f ur t her, but she decli ned," said Kel lar.

T he Har m ony Boys went their separate ways af ter the sum m er of 1931, but they wer er euni ted on nat ional tel evi si on in Apri l 1967 on CBS-T V's M ike Dougl as Show, whi ch Tayl orbri ef ly co-host ed. Accor ding to the Apr il 30, 1967 Sunday Journal and Star, t he producer s hadarr anged for a surpr ise meeti ng. When Dougl as asked Tayl or to sing som et hing fr om hi s ear lyr adio days, he showed hi s rel uct ance. So Dougl as said he had "a couple of guys back her e to helpyou out , " and t here appeared Wiebe and Gi bson, t he lat ter bei ng quot ed as sayi ng, "i t was gr eat fun

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f or all of us, al though too bri ef. We did a number toget her, but it wasn't very pr of essional , I'm afr ai d. "

Dur ing his sophom or e year , Ar li ngt on cont inued hi s part i ci pat ion in the Doane SymphonyOrchest r a and t he Doane P l ayer s, and he was a m em ber of t he Doane S t ri ng Quar tet .

Music an d drama exp eriences at DoaneT he Musi c Depar tm ent in whi ch he mat r icul at ed off er ed a major that led to a bachelor of

art s degr ee, wi t h instr ucti on in pi ano, or gan, voice, and violi n. There wer e many cul tur al oppor tunit ies provi ded by concer ts of the coll ege orchestr a, choi rs, and a vari ety of choral ensem bl es, perf or mances by a band, and reci t al s of both facul ty and st udent s. Housed in theWhi tcom b Conser vator y/ Lee Mem or i al Chapel , music facult y and st udent s had access t o seventeenr ooms and an audi tor ium whi ch, when com bi ned wit h sever al si de room s, increased the seati ngcapacit y to six hundred. Ar li ngt on cert ai nl y fel t com for tabl e wit h the pr esence of Herber t E. Gr ay, his cel l o teacher fr om Li ncol n, who in the fal l of 1929 becam e a par t- ti m e inst r uctor of st r ingi nstr um ent s at Doane and ser ved in the capacit y of a m entor f or hi m.

His musi c exper iences dur ing hi s freshm an year — aside from those wi th The Harm onyBoys — invol ved playing wit h the Doane Symphony Or chest ra, com pr i sed of 35 member s anddir ected by Professor C. Bur dett e Wol fe. Accor ding to T he Cret e News, publi c per for mances weregiven at Hom ecomi ng "P op" Concer t in October 1929, the Lee Memori al Chapel in March 1930, and t he Bohem ian Concert in t he Chapel a month l ater.

T aylor's sophom or e year in musi c involved hi s conti nued part i ci pati on in the DoaneS ym phony but a more rewar di ng experi ence cam e wi t h the Doane St ri ng Quar tet com pri sed ofP rofessor C. Bur dett e Wol fe, viola; Mil lar d Taylor, Cr et e, 1st vi oli n; Wendel l Adam s, Omaha, 2ndvioli n; and Arl ingt on, cell o. Thei r fir st 1930-31 publi c appear ance was in the Lee Memori al Chapel in Oct ober , fol lowed by ear ly November per form ances at the Gayl or d Hal l par lor oncam pus and at an af t er noon convocati on at Wi lber Hi gh School in near by Wi lber . (On November 6, Ar li ngt on took ti me to play at an Inter- Cit y Rot ar y Banquet at the S okol Hall in Wil ber bef oresom e 150 Rot ari ans from Beatr ice, Cr ete, F ai rbur y, Li ncoln, S ewar d, and Wil ber, repor ted theApr il 12, 1935 issue of T he W il ber Republ ican. He had been par t of a sal on orchestr a organi zed byBer nard Klasek, a 1923 Doane gr aduate and lat er a publ i c school adm inistr ator in Sali ne Count yf or over 50 years.) Thanksgiving vacati on was used for out -of -t own engagement s, fi rst in Li ncolnf or a br oadcast by radio st at ion KFAB on a Fri day, then on KMMJ the next day. On Sunday, theydrove to the towns of Albion and Newm an Gr ove in nort her n Nebraska for concer t s at the Fi r st Congr egat ional Chur ch and the Met hodist Church respect ivel y.

Dur ing the Chri st mas season they per f or med at Gaylord Hall , and in ear ly Januar y 1931t raveled to eastern Iowa to play at Mar shal l town and at Gri nnel l Col l ege, then at Drake Universit yat Des Moi nes and at the town of E xi ra on the return tr ip. In Februar y, the Quart et tr aveled toOmaha for per form ances at Centr al Par k and at the Fir st Cent r al Congr egat ional Chur ch, andArl ingt on pl ayed the cel l o solo "T he Swan", accom pani ed by pi anist Vel da Br own of Cr et e, a fir st -year Doane st udent , at t he Fi r st Congr egat ional Chur ch at 12t h & I vy in Cr et e.

On Sunday, March 1, the Quart et pl ayed at the Centenary Methodi st Chur ch in Beat ri ce, and was enter tained for lunch at t he home of Dr. and Mr s. Brugh. On Mar ch 13, they perf or m ed at t he Lee Memor ial Chapel, and the Mar ch 19, 1931 Crete News publ ished the edit ori al comm ent t hat "i t was one of the best pr esent ati ons we have had thi s year fr om the Quart et. " On Apri l 22, t hey tr aveled to the town of Ashland for a per for mance, and on June 2nd played for Al um ni Dayf esti vi t ies on the Doane campus. A di ff er ent tri o other than The Harm ony Boys was al so part of

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Arl ingt on's music acti vi t y at the cl ose of his sophom or e year . Al ong wit h Professor Wol fe andMar ian Hul quest , he pl ayed at S henandoah, Iowa in Apri l and May and at the Wom en's Club innearby Fri end, Nebr aska in May 1931.

T hr oughout hi s two years at Doane in the fi el d of music, Ar l ingt on worked cl osely behi ndt he scenes wi th Doane's part - ti me cell o instr uct or Herber t E. Gray, and they perf orm ed together int he Lincol n Sym phony. Em anuel Wishnow, one of Gray's st udents in Li ncol n at the tim e, recal ledseeing Arl ington occasional ly pl ay in the Li ncol n Sym phony, likel y from 1929 to 1931. Ther el at ionship Gr ay had wi t h Ar li ngt on and hi s par ent s went sm oot hl y, through he fel t som ef rust rat ion when Ar l ingt on devot ed ti me to dramat ics at Doane. Mrs. Brugh expl ai ned it in par t in1936 by wr it i ng, "We did not want hi m (Ar li ngt on) to gam bl e his whol e fut ur e on just the cel lo;we want ed music to be som et hi ng that woul d give him per sonal pl easur e, relaxati on. " Taylor'sver si on in a 1937 quot at i on by Hal l revealed his inst incts were leading him toward hi s career: "I nm y fr eshman year, I pl ayed the leadi ng role in the campus per form ance 'Helena's Boys', gr eatl y tot he disgust of Pr of essor Gr ay, who want ed to know why I 'f iddled about wi th such nonsense'. Hesai d that I shoul d concentr at e on the cel lo, that I had the makings of a concer t art i st , what had I todo wi th 'playacti ng'? I couldn't tel l him . I didn't know myself . I don't know now. I only knew that t here was som et hi ng in t he must y smel l of backst age t hat I l i ked. "

T he S peech Depart ment off er ed 18 sem est er -l ong cour ses, incl udi ng a two- year di ploma inDramati c Art . By the fal l of 1929, it had becom e impor t ant at Doane, repor t ed hist or ian Z iegl er , l ar gely because of the infl uence of Mar y El l en I ngli s, a nat ive of P awnee Cit y, who was inst ruct or of speech fr om 1922 to 1935. Wi th only a bachel or's degr ee from the Univer sit y School of Musici n Li ncoln and st udy at the Theater Art s Insti tut e in London in the summ er of 1927, I ngli s creat edt he elect gr oup known as the Doane Pl ayer s. They annuall y st aged thr ee major plays, per for med insever al comm uni ti es in the spri ng on a coll ege pr om ot ional tr ip, and hel d a wint er or spr ingbanquet . She al so incl uded in the speech cur ri cul um such cour ses as Voice and Char act er izat i on,P lay Pr oduct i on, and Repert oi re, and di rect l y or indi rectl y sponsor ed si x one-act pl ays each school year.

“I ngli s was very popular among the st udent s, ” stat ed Evel yn Overm an Morr i son, a nati veof West ern, a 1929 Doane gr aduate, and now a Fremont, Cal i forni a resi dent. "S he was gentl e, out going, and l oving as a dir ect or and a per son, and expected her st udent s to do t hei r best in a ki ndand gent le, not dem anding manner . She liked Ar li ngt on Brugh, and helped hi s confi dence." Heri mpact on her students was long last i ng. Taylor clear ly held her in hi gh esteem , expl ai ni ng "hisappreci ati on for the par t she had in st ar ti ng hi m on the right road duri ng the impor t ant for mati veper iod of hi s lif e, " report ed the September 1936 issue of T he Playbi ll , an annual publi cati on of theAlpha P si Omega, a nati onal dr amati c frater ni ty. And he speci f ical l y request ed that Mr s. I ngli s- F ar ri es be pr esent at Doane Coll ege on Oct ober 25, 1963 for a convocat i on and fundr ai si ng di nnerhel d in hi s honor . And af ter her deat h, f or m er st udents held a memor ial at Doane on May 14, 1988, t o honor her cont ri but ions, and to establ ish a cont inui ng Mar y El len I ngli s- F ar ri es Memor ial Fundi n Support of the Theater Depar t ment . Aft er leavi ng Doane in 1935, she had marr ied T.H. F ar ri es, gave bi r th to a daught er , and taught hear ing-i mpair ed st udent s fr om 1945 to 1952 at the Wil ber P ubli c School s, whi ch at the ti m e had one of onl y two such day schools in Nebraska. Aft er that ,she dir ect ed reli gi ous educat ion f or a Methodi st Chur ch in S t . Loui s, Mi ssour i.

Dur ing his fr eshm an year in dram at ics, Ar li ngt on gained valuabl e exper ience as a mem ber of the Doane Pl ayer s, which rehear sed at Lee Mem or i al Chapel and usual ly perf or m ed at S okol T heat er (now S okol Hall ), located at the nor t heast cor ner of 12t h and Nor m an Str eet s in Cr et e.Bui lt in 1915, the bri ck st ruct ure is sti ll in use today. And accor ding to Nebr aska State Hi st or i cal

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S ociety ar chi tect Davi d Mur phy, author of "Dramat ic Expr essi ons: Czech Theater Cur tai ns inNebraska" publi shed in Nebraska Hist ory, F al l 1993, t he inter ior of the Crete S okol Hall has one oft he best col l ecti ons of theat er curt ains in Czech hal ls in Nebr aska.

On Sept ember 25, 1929, Tayl or had audit ioned for member shi p, and under went form ali ni ti at i on on Oct ober 2 by assum ing the char acter of "P a Sassaf ras. " He was a cabbage gr ower f rom Pum pkin Cent er who had a wi fe and sm al l son, and found buyer s for hi s cabbages on thestr eets of the Cr et e busi ness di st ri ct. His fi rst per for mance was for the est abl ished mem ber s of theDoane P l ayer s on Oct ober 30 as the l ead i n the "One Act Tr agedy," a dr am a i n whi ch he played t her ol e of the fat her of a fam il y that had a t r agic endi ng whil e apart m ent hunti ng. On thi s occasion, healso sang wi t h Russ Gi bson, Ger hart Wiebe, and Roland S chaff er t in a gr oup cal led the"S er enaders." In November he gave a cell o sol o in connect ion wit h the one- act pl ay "T he Fi nger of God" per form ed at t he Fi r st Congr egat ional Chur ch i n Cret e.

T aylor's fir st publ i c appearance as an actor at Doane was on December 19, 1929 in them inor role of young Geral d T il den in I da L. E hr li ch's "Helena's Boys, " which was st aged at theS okol Theater in Cr ete. The December 26 issue of the Crete News report ed "t he Doane Pl ayer s of'Helena's Boys' make a hi t. " Thi s pl ay was also sel ected for the Pl ayers 7t h annual spr ing tri p fromMar ch 22-30, 1930 and Ar l ingt on was one of the ten st udent s who par t icipated. "Hel ena's Boys”was presented at the com m unit ies of Alm a, Bert rand, Clay Cent er , Fr ankli n, Harvard, Hasti ngs,Hol dr ege, Loomi s, Minden, Oxfor d and Sut ton. As pr eviousl y descr ibed, i t was duri ng t his t r ip t hat t he t ri o of Arl ingt on, Gi bson and Wiebe appear ed ahead of the t roupe f or adver ti si ng purposes, andwer e off er ed a job at KMMJ. At the cl ose of hi s f reshm an year , he had the l ead rol e i n "T he HouseDivided, ” a thr ee- act com edy- drama wr it ten by Kenneth Kell er, a member of the Pl ayers. It waspresent ed as the com mencement pl ay on May 31, and Arl ington por tr ayed Jam es Bar tl ey, a di st ri ct att or ney wit h pol it i cal probl em s.

I n hi s sophom or e year, Ar li ngton was cast in the mi nor rol e of Ned S et on in Phi l ip Bar r y's"Holi day," perf or med on Novem ber 19, 1930. Thi s requi red him to play the role of a boy whobegan dr inki ng al cohol to suppr ess hi s real feel i ngs. On Januar y 16, 1931, he was one of 24m em bers to at tend the 8t h annual Doane Pl ayer s Banquet at the Cosmopol it an Hotel in Cr et e.T oast master was his best fr iend Ger hart Wiebe, and on the menu for the mai n course was roastduck and mashed pot atoes. On January 31, he had the mal e lead in the com edy dram a "Al ias theKid," wr it ten by Wi l li am Har ki ns, a member of the Pl ayer s, and per for med at St . Jam es Hall inCrete. As Denni s Brookman, he was a bank robber who went "st r ai ght " af ter fal l ing in love wi tht he gir l who room ed next door . Accor ding to the Februar y 3, 1931 issue of T he Doane Owl, "Ar li ngt on Brugh.. . di d out st anding wor k in hi s rol e. " And duri ng the spr ing tr i p of the Pl ayers inwestern Nebr aska and east er n Col or ado, he worked as an advance publ i ci ty man at each townvisit ed. The 1931 T iger, the Doane year book, report ed it "was the most successful of al l tri ps ever t aken."

Dur ing his two year s as a mem ber of the Doane Pl ayer s, Ar li ngt on became a mem ber of t he dram at ic fr at er nit y Del ta Om icron cast. It qual if ied him for mem bership in Alpha P si Omega, anat ional dram at ic fr at er nit y that in Sept em ber 1936 feat ur ed hi m in Ar thur F. Hom mel's five-pageart icle "Robert T ayl or , Scr een Idol, Al pha P si Omegan" in i t s annual publi cati on T he P laybi ll .

Taylor's social activities while at DoaneT he soci al developm ent of Arl ington Brugh duri ng hi s two year s at Doane cont inued much

as it had at Beat ri ce. Despit e advant ages ot her student s did not have, he mai nt ained a li festyleappropr i at e for his ti me, was well l i ked on campus, and cont i nued i n close cont act wi th his parents.

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L ike the other young men at Doane, whi ch in 1929 did not have cam pus housi ng for men, he li vedoff cam pus, st ayi ng at the home of E st el and Eva S padt at 622 East 13th St reet in Cret e. (TheS padt s had part ownershi p in the Keystone Gr ocer y at 124 East 13t h Str eet .) In the June 12, 1969Crete News ar ti cl e "'Doc' Brugh Is Rem ember ed by Cr et e Ci t izens," Mrs. Steve Riege, a nei ghbor at the tim e, recall ed that "he had the reput at ion for neat ness that was unusual for a col lege boy."And Franci s Menke of Cret e, a 1932 gr aduate of Doane, was quot ed as rem ember ing him as "a'real ist ,' a man rai sed wit h rel igious pr inciples and hi gh morals who al ways conduct ed hi mself in am anner whi ch refl ect ed hi s upbr i nging."

Because "Doc, " as Ar li ngt on was known on cam pus, had joi ned the Order of DeMol ay inBeatr ice, he persuaded Menke to become a member , and both dr ove to Li ncoln to att end meeti ngsof the DeMol ay Chapt er sponsored by the Scot ti sh Ri te Temple, a nat i onal or gani zat ion ofMasons. A nonsect ar ian gr oup that pr omotes mor al teachi ngs, meets twice a month, and li mi ts it sm em bership to boys, DeMol ay asks that a boy beli eve in a suprem e being and at tend chur ch. Accor di ng to Walt er Mi ll er, a r eti red execut ive off icer of t he Nebr aska Or der of DeMol ay, "Rober tT aylor was recognized for his outstandi ng achi evement by bei ng awar ded member shi p in theL egion of Honor , the top honor given by the nati onal or ganizati on known at the tim e as the GrandCouncil of t he Or der of DeMol ay. "

T hough the Doane boys li ved off cam pus in 1929, they were requir ed to eat di nner at thecol lege cafet er ia in Gayl or d Hal l, the gi rl s' dor mi tory, ther eby aff or di ng a social li f e at the sam et im e. E i ght peopl e wer e seated at a table, and r otated weekl y as wer e the hosts and hostesses.

T hey then met in the drawing room next to the di ning ar ea. I n the spr ing of 1930, the newMen's Hall (r enam ed Sm it h Hal l in 1977 af ter index tags inventor Charl es Car man Sm it h ofE xeter) opened, and Ar li ngt on l ived there duri ng hi s sophomor e year , according to Raymond Reed,a gr aduate of 1935 who began att ending in 1929 and then taught music part -t i me at Crete Hi ghS chool. Ar li ngt on r oomed on t he fi rst f loor, probably wi th Ger hart Wiebe, whi le Reed st ayed downt he hal l on the sam e f loor. All the boys conti nued to eat in the Gaylord Hall cafeter ia.

T here were a vari et y of social act ivit i es which int er est ed Arl i ngton. As a fr eshman, he, li keeveryone else, part i ci pat ed in the Doane ri tual of wear ing a gr een cap ever y day except Sunday ont he cam pus, in Cr et e, or anywher e unt il Thanksgi ving 1929. Coll ege dances wer e hel d in thebasem ent of Whi ti n Librar y fr om 1928 to 1930, recal led Ver deli a Brown Mort on, a 1930 gr aduateand a nati ve of Fai r mont , though dances wer e also hel d in the gym . At these events, whi ch usuall yl asted from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m ., indi viduals foll owed a custom i nvolving a car d wit h a l ist of danceswit h ot her people, per haps 15 names to a ful l car d. Thi s was done even if a per son went wit h adat e. Dances were both form al and inf or mal, wi th the two step and inf orm al walt z as favor it es of t he tim e. The young men at Doane dr essed in sui ts on eveni ng out ings and dat es, and the womenhad an 11 p.m . cur few. Mr s. Mort on furt her remember ed, "All gi rl s thought Tayl or at Doane was agood looki ng, fri endly guy. I saw hi m att end a Good Fri endshi p Soci ety (GFS ) sor or it y banquetwit h Ir i s West. I t was a form al occasion at the Cosmopol it an Hotel in Cr ete.”

A favori t e off -cam pus gat her ing pl ace for l ate aft ernoon breaks was Ki nd's Cafe at 123 East 13t h in Cr et e. Ir is West All er , a nat i ve of Hayes Cent er , a 1932 gr aduate, a fr iend of Doc's, andnow a Lawr ence, Kansas r esident , st ated that "Ar li ngton frequent ed the Caf e, and would order pi eand coff ee. ” Reed remem bered another popul ar pl ace for col l ege st udent s was the Ti ger Inn near t he cam pus at 13t h & For est . Taylor also at t ended Doane basket bal l and foot ball games, and in the1936 Omaha World Heral d ar ti cl e of Novem ber 1 he was quot ed as sayi ng, "I used to come toL incoln for lot s of Nebr aska gam es when I was at Doane."

S om e st udent s went canoei ng on the Bi g Bl ue Ri ver on the west edge of Cr ete, a tradi t ion

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t hat lasted unt il 1935, repor ted hist or ian Z iegl er . Som e went danci ng at Hor ky's Park (now theBlue Ri ver Lodge) located 2 mil es west and 2 mil es nort h of Crete. At the tim e, this pr ivat er ecreat i on ar ea had 60 cott ages, picnic gr ounds, a swi mm ing pool, a new lake for boat ing, anddanci ng on weekends, usuall y featuri ng li vel y Czech musi c such as the pol ka. Mr s. Mor ton fondl yr em em ber ed that "the GFS woul d stay overnight at a cabi n at Hor ky's once a year , and ther e wer ealso pi cni cs on t he weekends. "

Coupl es al so went dancing at Ant el ope Par k in Li ncoln, and af terwar ds, according to Iri sWest All er , "a popul ar eati ng pl ace was the Com husker Hot el , where Doane fr at er nit ies also hel dpar ti es. " Ar l ingt on was one of the few st udent s at Doane to own a car, the orange- bei ge 1929Bui ck spor ts coupe his father had bought hi m for hi s senior year at Beat r ice Hi gh, and he hadper haps a li t tl e mor e spending money, especi al ly in an era of diff icul t econom ic tim es. Consequent ly, there was much doubl e- dat ing at Doane, and Ar li ngton may have occasi onall ydoubl e- dat ed wi th Ger hart Wiebe, whose st eady gi rl f ri end at the t im e was E vel yn Hiatt of L incol n. F raterni ty br ot her Laurence L. P hi pps of Randolph, Iowa, and a 1932 gr aduate, was quot ed assaying that Arl ingt on "dated som e but not excessi vely.” But Josephi ne Jur ena Jacobs, now ofL incoln and a fri end of a for mer Doane fr at er nit y mem ber dur ing the 1929-31 era, repor ted that "some of the Doane boys got jeal ous of Taylor because he had a car and dat ed all the best wom en.T he boys t ri ed to boycot t T aylor because he was having too good a t i me."

His fem ale fr iendshi ps at Doane were for the most par t casual, an assert ion confi r med by af ew fri ends and by his mother who in 1936 wr ot e, "Once in a whi le, in hi s let ter s, he wouldm enti on some gi rl . Doane was coed, and he li ked sever al gi rl s there. But as for hi s get ti ng seri ousabout any of them , I do not thi nk so. " T wo Doane women who were Arl i ngton's fri ends but wit hno romanti c int er est wer e classm at es Beth Naden Kel lar and Mur ial Aust in S eyler, of Fr ankli n,Nebraska and Lawr ence, Kansas respect ivel y, who som et im es ar r anged dat es for Doc wit h their f ri ends, such as Sue Ready S om sen and Har ri et Whit ney Stal ey, the lat t er from Grand Island, am em ber of Phi Sigma T au sorori t y, and secr etary of her Doane gr aduati ng cl ass of 1931. Mr s. S eyler, who was about 5 feet 5 inches tal l wit h light bl onde hair and bl ue eyes, had two dat es wi thArl ingt on, and recal led one of them occur red in Mar ch 1930 when the Doane Pl ayer s wer e inF rankli n, her hom et own. "I asked Arl y to dance, but he sai d that hi s mot her sai d not to dance onS unday, so we had a date that consist ed of conver sati on, " she sai d.

I n the view of Mrs. Kel lar, "Doc was a ver y nice fel low, very shy. He was just a pl ai nguy." And Ir i s West All er , who was 5 feet 3 inches tal l wit h dar k br own hai r and hazel eyes andwas a member of the GF S, recall ed, "Arl ingt on was a nice fri endly fell ow I enjoyed being ar ound. He was a gent leman in hi s manner and in his decor um , a nor mal per son who li ked to be ar oundpeopl e and was inter ested i n a var iet y of topi cs. Neat, cl ean and t i dy, he wore sweat er s and sui t s ondat es, and had fr iends at other Nebr aska col leges, not just Doane." Anot her who had a few dateswit h Ar l ingt on was Mil dr ed Whit ney Fost er , a 1928 Crete Hi gh gr aduate who also at t ended Doaneand presentl y a Boul der, Colorado resident. She rem em ber ed going bal lr oom danci ng wi t h hi m att he Hot el Cor nhusker in Lincoln, the S okol Hall in Crete, and at Wil ber once, "pr obabl y at theOpera House or the newly opened S okol Audi tor ium in 1930. " The five- f oot two-i nch tal l blue- eyed bl onde also recal led what seems an ironic experi ence wi t h Ar li ngt on. "Once when weatt ended a movi e in Li ncoln, Gr eta Gar bo was the leadi ng lady, but Ar li ngt on di dn't care for them ovie, so he said, 'Let's leave, ' and we di d." Mr s. Fost er al so stat ed that he was a generous per son, and not ed, "When he went on his tr ip to Det r oi t, he l et me dr ive hi s car left behi nd in Cret e. "

T aylor's l ongest rel at ionship at Doane was wi t h Kathr yn Bender Boekel of Cr ete, who l ivedwit h her par ent s Charl es and Del la Gil lete Bender at 1611 Ivy. Her father owned Bender 's, a candy

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and ice cr eam shop locat ed at the nor theast comer of 13t h & Mai n. About 5 feet 4 inches tal l wit hl ight bl onde hair and bl ue eyes, Kat hryn, now a Lincoln resi dent, at tended Doane for two years, bel ongi ng to the sor or it y P hi Si gm a T au and servi ng as vice presi dent of the sophomor e cl ass, thenatt ended Col orado Univer sit y in Boul der for one year. Ar li ngt on and Kathr yn met on October 9,1929 when bot h were form all y accepted as mem bers of the Doane Pl ayer s, and she recall ed, "Hewas ver y handsome, I tol d him I was a mem ber , too, and sai d, 'Congr at ul at i ons Mr. Brugh'. " That Decem ber she pl ayed a mi nor r ol e i n "Helena's Boys" and dated Brugh i n t he pl ay as wel l as in real l if e. They had dates two or thr ee ti m es a mont h as fr eshmen, and conti nued unti l the mi ddle of thesophomor e year. S om eti mes he would cont act her af ter cl ass or cal l her at hom e for dates, and theywould at tend coll ege functi ons, such as spor ts events, then go out aft er war ds. "We al so went on apicni c at Hor ky's Park, and at tended movi es at the Isi s Theat er at 139 West 13th," she sai d. T he Isisi s st il l i n use t oday at the sam e locat ion.

Arl ingt on wor e sweat er s on dates, and Kat hr yn cal led hi m Doc, and as a fr eshm an he inf act gave her a phot ogr aph of hi mself aut ogr aphed, "Best regar ds, Doc. " He al so l et her use hi s car, since she li ved at hom e. Ther e was no dri nki ng or smoki ng, and though her par ent s would not all ow her to at tend publ i c dances in coll ege, they di d att end a frat er ni t y dance in Lincoln. Ther ewas also dinner two or three ti m es wi th Arl i ngton's par ent s in Beat r ice, and on one occasion in thesum mer of 1930 af ter he took Kat hr yn home, he st ayed overnight at t he hom e of Fr anci s Menke at 520 Grove Avenue because, as Menke was quoted as sayi ng in T he Cret e News, "hi s par ents werestr ict and di d not all ow hi m to be on the road af ter 11 p.m . .. on this part i cular occasi on, wi t h theguest room in readiness, he chose to crawl into bed wi th John Menke (F ranci s' fat her ) rat her thanm uss another bed. "

L ike ot her women who dat ed Ar li ngt on at Doane, Kat hr yn had a high regar d for hi m andbel ieved he didn't reali ze how handsome he was at the ti me. And she remem bered, "He was aper fect gent l em an, ver y att enti ve, very handsome, a 'ladies' man, pr om pt , rel iable, ver y honest, ver y int el li gent, not a storytel ler, di d not gossip, was wel l gr oomed, meti cul ous, and had a bassvoi ce. He al so had a wonder ful widow's peak. " Appar entl y he thought hi ghl y of her, too. In her 1931 T iger, he wr ote on May 14, 1931 in part , "We've had a lot of good ti mes toget her these pastt wo year s and I hope that we've been good fr iends all the ti m e. We have as far as I am concerned. Rem em ber the 1930 spri ng Pl ayer s tri p — rem ember the ni ght going to Sutt on fr om Fair m ont —r em em ber our cr oquet gam es and those ni ghts last summ er ? I surely do." And whil e she was at sum mer school in Boulder , he wr ote to her fr om Cl ay Cent er on Jul y 6, 1931, and fondl y recal ledi n one par agr aph, "You asked if I rem em bered the ni ght of the 3rd of Jul y last year? I cert ainly do.I had a good ti me, did you? In fact I enj oyed every one of those ni ght s last sum mer. Rememberhow we used to si t out on t he porch swi ng or else on the steps of the back porch, and t al k. We werewonderf ul fr i ends and I don't know why we ever br oke up, so to speak, as we did. I guess that it isj ust one of those unexpl ainable things. " In hi s final paragr aph, he added, "Have a good ti m e, st udyhar d, and keep pl anning on st eak f ri es somet im e in August, " and he closed wit h "Love, Arl ington. "

I t is notewor thy that their fri endshi p was rem em ber ed in the comm uni ty. For exam pl e, theJune 12, 1969 Crete News used the subheading "rom ance" to represent what several local ci ti zensr ecal led about Tayl or and Bender , and the st aff of the 1931 T iger had com ment ed about it in agentl e, half - page spoof on page 109. For a play ent it led "Act IV — A Soli loquy," the set ti ng wast he Lincol n highway af ter the Cot ner football gam e, and it st arr ed Kathryn Bender , whose li neswer e as foll ows: "Oh Doc, please don't let's par k her e! Oh Doc, please don't let ’s park.. .! Oh Doc, please don't let's. . .! Oh Doc, please don't . .. ! Oh Doc, pl ease. .. ! Oh Doc. .. ! Oh. .. !! " The pl ay endedwit h "Curt ai n! ! (T hat cur t ai n is gett i ng to be a nui sance)" and the postscri pt "E di tor 's Not e: T he

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next seventeen acts have been censor ed by the Board of Publi cat ions. We conti nue wit h thet went y- t hi rd act. "

T aylor's reputati on as a lover had cl earl y preceded his Holl ywood roles, but Kat hr yn'sper spect ive 60 year s lat er in an int erview on Decem ber 6, 1991 at her Li ncoln apar tm ent put thei r par ti cul ar r elati onshi p thusl y: "At the t im e we went toget her , it was a mat ter of dat ing, not a ser iousl ove rel at ionship or aff ai r, and I am pr oud to say, when hi s nam e com es up, that I dat ed hi m at thet im e. I t was a very inter esti ng moment in m y l if e."

T here was no corr espondence bet ween them af t er Ar li ngton lef t for Pomona Coll ege in thef al l of 1931, though Kat hryn di d say "I was happy for him and pr oud of him when he becam e a hi tat the tim e of the mid-1930s. I wr ot e him a note at the ti me, and hi s Mot her answered because hewas so busy. " In 1942, she marr i ed A. E. Boekel of Cr ete, who att ended the Uni versit y ofNebraska and was in marketi ng for Si ncl ai r Ref ini ng Com pany unt il 1966, and dur i ng that tim et hey li ved in Omaha, Minneapoli s, Kansas Ci t y, and Cedar Rapi ds. Her uncl e, Guy Gil lete, was aU.S . Senat or fr om Cher okee, Iowa for ei ghteen years, and anot her uncle was a rear adm ir al in theU.S . Navy.

T aylor's two year s at Doane enabled him to sor t thr ough hi s car eer opt i ons, even t hough hehad not yet decided upon becomi ng an actor, hi s charact er rem ai ned const ant despit e his successand populari t y, and he cont inued his cl ose rel at i onship wi th hi s par ents. He el i mi nat ed law andm inistr y as car eer choices, and he di d not have str ong feeli ngs for becom ing a professi onal cell i st .Hal l al so quoted hi m as saying in 1937, "I liked dr am at i cs bett er than anyt hi ng el se, but st il lt hought of them as a hobby, som ething to pl ay about wit h unt i l the real business of lif e shoul dbegin." Duri ng the middl e of hi s sophom or e year, he wrot e to hi s par ents, explai ni ng that hewanted to dr op out of Doane and enr ol l in medi cal school , per haps Johns Hopki ns Uni versit y, andt hen lat er enter the Amer ican School of Ost eopat hy in Ki rksvi ll e to foll ow in hi s fat her's footst eps. His mot her in 1936 wrote, "But we fel t that he was too young to be posit i ve that he wanted todevot e his li fe to medici ne. We persuaded hi m to wait unti l he fi ni shed col lege befor e he deci deddef init ely." Arl ingt on conti nued to expr ess int er est i n medici ne i n his July 6, 1931 let ter to Kat hr ynBender, but in the Novem ber 1936 issue of T he Journal of Osteopathy, which excer pted par t of hi si nt er vi ew publi shed in the Sept ember 20, 1936 Chi cago Sunday Tribune, he was quot ed as sayi ng, "I gave that up (becom ing a doct or ) when I saw what I'd have to go thr ough in the way ofpreli mi nar y chemi st r y; I wasn't good at t hat ." Duri ng the int er vi ew for the art i cl e, Tayl or , who hada chr oni c back pr obl em , under went ost eopathi c tr eat ment , and over two years lat er, the January1938 Journal of Osteopat hy r epor ted he recei ved sim i lar tr eat ment in London duri ng hi s tri p toE ngland for the f il m ing of A Yank at Oxf ord.

Despi te hi s success and popul ar i ty, he remai ned true to hi mself and left behi nd anenorm ous amount of goodwi ll and pl easant mem or ies. Mr s. S eyler, a fr i end, observed that "Arl ywas always in good favor wi th the facul ty, and he visit ed of t en wit h Bir dena Donal dson, the Deanof Women. He enjoyed older peopl e. " Syl vi a S mr z Klasek, curr ent ly a Wi lber resi dent, wasenr ol led in the Depart ment of Musi c at Doane fr om 1928 to 1930, and pl ayed the piano. She wasan accom pani st for Arl ington sever al ti mes when he pr act iced hi s cel lo at her home at 1645 Nor thMai n in Cr et e. "He was al ways dr essed in a sui t, whit e shi rt , and bow ti e, and was very handsom eand pol i te," she sai d. And Evel yn Overm an Morr i son, who subst it ut ed for speech inst ruct or MaryE ll en I ngli s dur ing the spri ng semest er of Ar li ngt on's sophom ore year , st ated, "He was ver y wel l- l iked by all the st udent s, very popul ar , ver y tal ented. We al l real i zed he was goi ng far in hi s act ingf ield. You never fel t he was ever lor di ng hi s success over anyone, and he was poli te to ever yone. "

T he close rel at ionship Ar li ngton mai ntained wi th hi s par ents was evi dent duri ng hi s Doane

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years, and thei r inf luence on hi s devel opment cannot be mi ni m ized. It was not iced by at least twoof hi s fri ends. Mrs. Iri s All er volunt eer ed that "he thought a good deal of his mother , " and Mrs.Kat hr yn Bender Boekel stated that he was "devot ed to his parent s." His mother in 1936 wr ot e thatwhi le he was at Doane, "he woul d dr i ve home two or three ti m es a week.. . and he was al ways sogood about wr it ing, tell i ng us everyt hi ng that he was doing. " And Ar li ngt on him sel f wrote in hisJul y 6, 1931 lett er to Kathryn Bender in ref er ence to hi s choice of st ayi ng at Doane to fini sh hisr equi rem ents for ent er ing a m edi cal school that "I real l y li ke Doane and would hat e t o leave al l thef ri ends that I have ther e. Then, too, I woul d be cl ose to hom e and the folks. That means a lot tot hem and m or e t o me than I real i ze now. ”

The Tran sf er t o Pom on a Col lege in Cl arem on t , Cal if orni aT aylor’ s cel l o pr of essor Herber t E . Gray announced in May 1931 that he was taki ng a leave

of absence af ter the sum m er session at the Uni ver si ty of Nebr aska (whi ch in 1930 had purchasedt he Uni ver si t y School of Musi c) to fi ll a vacancy at Pom ona Col lege in Cl ar em ont , Cal if or ni a,where he woul d be inst ructor of voice, or chest ral instr ument s, and ensem ble wor k. Ar l ingt onunder st ood that Gray hoped he woul d transfer to Pom ona Col lege, for Gr ay had spoken to hi spar ents "at gr eat lengt h about Pomona, " hi s mot her wrote in 1936, ar gui ng it "had a hi gh scholast i cr at ing and was a much lar ger col lege than Doane." Event uall y a deci si on had to be made. Them ot her wrote that "t he doct or and I bel ieve that a larger coll ege mi ght be more benefi cial. . . weknew that we coul d trust hi m (Ar li ngt on). .. Pr of essor Gr ay woul d be ther e to advise him ; andnearby, in San Bernardino, was my husband's form er part ner , Dr. Gass, who would wat ch out for him ." Someti m e in the sum mer, Doane Coll ege off er ed Gr ay's m usic posi ti on to Ar li ngt on, event hough he was sti ll a st udent . T aylor in 1937 wr ot e, "I dr ove hom e to talk it over wit h my par entsand arr i ved at a decision that changed the course of my li fe. .. his (Gray's) ent husi asm for theCal if or nia coll ege and f or my pr ospects of becom i ng a r eal ly good cell ist l ed my par ent s to suggest t hat I shoul d transf er to Pom ona also. I agr eed. .. " At the tim e, nei ther the par ent s nor Arl i ngtont hought of t he pr oxi mi ty of Hol l ywood t o Pom ona Col lege, r eport ed t he mot her.

Whi le at Pom ona Col l ege for his juni or and senior years, Tayl or prepar ed for a car eer inbusiness and cont inued hi s associati on wi th Pr of essor Gr ay, who proceeded to rem ai n at Pomonaf rom 1931 to 1936. (Af ter wards, Gr ay was a music supervi sor wit h the San Bernar dino Count yS chools for sever al year s, then owned the Cr own Music St or e in Pasadena from 1949 to 1965). T aylor also fel l in love "f or t he fi r st t im e, reall y, in m y lif e, " Hal l quoted him as com menti ng, wit ha gir l who at tended Pomona but who went unnamed. He also for m ed a fr iendshi p wi t h Pr ofessor Rober t Ross of the Depar t ment of Psychology. It was in the summ er af ter his juni or year that heenr ol led in Ross' si x- week lect ure cour se on psychi at ry, and the resul t was assert ions later made int he medi a that he had int ended to becom e a psychi at ri st . But in 1937 Hal l quoted Tayl or 's reacti ont husl y: "T he ti me I gave to it has been consider abl y over-r at ed in var i ous ar t icles whi ch have beenwri tt en about m e. "

T hat sam e sum mer of 1932, Arl ington ret ur ned to his Beat ri ce home af ter com pl et i on of Ross' cour se, and Doane Coll ege off er ed hi m var ious inducem ents to ret urn to Crete for hi s seni or year. Hi s mot her recal led, "T hey urged hi m so st r ongl y. . . it di d look to me as if he was a lit tl e tooeasil y inf luenced; his f ather and I hoped t hat he would st ay at Pom ona." Of cour se, Taylor did, andas relat ed by biogr apher Wayne in her R obert Tayl or, he not onl y par ti ci pat ed in col l ege plays, but was discover ed by MGM tal ent scout Ben Pi azza in December 1932 for his role in the campusproduct i on of R. C. Sher i ff 's Wor l d War I dram a "Jour ney's End". The 1933 M et at e, t he Pom onaCol lege annual, cont ai ned a r evi ew of the pl ay, whi ch al so off er ed t he st atement , "Ar l ingt on Brugh

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gave an intense and fi nel y dr awn per f or mance as Captain S tanhope, the har assed comm andi ngoff icer whose ner ves wer e near the breaki ng point. "

P robabl y the only Beat ri ce nati ve pr esent at one of the stagi ngs of "Jour ney's End" to seeArl ingt on's act ing was Mari an Sher wood West on, a 1932 Beat ri ce Hi gh gr aduate and anacquaint ance. She had been in the audience because at the ti m e she was a fr eshm an at Scri ppsCol lege, also in Cl aremont. A li fe-l ong resi dent of Beat ri ce, West on kept a di ar y fr om her f reshman year , and her entr y for Fri day, Decem ber 2, 1932 read, "Just got back from Hol mes Hal lon the Pom ona cam pus, where we saw the Pomona Col lege pr esent at ion of 'Jour ney's End'. Arl yBrugh was in it and he and all the cast were excell ent . It was a dar n good product i on." She wasalso elated a few weeks lat er when she learned he had been cont act ed by an MGM tal ent scout. "We wer e all consci ous of the pr om inence of the movies at the tim e, and it was a big thri ll for met o think he might become a screen st ar, " she sai d.

Aft er Ar li ngt on was off er ed in ear l y 1933 a scr een test at MGM St udi os at Cul ver Ci ty, hehad wri t ten to hi s par ent s for advice, and accor ding to hi s Mar ch 1, 1937 piece in the Li ncolnNebraska Stat e Journal , his father repl ied, "Be car ef ul. Take your tim e. Fi ni sh your educati onbef or e you deci de." Af ter the init ial scr een test , Ar li ngt on was di sappoi nt ed, but a few days lat er MGM invi ted him back to take dr amati c instr uct ion from its dr am at ic coach Oli ver Hinsdel l . Hedid so two ti mes a week for about a month, then decided to concentr ate on com pl eti on of hiscoursework at Pom ona Col l ege. On June 19, 1933, he was among 194 gr aduates awar ded abachelor 's degr ee, and present for com m encement wer e hi s par ent s. In t he 1933 M et at e, the col legeannual credi t s under his gr aduati on photo reveal he had belonged to the Masquer s Soci et y, PhiDel ta f r at er nit y, and Doane Coll ege. Hi s hom et own l ist ed was Beat r ice.

Arl ingt on then moved to Hol lywood to at tend a dr amati cs cour se at the Neely Di xonDramati c School , whi ch had an opt ion on hi s ser vices. And he had inform ed hi s par ent s, them ot her wrote in 1936, "t hat he would tr y act ing for a year — and then, if it di d not pan out , hewould make use of hi s business degr ee." But his lessons wer e int er r upted on August 15, when hisf at her under went maj or surger y for an i nf lam ed or r uptur ed gall bladder at the Lut her an Hospit al inBeatr ice, causi ng Ar li ngt on to ret ur n hom e for al most a mont h. Psychol ogy professor Rober t Rosshad done the dr iving. Af t er his father seem ed to im pr ove, he said to Arl i ngton, accor di ng t o aut hor Gladys Hal l, "I 'm al l ri ght now, son. You go back to Hol lywood and wor k har d. Maybe you won'tever be pr esi dent , but you mi ght get to be another Tom Mix." But af t er hi s father di ed on October 15, 1933, Ar l ingt on fl ew home for the funer al hel d at the Centenary Methodi st Chur ch on Oct ober18t h. As report ed in the B eatrice Dai l y Sun of that dat e, "t he at tendance was large and the fl or al off er ings pr of use." Casket bear ers wer e Nat han Mudge, Ray Macy, E. F. Wit t, W. I. Reed, andDexter Bri dges of Beat ri ce, and Anthony S hi merda of Wil ber. Ther e wer e 13 honor ar y casket bearers, several of whom were fr om the Beat r ice medical comm uni ty. Har man Mor tuary of 623E lk Str eet was responsibl e for arr angem ents. T he body of S. A. Brugh was pl aced in a recei vi ngvault i n E ver gr een Hom e Cem et er y on the east edge of Beat r ice, but seven year s lat er i t was m ovedt o Forest Lawn Memor ial- P ar k at 1712 Sout h Glendale Avenue in Glendale, Cal if or nia andi nt er red i n the Great Mausoleum on October 28, 1940.

His fat her 's deat h was a deep loss. As Hall quot ed Tayl or's react ion, "I thanked my fat hert hen for teachi ng me to handl e sit uat ions. He had met li fe and deat h and al l of the exi genci es of bot h wi t h fi r m sympathy, wi th m att er - of -f act com m on sense. I tr ied to fol low in hi s footsteps. " For a whi le it appear ed Tayl or mi ght rem ain in Beatr i ce, for he wrote in his March 2, 1937 art icle that "Mother want ed to st ay in Nebraska whil e I ret ur ned t o Hol lywood, but I ref used. I pl anned to st ayi n Beat r ice wit h her and found mysel f a job in an oil st at ion." So whi le she thought over the

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dil em ma, he hel ped her wi th set t li ng an est ate, whi ch incl uded auct i oning off many of the fam il y'spossessi ons. Af ter Mrs. Brugh deci ded Arl ington shoul d not pass up the opport uni ty to use hi sabi li ti es, they depart ed Beat ri ce on November 25, 1933, and took rooms on Frankl in Ci rcle inHol lywood, wher e he re-enroll ed in the MGM dramat ic school under the coachi ng of Hinsdel l . Inhis art i cl e "Anyt hi ng Can Happen in Hol lywood" publ ished in the Oct ober 1936 L adies HomeJournal , T aylor gave an in-dept h explanat ion of hi s traini ng on the 82-acr e layout of MGMS tudi os, and reveal ed the amount of har d wor k and disci pli ne requir ed. On February 6, 1934, hesigned a cont ract wi th MGM, and the event was dul y noted in the Beat ri ce, Crete, Lincol n andOmaha newspaper s.

His nam e was changed to Rober t Taylor , and he was loaned to 20t h Century- Fox for asmall role in Handy Andy st ar ri ng Wi l l Roger s. Based on Lewi s Beach's M erry Andrew, itpremi er ed on August 3, 1934 at the Roxy Theat er in New York Ci ty. Not ice of hi s debut waspubli shed in Li ncol n newspapers, and the August 2 B eatrice Dai l y Sun carr ied an adver ti sem ent byt he F ox Theat er t hat sai d, "Com ing Monday ( August 6) Handy A ndy wi th Beat ri ce's own Arl i ngtonBrugh." Af ter a year and a half under contr act , he gained the att ent ion of Nebr aska newspapers. Int he Jul y 14, 1935 L incoln Sunday Journal and Star, more than a full page was devot ed to him byL ul u Mae Coe in "Rober t Tayl or Is Off to the Star s" wit h the subt it l e "Wi th Abi l it y as hi s Rocket ,F or mer Gage Count y Youth Is Mor e Than Making good in Hol lywood, " and the July 21 Sunday( Omaha) W orld Heral d ran a short ar ti cl e ent i tl ed "23-Year- Ol d Nebraskan Lat est 'F i nd' inMovies". On Oct ober 27, the Sunday W orld Heral d publ ished hi s phot o wit h Kei th Wi lson's ar t icle"Yout hf ul Beatr ice Act or Cl im bi ng Hol lywood Tr ai l ".

His car eer bl ossomed, and for account s of hi s pr ofessional and personal lives fr om 1934 to1969, one may consul t Jane El len Wayne's bi ogr aphi es ti tl ed R obert Tayl or (S t. Mart in's Pr ess,1973, 1987) and Stanwyck (S t. Mart in's Pr ess, 1986) and Lawr ence Qui rk's T he Fil ms of RobertT aylor (Cit adel Pr ess, 1975) .

The H ol l ywood years an d his m ot h er's visi ts t o Neb raskaDur ing his year s as a fi l m st ar , Tayl or est abl ished resi dence in the Los Angeles area,

l ooked aft er the wel l- bei ng of his m other , and m aintai ned hi s lif e-l ong att achment to Nebr aska in avar iety of ways.

At fi rst he stayed wit h his mot her in a rent al house in Bever ly Hil l s, and was par t of ahousehol d that al so incl uded hi s gr andm ot her Eva S tanhope, a secretar y, and a mai d. In August 1935 he moved int o a rent ed eight-r oom house just four blocks away, then in July 1937 purchaseda 27- acr e ranch est ate in T ar zana in the San Fer nando Val l ey just 15 mil es nort h of the MGMS tudi o in Cul ver Ci t y. According to the art i cl e "Holl ywood's Unmarr i ed Husbands and Wives" int he Januar y 1939 issue of P hotopl ay, hi s pr opert y was adjacent to the hom e of Barbar a S tanwyck,whom he met thr ee year s ear li er . Tayl or and S tanwyck wer e mar ri ed on May 14, 1939 just aft er m idni ght in San Diego at the hom e of Mr . and Mrs. Thomas Whel an, their fr iends. Whel an wasf or merl y from O’Nei l l, Nebr aska, had st udied at Creight on Pr ep in Om aha, and af t er becomi ng anatt or ney in Cal if or nia, he devel oped many acquai ntances in the movi e col ony, repor ted the May15, 1939 Omaha World Heral d. Municipal Judge Phi l Smi t h perf orm ed the cer em ony, wi th Mr s. Z eppo Marx, mat ron of honor , and Buck Mack, actor and godf at her of Miss S tanwyck, best man. Aft er war ds, Taylor and S tanwyck rent ed a home on Arden Dr ive in Bever ly Hi ll s, then bought ahouse at 400 St . Cl oud St reet , and fi nall y in the mid-1940s owned a large hom e at 423 Nor thF ar ing Road, both i n t he Bel -Air sect i on of Los Angeles.

Aft er thei r divor ce was gr anted on Februar y 21, 1951, S tanwyck auct ioned off the

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$100, 000 mansion and all it s fur ni shi ngs, and col lect ed 15 percent of Taylor's ear ni ngs unt i l hedied in 1969. For the recor d, she vi sit ed Nebr aska only once, taking par t in the wor l d pr em i er e oft he movi e Uni on Paci fi c in Omaha on Apri l 28, 1939. Taylor did not accom pany her. Meanwhil e,f or t he next three years, T aylor lived wi th hi s fri end and co-pil ot Ralph Couser and wi th his motherRut h Brugh. Aft er Tayl or and Ursul a T hi ess wer e mar ri ed on May 24, 1954 at Jackson Lake,Wyomi ng, wit h Ral ph Couser and fami ly fr iend Ivy Moori ng in att endance, they lived in a newhom e on San Rem o Dr i ve in the Paci fi c Pal isades secti on of Los Angel es unti l 1959. They thenm oved to thei r 113- acre ranch at 3099 Mandevi l le Canyon in the Brent wood ar ea of Los Angel es.T he f am i ly owned the r anch unti l 1972.

Rut h Brugh, in the meant i me, regai ned impr oved heal th, and dr essed in Hol lywoodf ashi on. In the ear l y years she spent her ti me wi th the ot her mem ber s of the househol d, answer ingsom e 12, 000 pieces of Taylor's fan mail and phot o requests each week. In Apri l 1936, Tayl or staged a sur pri se di nner part y for si x peopl e at the Bever ly Wil shir e Hot el in Holl ywood on theoccasion of her 49t h bir t hday. The cl im ax of the part y was when Bar bar a S tanwyck hel ped Rut hBrugh to a wedge of cake and under it was a di am ond sapphi re br acel et — Taylor's gif t to hi sm ot her. In 1938 he bought her a house at 1063 S el by St reet in t he Brent wood ar ea of Los Angel es,where she resided unti l the mid- 1950s when she moved to an apar tm ent in Long Beach. In the1960s, Taylor arr anged for her to li ve in a nursi ng hom e in Santa Moni ca, where she rem ai nedunt il her death on Decem ber 7, 1974 at the age of 87. S he was bur ied next t o her husband's crypt int he Great Mausoleum at F or est Lawn Mem or ial -P ar k i n Gl endal e.

T aylor's mot her m ai ntained ti es wi th many relati ves and fr iends i n Nebraska, especial ly theGage Count y area, and she even ret ai ned her membershi p in the Beatr i ce Women's Club unt il 1956. On at least 18 diff er ent occasi ons, Mr s. Brugh returned to the st ate, st ayi ng at the PaddockHot el each ti me she vi si t ed Beat ri ce. Her fi rst ret ur n tri p was in Novem ber 1934, whi ch incl udednearl y a week's stay in Wil ber at the hom e of her good fri ends Anthony and Rose T yser S hi merda.Accor di ng to the Novem ber 8 Crete News, she was a guest of Doane dr am a instr uct or Mary Ell enI ngli s and the Doane Pl ayer s on Novem ber 3 at a theater par ty at the Isis Theater in Cr ete. Whenshe visi ted Beatr ice in August 1935, October 1936, March 1937, October 1939, 1940, 1945, and1946, May 1952 and 1953, she al so took ti me to have l unch in Wi lber wi th the S hi merdas.

I n June/ July 1936, Mrs. Brugh returned to vi si t Taylor's ail i ng gr andf at her Jacob A. Brughat Hol mesvi ll e, and in October 1936 att ended a luncheon at the Paddock Hotel on the 17t h for EvaS tanhope to honor her mot her on her 80t h bi r thday. Pr esent for this occasion wer e a tot al of 40close relati ves and fr iends from the Nebr aska com muni ti es of Beat ri ce, El li s, F ai rbur y, F il ley, L incoln, Omaha, and Wi lber, and the out -of- state ci ti es of Chicago, Mi nneapol is, Washingt on, DC, and F lagl er , Col orado. On the 28t h she was, of course, pr esent in Beatr i ce for Tayl or'shom ecom i ng. In October 1937, she att ended a luncheon in Beat r ice in honor of her mot her 's 81st bir thday, and also went to Fr em ont . In Sept ember 1938, she returned to Beat ri ce to at tend theweddi ng of sister E ff ie S tanhope Jam ison of near by E l li s to Cl ayt on Hi ll of Hol ton, Kansas, and inOct ober 1939 to att end the weddi ng of her ni ece Eva Jam ison to Harold War kent i n. In lat eS eptember 1941, she retur ned for t he funeral of her sist er E ff ie.

Aft er Worl d War II, Ruth Brugh resumed her vi si ts, stayi ng in Om aha for a weekend inS eptember 1945 and in Beatr ice a mont h later . Her next ret ur n to Beatr ice was in Oct ober 1946, inMar ch 1949, and t hen agai n in May 1950 for the f uneral of her 93- year- ol d m other who was bur iednext to the rem ai ns of her husband A. L. S tanhope at the Ever gr een Hom e Cem et er y in Beatr ice. Asi de fr om her pr evi ousl y menti oned visit s to Beatr ice in May 1952 and 1953, she made her fi nalt ri p in the spr ing of 1957, aft er whi ch she was featured in an ar ti cle in the June 2 issue of the

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Omaha W orld Heral d Magazine of the M idl ands.

Taylor's return trips to NebraskaP ar t of Tayl or's li f e- long at tachm ent to Nebraska was evident by at least 19 vi sit s, a few of

whi ch coinci ded wit h his mother 's ret ur n vi sit s, most of whi ch invol ved publi c appear ances, hunti ng excur si ons, busi ness and sent im ent.

A report of a return tr ip to Doane Coll ege in the spr i ng of 1934 publi shed in the September1936 issue of T he Playbi ll cannot be conf ir med. But his surpri se "hom ecomi ng" in Beatr i ce onOct ober 28, 1936 most cer tainly can, for it happened just one day af ter he compl et ed wi th Gr et aGar bo the fi l mi ng of Camil le. T hat day's edit ion of the B eatrice Dai l y Sun report ed on the fr ont page that "i t was a tumul tuous wel com e by throngs whi ch jamm ed the line of m ar ch of a longpar ade. " L at er that day, the L incoln Eveni ng Journal st at ed that "car s from Kansas, Mi ssour i, Iowaand all Nebr aska count ies in thi s vi cinit y wer e par ked everywhere…t he cr owd was esti m at ed at around 20, 000." T he late Wi ll iam Cook S r. , a Beat ri ce banker , was pr esent f or t he occasion, and hestated in a 1993 int er vi ew that "t he parade for Taylor was one of the bi ggest in the hi st or y of thecit y. " The event was also recor ded in a five-page art icl e ti t led "Robert Tayl or 's Am azi ngHom ecom i ng" in the February 1937 i ssue of M ovie M i rror magazi ne. T he t ri p, ini ti al ly intended asa qui et two- day rest wit h his m other and ot her s, was expanded t o a four- day visi t. Local or ganizerswer e Rivol i Theat er m anager L .B. S ponsler and boyhood fr iend Arvid "S pi v" E yt h, at the ti me apubli ci st for t he Beat ri ce Juni or Chamber of Com m er ce.

Accom panied by MGM execut ive Dean Dor n and two other men, one of them "bodyguar d"f ri end L. Bowden, Taylor arr i ved at the Lincoln Muni cipal Ai rpor t at 11:10 a. m ., and as the fr ont page Oct ober 28 art i cl e in the L incoln Eveni ng Journal report ed, he was gr eeted by "hundreds at air port here as he ali ght s, " includi ng a recepti on comm i tt ee of Lincol n and Beat ri ce ci vi c per sons. Weari ng "a tweed sui t, under a gazel l e leat her top coat , wit h a beaver hat cocked at an angl e, "T aylor was dr iven to Beat ri ce in a gr ay Packar d. Hung over Cour t St r eet bet ween 5t h and 6thS tr eets was a l ar ge banner wi th the wor ds "Beatr i ce Wel com es You, Ar li ngt on Brugh, " and he wasgiven a ri de through a roped- off secti on of the downt own ar ea. Perched on the top of the back seat of a yel low car , he waved const ant ly and fl ashed a br oad smi l e. A motorcycl e pol ice escor t , anAmeri can Legi on col or guard and the municipal band pr eceded him , and his car was fol l owed byother bands, incl udi ng the Legi on dr um corps, the Beatr i ce Hi gh School Band in its or ange andwhi te unif or m s, and the Doane Coll ege gir ls dr um and bugle corps. Fact or y whi st l es bl ew, cr owdscheer ed and he call ed out to ol d fri ends. Then the "l ocal boy who made good" spoke to anassem bl y of 1,200 st udent s at the Junior Hi gh Audit or ium , whi ch is sti ll in use today, and theOct ober 29 L incoln Eveni ng Journal report ed "t he st udent s gave Taylor a ful l minut e ovati onwhi ch threat ened to shat t er the wi ndows." He was int roduced by debate coach and biology teacher H.M. Gar rett , who revi ewed Ar li ngt on's school accom pl ishment s, and com mented, "His desi re toexcel in what ever he was doing was hi s most outst andi ng char act er ist ic duri ng hi s hi gh schooldays. "

L at er i n t he af ternoon he was taken on a t our of t he ci ty, includi ng a visit t o his ol d hom e at 901 Nor t h 6t h Str eet , by Eyth and fr i end Ed Weekes Jr . Then in the ear ly evening he appearedbef or e a capaci ty cr owd at the Rivol i T heat er, and was i nt roduced by Nebr aska Governor Rober t L. Cochr an. In the evening, he att ended a recepti on and dance at the Paddock Hot el unti l wel l aft er m idni ght . Accor di ng to the L incoln Eveni ng Journal, "t he idol of Beatr i ce pr oved bashful at ther ecepti on, " and it was al most 11 p.m . when, just as he entered the ball room, the or chest ra pl ayed"Ther e Is No Pl ace Like Nebraska." Wear ing a dar k blue sui t wit h whi te pi n st ri pes and bl ue shir t ,

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he deci ded to dance when the Eddie Jungbl ut h Band, wi th form er Harm ony Boys mem ber RussGibson as it s piani st, st ar ted wit h "The Wal tz You Saved For Me". He sel ected as hi s fir st dancepar tner hi s old high school fri end Cather ine Heff el fi nger Weekes. T he ot her sel ect ions, wrot e Lul uMae Coe in the full - page November 1 Sunday Journal and Star ar ti cl e "He's St il l Arl i ngton toBeatr ice Hom e Fol ks, " wer e "You Ar e My Lucky Star ," "The Cor nhusker , " and "The Way YouL ook Tonight . " Hi s onl y other dance par tner was Mrs. Ar vid Eyth. At 2: 15 a. m. he phoned Ver aBascom in Li ncoln and ar r anged for a date t he fol lowi ng eveni ng.

On the 29t h, he had a chi cken di nner wi th al l the t ri mm i ngs at the Jam ison farm home near E ll is, went rabbi t hunti ng ther e wit h fir st cousi n Earl Jami son, bagged a rabbi t wit h his ol d .410shotgun, and was photogr aphed aft er war ds. He then dr ove t o Wil ber for a supper wi t h the Ant honyS hi merdas, and in the eveni ng met wi t h ol d Doane Coll ege fri ends Fr ancis Menke and Thom asWal kl in at Ki nd's Cafe in Crete. Lat er that eveni ng he met hi s ol d KMMJ gir lf ri end Vera Bascom at her Lincol n home at 1809 G St reet , but was gr eeted by sever al member s of the medi a, report edt he Oct ober 30 L incoln Eveni ng Journal. So he took her to sever al Lincol n caf es, then to el uder epor ter s and onl ooker s, dr ove to Cr ete f or a tal k in a quiet caf e unt il earl y mor ni ng.

On October 30, Tayl or at t ended a l uncheon at t he Beat ri ce hom e of Dwight S. Dal bey, whowas a member of the Nebr aska St ate Legi sl at ure fr om 1915 to 1921, then vi si ted Fil ley, hi sbir thpl ace, and Hol m esvi l le, where hi s gr andf at her Jacob A. Br ugh lived. Meanwhil e, that aft er noon's B eatrice Dai l y Sun ran a com pl i ment ar y front page headl ine "Rapi d Cli mb to Fam eHas Not ‘Gone to Head' Yout hf ul Holl ywood St ar ." In the eveni ng, he at tended a speci al di nnerpar ty in his honor at Doane Col l ege. Or gani zed by Dean of Wom en Bir dena Donal dson andMat ron Mrs. Lynn Wi l li am s, it was hel d in the mai n di ni ng room on campus. The li st of 30 guest swas com pri sed of for mer Doane Pl ayer s mem ber s who wer e his fr iends, facul ty mem ber s wit hwhom he worked, and repr esent at i ves of the adm ini st rati on and trust ees, includi ng Pr esi dent E. B. Dean. Af terwards, Tayl or and the younger guest s rem inisced at the Cr et e apart ment of Mr s. Wil li am s, who in the November 3 issue of T he Doane Owl was quoted as sayi ng, "He was thesam e Ar l ingt on he was when he was in school . "

On Satur day, October 31, he spoke in the mor ni ng to t he Br ier F ox P opeye Cl ub at the FoxT heat er , and was photogr aphed at Penner's Pharm acy wit h Char li e Scott , who had been in char geof the soda fount ai n when T aylor was a yout h. An enlargement of t hi s phot o is pr esent ly on displ aynear the sam e fount ain and lunch counter, which is now used at Well s Phar macy, locat ed just next door nor th of where Penner's once exi st ed. It was the subject of the ar t icle "L unch Counter I s Hubat Beat r ice" publ ished i n t he March 15, 1987 i ssue of t he Omaha W orld Heral d.

At noon, Tayl or att ended a luncheon at the Hot el Cornhusker in Li ncoln wi th his mother, his bodyguar d fri end L. Bowden, Mr . and Mrs. Edgar Weekes Jr . , and Mr. and Mr s. Ar vi d Eyt h. Also at this occasi on was his Doane Col lege coll eague Russ Gi bson, wit h whom he shar ed thepiano bench dur ing a num ber . About 500 peopl e, most ly women, jamm ed the dining room, thel obby, and the st reet nearby, and Taylor and fri ends escaped through the ki tchen. He then watchedt he Nebr aska- Mi ssour i footbal l gam e at Memor ial Stadi um , wher e he was the star att racti on f or thef em al es, many of whom chant ed, "We want Tayl or . We want Tayl or. " A phot o of hi m seatedbet ween Abbi e Eyt h and "ex- sweet hear t " Catheri ne Heff el fl nger Weekes was publ ished by theAssociat ed Pr ess. That evening he at t ended a bri ef recepti on at the Paxt on Hotel in Omaha, wherehe "was vi rt ual ly mobbed by about 50 women, " then about mi dni ght depar ted wit h his mother byplane fr om the Om aha Air por t. A cr owd of nearl y a thousand was at the Air por t, accordi ng to theNovem ber 1 Sunday World Heral d, so to avoi d the people, T aylor 's car dr ove ont o t he fi el d alm ostt o the plane in whi ch he depart ed. By coi nci dence, Fi or ell o LaGuardi a, Mayor of New Yor k Ci t y,

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was also present at the Air port at t he ti me, but he r eceived li tt le at tenti on f r om T ayl or f ans.Of hi s fir st return to Nebr aska af ter becom i ng famous, Taylor was quot ed in the L incoln

Nebraska Stat e Journal as sayi ng, "He'd had an excel lent ti m e, enj oyed nearl y every mi nute of hi sf our- day stay, and liked especi all y his treatm ent at Doane Coll ege, the alm a mat er , Fri day night . "But his shy, pr ivat e nat ure did not adj ust wel l to publ i ci ty appear ances over al l and mi xed feeli ngsl at er em er ged. A Sept em ber 11, 1940 Omaha World Heral d edit or i al reveal ed that he sai d of hisold hom e stat e to Holl ywood col umnist Sheil ah Gr aham: "I don't want to go back. The last ti m e Iwent to Nebr aska I fel t so ol d. Ever yone I knew was mar r ied and had chil dren. It was al l ver ydepressi ng." So the edit ori al off er ed pr ophet ic advi ce: "But som eday, per haps. .. . Rober t Tayl or m ay find his thought s tur ni ng back to the boys and gi rl s who were fr iends in hi s yout h, and whonow are fell ow- passenger s wit h him on t he t r ai n from Beatr ice, Nebr aska to et er nit y. "

I t was aft er Worl d War II when Taylor ret ur ned to Nebraska, arr iving in Beatr ice on theaft er noon of October 15, 1946 i n his new twi n- engine Beechcr aft , whi ch was purchased for hi m byMGM in lieu of a sal ar y increase. It was pi l ot ed by Tayl or hi msel f who had earned hi s license inAugust 1941. Al ong wit h him cam e his co-pil ot Ral ph Couser , a fri end from the Navy. Unl ike hishom ecom i ng ten year s ear l ier, this vi si t was a quiet one, and he was met at t he Beat ri ce Ai rport byt he Arvi d Eyt hs and the Edgar Weekeses Jr . That eveni ng he and Couser di ned at the PaddockHot el wi th Mr s. Brugh, who had been in Beat r ice for a f ew days pr evi ousl y.

All t hr ee then motor ed t o Crete to vi si t Doane Coll ege, and proceeded fr om ther e t o Wil berf or a vi si t wit h fam il y fri ends Anthony and Rose Tyser Shi mer da. Accor di ng to the Oct ober 18,1946 W il ber Republ ican, present al so were hi s for mer Doane Coll ege dram a inst r uctor Mar y Ell enI ngli s- F ar ri es, at the ti me Dir ect or of t he Day School for the Deaf at the Wi lber Publ ic School s,and her ten- year- ol d daught er Barbar a.

I n her February 20, 1993 lett er , Bar bar a, now a Liver mor e, Cali forni a resident, recount edher experi ence on this occasi on. It was one whi ch most women in the wor l d could onl y imagine: "As we (Ar li ngt on and I) sat toget her on a bench or gli der at t he Shim er das, I asked if I coul d givehim a hug. 'Would you li ke a scr een kiss?' he asked me. He put hi s right ar m ar ound my shoul derand leaned forwar d. Si nce I went to the m ovi es ever y Sat ur day, I knew what to do: I bent my neckbackwar ds and closed my eyes. Robert Tayl or ki ssed my li ps. Blood pounded in my br ai n — all t he good stuff I had read about love and passion becam e my exper ience.. .I t was over i n a second —m aybe two seconds — but hey, som eone's got to be the fi r st , and Robert Tayl or was mi ne. On hisway back t o Los Angeles from Beatr ice l at er that week, he fl ew over the Wil ber Grade School . T henoi se of the pl ane's engi ne brought the sixt h- gr ade cl ass to the wi ndows. Maybe he had tol d otherkids he'd be wavi ng fr om the cockpit , but this young gi r l bel ieved that Rober t Taylor was saluti ngher . He woul d never be 'Arl ingt on' t o m e again."

T he next day he had lunch in Beatr ice wit h an ol d school fri end Bil l Davi s, and took ti met o ai d the local Com muni t y Concert Associ at i on in a prom ot ion, and a phot ogr aph of hi m wit hpresi dent Mauri ne Mort on was publi shed on t he 20t h in the B eatrice Dai l y Sun. I n Beat r ice also hem et Dr. Br yant Dr ake, then pr esi dent of Doane Col lege. Accor ding to the Oct ober 24 issue of T heCrete News, he tol d Dr ake it made him hom esi ck to see the fam il iar scenes and faces. In theeveni ng he was a guest of t he E yth and Weekes fam il ies at the Beatr i ce F i el d Cl ub for a dinner andr ecepti on whi ch the two fam il ies had or gani zed. As the Eyt hs' daught er Gr acia, a 1950 gr aduate of Beatr ice High and now a Lincoln resi dent, recall ed, "It was a big event. My mot her said at thet im e, 'Rober t probably won't want thi s, but we’l l do it anyway. ' My parents wer e nor m al ly veryprotect i ve of his vi si ts because that 's the way he was — a very pri vat e per son. " On the 17t h,T aylor, his mot her , and Couser were joi ned by Nina Cal l of Om aha, who had been Mr s. Brugh's

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housekeeper in Holl ywood, then they depar ted for Cali for ni a. Accordi ng to the October 16t hB eatrice Dai l y Sun, he not only hoped to ret ur n to Beat r ice soon for a longer vi si t but he alsostated, "T en year s is too l ong to be away f r om home."

I t was, however , just a mat ter of days befor e he returned to Nebr aska in the fal l of 1946 f ort wo hunt ing tri ps. Along wi th co-pil ot Couser, fi nancial advi sor Mor gan Mar ee, and nati onal skeet shoot ing cham pi on Al ex Kerr of Hol lywood, Tayl or spent the weekend of Oct ober 25-27 in Or d att he invi tati on of Or d Ai r port manager Gene Ba r n e t t. Upon landing in Gr and Isl and in the twi n-engine Beechcraft , the hunt ing par ty was dr i ven to Or d, wher e they stayed at the hom e of C. M.Gil roy. The next day, they hunt ed pheasants just east of Bur wel l, had lunch ther e, t hen huntedsoutheast of Or d, wi th Tayl or bagging four pheasant s for the day. That eveni ng the gr oup haddinner at the New Cafe in Ord, where Tayl or at e a two-pound sir loin st eak, hi s favor i te food. TheOct ober 31 issue of T he Ord Quiz report ed he had spent most of his spar e ti m e sl eeping as thehunters dr ove f rom field to f iel d, but when someone j oked about i t, he was quot ed as sayi ng, “Whyshoul dn’ t I sleep? I have an ai r pl ane to fl y around in, my wi fe is wor ki ng, and I'm on a hunti ngt ri p. " On the 27t h, the gr oup fl ew to Aber deen, Sout h Dakot a for a week's st ay at a hunt ing lodge, t hen tr aveled t o S acr am ent o, Cal i forni a to hunt ducks.

His other tr i p was in Novem ber for duck hunt ing near Li sco, a town of just over 200per sons in Garden County, where he st ayed at Omaha br ewer Ar t hur St orz' fam ous Duckl oreL odge, locat ed al ong t he Nort h Platt e River si x mil es nort h of town. Owned by S t or z from 1938 to1958, the Lodge was fr equented by a var iety of actors, mil it ary per sonnel , and pol it i ci ans. Thel odge was the subject of feat ur es in the Decem ber 18, 1950 L if e magazi ne and theNovem ber /December 1987 issues of Nebraskaland, a monthl y publi shed by the Nebr aska Gam eand Par ks Com mi ssion. On this part icular tr i p, he was accompani ed by co- pil ot Couser andHol lywood act or Wal l ace Beery, who was an MGM contr act player from 1915 to 1949 andappeared wit h Taylor in the 1939 m ovie St and Up And Fight . I n addi t ion to hunt i ng, Taylor andBeery part ici pated in the Novem ber 11, 1946 Ar mi sti ce Day cel ebrati on whi ch att r acted to Li scosom e 6, 000 persons from the Panhandl e secti on of the st ate, and incl uded a parade and bar becue.T he November 14 Garden Count y News report ed that ot her not abl es pr esent wer e Dwi ght Gri swol d, Gover nor of Nebraska from 1941 to 1947, and General But ler B. Mil tonberger , who ledm any Nebraska men in Wor l d War II bat tl es agai nst the Nazi s in Europe. In the November 1987Nebraskaland ar ti cl e, whi ch also incl uded phot os of Tayl or in a var i et y of sett i ngs, author JonF ar rar repor t ed that Tayl or rode a horse in the par ade, and gave a short talk li ke the ot her digni tar ies, but he gener al ly avoi ded publi c att ent ion.

His next document ed vi si t was to Beat ri ce, arr ivi ng at the Ai rpor t on Mar ch 9, 1949 wit hhis mot her and wi th co-pi lot Couser and his wi fe. The next day Tayl or depar ted to vi sit a fr iendf rom the Navy at Mat toon, I ll inois, whi le Mr s. Br ugh rem ai ned i n Beatr ice f or a longer st ay.

T here were two tr ips to Nebraska in 1952. Whil e on the way fr om New York Ci ty to LosAngel es, Tayl or and hi s co- pi lot Couser landed the Beechcr af t in Beatr ice on May 14 for anovernight st op to pi ck up Mrs. Brugh, who had been vi si t ing in the Beatr i ce area for ten days. InNovem ber , he spent two days hunt ing pheasant s in Li ncol n and Dawson Count ies, ar ri vi ng at theGot henburg Ai rpor t on Novem ber 19 wi t h co-pi lot Couser and Los Angel es doct or Geor ge W. Ainlay, a br other of Mrs. Wayne Parker of F arnam , where they st ayed unti l t he 22nd. Accor di ng tot he November 23, 1952 Li ncoln Sunday Journal and Star, Tayl or at tended a recept ion one eveningat the Got henburg home of Mrs. Paul Pot ter, daughter of Mr s. Parker . He gr anted int er views toj ournal i sm st udents at the Farnam and Got henburg Publ ic Schools, and shot two pheasants whi l e am em ber of a hunti ng part y com pr i sed of men from Brady and Got henbur g.

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T aylor was in Omaha on Januar y 6-7, 1953 as part of a pr om ot i onal tour for hi s newlycom pl et ed fi l m A bove And Beyond, the st ory of P aul Tibbet s, t he Ai r For ce colonel who pi loted t hef ir st at om ic bomb mi ssion over Hir oshim a, Japan on August 6, 1945. At a luncheon at theBlackst one Hotel on January 7th, he was presented by the Omaha- based Str ategi c Air Comm and acit at ion of appreci ati on "f or em phasi zi ng to the Am er ican publi c. .. t he im port ance of ai r power int he mai ntenance of wor ld peace. " Among those in att endance at the ceremony were four peoplef rom Beatr ice. The previ ous day Tayl or vi si t ed at an Om aha hotel hi s for m er high school Frencht eacher Am el i a Char d, and aft er that was honor ed at a cocktai l part y hel d by Om aha br ewer andf ri end Art hur Storz and fam il y. In a Januar y 7 Omaha World Heral d ar ti cl e, he reveal ed again hisdedicat i on and perf ect ionism when he was quoted as sayi ng, "You'd be sur pri sed at the num ber ofHol lywood act or s who t hi nk they perpetual ly and habit ual ly st ink. T he fi r st t im e I see a pi cture I'vem ade my react ion is invar iabl y negat i ve. As far as I'm concer ned, ther e's no one else i n the pict ur e. I l ook onl y at mysel f. And I'm always dissat isfi ed. "

Whi le i n Omaha that January, Taylor had a st eak dinner at Ross Lorel lo's St eak House, andwas so impressed that he comm issioned Lor el l o to ai r express to Hol l ywood 18 wel l- aged si rl oins, each 1 1/2 pounds in wei ght and two inches thi ck. Accor ding to a Februar y 11 Omaha WorldHeral d ar ti cl e, Taylor had wri t ten to Lorel lo, "L ast ni te I had thr ee of them for a sm al l dinner wit ha coupl e pal s of mi ne and we al l agr eed that these ol d teet h had never sunk into a fi ner hunk ofbeef. " His li fe-l ong favori te foods had been steaks and beef , a pref er ence pr evi ousl y made knownnat ionwi de by Ed Sul li van's ful l -page art icl e "P r ivat e Lives of Hol l ywood, the Rober t Taylor s—Very Happy Per sons" publ ished in the Novem ber 5, 1939 edi ti on of the Sunday World Heral d. A few months l at er , Taylor , spor t ing a m oust ache and cur l y bl ack chi n beard, r et urned to Nebr aska, arr iving in Beatr ice on the aft ernoon of May 19, 1953 to joi n his mother who had been stayi ng at t he Paddock Hot el for about a mont h. Due to a del ay in the pr oducti on of Kni ghts of the RoundT able i n Engl and, he had flown to Chi cago to meet co-pi lot Ral ph Couser , Ger man act ress andclose fr iend Ur sula Thiess, who becam e Tayl or's wif e a year lat er , and her compani on Shir leyF oster. Al l four then fl ew in hi s Beechcr af t to the Beat ri ce Ai rpor t , where Mrs. Brugh and sever alf ri ends gr eeted them.

During the three-day visit, he rented an automobile to take the group on a tour of thecountryside, including a visit to Filley and dinner in Omaha on the evening of the 20th at RossLorello's Steak House. On the 21st he and Ursula drove to Wilber to lunch with Anthony andRose Tyser Shimerda, then in the evening the entire group attended a dinner party at the Beatricehome of the Arvid Eyth family at 404 Washington.

Gracia Eyth Henkle, who attended the dinner, recalled, "Taylor was a dear friend of myfather, and his dream was to come back to Beatrice and live on an acreage. He was comfortable,like an old shoe, and at the dinner gave me a kiss on the cheek. My parents were protective of hisvisits, and the beauty of his coming back to Nebraska was the privacy he enjoyed. He was thehappiest in a pair of blue jeans and a cowboy hat, away from all the glitz and glitter. He was alsodevoted to his mother, and was generous to people. Unfortunately, he was a chain-smoker, andmy father always worried that it would be the death of him. After he died in 1969, his wifeUrsula wrote to my parents every Christmas season, and sent photographs of the children wellinto the 1980s."

In an August 24, 1987 B eatrice Dai l y Sun ar ti cl e, the handsome Ar vi d Eyt h, then 85 yearsold, was the subj ect of an inter vi ew about his fr iend Robert Tayl or , and fondly recal led hi m as "at rue count ry gent lem an.. . a man's man and he was a woman's man. He put this town and this st at eon the map." Unli ke many movi e act or s, Tayl or "di dn't seek publ icit y and tr ied to st ay out of the

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l im el ight, " and Eyt h added, "Gi r ls woul d thr ow them selves at hi s feet and nearl y mob hi m. .. Andm ot hers woul d've just loved t o have had him for a son-i n-l aw. "

On Novem ber 22, 1958, Taylor and his co-pil ot fl ew to Beat ri ce fr om hi s cabin near Buff al o, Wyom ing for an inf orm al two- day stay, duri ng which tim e he vi sit ed the Rober t Tyser f ar m at 1320 Beaver Avenue, then dr ove to Fi l ley. Accordi ng to the November 3 B eatrice Dai l ySun, he "wor e com fort abl e jeans and a pl aid shi r t, " att ir e that caused a pri vat e hum or ousexper ience for Jean Warr en Tyser , daughter- i n- law of the Tysers and wi fe of Arl i ngton Tyser , thel at ter a counselor at Beatr ice Junior High at the tim e. In an August 17, 1991 intervi ew, sher em em ber ed that when Tayl or visi ted the far m , she not iced a man standi ng wi th hi s foot on thegat e by the bar n, talking to Rober t Tyser , the oper at or of the farm . She said, "I recal l that he, viewed from behind, had black, shi ny, sli ck hair , and wore a leat her jacket , jeans, and cowboyboots. I thought to mysel f, ' W h a t ' s t h a t r o u g h n e c k d o i n g h e r e ? ' When he tur ned around, itwas Robert T ayl or , and t hat was the fir st t i me I met hi m ."

Another humor ous exper ience at the Tyser far m was recal l ed by Arl ington Tyser . Her em em ber ed that when Tayl or visi ted the far m , he woul d som et i mes have lunch or dinner wit ht hem, as his mother Fl ossie Wil l iams Tyser liked to make meal s for visit ors, but "som et im es hercakes were leat hery or a fl op." It was on one occasion in 1949, 1952, or 1953 that af ter Taylori nf or med Mrs. T yser that he woul d be vi si ti ng, she made a cake. "So as soon as he ar r ived, he wentdir ectl y int o the ki tchen and at e it . However, it was the bad one. Because he had rem em beredwhere ever yt hing was from visit s ear l ier in hi s lif e, he picked up the di scar ded chocol at e cakei nstead of t he good one my mother had placed i n another locat ion! "

T aylor's next ret ur n to Nebraska was in ear l y January 1963 for vi si t s wi t h fr iends inBeatr ice, Fi l ley, Fr em ont , Li ncoln, and Wil ber . In a January 13 art i cl e in the Sunday Journal andStar, he was quot ed as tell ing t he Anthony Shi mer das in Wi lber that "he 'needed a rest' so he cam eback to hi s chi ldhood hom e. " Accor di ng to the Shi merdas, who lunched wit h Taylor on the 8th, Dr. Brugh init iat ed young Ar l ingt on's vi sit s to thei r far m near Beatr ice "because he didn't want t he boyt o gr ow up knowi ng onl y sidewalks and all eys." T he ar t icle concluded that "thr ough al l these year sand sti l l today, however , t he Shim er das t hi nk of Robert Tayl or, or Spangl er Arl i ngton Brugh as hi sNebraska bir t h is r ecorded, as 'our boy, too.'"

I t is of hist or ical inter est that Rose Tyser Shi m er da had a connect i on wi th anot her per sonj ust as famous as Tayl or . That per son was Wi ll a Cat her, the renowned noveli st who gr ew up inRed Cloud, Nebr aska. Rose's fir st cousi n Rober t Dvoracek of rur al Sali ne County was mar ri ed onJune 23, 1924 to Ant onet t e Pavel ka, daughter of John and Anna Sadil ek Pavel ka of Red Cl oud, who wer e fri ends of Cather. As descr i bed in a Jul y 28, 1985 art icle in the Sunday World Heral dM agazine of the Midl ands, Antonet te's parent s ser ved as model s of the mai n characters in Cat her 'sshort st or y "Neighbor Rosicky" and in her 1918 novel M y Antonia. Though Rober t and Ant onett eP avel ka Dvor acek wer e di vor ced aft er li vi ng for a few year s in Bl ue Hi ll , they had in 1925 onedaughter nam ed Mi ldr ed, who as a yout h occasional ly visi ted Tyser relati ves i n Wil ber . ( Antonet tel at er marr ied Emi l Kor t of Bl ue Hi ll . ) Duri ng Cat her's ret ur n tri ps to Nebr aska, she vi si ted theP avel kas at their farm house nor t h of Red Cl oud, and on one occasi on in the earl y 1930s, bot hAnt onet t e and Mil dr ed Dvoracek wer e present . Anot her cousi n of Rose Tyser Shi mer da that gai ned promi nence was Mr s. Mi lo (L il l ian Dvoracek) St ast ny, who not only substanti al l y fundedconst ructi on of Wil ber 's el egant Dvor acek Memori al Li br ary in 1968 but al so lef t in her est ate in1986 an endowment of $500,000 to t he Li br ar y. It is not known, however , if Rose Tyser Shi mer daever di scussed her Cat her connecti on wi th Robert Tayl or .

On t hi s par t icul ar January 1963 tri p, Tayl or spent onl y a shor t ti m e in Beat ri ce, and vi si t ed

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wit h the Eyt hs. I n his F ebr uary 9 let ter to Beat r ice publi sher Rober t Mar vi n, who in hi s January 19l et ter to Taylor had wonder ed if he was "ducki ng the pr ess" for reasons of pr ivacy on thi s tri p, T aylor explai ned, "Nope — it wasn't reall y that I was tr yi ng to 'duck the press' at all . However , Iwas i n Beatr i ce for one nit e and the foll owi ng day and nat ur all y I had a lot of looking around t o do. Mor eover , I always hesit ate to 'look up' newspaper peopl e, even tho I mi ght know them wel l, lest t hey mi ght think that 'publ icit y', per se, was my mai n pur pose. In my inf requent tri ps to Nebr askai t’ s lar gely to see ol d fri ends — and old pl aces — and publi cit y ai n't any intenti onal part of i t ."

T he fol l owing fal l he ret ur ned on Oct ober 25, 1963 to help Doane Col l ege begin adevel opm ent cam paign to rai se $5 mil l ion. Earl ier on September 30 an Omaha World Heral dedi tori al had praised hi m f or hi s par ti ci pation, st at ing i n par t, "Mr. T ayl or al ways has been pr oud ofhis Nebr aska or igin and never has hesit at ed to say so." Accom pani ed by hi s wi fe Ur sul a Thiess, hewas engaged in a ful l day's act i vi ti es, star ti ng wi th a luncheon for him and fr i ends who knew hi m .He then wi tnessed two one-act pl ays wit h st udent s and parent s who were on cam pus for Parent sDay, fol lowed by a tour of the cam pus and a lengt hy visi t wi t h hi s for mer Doane dr am a instr uct or Mar y El l en I ngl is-F arr ies, who had t r avel ed to Cr et e as a resul t of Tayl or's st r ong desir e to see her .

Someti m e dur ing the day, T aylor was pr esented wit h a gif t of Nebraskaland st am ps by theNebraska Gam e and Parks Com mi ssi on in recognit ion of hi s cont ri buti ons to the pi oneer andcowboy her it age of Nebraska. The stam ps wer e a pr om ot ion ill ust rati ng touri st at tr act ionst hr oughout the st at e, and the idea was conceived by the Infor mati on and Touri sm Di vi sion of theGam e and Par ks Comm i ssion, repor ted Omaha advert i si ng execut i ve J. Greg Smi th, an em ployeewit h the Gam e and Parks Com mi ssi on fr om 1959 to 1965. He r ecall ed that actor Henry F onda wasanother reci pient of Nebr askaland st amps.

At a speci al late-af ternoon convocat i on to honor hi m, Mr s. Farr ies gave the mai n addr ess, and Doane pr esi dent Donal d M. Typer present ed Taylor wi t h an honorar y degr ee Doct or of Hum ane Let ter s. A di nner honor ing hi m was held t hat evening, which ser ved as a "kick- off " for thef undr ai sing dri ve, and he rem ini sced wi th many ol d fr iends about hi s two year s at Doane from 1929 to 1931. Overni ght he and his wi fe stayed at the Cr et e hom e of Davi d Ost er hout, a memberof the Doane Boar d of Tr ust ees. The funds fr om this cam pai gn result ed in the openi ng of Col oni al Hal l in 1965, Bur rage Hal l in 1966, and a new st udent cent er in 1967. The i mpet us of the cam paignalong wi th f ederal loans and ot her donor gi f ts l ed to t he com pl et ion of Fuehr er Fi el dhouse in 1969. Also com pl et ed was a comm uni cati ons bui l di ng that housed a new theat er , libr ar y, musi c rooms,and classr oom s in 1970, Sheldon Hall in 1971, a doubl ing in size of the Per ry St udent Center in1971, and the new P adour -Wal ker Adm ini st rati on Bui lding in 1972.

On Oct ober 26, the Tayl ors wer e guests of Beatr i ce fri ends Arvid and Abbie Eyt h and al lof thei r chi l dr en and spouses at t he Nebr aska- Col or ado football gam e i n Lincoln. In an October 27Sunday Joumal and St ar ar ti cl e, Taylor sai d in an i nt er vi ew that "i t's always good to be back inNebraska. Thi s is t he fi r st t im e I have seen Nebr aska pl ay at hom e since 1936, but I di d see t hem i nt he Rose Bowl ( on Januar y 1, 1941 when St anf or d was the opponent) ." On t hei r way t o Wyomi ng, t hey vi sit ed for the final ti me the Ant hony Shim erdas in Wil ber . Of this three-day vi si t, Tayl or wrote in par t in hi s November 7 lett er to Robert Marvin, "The whole damned Nebr aska tri p thi st im e was a real t hr i ll , right f r om the li tt l e luncheon in Cr ete plum b thr u the gam e, di nner wi th Spivand Abbi e (E yth), coff ee and ci nnamon rol ls wi th the Shim erdas in Wil ber on Sunday mor ni ng, and the dr ive thr u the west er n par t of the state on our way to Wyom i ng. I saw a lot of ol d fri endsand my onl y regr et was that I had so li t tl e ti m e to spend in get ti ng reacquainted wit h most oft hem. "

Hi s next tr i p was on September 19-20, 1964 to Beat ri ce, then to Gr and Island, where he

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was honored by the Nebraska Broadcast er s Associat ion at thei r annual meet ing. Af ter arr iving byplane at Omaha, he rented a car and drove to Beat ri ce for di nner wi t h the Eyt hs on the eveni ng of t he 19t h, then earl y on the mor ning of the 20t h he st opped at the Robert Tyser far m for coff ee andr ol ls before dr iving to Grand Island. There, he was made a li feti me member of the NBA for"Di st ingui shed Servi ce to the Br oadcast Indust ry", and it was also where he began hi s onl yNebraska busi ness vent ur e. Accor di ng to a March 3, 1968 Sunday World Heral d Magazine of theM idlands art icle, Grand Island businessm an Wi l li am Mart in recall ed Taylor's appear ance at theNBA meet ing, and was quot ed as sayi ng, "He ment ioned that he enj oyed comi ng back t o Nebr askaand was looki ng for a reason to make it mor e oft en. He wanted a busi ness interest that woul d bechall enging and yet benef icial to peopl e, and I tol d hi m Mul t i-Vue coul d be the answer. " Of hi sGrand Island vi si t, Tayl or repor ted to Rober t and Flossi e Tyser in his Sept em ber 30, 1964 lett er "the banquet was a nice aff ai r. .. "

Aft er Wi ll iam Mar ti n and Ri char d F . Shi vely of Chicago, a longt im e broadcaster, m et wit hT aylor at hi s Cal if ornia home, he becam e an acti ve part ner in Mul ti -Vue TV, Inc. of Grand Isl and. Off icial announcement of hi s invol vement was rel eased on August 30, 1965. Other part ner s in thecor porat ion wer e Wi l li am Mart in, president of Gr and Isl and's radi o stati on KMMJ, Wil l iamMoore, head of a Gr and Island publ ic relati ons fi rm , Ri chard F. Shi vel y of Chicago, Charl es C. Bevis, a Chi cagoan who served as an executi ve wi t h the Nat ional Broadcast ing Com pany for mor et han 20 year s, and Jack B. Hopki ns, presi dent to Telesi s E ngi neer ing, Inc. of E vansvi ll e, I ndi ana.

A two- day visi t in Gr and Isl and was m ade by Taylor on Decem ber 1-2, 1965 to conf er wi t hMul ti -Vue president Wil li am Mar ti n and vice- pr esi dent Wi ll i am Moor e. He also went to Hasti ngson Decem ber 2 to di scuss cabl e tel evi si on wi th ci ty off icials and businessmen. The fol lowi ng twodays he, Mar t in, and Moor e joined a hunti ng part y at For t Robinson near Crawf or d under auspi cesof the Nebraska Gam e and Parks Com mi ssi on.

T aylor soon ret ur ned to Grand Island on Januar y 11, 1966 to at tend the annual banquet of t he Grand Isl and Chamber of Com m er ce held at Seni or High School . Bef or e a crowd of 1, 700per sons, he nar rated the "P ar tners in Progr ess" pr esent at ion, and played in the Nor th Am er i can Ai r Def ense Comm and orchestr a present for the event. Al so pr esent for the occasion was OmahaW orld Heral d report er and col um nist Tom All an, who in a March 3, 1993 int er vi ew remem beredt hat whi le KOLN-T V of L incol n was i nt erviewing Taylor at the tim e, he was const ant ly i nterr upt edby peopl e seeki ng autogr aphs. When asked by All an, "Does it bother you?" he repli ed, "No, itwould bother me i f they didn't because that ’ s par t of being an actor ."

Aft er war ds, T aylor was taken by a gr oup for a recept ion and st eak dinner at Dr ei sbach'sRestaur ant . Among those at the gat her ing wer e local busi nessm an Richar d Kinman and hi s wi feGrace, who at midni ght deci ded to cel ebrate thei r 23r d weddi ng anni ver sar y wi th a ki ss, a peck ont he cheek. According to All an, they wer e int er rupted by Tayl or, who in good hum or sai d, "Oh no,Greta Garbo would have ki ll ed me wit h a kiss like that. " So he demonst rat ed the pr oper way, m aking sur e his nose was not in fr ont of Mr s. Ki nman's face, bl ocki ng her beaut i ful image f r om t hecam er a. And he cont i nued to dem onstr ate how he ki ssed ot her fam ous act resses. Mr s. Ki nm an,who was fl oat ing on "Cloud 9", sai d, "I 'm not goi ng t o wash my face. "

In lat e Mar ch 1966, Grand Island Mul ti -Vue-T V fi led art icl es of incor por at ion wit h theNebraska Secr et ar y of St ate, and in ear ly Apri l, so did Kear ney Mul t i-Vue-T V, wit h bot h listi ngT aylor as one of the i ncorpor at ors.

On July 7, 1966, he agai n ret ur ned to Grand Island, and accor di ng to that aft er noon'sGrand Island Dail y Independent, he becam e a mem ber of the Grand Isl and Chamber of Com merce, and was quot ed as sayi ng, "This is the fi rst tim e I've enr ol led in any cham ber of

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com merce anywhere in the Unit ed St at es, and I'm might y happy to be back in Gr and Isl and." Thenext day he traveled t o Nor th P l at te for di scussi on about cable t el evi si on.

In 1967, Taylor ret ur ned to the stat e to help Nort h Pl att e cel ebrat e on Febr uar y 22- 23 itsCentenni al Ci ty desi gnat i on. At the eveni ng banquet sponsored by the Nor t h Pl att e Chamber of Com merce and held at Adam s Juni or Hi gh School wer e over 1, 000 per sons, incl uding Governor Nor bert Ti em ann, who presented a plaque and the congr at ul at i ons of the ent ir e state to the ci ti zensof the Platt e Val ley com m unit y for being sweepst akes wi nners in the annual Nebr aska Com muni t yBet term ent Cont est. Tayl or was also one of thr ee persons t o be issued honor ar y Cody Scout awar dsby Nort h P lat te Mayor Kenneth Huebner .

Foll owi ng a 26-m inute sl ide por tr ayal of the ci t y's fi r st cent ur y, Tayl or narr ated a musicalpresent ati on which featur ed "How The West Was Won" by the 90- voice Nor th Pl at te Hi gh School Choir . On Februar y 24, the North Plat te Telegraph r epor ted "many persons were of the opiniont hat last ni ght 's pr oduct ion was one of the outst andi ng pr oduct ions of al l ti me in Nort h Pl att e. "Over the two- day cel ebrat ion, Tayl or had at t ended other at tr act ions such as a Buff al o Bi l l fi l m at t he Wil l iam Cody House at Scout 's Rest Ranch and a re-enactm ent of the take-off of the fir st ni ght air mai l fli ght , accor di ng to a Febr uar y 23 L incoln Journal ar ti cl e. T he ar ti cle al so stat ed, "Tayl or sai d he keeps per sonal appear ances t o a m ini mum and 'I like to know wher e I am goi ng and what Iam going t o do befor ehand!'"

T aylor's final publ i c appearance in Nebraska was in Grand Isl and on January 17- 18, 1968t o at tend a cel ebrat ion of the openi ng of the new Mul ti -Vue-T V oper at i on at the ti me housed at 1602 West Second St r eet. He was accom panied by hi s wif e Ursul a. Accor di ng to Tom Al l an'scol um n in the Januar y 14, 1968 Omaha World Heral d, company president Wil li am Mart i nexplained, no doubt wi th tongue- in-cheek, how they got a fir m com mi t ment fr om Tayl or and hi swif e: "He sai d they'd com e only if we'd assure hi m one of those good Nebr aska st eaks at Dreisbach's Steak House. "

Duri ng thei r visit , t he Gr and Isl and Chamber of Comm er ce pr esent ed Tayl or wi th the "Bi gWig" Award, whi ch was gi ven to a per son who cont r ibut ed most to the ci ty the pr evi ous year. Hewas also int erviewed by Gar y Johansen and phot ogr apher George Shest ak of the Omaha WorldHeral d for the Mar ch 3, 1968 ar ti cl e "He's as Likeable as the Town Pl um ber " in the Sunday WorldHeral d Magazine of the Midl ands, and was quot ed as saying aft er the Chamber cerem ony, "I wasner vous. Maybe I’ ll get used to these thi ngs in another 30 year s. ” Other subj ect s di scussed duri ngt he int erview wer e his outdoor int er est s, incl udi ng hunt ing, and as both he and hi s wif e loved tohunt, t hey m ent ioned t hey would accom pany a Wi nchester rif le team on a worl d tour in Febr uar y.

T he final vi sit of Rober t Taylor to Nebraska soi l was on Apr i l 1- 2, 1968, when, her epor ted i n his Apr i l 16 lett er to t he Ar vi d E yt hs, "I rented a car at t he Om aha air por t — drove thruBeatr ice, out on the old Holm esvil le road, then to Fi ll ey, and fi nal ly back to Beatr i ce by dar k. OnT uesday morni ng, Apr il 2, " he furt her wrote, "I drove out and had some coff ee wit h Bob andF lossie Tyser at the old farm sout h of town — then mobi l ed back to Omaha and caught a fli ght toChi cago. " Accor di ng to the June 9, 1969 B eatrice Dai l y Sun, Mrs. Tyser was quot ed as sayi ng, "At that tim e, he seem ed to be in vi gor ous healt h, and he tal ked about pl ans for his fami ly and for his car eer ."

G en erosit y, ki nd n esses, an d corresp on d en ceHis lif e-l ong att achment to Nebr aska was dem onst r at ed not onl y by hi s ret ur n tr i ps but al so

by being generous to Nebr aska relati ves and fr iends, by support for the state fr om a di st ance, andby hi s cor respondence.

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T aylor's generosi ty was visible through the gi vi ng of gi ft s and the welcomi ng of rel ati vesand old fr iends t o his Cali forni a hom e. According t o Doane Coll ege fri end Bet h Naden Kell ar , whobel ieved "he was much bet ter looki ng in per son than in the movi es," he sent a complet e layet te tohis f or m er Doane dr ama i nst ruct or Mar y El len Ingl is-F ar r ies aft er she gave bi rt h to her daught er inS eptember 1936.

In Oct ober 1936, he took tim e dur ing his Beat ri ce homecom ing to pr esent hi s gr andf at her Jacob A. Brugh of Holm esvil le $20 in cash and $15 in gr ocer y credi t . But in Februar y 1937gr andf at her Br ugh was pl aced on rel i ef rol l s by Gage County off icials af ter they l earned hi ssur vi vi ng two sons Aur thur and LeRoy, bot h far mer s near Beat r ice, and two daught er s Mrs.Nanci e Gir l of Br ownvi ll e and Mr s. Maude Per sson of Oakdal e could not contr ibut e financiall y.Dissensi on occurr ed in the fami l y and nat ionwi de publ ici ty reveal ed the pli ght of Taylor'sgr andf at her to MGM execut i ves who did not appreci ate the negat ive di scl osure. T he Febr uary 4Omaha World Heral d art icle "F il m Star Taylor Promi ses Ai d to Take Gr andf at her Off GageCount y Rel ief Rol ls" report ed that Tayl or and hi s mot her in Hol lywood announced "we had not been advised about the pr esent sit uat ion, but we wi ll make sure it is not necessar y for him to seekother assi st ance. " In the February 24, 1937 Omaha World Heral d, Gage Count y off icials repor tedt hey took Jacob A. Brugh off rel ief aft er they lear ned he had received money, li kel y fr om Tayl or, and l ef t his home t o l ive wit h his son LeRoy.

Doane fri end Kel lar , who wor ked in Los Angeles from 1935 to 1942, rem em ber ed achance encounter wi t h Taylor on January 20, 1938 at the Royal Pal ms Hotel in Los Angeles af t er she had just at tended a meeti ng of At hena sorori t y — founded by Bar bar a Stanwyck for workinggir ls. Her interest in At hena was repor ted in depth by Jam es Reid in the ar ti cl e "What Ever y Gir l S houl d Know" publ ished in the October 1939 issue of M ot ion Picture magazi ne. As Kel lar r ecal led, Taylor had com e to get Bar bar a on this occasi on, and was standi ng bel ow the steps of thebui lding and out of si ght . But when he saw Bet h leavi ng, he approached her, and said, "Why Bet h, what ar e you doing her e?" They then tal ked behind a car to avoi d bei ng noti ced, and he invi t ed hert o vi si t his home at Tar zana, which she lat er di d wit h Evelyn Hiatt , the form er Doane gir lf r iend of Ger hart Wi ebe.

When hi s f ir st cousi n Eva Jam ison marr i ed Harold Warkent in on Oct ober 25, 1939, Tayl or and his mother gave $100 as a wedding gif t, and Mrs. Br ugh gave Eva her ext ra cl ot hes. She alsogave a recept ion for Eva in the eveni ng at the Paddock Hot el , and Tayl or sent hi s best wi shes. Accor di ng to Eva, her mot her Eff ie was invi t ed to visit Tayl or 's hom e in Cali for ni a af t er hem ar ri ed St anwyck in May 1939.

Soon af ter Wor ld War II , high school fri end Paul Drew made an im pr omptu vi si t toT aylor's hom e. When Paul went t o t he door , the housekeeper said, "Mr . Taylor's not i n." T hen P aul sai d, "I 'm fr om Beat ri ce, his hometown, and I'm Paul Dr ew. " Upon overhear ing thi s conversat i on,T aylor sai d from inside the house, "P aul Dr ew, get in here!" They spent two hour s vi sit ing, andP aul recal led that the very successf ul actor Robert Tayl or told him , "I reall y don't have any tal entand won't last long. I 'm a fl ash i n the pan. "

Ot hers who wer e wel come at his home were hi s for mer Doane dr am a instr uct or Mar yE ll en Ingl is- Farr ies and her daughter Bar bar a, who vi si t ed Los Angel es on two occasi ons when hewas on locat i on fil m ing. They were as his guests al lowed on the MGM sound stages, gi ven pri vat et ours, and al lowed to eat in the com m issary. And Barbar a wrot e in her Februar y 20, 1993 let t er :"As a youngst er , now and then I woul d r ecei ve a gif t fr om Hol lywood: a bl anket, a kni t jacket andcap, a dol l. Nothing ext r avagant — I beli eve they wer e thoughtf ul thank yous for my mot her’ ssingl e- m indedness i n pushing Ar l ingt on's abi li ti es. "

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T he Arvi d Eyt hs of Beatr i ce visi ted the Taylor hom e in Cal if or ni a several ti m es, the finalt im e in 1964, and accordi ng to the 1987 int erview of Eyt h publi shed in the B eatrice Dai l y Sun, once when Taylor had a new house he wanted them to be hi s fi r st guests. One of Taylor 's sayi ngswas "you can't take the count ry out of the boy," and Eyt h al so remem bered the horse stabl e on theMandevi l le Canyon ranch "was so cl ean you coul d eat off the fl oor. " Taylor also sent a leat heralbum to Arvi d's daughter Graci a for a Juni or League of Om aha raff le in the fall of 1960 for thei rt hr if t store known as the "Jumbl e Shop. " The album had ori gi nal ly been pr esented to Taylor onS eptember 9, 1946 in appr eciati on of hi s fi f th appear ance on the Scr een Gui ld Pl ayer s radioprogr am .

In the summ er of 1964, when he lear ned that his Wi lber fr iend Rose Tyser Shi mer da wasi ll wit h cancer , he sent her a gif t, and the fol l owing year aft er her death in Jul y 1965 at the age of74, he sent his sym pat hi es to her Beatr ice rel at i ves.

In the spri ng of 1968, Doane Coll ege presi dent Phi li p Heckm an and devel opm ent dir ect or F red Thompson visit ed Taylor at hi s Cal if or nia home t o discuss matt ers of m ut ual i nt erest .

Just before Tayl or had sur gery on hi s ri ght lung on Oct ober 8, 1968, he di ct at ed an audi or ecor di ng that was played for Geor ge Ki st er 's luncheon in Gr and Isl and on Oct ober 18 in honor of his ret i rement fr om KMMJ af ter 43 conti nuous year s in the radio indust ry. When Taylor was am em ber of The Har mony Boys at Cl ay Cent er , he knew Ki st er, and in hi s cl osi ng comm ent s hesai d, i n par t , "I r emember those days as the gr eatest days of m y lif e. .. .I know KMMJ wil l m iss you,I know your listener s in that ar ea of m y favor it e state wi ll mi ss you, and the next tim e I get back t oGrand I sland I hope we can get toget her f or a whi le and li e to each ot her a l it t le as we've so happil ydone over the past 39 years. Anyhow, God Bl ess you Geor ge, al l of us Nebr askans love you. .. .Youj ust be happy. This is your old fr iend fr om Cl ay Cent er , Arl i ngton Brugh, saying over and out. Goodnight George. "

Aside fr om vi sit s and a vari et y of ki ndnesses, Taylor's att achment t o Nebr aska was evi dent even at a di stance. I n January 1948, he at tended in Washi ngton, DC a part y of the NebraskaS ociety of Washingt on, wher e he danced, signed autogr aphs, and according to the January 22Omaha World Heral d, accept ed a com mi ssi on as Adm ir al of the myt hi cal Nebraska Navy,present ed by Hugh A. But l er , a U.S . Senat or fr om Nebr aska (1941-51) .

In 1951, when he want ed Nebr aska st eak, it was repor ted in the June 15 Omaha WorldHerald that he had or dered "a nonst op fl ight of Om aha steaks when he's i n E ngl and to makeI vanhoe. ..T hey'll be fl own over in fr ozen packages. " T hi s or der was li kel y handl ed by OmahaS teaks Int er nat ional , a fir m owned by the Si mon fam il y since 1917, and st il l engaged in thewor ldwi de del iver y of gourm et st eaks fr om i t s locat ion at 4400 Sout h 96t h S tr eet .

In Mar ch 1965, T ayl or 's Codi ci l t o his Wil l provided t hat i f at the t im e f ixed for the endi ngof cert ain tr usts for hi s wif e and hi s chil dren none of them was li ving, then di st ri but ion was to bem ade to hi s business manager. If , however , his busi ness manager wer e deceased, then distr ibuti onwould have gone t o Doane Coll ege, the f ir st char i ty l ist ed.

In the summ er of 1966, a press account reveal ed that Tayl or narr at ed a 35- mi nut e col or f il m on the lif e of Carl T. Cur t is t hat was to be used in hi s cam pai gn f or re-el ecti on as U. S. S enatorf rom Nebraska. The June 24 Omaha World Heral d quoted Cur ti s' campaign chair man as saying, "Tayl or volunteer ed hi s ser vi ce and wasn't pai d a cent" despi te assert ions by hi s pol it ical opponent. Cur ti s, a Republi can, ser ved the stat e for a tot al of 40 year s, fir st as a U.S . Representati ve (1939-55) and as a U. S. S enator ( 1955- 79).

I n the sum mer of 1967, he was i nvi ted by the m ayor of Beat ri ce to part ici pate i n the annual Hom esteaders Days Parade, and woul d not have accept ed a fee for doi ng it , but ar rangement s wer e

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not com pleted t o make it a real i ty.S el ected com m ents fr om some exi sti ng corr espondence wit h fri ends al so reveal hi s

att achm ent to Nebraska. Though Taylor may have wr it ten let ter s whil e in high school, it is wit hcer taint y that he wr ot e on a regul ar basi s to hi s mot her whi l e he at tended Doane Col l ege. (T hesel et ters and other memorabil ia were dest royed about 1945 af ter bei ng st or aged in the Jam isonf ar mhouse south of Ell is. ) And it becam e a lif e- l ong act ivit y appreciated by many. I n the March 3,1968 ar t icle in the Sunday World Heral d Magazine of the Midl ands, hi s wi f e Ur sul a was quot ed assaying, "His hobby is wr i ti ng lett er s. Back home, he get s up at five in the mor ning and tackles apil e of corr espondence. I wish he would do som e of mi ne and hel p me catch up. "

Most, but not all , of hi s cor respondence to Nebr askans was wi th the Ar vi d Eyt hs, theRober t Tyser s, and publi shers Earl and Rober t Mar vi n, al l of the Beatr ice area, and excer pt sr eproduced here r eveal hi s loyal ty and deep sent i ment s for people and set ti ngs dur ing his f orm at i veyears. In hi s Mar ch 4, 1936 not e to col lege st udent Del ores Har mon, BHS, Cl ass of 1936, her ecal led, "Your let t er br ought back to my mi nd many happy mem or ies of when we used to liveacr oss the st reet f r om each other on Si xt h Str eet ."

T o cousi n Nel da Br ugh, he st at ed in his March 24, 1948 let t er that "when you menti onDem pster s, S t or e Kr aft , etc., you br i ng back som e ver y pleasant m em ories of m y youth in Beat ri ce. I bel ieve if you wer e to put me on the corner of 6t h and Cour t St reets, I could fi nd any of them bli ndfol ded. You see, Nel da, I sti ll think of Beatr ice as 'home' and many of the people ther e as thebest fr i ends I have ever had or wi ll ever have."

T o the Rober t Tyser s, owner s of the old Shi m er da farm wher e he kept hi s pony Gypsy, hewrote on August 1, 1949 that "i t was too bad that we mi ssed connect i ons the last tim e I was inBeatr ice. I probabl y should have cal l ed bef ore comi ng out but was just dr iving around and thought I 'd take a chance. The ol d pl ace looked com pletel y fami l iar and brought back many pl easantm em or ies, bel ieve m e."

S om et im es hi s recol l ecti ons wer e in err or , but not by much. From hi s Oct ober 7, 1963l et ter to the David Oster hout s of Cr ete, we lear n he rem inisced, "S t aying at your hom e wi ll br ingback a real flood of mem ori es. I used to be a fr equent visit or ther e back when I was in Doane. Iknew Rut h (Osterhout , a 1927 Doane gr aduate who lived at 1120 East 13t h Str eet ) ver y well andour Dram a Cl ub of ten did some rehear sing of sm al l scenes in your li ving room. " In reali ty, theDavid Osterhout hom e was near by at 1310 East 13t h. And when he wrote to Robert Mar vin onApr il 17, 1964, he rem em ber ed, "Your reference to L ucil l e Lang in your Apri l 24 colum n took meback a long tim e. .. I fir st met Lucil l e when we were lit erall y 'babi es' and we li ved acr oss the st reet f rom the L angs on Nort h 6th S tr eet when we moved to t hat addr ess in 1921 (i t was actual ly 1924). "He then revealed another means of at t achm ent to his r oot s when he added, "S ubscr ibing t o the Sunwas cer t ai nl y one of the best invest m ents I've ever made, Bob. I assur e you I read it much mor ecar ef ul l y than I do our local L os Angeles Times — and the pl easure I der ive fr om it isconsi der able. "

T aylor's mem ory of det ai l s is reveal ed in ot her let ters. On June 14, 1964, he wr ot e to theRober t Tyser s, "Your ment ion of 'hayi ng' and 'cor n cult i vati ng' sur ely remi nds me of al l thosehappy days, back when I was onl y 8 year s ol d and carr yi ng wat er to the men on the thr eshi ngcrews." And to Rober t Mar vi n he wr ot e on June 26, ''As I rem ember I thought that Wal l yRober tson was one of t he ni cest men I'd ever known, t oo. Maybe because I was, and al ways wi l l beI guess, a 'nut ' over aut om obil es; he was ki nd of a 'her o' to me because he always dr ove the lat est ,biggest , and best cars avai labl e in those days. Dur ing one peri od he had a huge Li ncoln t our ing car whi ch he let me dri ve out to Fi l ley one day to vi si t my Gr andparent s. Fl ying the X-15 (an

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exper im ent al hi gh perf or m ance ai rplane in the 1960s) couldn't be a bigger thr il l to a moder nt eenager t han dri vi ng that car was t o m e. "

His high r egard f or hi s educati on in Beat ri ce was clear l y st ated in hi s May 10, 1965 lett er tot he Robert Tysers. "Not too long ago I noti ced, in the Dai ly Sun, that Ar li ngt on (Tyser ) was to bet he new Pr incipal of the Juni or Hi gh School . You may tel l hi m that I, as the fi r st St udent BodyP resi dent whi ch that school ever had way, way back when it was buil t (1925) , shall hold him r esponsi bl e for mai ntaini ng its st anding. Al l these year s lat er I st il l feel a gr eat love, not only fort he Juni or Hi gh but the Senior High as well . However, I guess the Juni or Hi gh is about the onl yschool sti ll st andi ng in Beat ri ce whi ch I at tended. "

I t was to Ar l ingt on Tyser that many per sons relayed knowledge of Taylor's kindnesses andl et ters, and he recall ed that when Li nnea Peterson reti r ed in May 1963 af ter 38 year s of teaching,T aylor sent her a congr at ul at ory note. She had been a Spani sh teacher when Taylor att endedBeatr ice High School and was one of the facult y sponsor s of the Homesteader staff when hewor ked on the annual dur i ng t he 12th gr ade.

I n the sum mer of 1966, nati onal gossi p colum ni st Walt er Wi nchel l repor ted that Taylor was int erest ed in running for poli ti cal off ice, perhaps on the basi s of Tayl or 's narr ati on of U.S . S enat or Curt i s' lif e stor y for use i n his r e-electi on campai gn that year . But i n T ayl or 's Sept em ber 4,1966 let ter to Rober t Mar vi n, he dispel led it as just a rumor . "I f eel safe i n assur i ng you that I haveno am bi t ions, present or future, in that par ti cul ar dir ect ion.. .P er haps my experi ences as the fi rstelect ed st udent body president of the t hen- new Beat ri ce Juni or Hi gh have somethi ng t o do wi t h mypresent feel i ngs. I shal l never forget the fears that over cam e me ever y tim e I had to presi de over a'meet ing' in that audi torium or intr oduce speaker s. Not hing since has fr i ghtened m e as much. .. Mi ndyou, I see no reason why act or s shouldn't go int o poli t ics. I seem s to me that honesty, int el li gence,a fir m bel ief that Ameri ca is one of the fi nest count ri es in the wor ld and that our pol it icalphi losophy is the best in the worl d shoul d be al l the requir ement s that anyone shoul d need. Ibel ieve that we need f ewer professi onal 'poli ti cians' and m ore j ust plai n good peopl e in pol i ti cs. "

I n Sept ember 1967, Nebraskaland Af ield, which each fal l thr oughout most of the 1960swas a special hunti ng tabloid di st ri but ed nati onwide by the Nebraska Gam e and ParksCom mi ssi on, publi shed in it s "S peak Up" sect ion a let ter from Taylor . In it he expressed sever al l if e- long concl usions about hunt ing and the st at e in gener al : "My hunt ing days in Nebraska start edback ar ound 1923. I was a com par at ive small -f r y then — and my Dad star ted me out on rabbi ts,wit h a .22 ri fl e or a .410 gauge shot gun. It didn't real ly matt er too much what I was shoot i ng wi th,or what I was shoot i ng at , as l ong as I was wi th 'm y Dad.' He was quit e a guy!"

"Things have changed since those boyhood days back in the 20s. Rabbi ts ar e st il l ther e, Iassum e — but the 'bi rd' popul at i on has real l y exploded; the deer populati on, too. Over the past sever al year s I have had some of the best bi rd shooti ng I’ ve ever had in my ent i re li fe right 'backhom e' in Nebr aska. And I look forwar d to it ever y year. Somet im es i t doesn't happen that I can gett here. But you can bet I am always t r yi ng."

"And it isn't ent ir ely because I like to shoot bi rds. It happens that I like the people ofNebraska. They're the best, the most hospit abl e, the most honest, the most tr ust wort hy peopl e inour whol e dar ned count ry. And you lucky Nebr askans who are st il l li ving there just beli eve me. I 've been a lot of places, and I have met a lot of peopl e, and I st i ll say Nebr askal and has the besthunti ng and the best people in the whol e count ry. I'l l be there thi s com i ng fal l if I can possibl ym ake it . "

E ven to the end his at tachm ent to hi s r oots was clear . In a Mar ch 7, 1968 not e to the Rober t T yser s, he st at ed, "Ther e is al so a possi bi l it y that I'l l be back in Nebr aska earl y in Apri l and I hope

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t o get to Beatr ice. If so, I'll call and dr op out to see you, if onl y for a cup of coff ee and a dr i vearound the ol d farm which I l oved so very m uch." And over a year l at er, on Monday, June 9, 1969,a day af ter his deat h, the B eatrice Dai l y Sun publ ished under a photo of Tayl or , his wif e Ursula,and his daughter Tessa a capt ion that stated in par t: "Onl y last Thursday, Mr . Eyt h recei ved a l ett er f rom Rober t Taylor, who sai d he'd lost 30 pounds but was l ooking for ward to r ecovery and another visit by t he Eyths. " His last l ett er s t o the E yt hs were dated F ebruary and Apri l 1969.

The untimely death of Robert TaylorT a yl or di ed of l un g can cer at St . John 's Hosp i t al in S ant a Mon i c a, Ca l i f or ni a on

S u nd ay , Jun e 8, 19 69, at t he com p ar at i ve l y yo un g age of 57. Bi ogr a ph er Wa yn e r ep or t ed i nR o bert T ay l or t ha t he ha d con ce r n so m et i m e yea r s ea r l i e r abo ut hi s ri g ht lu ng beca us e x-r a ys sh ow ed an enl a r g em ent of a boy hoo d sp ot f i r s t det ec t e d by doc t o r s in 1962 . De spi t e in cr ea si n gt i r e dn ess , he re f u sed t o see doct or s abo ut it , and unt i l hi s sur ge r y in Oc t o be r 196 8, he di d no t qu i t sm ok i n g, a ha bi t he acq ui r ed som e t i m e af t e r l ea vi ng Ne br a sk a in 19 31. Not on l y di d hi scl os e fr i en d Ar v i d Ey t h ex pr es s con cer n ab out hi s he av y sm o ki n g bu t ev en ac t r e ss AvaGa r d ne r not i ce d it du r i ng th ei r br i ef lo ve af f a i r i n 194 8. In her 19 90 au t o bi o gr a ph y M y St ory pu bl i s hed by Ban t a m Boo ks, she wr ot e, "I espe ci al l y re m em be r t ha t tho ug h I sm o ked ci ga r e t t e s, Bo b Ta yl o r lef t me mi l e s beh i n d. He wa s co m pl et el y add i ct ed : f i f t y to seve nt y a day be f o r e th e coc kt ai l hou r , an d God know s ho w m an y af t er th at , and he car r i e d ar oun d thi s bi gt h er m o s of bl a ck coff e e, even keep i n g it in hi s ca r . Ci gar et t e s and co ff e e ke pt hi m goi ng al l da y lo ng. "

Ga r d ne r al s o pai d tr i bu t e to T ayl or th e ma n and th e mo vi e st ar , as sh e al s o wr ot e , inpa r t , "T h er e i s no rh ym e or re aso n abo ut a lo ve af f a i r . I was in con st a nt pr ox i m i t y t o som e of t h e mo st ha nds om e, ro m a nt i c fi gur es on ear t h, but th ey di dn 't mo ve me t he sl i g ht e st bi t . BobT a yl or su r e l y fi t the bi l l f or me , and I di d th e sam e for Bob. He was m ar r i e d to Ba r ba r a S t an wy ck at th e ti m e, but th e mar r i age had be en on t he ro ck s f or a lo ng ti m e and wa s soo n toen d in di vo r ce . I kne w hi m as a war m , ge ne r ou s, in t e l l i ge nt hu m a n bei ng . . . Ou r lov e aff a i r l a st ed th r e e, ma yb e f ou r m on t h s. A m ag i c al li t t l e in t er l u de. We hu r t no on e be cau se no one kn ew . I'v e nev er f or g ot t en t ho se fe w hi d de n m on t hs . I mad e two m or e f i l m s wi t h Bo b, bu t we ne ve r ren ew ed ou r rom an ce. And Bo b, de sp i t e al l hi s ef f o r t s, co ul dn' t br eak t he mo l d of t hebe au t i f ul l ove r . T he fi l m wo r l d r em em b er s hi m t hat way , and I ha ve to say th at I do , t oo . "

On Jun e 9, hi s obi t ua r y wa s pu bl i sh ed no t onl y on th e fr o nt pa ge of t he ma j o r Neb r a ska ne ws pa per s but al s o on the f r o nt pa ge of nat i on wi d e da i l i es , i nc l u di n g T h e Ne w Y ork T i m es, "a n ho nor onl y a f ew mo vi e st a r s ev er re ce i ve , " st at ed bi ogr a ph er Wa yn e. Wh i l e the T i me s' m o vi e cr i t i cs we r e no t of t en gene r o us to T ayl or in t he i r mo vi e r ev i ew s, it s le ngt hy Ju ne 9t hpi ec e di d st at e, "Des pi t e a sh ock of bl a ck , wav y hai r , co m p l et e wi t h an ey e- ca t ch i n g wi d ow 'spe ak , a t r i m 6- f oo t f r a m e an d cl a ss i ca l l y han ds om e f ea t ur es th at ver g ed on pr e t t i ne ss an d of t en ov er sh ado we d hi s r ol e s, he was a pa i ns t a ki ng pr of e ss i o nal , if un sp ect ac ul a r , ar t i sa n qui et l yde di ca t ed t o hi s wor k . " An d it qu ot ed Ri ch ar d T hor pe , who di r e ct ed Ta yl or in si x fi l m s at MG M, as say i ng , "H e was a no - n ons en se, unt em p er am e nt al ac t o r who eff i ci en t l y and qu i c kl y l e ar ne d hi s li ne s. 'B ob is r ea l l y a ni ce guy, ’ he sa i d , ‘ an d i t re al l y com es t hr o ug h on sc r ee n' . ”

F u ne r a l ser vi c es wer e hel d at 11: 30 a. m . on Jun e 11 at t he Ch ur c h of th e Rec es si ona l at F o r e st La wn Me m o r i al - P a r k in Gl en da l e. Rev er e nd Ga r y Dem a r e st pr es i de d, an d Ro nal dRe ag an , as not ed ear l i e r , de l i ver ed th e eu l og y, th e co m pl et e t ex t of wh i ch i s pub l i she d in Wa yn e' s bi o gr a ph y. Pa l l bea r e r s we r e pr od uc er Ha l Bar t l et t ; Mor ga n Mar ee , T ay l o r ’ s busi ne ss m a na ge r ; Do n Mi l o, on e of Ta yl or ' s mov i e st an d- i ns ; Ge or g e Ni c ho l s , pub l i c i s t ; To m Pur vi s, a

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cl os e fr i en d f r o m Br a de nt o n, F l or i d a; Ar t Ree ve s, Ta yl or ' s ran ch m ana ge r ; ac t o r Dal eRo be r t son ; and pr o duc er Ro be r t St ab l er . Ac co r d i ng t o an As soc i a t ed P r e ss ne ws st or y t he ne xt da y, a cr ow d of ab out 400 mo ur ner s at t en de d, so m e we r e cu r i osi t y seek er s, ot he r s we r e st ar ssu ch as act r es se s Bar ba r a St an wyc k, Ta yl or 's fo r m e r wi f e, Vi r g i n i a Gr ey , Rho nd a F l e m i n g an dE v a Ma r i e S ai n t , act o r s Va n He f l i n, Wa l t er Pi dg eon , Ro ber t St a ck and Ke ena n Wy nn, andS e na t o r Geo r ge Mur phy , a f or m e r MGM ac t o r . No ne of T ay l or 's cl os e Neb r a ska f r i end s or r e l a t i ves was pr es ent .

T h er e wer e com m e nt ar i es in Neb r as ka th at eul o gi zed T ay l or , and t wo of t hem pu bl i s hed seve r a l yea r s ap ar t in th e B e at ri ce Da i l y Sun per ha ps ca pt u r e d the esse nc e of Ta yl o r t h e ma n. On Ju ne 10, 19 69, pub l i s he r and f or m er sc ho ol m at e Rob er t S. Ma r vi n wr ot e , in pa r t , t h at "he wa s a shy ma n of si m p l e, genu i n e hum i l i t y , a qua l i t y th at fi r s t st r uc k m e in th e fal l of 19 36 j ust af t e r he ha d zoo m e d to st ar d om i n M a gn i f i ce nt Ob se ss i on . Hi s ol d ho m et ow n put ona gr a nd hom e co m i n g fo r hi m , wi t h par ad e, r ec ept i o n, ba nq uet and al l the r est . He an d I wer e inhi s ro om at th e Pa ddo ck , whe r e I wa s i nt er vi e wi ng hi m for t he pa pe r . Af t er I had al l t he dat a I ne ed ed , we vi s i t ed fo r a l on g ti m e, an d he co nf i de d (a s I r em e m b er hi s wor ds ) : 'I know t hi sm a y be ju st a fl as h i n the pan (r ef er r i n g to hi s i ns t a nt st ar d om ) . Fo r som e re aso n or ot he r , my l o ok s cau gh t on bu t t ha t can 't ca r r y you f ar . I do n' t kno w muc h ab out act i ng — I re al i ze t hat be t t er th an an yo ne . But I' m go i ng t o wor k har d at it and be f or e th e bl o om we ar s off ma yb e I ca n le ar n t he bu si nes s and m ak e a car e er of i t . If I don' t , so wha t ? I' l l go back t o sch oo l and ge t m y m ed i ca l degr e e as I' d pl a nn ed to i n t he f i r s t pl a ce '. " And la t e r in th e sam e edi t o r i a l , Mar v i n co nc l u ded , "We al t h an d fam e ne ver t hr e w a bar r i er be t w een hi m an d the f r i e nd s of hi sbo yh oo d day s, wh om he seem ed t o hol d i n fo nde r aff e ct i o n bec aus e he sa w the m so se l d om . "

E i gh t e en ye ar s l at er in th e Au gus t 30, 198 7 B e at ri ce Da i l y Sun , t h e di st i ng ui s he dCh ar l e s T ho ne, a f or m er U. S . Congr e ss m a n ( 197 1- 79 ) and Go ve r n or of Ne br as ka (1 979 - 8 3) , wr ot e, in par t , as a fo l l o w- up to t he pr ev i ou s Aug us t 24 pu bl i sh ed in t e r vi ew of Ar v i d Ey t h : "I n t h e 60 s, I was at t or n ey fo r th e Neb r as ka Br oa dc ast er s Ass oc i at i o n, an d I had t he gr e at pl ea su r et o sor t of hos t Ro ber t Tay l o r bef or e and af t e r he ap pe ar e d at an NBA Con ve nt i on (i n Gr and I s l a nd on S ept em be r 20, 19 64 ) . . .Ye s, Robe r t wa s al l t ha t Ar v i d Ey t h sa i d of hi m in you r st o r y, an d mo r e. He was t he ki nde st , mos t tho ug ht f ul , lea st pr et en t i o us supe r s t ar I have ever bee nar ou nd . He tr a ve l e d al o ne. He mad e hi s own tr av el ar r a nge m e nt s . He st ay ed in a re gu l ar si n gl e ho t e l roo m – nev er se ek i ng or exp ec t i n g sp eci al tr ea t m ent . He ma de me f eel as if I we r e t hem o st i m po r t ant per son i n Neb r a ska – an d he ha d tha t na t ur al to uc h wi t h al l of our Br oa dc ast er s. Hi s rem ar ks be f o r e ou r gr o up wer e unpr ep ar ed, but si m p l y el ect r i f y i ng . My, di d he hav e nat ur a l ta l en t . He nev er ch ar g ed us a di m e , sa yi n g it wa s hi s pl ea su r e to be bac k inNe br as ka… T h e onl y ot h er Ho l l yw ood per s on al i t i es th at I pe r s ona l l y had cont ac t wi t h ove r th eye ar s who cam e cl o se to Ro be r t Ta yl or as 'ni c e peo pl e' we r e Bo b Ho pe, L awr en ce We l k an dRo na l d Re ag an. T he y, by th e wa y, we r e al l goo d fr i en ds . "

T a yl or 's bo dy wa s cr e m a t ed , an d t he ur n is en t o m be d in a cr ypt i n the "Cou r t of F r ee do m " se ct i on l oca t e d on a hi l l in Fo r e st La wn Me m o r i al - P a r k at 1712 S out h Gl end al eAv en ue in Gl en da l e . Am o ng ot he r not abl es l ai d t o r es t in th e sam e cem et er y ar e Wa l t Di sn ey , E r r o l Fl y nn , Cl a r k Ga bl e, Je an Ha r l ow, Al a n L ad d, Ca r o l e Lo m ba r d , Jea ne t t e Mac Don al d and Da vi d Sel zn i ck . As st at ed pr ev i ou sl y, Ta yl or ' s mot he r and f at h er ar e al so bu r i ed in Fo r e st L a wn i n t he Gr ea t Mau so l eu m lo cat ed in t he "S an ct u ar y of Co nso l a t i on" sect i o n.

E s t a bl i sh ed in 190 6 as the f i r st of th e fi ve Fo r es t La wn Me m or i a l Par ks in Cal i f o r n i a, t h e Gl end al e P ar k is re now ne d for i t s be au t y an d i t s ar t co l l e ct i o ns. I t s fo un der Hube r t E at o n isqu ot ed in t he 19 92 V i si t ors M ap & Gu i de as sa yi n g it wa s cr e at ed as "a gr e at par k , dev oi d of

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m i ss ha pen m onu m e nt s and ot he r cus t o m ar y si gns of ear t h l y de at h , bu t f i l l ed wi t h t ow er i ng t r ee s, sw ee pi n g la wns , spl as hi ng fo unt ai ns , bea ut i f u l st a t u ar y and …m e m o r i a l ar chi t e ct u r e . " An nu al l y ov er on e mi l l i on pe op l e vi si t t he gr o un ds , whi ch ar e ope n dai l y f r om 9 a. m . t o 5 p. m .

T h e va l ue of t he est a t e le f t behi nd by T ay l or was es t i m at ed at abo ut $1 mi l l i o n, wi t hha l f al l o ca t ed f or hi s 45- ye ar - ol d wi d ow Ur su l a , i nc l u di n g sup po r t fo r 25- ye ar - ol dst ep da ugh t e r Man ue l a Th i es s an d hi s mo t h er Ru t h St an ho pe Br ugh , at th e ti m e re si d i n g i n aS a nt a Mon i c a Nur si ng Ho me, and th e ot h er hal f al l o ca t e d f or th e su ppo rt an d co l l e ge ed uc at i on of hi s tw o chi l dr e n, 13 - ye ar - o l d Te r en ce an d 9 -ye ar - ol d Te ssa . Add i t i o nal l y , T ay l o r 's l ong t i m e f r i e nd Dr . Ivy Moo r i n g was des i gn at ed to ser v e as Go dm ot h er fo r Te r en ce an d th e Ron al d Re ag an s as God pa r e nt s f or Te ss a i n the eve nt of a tr ag edy t o t he m ot h er .

Af t erm at h an d su rv i v i n g rel at i ve sT h e su r vi vi ng me m b er s of hi s i m m e di at e f am i l y r em a i n ed in L os An ge l es , and

co nt i n ued t o l i v e on th e Man de vi l l e Ca ny on ra nc h unt i l it was so l d in 1973 . Th ey th en mo ve dt o a hom e i n t he Bel - Ai r ar e a.

Ur su l a ra i s ed th e chi l d r en , an d i n 197 4 wa s r em ar r i e d to Ma r sh al l Sch ac ker , an i n t e r n at i on al fi l m di st r i b ut or fo r an Au st r al i a n f i r m bas ed in Bev er l y Hi l l s . In 19 86, he al s odi ed of can cer . Re cen t l y she com p l e t ed her me m o i r s , a 450 - p age as- yet - u npu bl i s hed m a nu sc r i p t ti t l e d “bu t I hav e pro mi se s t o kee p. ” Af t er he r bi r t h on May 15 , 19 24 in Ha m b ur g, Ge r m an y, wh er e her fa t h er Wa l t er Sc hm i dt was ma nag er of a pr i n t sh op, she le d a nor m al ch i l dh ood unti l 19 39, when t he au t h ori t i es of t he Th i r d Rei ch dr af t ed her fo r one year as a f ar m l a bo r e r . Th en sh e ret ur ned t o Ham bu r g, whe r e sh e pur su ed he r dr e am of act i ng , beg an a st ag eca r e er an d ado pt ed th e nam e Ur sul a Sch m i dt - Hu t h , and l i ve d thr ou gh out Wor l d Wa r I I . In 19 42 , she m ar r i e d mov i e pr od uc er Ge or g e O. Th i e ss, and in Jul y 194 3 gav e bi r t h to daug ht er Ma nu el a and in Jun e 194 5 t o so n Mi c hae l . T wo ye ar s l at er th e m ar r i age ende d in di vo r ce .

I n 194 8, sh e st a r t ed he r m od el i ng act i vi t y in Muni ch , and i n 195 1 was i nvi t e d to th eUn i t ed St at es wi t h a mo vi e con t r a ct of f e r by RK O Pi c t u r e s. In 19 52 , she m et Ro be r t Ta yl o r on a bl i n d dat e i n Ho l l y wo od, and th ey we r e m ar r i e d t wo year s lat er . The r e ar e se ver al mo vi ecr ed i t s. I n 195 3, sh e app ea r ed wi t h Geo r ge Nade r in M o ns oo n, i n 19 54 wi t h Ro be r t St ack i nT h e Ir on Gl ove ( l a t e r r en am e d T h e Ki ss an d T he Sword ) and wi t h Rock Hud son i n B e ng al B r i g ad e, in 1955 wi t h Gl e nn Fo r d i n T he A meri ca no , i n 195 6 wi t h Rob er t Mi t chu m in B a nd i d o, an d fr om 19 59 to 1962 occa si on al l y wi t h he r hus ban d Ro ber t Tay l o r in hi s t el ev i si on se r i es T h e De t ec t i ves .

P r es en t l y , Ur s ul a Sch ac ker i s eng ag ed in vol u nt eer wor k i n the Chi l dr en 's Ho sp i t a l at t h e Un i ve r s i t y of Cal i f or n i a at L os An ge l e s ( UC L A) , an d i s in th e pr o ce ss of l oca t i ng apu bl i s her f or he r boo k, an aut obi ogr a ph y t h at i ncl ud es mu ch in f o r m a t i on ab ou t her happ yr e l a t i ons hi p wi t h Rob er t T ay l o r . Sh e r es i d es in th e Be l - A i r ar ea of L os An ge l e s.

Me an wh i l e , the chi l dr en ha ve beco m e ve r y succ es sf u l in a va r i e t y of cr e at i ve oc cu pa t i o ns an d ac t i v i t i es . Ma nue l a Th i e ss , who se fa t h er wa s Geo r g e T hi ess , wa s bor n i nHa m b ur g on Jul y 19 , 194 3 and cam e t o t he Uni t ed St at es in 1953 . In th e ear l y 1960 s, sh e wa sm a r r i e d t o Hal Bau m f or tw o ye ar s , the n wo r ke d as a mo del and ac t r ess bef o r e cont i n ui n g he r f o r m al ed uc at i on i n poe t r y , pl ay wr i t i ng , and t eac hi ng . I n 198 4, she re cei ve d her m ast er 's de gr e e fr om th e Mon t e r ey I nst i t ut e of Int er na t i o na l S t u di es, and no w tea ch es En gl i sh as ase co nd la ng uag e at Sa l i nas Hi g h S ch ool i n Sal i n as, Cal i f o r n i a. Man uel a al s o co nt i nu es to r ead , wr i t e, an d pai nt , con ce nt r at i n g pr e sen t l y on oi l s, pas t el s and acr yl i cs , and she se l l s her pa i n t i ngs t o i nt er est ed bu ye r s .

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T e r e nc e ( T e r r y ) Ta yl o r was bor n Jun e 18, 1955 i n S an t a Mo ni ca, Cal i f o r n i a, and gr a du at ed in 19 73 f r om P aci f i c Pal i s ade s Hi gh Sc hoo l in Pa ci f i c P al i sad es , Cal i f or n i a . He th enat t e nd ed Sa nt a Mon i ca Col l eg e, Im m a cul at e Hea r t Co l l eg e, an d t he Uni v er si t y of Ca l i f or ni a at L o s An gel es , m aj or i ng i n m us i c . Af t er a va r i e t y of ear l y oc cup at i o nal expe r i en ces , Ter r y hasf o r th e pas t 13 ye ar s been eng age d in ca bl e t el evi si on pr ogr a m m i n g wi t h S ho wt i m e and pa y- pe r - vi ew ca bl e t el evi si on wi t h Re qu est and Vi ew er ' s Ch oi c e in Lo s Ang el es. Cur r en t l y he is Vi ce P r es i d ent of Aff i l i at e Rel at i on s, We st er n Reg i on , for Vi e wer 's Ch oi ce . I n 198 5, hem a r r i e d Jos ef a ( Jo ey) Mar i a Du boi s, an d th ey li ve in t he Ma r Vi s t a ar ea of Wes t L os An ge l e s. Hi s ho bbi es in cl ud e poe t r y , bi ki n g, go l f , and snow and wa t e r ski i n g.

T h e me m be r of th e fam i l y t ha t has m ost cl o sel y fol l o we d i n the f oo t st ep s of th e f at her an d mo t he r is Te ss a T ay l or , wh o was bo r n Augu st 16 , 19 59, at t e nd ed Jo hn Th om as Dy eE l em en t ar y Sch oo l , an d gr a du at ed in 19 77 f r om West l a ke Hi gh Sc ho ol in L os An ge l es . She t h en r ece i v ed he r bac he l or 's degr e e in cu l t ur a l an t hr op ol o gy f r om UCL A i n 19 84. I n t he ear l y19 80 s, sh e was a pr i n t and f as hi o n mod el wi t h t wo di ff e r e nt ag en ci e s, and al so pu bl i sh ed r e vi ew s i n two pub l i c at i on s. At t he sa m e t i m e , her f i l m exp er i en ce wa s ext en si ve, i ncl ud i n gpo si t i ons as ass i s t an t pr o du ce r of T h e Tr ack er, a 15 - m i nu t e do cu m en t a r y fo r Wes t e r nOu t d oo r sm an sh ow n by NB C i n Ja nua r y 19 81 ; as re sea r c he r f or P e op l e of t he Wa t erf al l , a 15 - m i nu t e do cu m en t a r y fi l m ed in E ngl an d and I ndi a for Al a n L an des bu r g Pr od uct i o ns (a nd i n cl ud ed me et i ng wi t h P r es i d en t I nd i r a Gan dhi , ot h er off i ci al s, an d aca de m i c s) ; and asas so ci at e pr od uc er of Ka sa nt zak i s , a 30 - m i nu t e do cu m e nt a r y fi l m ed in Gr ee ce and na r r a t e d byac t o r Geo r g e P ep pa r d. I t was t el e ca st na t i ona l l y by th e P ub l i c Br o adc as t i n g Sy st e m and was wi nn er of t he "B es t of Wes t Aw ar d " for bes t pr o duc t i on in 1983 .

T e ss a was m ar r i e d for t hr e e ye ar s t o Mi c ha el To bi a s, and fo r her w edd i n g i n 19 83, Mr s. Ro na l d Re ag an, our na t i on' s Fi r st L ady , wa s t he Go dm ot her . Si n ce 1986 she ha s pur su ed aca r e er in act i ng , app ea r i n g in co m m er c i a l s fo r Cad i l l a c, BM W, Pa i n e Web ber , Am er i ca nE x pr es s, Pa ci f i c Bel l , Spr i n t , an d Sou t h er n Cal i f o r n i a Ed i s on. T o dat e, he r tr ave l hob by hast a ke n her to m uc h of the Uni t ed St at es and to th e fo r ei gn co un t r ies of Aus tr i a, E ngl and, Fr an ce, Ge r m an y, Gr eec e, I ndi a, It al y, Me xi co an d Swi t z er l an d.

I n add i t i on to hi s wi f e , son , dau gh t er , an d st ep - d aug ht er , t he r e ar e m an y cl o se re l a t i ves t h at sur v i v e Rob er t T ay l or nat i on wi de. I nc l ud ed ar e 14 fi r s t cou si ns, 61 f i r st co us i ns onc er e m o ve d, an d 126 f i r s t cou si ns tw i c e r em ov ed. Of t he se 20 1 cou si ns , 53 pr e se nt l y re si d e in Ne br as ka, at l ea st 17 of whi ch co nt i nu e to li ve in Gag e Cou nt y . Al so su r vi vi ng , of cou r s e, ar em a ny m or e di st an t cou si ns ar ou nd th e nat i o n.

The legacyBu t as i de f r om T ay l or 's wo r l dw i de f am e and la r g e num be r of rel at i v es, what el s e di d he

l e av e beh i n d?T h e va st ma j or i t y of hi s 80 te l ev i s i on and mo t i on pi ct ur e f i l m s ha ve be en pr es er v ed by

T u r n er En t e r t a i n m e nt Co m pa ny of L os An ge l e s, wh i ch r ec ent l y ac qu i r ed th e r i g ht s t o MGM f i l m s and st i l l ph ot o gr a ph s. Hi s fi l m s ar e sh own on Ted T ur n er - o wne d tel ev i s i on st at i o ns in At l a nt a, Ge or g i a nat i on wi d e an d i nd eed wor l dw i d e vi a sat e l l i t e t ec hno l o gy. Man y of the MGM m o vi es an d the i r scr i pt s ar e bei n g pr e se r v ed in th e Ci nem a TV L i b r a r y an d Ar c hi ves at t he Un i v er si t y of So ut her n Cal i f or ni a i n L os Ange l e s. Fi l e s of pho t o s and ot he r ma t er i a l spe r t ai ni n g to al l mov i e st ar s ar e hous ed at t he Ma r g ar et He r r i ck L i br ar y at th e Cen t er f or Mo t i on Pi ct ur e S t u dy at 33 3 So ut h L a Ci e ne ga Bo ul e va r d in Beve r l y Hi l l s , Cal i f or n i a .

Ma ny l i br ar i es nat i on wi de ho us e Hol l yw oo d bi o gr a ph er Ja ne El l e n Way ne 's R o bert

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T a yl or, at pr ese nt th e fi r st f ul l - l en gt h hi st or y of hi s l i f e, an d her St an wy ck, an ac cou nt of t he l i f e of T ay l or 's f i r s t wi f e. Al so avai l a bl e i s Law r e nc e Qui r k' s pi ct o r i al bi ogr a ph y ent i t l ed T h eF i l m s of Ro bert T ay l or. E ve nt ual l y th e au t ob i o gr a ph y of Ta yl o r ' s sec on d wi f e Ur s ul a T hi es swi l l be ava i l a bl e.

S t at ew i de , sev er al li br ar i es have shel ve d Way ne 's bi ogr a ph y of Ta yl o r an d hou seve r t i c al fi l es con t ai ni ng a va r i e t y of i n f o r m at i on . At th e Neb r as ka S t at e Hi s t o r i cal S oci et y( N S H S ) at 1500 R S t r e et in L i n col n, pe r s on s m ay vi ew m i cr of i l m of the B ea t r i ce Dai l y Su nan d al l ot h er Ne br ask a new sp ap er s . T h ey m ay pu r ch as e fr o m the NS H S P ho togr a ph i c Di vi si o nov er 50 pho t os r el at e d to Ta yl or ' s li f e in Ne br ask a — the phot os ar e pa r t of t he Kr al Pi ct ur e Co l l ec t i o n. Th er e ar e al so new spa pe r cl i pp i ng s fi l es at t he Li br ar y of the L i n col n Jou r n al - S t ar P r i n t i ng Co m pa ny at 9t h & P St r ee t s in L i n col n, an d at th e Dou gl as Co un t y Hi st or i ca l S oc i e t yat 30t h & F or t S t r eet s in Om ah a. Co pi e s of Wa yn e's R o bert T ay l or m a y be pu r c has ed at t he Ne br as ka Bo oks t o r e at 13t h & Q St r e et s i n Li n co l n.

L o ca l l y, th e Gag e Cou nt y Hi s t o r i c al So ci et y at 2nd & Cour t St r ee t s in Beat r i ce ha s adi sp l a y on Tay l o r . Th e mus eu m al s o hou se s new sp ape r cl i pp i n gs an d ot h er it em s on Ta yl o r , m a ke s ava i l abl e co pi e s of Wa yn e's bi ogr a ph y on Ta yl o r , off e r s copi es of t hi s ar t i cl e fo r $3. 00( m ai l i ng an d han dl i ng i ncl ud ed ) , an d hol ds an annu al Robe r t Ta yl or Fi l m Fe st i v al ea ch Ma r c h. T h e Be at r i c e P ub l i c L i b r ar y at 16 t h & Co ur t ha s mi cr o f i l m of t he Da i l y Sun and ot he r i n f o r m at i on in i t s Ar ch i ve Roo m . An d eff o r t s ar e unde r w ay to expl or e way s to ho no r T ay l or 's co nt r i but i o ns to Nebr as ka. One su ch ef f o r t bei n g mad e is a Ro ber t Ta yl o r Sem i n ar to be hel di n Bea t r i ce on Oct obe r 1- 2 , 19 94. P er s on s wi s hi ng mo r e in f o r m a t i on ab ou t t hi s for t h com i n gev en t may cont ac t Ken t Wi l so n, Di r e ct o r of th e Gag e Co unt y Hi s t o r i cal S oci et y. Th e mai l i ng ad dr es s i s Box 793 , Bea t r i ce , Neb r a ska 683 10. Hi s ph on e num ber i s (40 2) 22 8- 16 79.

P e r h ap s ano t he r pa r t of Ta yl or 's le gac y — in ad di t i o n to hi s f am i l y and hi s f i l m ar t i f a ct s — is i n the r eal m of th e abs t r ac t . He se t a hi g h st a nd ar d of dec en cy fo r the way pe op l e , i nc l ud i n g cel eb r i t i e s, ou gh t t o be hav e. An d th en th er e i s the know l e dg e t ha t t he val u es , at t i t u des and op po r t u ni t i e s th at nu r t u r e d hi s sel f - d ev el o pm ent dur i ng hi s fo r m at i ve ye ar s inNe br as ka we r e re af f i r m ed , t ha t i s, hi s su cce ss el se wh er e was an aff i r m at i on of wha t he co ul d t a ke wi t h hi m fr om Ga ge Co un t y an d Neb r a sk a ove r al l . Yes, T ayl or i nhe r i t ed cer t ai n abi l i t i esan d ch ar a ct er i st i c s t ha t exp l a i n a lar ge par t of hi s succ es s and he r eg ar d ed MGM ex ecu t i ve L o ui s B. Ma yer as a f a t h er - f i gu r e. But he cl ea r l y ack no wl e dg ed th r o ugh hi s ac t i ons t he li f e - l o ng cont r i but i o ns ma ny in di vi dua l s an d in st i t u t i o ns m ade dur i ng hi s pr e- H ol l y woo d yea r s f r om 1911 to 1934 .

Ce r t ai nl y hi s ta l e nt in dr am a and m usi c, hi s in t el l e ct ual abi l i t i e s, hi s phy si cal ap pe ar anc e and cap abi l i t i e s, and hi s bi r t h in t o a fa m i l y th at co ul d not on l y appr ec i at e bu t af f o r d cul t ur al de ve l op m e nt be yo nd th e nor m for hi s ru r a l env i r o nm en t wer e cha nc e ev en t s . P e r h ap s, to o, he was bo r n to be pol i t e , sh y, co nsi de r a t e, sens i t i v e, pe r f e ct i o ni s t , se r i ou s, pr i v at e, tr ust wo r t hy, et c. Or may be th es e tr a i t s wer e par t l y m od el ed af t er t ho se of hi s pa r en t s wh o ha d m uc h t o do wi t h th e fo r m a t i on of hi s va l ue s an d at t i t u de s. Af t e r al l , it wa s t he y who f o st er ed re spe ct f or au t ho r i t y , r es pon si bl e i nd epe nd en ce, dece nc y, ge ne r os i t y, re l i abi l i t y , hu m a nn ess , reg ar d for achi ev em ent , wi l l i ng nes s to ex pa nd ho r i z on s, ha pp i ne ss i n exc el l en ce , hu m i l i t y, gent l e ne ss, l oya l t y, jo y for t he ou t d oor s, wor k habi t s , and an "ea r n wh at yo u ge t "at t i t u de.

T h er e is no qu es t i on th at hi s par en t s pr ov i de d opp or t u ni t i e s f or se l f deve l o pm e nt , su cc es s, ed uca t i on , and ex pa ns i on of i nt er est s, pe r s pe ct i ve s, an d car ee r opt i o ns. T h ey en co ur age d hi m t o sha r e hi s fa t he r ' s ost eo pat hi c exp er i en ce s, to assu m e re sp on si b i l i t i es at

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ho m e , to be ex po se d t o a var i e t y of ad ul t s , t o kno w an d l ov e t he out d oo r s, t o eng ag e i n th ewo r l d of wo r k, t o par t i ci p at e in co m m u ni t y cu l t ur a l ac t i v i t i es , to ex ce l i n ac t i v i t i es , to ow n aca r wh en mo st bo ys hi s age cou l dn 't an d to ta ke ce l l o les so ns fr om a gi f t e d te ach er 40 m i l esaw ay . The y al s o en cou r a ged T ay l or t o at t en d col l eg e, t o ar r ang e fo r hi s be st f r i e nd to at t end t h e sa m e co l l e ge , to tr ans f e r to Po m on a Co l l e ge up on P r of es sor Gr a y's sugg es t i on, and to co m p l e t e hi s f or m a l edu cat i o n in th e f ac e of en t i c em en t s fr om Ho l l ywo od . And i n t he af t e r m at h of hi s bel o ve d f at he r 's deat h, t he mo t he r mo ved t o Hol l y woo d so he woul d pur su ehi s ac t i n g int er es t .

E v en bef o r e hi s pa r en t s we r e bor n , the r e was a des i r e for adva nc em ent on bot h the S t an ho pe an d Br u gh si de s of th e f am i l y . Th ey bo t h ha d a hi s t or y of re l o cat i n g wes t w ar d f r o m t h e ea st , and bo t h si de s wer e am o ng th e ea r l y pion ee r s of Nebr as ka . Hi s f a t h er as a yo ut h cho se t o r em ai n i n F r e m o nt ra t he r th an fo l l o w th e f am i l y whe n i t rel oc at ed fr om th e Wah oo ar ea t o af a r m i n eas t er n Co l or ad o. Th en af t e r he fa r m e d in Ga ge Co un t y fo r a f ew ye ar s, th e fat he r ch an ge d car eer s tw i ce . Af t er hi s ma r r i ag e to Ru t h St an hop e, he qui t f ar m i n g an d bec am e abu si ne ssm an . Af t er do ct or s cou l d no t cur e hi s wi f e 's ai l m en t , he ent e r e d col l e ge at th e ag e of 26 , de t er m i ned t o lea r n wh at m em b er s of th e m ed i ca l pr of e ss i on see m i n gl y di d not kn ow. And he not on l y ch os e the l i t t l e - k now n, li t t l e -r e sp ec t ed f i el d of os t e opa t h y but he al so had to at t e nd a co l l ege out - of - s t at e dur i n g day s of di ff i cu l t tr an spo r t at i on . The n du r i n g hi s si x t ee n- yea r pr ac t i ce in Be at r i ce, he cha ng ed th e per ce pt i on of m an y ske pt i cs of ost eop at hy , ear ni n g th ehi gh r ega r d of hi s me di cal col l ea gu es an d the peop l e i n t he co m m un i t y .

Hi s mo t he r was al s o cou r ag eo us an d pos se ss or of a vi si on. Whi l e sh e was ai l i ng , she wa s a rea de r and supp or t i v e of he r hus ba nd 's go al s , mo vi n g as ma ny ti m e s as he r hus ban d. Af t e r gi v i n g bi r t h to Ar l i ng t o n, he r onl y chi l d , an ev ent cons i d er ed mi r ac ul ou s i n vi e w of he r de l i ca t e he al t h, she wa s shr ew d abo ut he r pr o t e ct i ve ne ss. A hom eb ody and a sm al l - t own gi r l wi t h a fa r m ba ck gr o un d, sh e di d not se em ve r y soph i s t i c at ed to out s i d er s, an d she di d no t co nf or m t o ot h er s' ex pe ct a t i on s of a doc t o r 's wi f e , li kel y she kne w t ha t she was co nsi de r e d"d i f f e r e nt ", an d f i t i n bet t er wi t h peo pl e of a r ur al ba ck gr o un d. Bu t she t oo k t he le ad i n t he ed uc at i on and ac cu l t u r a t i o n of he r bel ov ed so n, an d sa w t o it th at hi s int el l e ct u al an d "s of t er "si de s wer e dev el op ed, bel i ev i n g t ha t he sh oul d not con f or m to pr es sur es to par t i c i p at e i n spo r t san d in st e ad co nc en t r a t e on t he bl os som i n g of hi s m an y tal en t s. I t is li kel y th at sh e kne wAr l i ng t on was so m e one ver y unu sua l , qu i e t l y m ad e dec i s i on s for hi m an d wi t h hi m , an dwa nt ed hi m to go f ar in li f e , eve n if it m ean t lea vi ng hi s roo t s .

Bo t h of Rob er t T ay l or 's pa r e nt s wan t ed hi m to som e da y be gr e at at som et h i n g whi l e at t h e sa m e ti m e re m a i ni ng a mo r a l , de cen t pe r so n. An d th ey ha d hel p in th ei r eff o r t s fr o m the co m m un i t y of Bea t r i ce i n t he 1920 s bec au se it off e r e d man y opp or t u ni t i e s f or expo su r e to t hef i ne ar t s and fo r "ho m e ta l e nt " t o gai n va l ua bl e exp er i en ce be f o r e li ve au di en ces . S o m e of t he f i ne ar t s oppo r t un i t i es Be at r i ce of f e r e d wer e: a nu m b er of mo vi e the at er s i n t he ci t y ( and t he l i ve or ch es t r a l mu si c pl ay ed bef or e si l e nt fi l m s) , t he ho l d i ng of the annu al Vene t i an Fe st i va l ont h e Bi g Bl u e Ri v er , t he re vi va l of the Cha ut a uq ua an d the open i n g of th e r eb ui l t Pa ddo ck Ho t e l . Ot he r opp or t un i t i es i nc l ud ed th e im por t a nce of mus i c in t he co m m uni t y 's ch ur che s, t hei m pr ov em e nt of t he sc ho ol sy st em ' s fac i l i t i es and cu r r i cu l u m , th e tal k of Do an e Col l eg er e l o ca t i n g to Be at r i c e, an d th e pr o xi m i t y of co l l e ge s in Cr et e and Li nc ol n . B eat r i ce wa s af e r t i l e env i r o nm en t f or a bu dd i n g per f or m i ng ar t i st . B.P . Osb or n , mus i c supe r v i so r of th eBe at r i ce Pu bl i c Sc hoo l s , pl a ye d a r ol e by enc ou r ag i n g Ar l i n gt o n to ta ke up a st r i ng edi n st r u m en t , an d mo r t i ci an Fr an k L en har t ma de a con t r i b ut i on by vol unt ar i l y or g ani zi ng hi sor ch es t r a f or th e you t h of t he co m m uni t y . Kno wi ng Ar vi d E yt h l i k el y gav e i ns pi r at i o n, to o,

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an d th e kno wl e dg e of Bu r ch ar d nat i v e Har ol d L l o yd' s ea r l y f i l m suc ces s mi g ht have had asu bc on sci ou s eff e ct . The n, to o, one ca nno t ov er l oo k t he subt l e in f l ue nce t hat hi s be st fr i e nd Ge r h ar t Wi e be ha d as we l l as t hat of hi s m any ot he r ac qua i n t an ce s, bo t h ma l e and fe m al e, es pe ci al l y tho se i n dr a m a an d mus i c .

As has be en no t e d pr e vi ous l y , Tay l o r was gr a t e f u l t o the i ns t i t ut i on s of Be at r i c e an dt h ei r con t r i bu t i on s t o hi s suc ces s. Th e co m m u ni t y of Gage Coun t y al so pr ov i d ed va l u es an dwo r k et hi cs th at cor r el at e d we l l wi t h wh at hi s par en t s wa nt ed fo r hi m , and hi s co ns t an t pr ai s ef o r hi s hom e and f or al l of Ne br a sk a was al so conf i r m a t i o n of th ei r wor t h to hi m . P er h ap s hene ve r gav e it mu ch th ou ght , bu t t he af f e ct i o n sho wn to hi m du r i n g hi s 193 6 hom ec om i ng an dt h e si ze of th e tu r no ut we r e r ar e even t s i n any ce l e br i t y 's li f e t i m e. F ew in any en dea vo r hav eev er expe r i enc ed t hat ki nd of "we l c om e hom e", at l ea st no t as an i ndi vi dua l . And it is si gn i f i ca nt th at on hi s fi na l tr i p to Ne br ask a he vi si t ed Beat r i ce , F i l l ey , an d Hol m es vi l l ewi t h ou t f an f ar e, and th e l as t fr i en ds th at he saw on Nebr as ka so i l we r e th e Ro ber t Tys er s at th ef a r m he l ov ed so m uch .

T a yl or 's ma ny va l u abl e fi n e ar t s ex per i e nc es wh i l e at Doa ne Co l l eg e i n Cr e t e and th et w o su m m e r s at r ad i o st at i on KMMJ i n Cl a y Cen t e r wer e al s o si g ni f i can t fac t o r s in hi sde ve l o pm e nt . E xt r e m el y im p or t a nt we r e th e con t r i bu t i on s of Doa ne 's pa r t - t i m e i nst r u m en t a l m u si c ins t r uct or Her b er t E . Gr ay an d dr a m a in st r uc t o r Mar y El l en I ngl i s - F a r r i e s. Hi spl ac em ent of Doa ne Co l l ege as the f i r s t ch ar i t y in t he Co di ci l t o hi s Wi l l — i n add i t i on t ose r v i n g i n a f un dr ai s i n g cap ac i t y — al so gi ve t est i m on y t o the r ol e hi s tw o co l l e ge ye ar s inCr et e pl a ye d i n th e dev el o pm en t of hi s car eer .

S o wha t m ay on e sa y i n con cl us i on abou t Ro ber t Tay l o r , a go l de n- er a Hol l yw oo dm o vi e ki n g fr o m Ne br a sk a? He was on e of th e gr e at Hol l yw ood st a r s, one of t he ha nds om es t m e n in Am er i ca , an d a m ode l of de ce ncy . Mo r eo ve r , he was ma r r i ed t o Bar bar a St anw yc k, on eof t he ve r y su cc es sf u l act r e ss es du r i n g he r er a , and he and Ur su l a Th i e ss, hi s se co nd wi f e , wer eon e of th e mos t at t r a ct i ve , gl am o r o us co up l es anyw he r e . He was al s o one of t he ni ce st pe r s ons wh o ev er li ved .

Un f o r t una t e l y, as was obse r v ed by t he au t h or of "R ob er t T ay l or , th e m an be hi nd th e's l i ck pa n' " pub l i she d in th e Apr i l 19 61 i ssu e of Coro ne t , he wa s — and is — "p r o bab l y t hel e as t kno wn of t he bi g st a r s . "

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Robert Taylor: Glamorous movie star of Hollywood’s golden era, role model ofdecency and world patriot

Copyright (C) 2009 by E.A. KralOriginal full-page profile published in The Crete News, April 1, 2009, p. B-12

One of Hollywood’s most glamorous movie stars in history was Nebraska native RobertTaylor, who appeared in over 80 motion picture and television films from 1934 to 1969. Known

for his leading roles opposite many of the most renowned actresses in show business, includingJoan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Elizabeth Taylor, and LanaTurner, he also starred from 1959 to 1962 in his own television series The Detectives.

And he was not only narrator of two Academy Award-winning documentaries but alsoco-recipient with Alan Ladd of the Golden Globe for 1953 as world’s male film favorite, thesame year Marilyn Monroe was world’s female film favorite.

Within three years after signing a contract as a professional actor, he had risen to stardom

and achieved high Box Office rankings, prompting the London Observer to assert that “1936 willgo on record as the year of Edward VIII, the Spanish War, and Robert Tay1or.” And the January18, 1937 Time magazine called him “cinema’s most passionately admired matinee idol since the

late Rudolph Valentino.”In January 1937, he and actress Jean Harlow attended the birthday celebration of U.S.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and by year’s end, Taylor placed second to legendary ClarkGable in a “King of Hollywood” poll. The February 19, 1938 issue of Saturday Evening Post

featured a Norman Rockwell cover illustration that showed two college girls admiring aphotograph of Taylor, the same year Edgar Guest’s poem “Valentine” closed with a reference tohim.

Despite his success and worldwide fame at 25 years of age and beyond, Taylor remaineda unique individual in the entertainment industry, for he had kept his character traits and valuesfrom his formative years in Gage County, Nebraska, where he was born Spangler ArlingtonBrugh on August 5, 1911 in Filley, a village of 194 persons. An only child, he grew up in nearby

Beatrice, population 9,664, where his father was an osteopath. His mother suffered fromoccasional illness, but his parents’ relationship based on mutual love and respect set a lastingexample for Arlington, or Arly, as he was known.

The family belonged to the Centenary United Methodist Church, though Arlington alsojoined the Order of DeMolay, a nonsectarian group that promotes moral teachings. His workethic and responsibility were also fostered by parental discipline, home chores, and summer jobs.For almost ten years, he kept his pony at the Anthony and Rose Tyser Shimerda farm on the

south edge of the city, where the Brughs sometimes stayed in a cabin, hunted, and fished.In the Beatrice Public Schools, he had normal playground experiences, but also spent

time at his father’s medical office, and read books at home. At the age of ten, he started piano

lessons, and music supervisor B. P. Osborn convinced him “the cello was the instrument for a

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gentleman.” His mother arranged for his traveling 40 miles to Lincoln for private cello lessons

with Herbert E. Gray from 1925 to 1929.While participating in school music activities and a community orchestra, he appeared

before various groups after election as the first student body president in Junior High. Indramatics class, he had important roles in two productions, and took part in a play staged by

adults in the community. At the annual state drama contest, he was state champion in theoratorical category, and locally excelled in academics. Upon graduation from Beatrice HighSchool in 1929, Arlington attended Doane College at Crete, about 33 miles from home.

During his two years at Doane, he registered with the Department of Music, where Graywas a part-time teacher, and played the cello in a string quartet and the orchestra. After becomingpart of a trio called “The Harmony Boys”, he performed in the summers of 1930 and 1931 atradio station KMMJ in Clay Center, located 65 miles west of Crete.

While regarding dramatics as a hobby, he played various roles in several plays directedby speech instructor Mary Ellen Inglis, who he later complimented for the part she had instarting him toward his career. Despite advantages other Doane students did not have, Arlington

maintained a conservative lifestyle, was well-liked, and remained in close contact with hisparents. More about his formative years may be found in a 48-page supplement published withthe October 8, 1993 Beatrice Daily Sun and a cover article in Nebraska History, Vol 75 (Winter1994).

When Herbert Gray decided to fill a teaching vacancy at Pomona College in Claremont,California in the fall of 1931, Arlington also transferred to Pomona, and prepared for a businesscareer. Notable participation in college plays at Pomona included his December 1932 role in R.

C. Sheriff’s World War I drama Journey’s End, which was observed by Ben Piazza, a talentscout for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio. It resulted in his dramatic instruction from MGM coachOliver Hinsdell before earning a bachelor’s degree in June 1933.

After his father had unexpectedly died in October 1933, Arlington and his mother settled

in Hollywood, where he re-enrolled in the MGM dramatic school, and on February 6, 1934signed a contract with MGM for $35 per week, which made him the lowest-paid actor inHollywood history, where he remained for 25 years, longer than any other star at any Hollywood

studio. He was also given the name Robert Taylor to increase his general appeal to moreAmericans.

It was Taylor’s good fortune to work for MGM, which became the most renowned ofeight major motion picture companies in Hollywood, making well over 1,000 films during the

golden era from about 1925 to 1960. According to John D. Eames, author of The MGM Story,2nd Rev Ed (Crown, 1982), the studio in Culver City “grew from its original 22 acres to morethan 275, with its own police force, fire department, and post office.”

Under Louis B. Mayer, its chief executive from 1924 to 1951, the vision of MGM moviesnot only offered escape from such hardships as the economic depression of the 1930s and theWorld War II years but also clean, wholesome entertainment with respect for family values.

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During this era, too, the enforcement of the Production Code after June 1934 helped

define what was morally acceptable content for United States motion pictures. Peter Hay, authorof MGM: When The Lion Roars (Turner, 1991), reported that production standards were partlydue to an increase in sex and sensationalism in the movies of the 1920s and the formation of theRoman Catholic church’s Legion of Decency for the purpose of rating films.

Taylor’s career began when “motion pictures were the leading mass entertainment... butthe mounting rivalry of radio had to be met by making pictures bigger,” reported Eames. SoMGM, known for developing a star system as well as quality and glamour, followed the motto

“make it good...make it big... give it class!” By the mid-1930s, it had about 4,000 employees,and made an average of 40 to 50 films a year. And some of its productions over the decades suchas Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz and An American in Paris and Singin’ in the Rain

and Ben Hur became enduring classics.

MGM was also famous for its stable of stars, often proclaiming it had “more stars thanthere are in heaven.” By its 25th anniversary in 1949, it had included in various movies some 80stars and featured players, many of whom were the biggest in Hollywood history, such as Joan

Crawford, Greta Garbo, Judy Garland, Katharine Hepburn, Clark Gable, Mickey Rooney,Spencer Tracy, and Taylor.

Several were featured in Hollywood biographer Jane Ellen Wayne’s The Golden Girls of

MGM (Carroll and Graf, 2003) and The Leading Men of MGM (Carroll and Graf, 2005), the

latter including a chapter on Taylor. Also author of The Life of Robert Taylor (Warner, 1973;Robson, 1987; St. Martin’s Press, 1989), the first book-length biography of him, Wayneeventually used the subtitle “the man with the perfect face.”

Taylor had minor roles until 1935 when he gained attention for his performance inSociety Doctor, then achieved stardom almost overnight upon playing opposite Irene Dunne inthe Universal Studio production Magnificent Obsession that same year. He had leading roles infour succeeding MGM films in 1936, the same year the studio arranged his homecoming

celebration in Beatrice on October 28, which attracted an estimated 20,000 people fromNebraska and surrounding states, and was reported by the national press.

One of his most notable performances occurred in the poignant MGM romance Camille,

released in 1937, in which he played opposite the legendary Greta Garbo, who received an Oscarnomination for her part. According to author Wayne, one reviewer wrote, in part, “Mr. Taylor,inexperienced, is good. His Armand is dashing and well-tempered and his love scenes arecertainly making the pulses beat more quickly.”

Appearing in so many tender love stories, however, created a stereotype, and he hadgrown irritated with ridicule from some male members of the press as well as the mob-likebehavior of fans. And Mayer decided to attract a larger portion of males by giving Taylor more

“he-man” roles. In 1938, he was the star of the first American film made in England. In A Yank

at Oxford, he played a conceited American student at a British university, inspiring one reviewerto assert that “he runs, rows and throws a mean right with scarcely a trace of the posturing

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matinee idol.” Others noticed his hairy chest, which sparked talk about a fashion trend.

That year he also appeared as a boxer in The Crowd Roars after previously taking somesparring lessons from Nebraska-born Max Baer, who was the heavyweight boxing champion ofthe world in 1934. Wayne quoted a reviewer as stating, “One of the greatest prize fight picturesever to hit the screen puts Taylor in the fore. As a human hero, he takes his place with Gable

among the screen greats.” Indeed, his Box Office ranking was fourth in 1936, third in 1937, andsixth in 1938.

Among Taylor’s 1939 films was Lady of the Tropics in which he starred opposite Hedy

Lamarr, forming what some critics consider the most glamorous couple in any Hollywood movieever. A year later, after playing a young, unpopular Navy officer who gained respect from thesquadron upon rescuing their commander in the drama Flight Command, he learned to flyairplanes in his private life.

In 1940, he was involved in not only one of his most notable performances but also hisown favorite film. In the sensitive romance Waterloo Bridge, he played a World War I Armyofficer who falls in love with a ballerina played by Vivien Leigh, who had previously won an

Oscar for her role in the classic Gone with the Wind. Author Wayne quoted a critic who believedthat Waterloo Bridge has solid acting throughout, and Eames reported it was one of MGM’smajor successes that year.

His first Western came in the title role of the 1941 technicolor Billy the Kid, which some

authors consider the best of all versions made of this film. And he strengthened his reputation asan action star. A year later, he played opposite the photogenic Lana Turner in the title role ofJohnny Eager, a cruel and ruthless gangster who is killed by his enemies at the end. In this

melodrama, which is one of Taylor’s notable films, co-cast member Van Heflin won an Oscar asbest supporting actor for 1942.

In the 1943 war movie Bataan, he played a tough sergeant of a diverse group ofAmerican soldiers who lose their lives on a desperate mission against the Japanese. Eames

considered it the best of that year’s battle movies. And Lawrence J. Quirk, author of The Films of

Robert Taylor (Citadel Press, 1975), asserted that it was “one film that many Robert Taylor fansfelt should have earned an Academy Award nomination.”

While serving in the U.S. Navy for the next two years during World War II, he wasconsidered too old for overseas duty, despite holding a civilian pilot’s license, so as an instructorhe made 17 training films and narrated an Academy Award-winning feature-length documentaryabout an aircraft carrier titled The Fighting Lady, released in early 1945.

His postwar years with MGM resumed at a slower pace, though in 1946 he appeared inthe suspense-filled melodrama Undercurrent with co-star Katharine Hepburn, who reported that“Robert Taylor was a highly underrated actor with a much bigger talent than suspected.” He also

narrated the Academy Award-winning documentary about the 1946-47 expedition to Antarcticaby Admiral Richard E. Byrd titled The Secret Land, released in 1948.

In the decade of the 1950s, however, he appeared in 22 movies released while under

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contract with MGM, some of which rated as top ten grossing films, especially those in which he

had leading roles as medieval heroes.The 1951 Quo Vadis? was a costume spectacular that became the most expensive movie

produced up to that time ($7 million versus $4 million for the 1939 classic Gone with the Wind).Filmed in Rome, it starred Deborah Kerr opposite Taylor, and grossed over $12 million with

popularity on television afterwards. According to Hay, it received eight Oscar nominations,The 1952 Ivanhoe with Elizabeth Taylor and the 1954 Knights of the Round Table with

Ava Gardner were top grossing films. The 1954 Valley of the Kings with Eleanor Parker, the first

American movie made in Egypt, led one critic to comment that “Taylor has a role with a bit ofmeat on it.” And the 1955 Quentin Durward with Kay Kendall was considered by Quirk as a finerepresentative of the medieval costume melodrama that garnered more attention on television inthe mid-1970s.

Taylor’s performance in The Hunt in 1956 with Debra Paget made it his most notableWestern, which Quirk called a landmark film because “it demonstrated what he couldaccomplish with the right juxtaposition of elements.” And Wayne quoted one reviewer as stating

that it “is an unusual Western because its characters have some depth—Taylor plays his role wellas the—not so much villain—but as a psychopath.”

The best performance of his career, according to various critics and authors, occurred inthe 1953 Above and Beyond with Eleanor Parker, a semi-documentary of Paul Tibbets, the

airman in charge of dropping the first atomic bomb on Japan in 1945, which prompted an end toWorld War II. And many believed he should have received an Oscar nomination if not theaward. Author Wayne also reported he had volunteered to promote this movie for MGM, even

though he usually disliked public appearances, and became the first Hollywood contract player toappear on television when a guest on Ed Sullivan’s Toast of the Town.

Upon leaving MGM in 1958, he spent the next decade performing in about a dozenindependent films and on television. From 1959 to 1962, he starred in his own weekly television

series The Detectives, and from 1966 to 1968 was host and occasional star for the syndicatedweekly Death Valley Days.

Both Wayne and Quirk reported that he had refused some scripts because he had believed

he was too old for the roles and he did not want to play opposite a woman who was—orlooked—twenty years younger.

Throughout his career, he was also appreciated by well-informed members of the filmindustry. From a Joe Hyams article about Taylor in the April 6, 1957 New York Herald Tribune,

author Wayne quoted producer Edwin Knopf as saying, in part, that “he’s a fine artist, a no-nonsense guy who studies his script more thoroughly than any actor I know.” In agreement wasdirector Richard Thorpe, who added, “He’s a rarity. A lot of the big stars are really heels off

screen ... But Bob is really a nice guy and it comes through on the screen.”Taylor himself revealed another side of his uniqueness to Hyams in the comment:

“Acting is the easiest job in the world, and I’m the luckiest guy. All I have to do is be at the

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studio on time, and know my lines. The wardrobe department tells me what to wear, the assistant

director tells me where to go, and the director tells me what to do. What could be easier?”An astute summarization of his character came in a simple quote from a Utah farmer who

had talked with Taylor while on location: “That’s one man who never growed himself an ego!”As for his private life, he avoided the limelight and admitted he was not very gregarious.

His first marriage in 1939 to actress Barbara Stanwyck, a Brooklyn, New York native who hadan adopted son from her previous marriage to an abusive husband, ended in divorce 12 yearslater. They had no children. As reported by Jane Ellen Wayne’s The Life and Loves of Barbara

Stanwyck (JR Books Ltd, 2009), she had a distinguished career with a 1982 Oscar for lifetimeachievement. But they spent time apart due to their filming locations, and she was not enamoredwith his flying and outdoor interests. Her only visit to his home state was on April 28, 1939 toattend the premiere of her movie Union Pacific in Omaha.

His limited political activity began with the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservationof American Ideals, founded in 1944 by film colony conservatives worried about Communistinfluence, and with the Screen Actors Guild. As suspected by national leaders, a variety of

individuals in the film industry had succumbed to Communist influence, reported Kenneth LloydBillingsley, Hollywood Party (Forum/Prima, 1998, 2000) and Ronald Radosh and Allis Radosh,Red Star over Hollywood (Encounter Books, 2006).

Though Taylor became unhappy with the House Un-American Activities Committee in

May 1947 after investigators unexpectedly revealed his private testimony to the media, reportedLinda J. Alexander in Reluctant Witness: Robert Taylor, Hollywood and Communism (Tease,2008), he and several others cooperated in HUAC’s public hearings on Communism at

Washington, DC that October.Seemingly unaware that Soviet dictator Josef Stalin had murdered millions of his own

people, according to historian Robert Conquest in 1968 and others thereafter, some liberals in theindustry protested what they deemed as abuses, and victimized cooperative witnesses until well

beyond the collapse of Communism in Europe and Russia itself by the early 1990s.In the late 1940s, Taylor had become acquainted with British-born Ivy Ellis Pearson

Mooring, who had brought her son and husband to America. He set her up in his home free of

charge for five years, enabling Ivy to earn a living to pay for the health care of her husband whohad a malignant tumor. After that, she remained a close family friend.

His second marriage in 1954 to German-born actress Ursula Schmidt Thiess fulfilled hisdesire for a family, serving as a father to her two children from a previous marriage as well as

two of their own—Terry and Tessa. Much is described in Ursula Thiess’ privately publishedautobiography in 2003 titled “... but I have promises to keep”: my life before, with & after

Robert Taylor, as he took pride in caring for his family and their 113-acre ranch in the San

Fernando Valley near Los Angeles, where he kept some farm animals. As he had done since1946, he flew to hunting and fishing locations in the West, including Nebraska, where he visitedoccasionally and had a business interest. He exchanged letters with old friends, too.

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In 1966, some California Republican Party members invited Taylor to run for governor,

reported Alexander, but he didn’t want the job. Instead, his close friend Ronald Reagan ran, andlater became the 40th U.S. President.

Robert Taylor died of lung cancer at the age of 57 on June 8, 1969, and in the funeraleulogy delivered by Governor Reagan, he was called “one of the truly great and most enduring

stars in the golden era of Hollywood.” Indeed, his movies are in the MGM film library purchasedin 1985 by Ted Turner for viewing on television.

While his star was placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 at 1500 Vine Street,

and Doane College awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1963, there were forms of posthumousrecognition, such as the 1970 induction into the Cowboy Hall of Fame at Oklahoma City, and animprint of his 1943 role in Bataan on a postage stamp issued in 1991 by Comoro Islands nearAfrica.

In 1994, the Nebraska State Highway Commission designated the portion of U.S.Highway 136 between Filley and Beatrice as the Robert Taylor Memorial Highway, and in themid-1990s there was creation of a permanent exhibit on him at the Gage County Museum in

Beatrice as well as the holding of two national conferences in the community. In May 2007, thefirst annual Robert Taylor Scholarship was awarded to a graduating senior at Beatrice HighSchool.

The previously cited biographical sources by Wayne, Quirk, Alexander, and others are

suggested as well as the obituary that began on the front page of the June 9, 1969 New York

Times. And the fourth book-length biography of him, scheduled to be published about 2010 byCharles Tranberg, is titled Robert Taylor: The Last Movie Star.

For more information, consult “900 Famous Nebraskans” on the Internet atwww.nsea.org or www.gagecountymuseum.org or www.nebpress.com.

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May 2009 update of 12 pages by E.A. Kral for Gage County Historical Society,Beatrice, Nebraska

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND RECOGNITION OF ROBERT TAYLOR (1911 - 1969)

Professional1. Appeared in 80 motion picture and television films from 1934 to 1969.2. Starred in his own television series The Detectives, a half-hour weekly from 1959 to 1961,

and an hour weekly in 1961-62.3. Hosted and occasionally starred in Death Valley Days from 1966 to 1968.4. Appeared in many dramatizations broadcast on radio in 1930’s and 1940’s.5. Holds Hollywood record for lowest contract salary ($35 a week in 1934).6. Holds Hollywood record for longest contract with one studio (MGM) 24-25 years from

early 1934 to late 1958.7. Ranked fourth in Box Office appeal in 1936.8. Ranked third in Box Office appeal in 1937.9. Ranked sixth in Box Office appeal in 1938. Taylor ranked 8th as the biggest box office star

of the decade of the 1930’s, according to polls published in the trade journal Motion PictureHerald. See Richard Griffith, The Movie Stars (Doubleday, 1970) page 458.

10. First American actor to appear in film made in England — A Yank at Oxford (1938).11. Narrator of Academy Award full-length documentary The Fighting Lady in 1944.12. Narrator of Academy Award full-length documentary The Secret Land in 1948.13. Played lead role in Quo Vadis? (1951), the most expensive movie produced at the time —

$7 million. (In 1939, Gone with the Wind cost $4 million).14. First Hollywood contract star to appear on television in 1952 on the Ed Sullivan Show with

film clips from Above and Beyond (1953).15. First American actor to appear in film made in Egypt — Valley of the Kings (1954)16. In 1954 at the 11th annual Golden Globe Awards Ceremony, he was co-recipient with Alan

Ladd of a Golden Globe Award for 1953 achievements as world’s male film favorite, anhonor bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Correspondents Association representing500 million movie goers worldwide. (The recipient that year as world’s female film favoritewas Marilyn Monroe.)

17. As male lead he played opposite such leading ladies Greta Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor, LanaTurner Ava Gardner, Katharine Hepburn, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, Vivien Leigh,Joan Fontaine, Jean Harlow, Eleanor Parker, Irene Dunne, and others.

International and National Recognition18. Stated the London Observer: “1936 will go on record as the year of Edward VIII, the

Spanish War, and Robert Taylor.”19. In 1936 he placed first in a nationwide poll of girls from ages 16 to 20 according to Ladies

Home Journal, September 1936.20. Named in the January 18, 1937 Time cinema section as “cinema’s most passionately

admired matinee idol since the late Rudolph Valentino.”

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21. Taylor’s full-page photo appeared for tobacco advertisement on back cover of November22, 1937 Life magazine.

22. In 1937, he placed second to Clark Gable in “King of Hollywood” poll.23. His photograph admired by two college girls appeared on cover illustration by Norman

Rockwell in February 19, 1938 issue of Saturday Evening Post.24. Had footprints, handprints, and autograph placed in cement in forecourt of Mann’s Chinese

Theater in Hollywood in 1941, one of only 170 persons so recognized.25. On front cover of Life, February 14, 1944, his imprinted autograph appeared, along with

that of several other movie stars, as shown on a Hollywood restaurant Wall of Fame.26. Included in Earl Blackwell’s Celebrity Register, Vols 1-2 (1959, 1963).27. Made cover of Parade September 25, 1960 with his wife Ursula Thiess.28. Was one of the original 1,558 performing artists to have a star placed on the Hollywood

Walk of Fame on February 8, 1960. Taylor’s star is located at 1500 Vine, and is in thevicinity of Washington Mutual Bank (formerly the Bank of America). The HollywoodWalk of Fame’s star-studded sidewalks stretch for 18 blocks (east-west) along both sides ofHollywood Boulevard, from Gower Street (on the north-south) along Vine Street,beginning at Sunset Boulevard (on the south), crossing Hollywood Boulevard, up to YuccaStreet (on the north).

Posthumous International and National Recognition29. Obituary appeared on page 1 of June 9, 1969 New York Times, a rare occurrence for a

movie star.30. Funeral eulogy delivered by Ronald Reagan, then Governor of California, later President of

the United States from 1981 to 1989. Taylor and Reagan were close friends for many years,and the Reagans served as godparents to Taylor’s children.

31. Inducted in 1970 into the Hall of Great Western Performers by the Cowboy Hall of Fame inOklahoma City, at the time the sixth to be so honored since its first inductee Tom Mix, hisboyhood idol.

32. Subject of first book-length biography by Jane Ellen Wayne, The Life of Robert Taylor(Warner, 1973; Robson, 1987; St. Martin’s Press, 1989).

33. Subject of second book-length biography by Lawrence J. Quirk, The Films of Robert Taylor(Citadel Press, 1975).

34. In the five-volume series Magill’s American Film Guide (1983), which includes reviews ofthe 1,000 best movies, entries of seven movies in which Taylor starred appear: MagnificentObsession (1935), Camille (1937), Three Comrades (1938), Waterloo Bridge (1940),Johnny Eager (1942), Quo Vadis (1951), and Ivanhoe (1952).

35. Featured in biography by Jane Ellen Wayne, Stanwyck (St. Martin’s Press, 1986).36. The Lion’s Building on Lorimar Telepictures Lot (formerly the

Publicity/Casting/Administration Building on the MGM Studio Lot) at 10202 WestWashington Boulevard in Culver City, California was renamed in March 1988 the RobertTaylor Building, “honoring what many consider to be one of the most professional,consummate actors of our time.” (Since then, the building was renamed, then razed. Theformer MGM Lot is now owned by Sony Corporation.)

37. Included in the authoritative Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement Eight(Scribner’s, 1988), pages 645-647. First published in 1928, this series of 28 volumes,

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including Supplement Eight which covers distinguished persons who died from 1965 to1970, contains sketches of 18,110 individuals who made major professional or artisticcontributions, 48 of them born in Nebraska.

38. Eulogy delivered by Ronald Reagan at Robert Taylor’s funeral on June 11, 1969 waspublished in Ronald Reagan, Speaking My Mind: Selected Speeches (Simon & Schuster,1989) pages 46-50.

39. Reprint of Edgar Guest’s 1938 poem “Valentine”, which mentions Robert Taylor, appearedin Ideals, Vol 47, No 1 (February 1990), page 31. Guest’s poem was originally published inhis All In A Lifetime (Reilly & Lee Company, 1938).

40. Included in the scholarly International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers: Actors andActresses, Vol. 3, rev ed (St. James Press, 1992), pages 963-964. This reference contains635 entries selected by North American, British, and West European film scholars andcritics.

41. In 1991, an imprint of Taylor in his 1943 role in Bataan appeared on postage stamp issuedby Comoro Islands located near southeast coast of Africa. (See Harrold C. Shiffler, editor,Theatre Philatelic, American Topical Association, 1994.)

42. Biographical tribute titled “And Then I Remember Robert Taylor” by Hollywood producerAndrew J. Fenady published in Trail Dust, Vol 3, No 2 (Summer-Fall, 1995) pages 14-15

43. In 1996, he was honored with a U.S. Postal Service cachet and cancellation in Beatriceduring the second Robert Taylor Seminar.

44. Listed as a famous Nebraskan in the state entry in the 1997 World Almanac, page 668.45. Included in James E. Wise Jr. and Anne Collier Rehill, Stars in Blue: Movie Actors in

America’s Sea Service (Naval Institute Press, 1997) pages 245-250 and photo on bookcover.

46. Included in authoritative American National Biography, Vol 21 (Oxford University Press,1999), pages 404-405.

47. Featured as Star of the Month on Turner Classic Movies Channel in September 2001.48. Photo of former Robert Taylor home (from 1959 to 1969) at 3099 Mandeville Canyon Road

in Los Angeles published on occasion of sale to new owners in People, January 14, 2002,page 20.

49. The movie Camille 1937, starring Robert Taylor and Greta Garbo, was selected as the 33rd

best romance by the American Film Institute in June 2002 as part of its ranking of top 100U.S. screen romances. Consult Omaha World Herald, June 12, 2002.

50. Featured in Ursula Thiess, “…but I have promises to keep”: my life before, with & afterRobert Taylor (Creative Arts Book Company, 2003) Part II, pages 59-212.

51. Entry of 500 words included in Encyclopedia of the Great Plains, ed. David J. Wishart(University of Nebraska Press, 2004) page 279.

52. Featured in Jane Ellen Wayne, The Golden Guys of MGM (Robson, 2004) Chapter 5.53. Mentioned in entry on Barbara Stanwyck published in Notable American Women: A

Biographical Dictionary Completing the Twentieth Century (Belknap, 2004) pages 609-611.

54. Featured in American version of Jane Ellen Wayne’s Robson 2004 book under new titleThe Leading Men of MGM (Carroll & Graf, 2005) ISBN 0-7867-1475-1 and recognized attop of copyright page with author’s dedication “To Robert Taylor, in remembrance”.

55. Announcement of Robert Taylor Scholarship placed on Internet in spring of 2006 by authorLinda J. Alexander of Frederick, Maryland.

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56. Included in Leading Men: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actors of The Studio Era (ChronicleBooks, 2006) pages 200-203. Other native Nebraskans included are Fred Astaire, MarlonBrando, Montgomery Clift, Henry Fonda, and Harold Lloyd.

57. Subject of third book-length biography by Linda J. Alexander, Reluctant Witness: RobertTaylor, Hollywood, and Communism (Tease Publishing, 2008).

58. Featured in biography by Jane Ellen Wayne, The Life and Loves of Barbara Stanwyck (JRBooks, 2009).

59. Subject of fourth book-length biography by Charles Tranberg, Robert Taylor: The LastMovie Star (forthcoming).

Personal Accomplishments60. Placed first in state oratorical contest held at Nebraska Wesleyan in Lincoln as a senior at

Beatrice High School.61. Graduated from Beatrice High School in 1929, was one of three gold medal finalists, and

was one of ten members of the National Honor Society.62. Attended Doane College in Crete from 1929 to 1931, participating in several dramatic

productions, playing the cello in a string quartet, and performing at KMMJ in Clay Centerin the summers of 1930 and 1931 as a member of “The Harmony Boys”.

63. Played from time to time in the Lincoln Symphony from 1929 to 1931.64. Graduated from Pomona College in Claremont, California in 1933.65. Received in the 1930’s as a member of the Order of DeMolay in Beatrice and in Lincoln the

Legion of Honor, the top honor given by the national organization known at the time as theGrand Council of the Order of DeMolay.

66. Featured in September 1936 issue of The Playbill as member of Alpha Psi Omega, anational dramatic fraternity.

67. Published article “Anything Can Happen In Hollywood,” Ladies Home Journal, September,1936.

68. Published nationwide his autobiography in early 1937 which appeared in Lincoln NebraskaState Journal, March 1 to March 9.

69. Was married to actress Barbara Stanwyck from 1939 to 1951, herself a distinguishedactress who appeared in 88 films and in 1982 was a recipient of an Academy Award forlifetime achievement.

70. In 1940, Taylor earned his pilot’s license.71. He served in the U.S. Navy as a flight instructor from 1943 to 1945, earning the rank of

lieutenant and narrating 17 training films.72. Testified on October 22, 1947 in Washington, DC before the House Un-American

Activities Committee regarding Communist influence in Hollywood.73. Received Outdoorsman of the Year Award for 1954 from Winchester Repeating Arms

Company of New Haven, Connecticut.74. Married actress Ursula Schmidt Thiess (German-born) in 1954. She was on the cover of the

June 4, 1951 Life magazine. Taylor was one of four Nebraska-born men to marry a Lifecover girl. (The others were Henry Fonda, Leland Hayward, and Charles Lowe.)

75. Father of son Terence born in 1955 who is now a consultant based in Philadelphia, and ofdaughter Tessa born in 1959 who is now an actress in Los Angeles.

76. Served as pallbearer for funeral of Clark Gable in November 1960.

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77. His lifelong hobbies included hunting, fishing, flying, and writing letters.

Nebraska Recognition78. Honored in homecoming celebration in Beatrice on October 28, 1936 and a parade attended

by an estimated 20,000 persons.79. Participated in Armistice Day parade in Lisco in 1946 with actor Wallace Beery.80. Designated Admiral in mythical Nebraska Navy in January 1948 and presented by U.S.

Senator from Nebraska Hugh Butler in Washington, DC at a Nebraska Society ofWashington function,

81. Appeared on cover of July 15, 1951 issue of Omaha World Herald Magazine.82. Received citation of appreciation from Omaha-based Strategic Air Command in January

1953.83. Recognized during Nebraska’s territorial centennial in 1954 by being included among 35

Nebraska natives honored with a chapter in J.R. Johnson’s Representative Nebraskans(Lincoln: Johnsen Publishing Company, 1954), pp. 177-181.

84. Awarded honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Doane College in Crete inOctober 1963.

85. Awarded a gift of Nebraskaland stamps by Information and Tourism Division of NebraskaGame and Parks Commission in October 1963 for his contributions to the pioneer andcowboy heritage of Nebraska.

86. Honored by Nebraska Broadcasters Association in September 1964 in Grand Island.87. Received honorary Cody Scout Award from City of North Platte as part of its Centennial

City designation celebration in February 1967.88. Presented “Big Wig” Award by Grand Island Chamber of Commerce in January 1968 for

his contributions as a founding partner in Multi-Vue-TV Cable Company and for being amember of the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce and its promotions.

Posthumous Nebraska Recognition89. Mentioned in Beatrice entry of Gage County section in Nebraska Our Towns…East

Southeast (Second Century Publications, 1992) pages 45-48.90. A Robert Taylor Film Festival, initiated in 1992 by Dr. C.T. Frerichs, was held periodically

by the Gage County Historical Society. At its Museum in Beatrice is a permanent displayon Taylor. The Society also placed commemorative plaques on Taylor’s three formerhomes in Beatrice, and a plaque was also placed on the Bank of Filley in Filley tocommemorate Taylor’s birthplace.

91. Subject of biographical feature by E.A. Kral published in the October 8, 1993 BeatriceDaily Sun, a 48-page tabloid-size supplement.

92. Mentioned in Beatrice High School entry of Gage County section in Pages ofHistory—Nebraska High Schools Present and Past—Public and Private 1854-1994(Nebraska High School Historical Society, 1994 ) page 337.

93. Robert Taylor Memorial Highway, the twelve-mile section of U.S. Highway 136 betweenBeatrice and Filley, officially designated by the Nebraska State Highway Commission andapproved by Governor Benjamin Nelson in May 1994. Dedication made on October 2,1994. The idea for honoring Taylor in this manner (or other forms of recognition) was

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initially proposed by author Jane Ellen Wayne of New York City during her visit withMayor David Maurstad on September 18, 1992 at the Beatrice Public Library. See article inBeatrice Daily Sun, September 19, 1992, pp. A-1, A-2.

94. A nationwide Robert Taylor Seminar was held in Beatrice from September 30 to October 2,1994 on the 60th anniversary of Taylor’s entry into Hollywood movies. It was sponsored bythe Gage County Historical Society, the Beatrice Public Library, and the Beatrice PublicSchools. Featured banquet speaker was Taylor biographer Jane Ellen Wayne ofWilmington, North Carolina. See Beatrice Daily Sun, October 3, 1994, pp. A-1, A-2.

95. Cover article in Nebraska History, Vol 75, No 4, Winter 1994, pages 280-291.96. Picture postcard of Taylor 1936 photo published by Gage County Historical Society in

March 1995.97. Robert Taylor Memorial Scholarship initiated by Doane College, April 1995. To date, not

funded.98. Included in the Internet entry “Famous Nebraska Entertainers” by the Division of Travel

and Tourism, Nebraska Department of Economic Development, July 1995.99. Robert Taylor Scholarship Endowment initiated on June 6, 1995 by E. A. Kral with

secretary-treasurer Christopher J. Nelson of Beatrice Educational Foundation. Seeannouncement in BEF 1995 Annual Report, p. 4 and Beatrice Daily Sun, November 22,1995, p. A-1.

100. In April 1996, the official highway map for Nebraska included a section honoring thecommemorative highways designated for distinguished persons, including the RobertTaylor Memorial Highway.

101. Taylor was nominated for inclusion in the Nebraska Hall of Fame on September 4, 1996 byE. A. Kral and State Senator David I. Maurstad at a meeting of the Nebraska Hall of FameCommission. Nomination booklet remains on file at the Nebraska State Historical Societyin Lincoln.

102. A second nationwide Robert Taylor Seminar was held in Beatrice from October 4 toOctober 6, 1996. It was sponsored by the Beatrice Public Library, the Gage CountyHistorical Society and the Beatrice Public Schools. Featured banquet speaker was authorLinda J. Alexander of Frederick, Maryland.

103. Permanent exhibit on Robert Taylor initiated at Gage County Historical Society Museum inBeatrice in October 1996.

104. Historical preservation plaques placed on three existing houses where Robert Taylor (asSpangler Arlington Brugh) lived—922 North 9th, 812 High, and 901 North 6th inBeatrice—and on the existing bank at Filley by the Gage County Historical Society inOctober 1996.

105. Listed as a prominent Nebraskan in the 1996-97 edition and the 1998-99 edition ofNebraska Blue Book, biennial publication of the Clerk of the Nebraska State Legislature.

106. Inducted into the Beatrice High School Hall of Fame on May 17, 1997 as one of theoriginal four honorees. A 1929 graduate of Beatrice High known as Spangler ArlingtonBrugh, Taylor was nominated by David I. Maurstad. Announcement of induction waspublished in the Beatrice Daily Sun, May 19, 1997, pages A-1, A-2.

107. Listed among noted southeastern Nebraskans in Bill Sesow and Susan Wunder, JourneyThrough Nebraska (Lincoln: Instructional Materials Council, 1997), page 214, a textintended for middle school students.

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108. Featured in Jane Ellen Wayne, “Robert Taylor: The Movie Star Whose Spirit Never LeftNebraska,” Nebraska Life, Summer 1998, pages 24-29.

109. About 4,000 sheets of clippings, newspaper and magazine articles, and research notesdonated by E. A. Kral on December 11, 2001 to Gage County Historical Society are housedat the Gage County Museum in Beatrice. Photographs of Taylor during his Nebraska andHollywood years are housed in the Kral Photo Collection RG 0813 at the Nebraska StateHistorical Society in Lincoln—about 105 photos related to Taylor may be found betweenK90-567 to K90-707.

110. Entry included in Internet document “The Famous People of Gage County” created byGage County Historical Society in Beatrice, Nebraska in Spring 2003 and available on itswebsite.

111. Included in E. A. Kral’s “300 Famous Nebraskans” available on the website of theNebraska State Education Association beginning in February 2000 (see NSEA Voice,February 2000, pages 12-13 for announcement) and on the website of the Nebraska PressAssociation in April 2001. Included in E.A. Kral’s “700 Famous Nebraskans” available onwebsites of Nebraska State Education Association, the Nebraska Press Association, and theGage County Historical Society Museum in September 2003. Included in Kral’s expandedversion titled 900 Famous Nebraskans in July 2008.

112. Two-page profile titled “The Man With The Perfect Face: Robert Taylor” published inBeatrice and Gage County Tourism Brochure for 2004 on pages 14-15.

113. His photograph being admired by two college girls originally included on NormanRockwell cover illustration in the February 19, 1938 Saturday Evening Post wasreprinted—by permission of Curtis Publishing of Indianapolis, Indiana, copyright1938—for month of January in 2005 calendar distributed by Nebraska banks, includingFarmers & Merchants Bank based at Milford.

114. His 1940 movie Waterloo Bridge was included in Curator’s Choice, a film series presentedby the Nebraska State Historical Society in Lincoln on February 6, 2005.

115. Mentioned along with the display of photo in sections titled “Interesting Facts and People”and “Gage County Historical Society & Museum” included in 62-page Southeast NebraskaVisitor’s Guide, 17th edition, 2005, pages. 4, 19. It is a publication of the SoutheastNebraska Tourism Council, coordinated by Shellyn Sands of Beatrice/Gage CountyVisitors Bureau.

116. Minimum endowment principal of $50,000 reached for Robert Taylor Scholarship with theBeatrice Educational Foundation in spring of 2006. Copies of scholarhip agreement datedMarch 28, 2006 are housed with BEF and with Robert Taylor Collection at Gage CountyHistorical Society Museum. For the history of fundraising, see Beatrice Daily Sun, October31, 2005, p. A-4 and February 23, 2006, p. D-5. For names of donors, the largest being IvyMooring, see Beatrice Daily Sun, June 10, 2006, pp. A-1, A-2.

117. Featured on a card (the Jack of Hearts) in a deck of playing cards offering 54 unique photosof Beatrice published by Gage County Historical Society in recognition of the 150th

anniversary of the city of Beatrice in 2007. His photo was one of four published on cover ofbox of playing cards.

118. First recipient of Robert Taylor Scholarship, comprised of interest income from theprincipal of the endowment, was Natasha Trauernicht, a graduating senior of Beatrice HighSchool, Class of 2007. See article in Beatrice Daily Sun, April 25, 2007, p A-2 and May 8,

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2007 p. B-3 and Omaha World Herald, May 14, 2007, p. B-3. Also see BEF Annual Reportpublished each November for names of subsequent recipients.

119. A 15-page booklet titled Robert Taylor’s Life Story in His Own Words 1937 (Gage CountyHistorical Society, May 2008), a reprint of Taylor’s autobiography that appeared in theLincoln Journal and other newspapers on March 1, March 2, March 3, March 4, March 5,March 6, March 7, 1937 with permission by family of Robert Taylor granted in May 2008.

120. Original makeup case of Robert Taylor donated to Gage County Historical Society inBeatrice by family of Robert Taylor in June 2008. See Beatrice Daily Sun, June 7, 2008, p.A-3.

121. Book-signing held by author Linda J. Alexander at Lincoln, Beatrice, and Filley in June2008. See articles in Omaha Sunday World Herald, June 1, 2008, p. E-6 and LincolnJournal Star, June 8, 2008, pp. C-1, C-2 and Beatice Daily Sun, June 9, 2008, p. A-1.

122. Included on postcard featuring village of Filley during its 125th anniversary celebration onJune 7, 2008. On back of postcard that featured aerial view of the town on the front wasmention of Taylor that stated: “Birthplace of Robert Taylor, a movie star of the 30s, 40s, &50s.” Celebration was organized by Dave Norton and Susan Robinson.

123. Featured in profile by E. A. Kral, “Robert Taylor: Glamorous movie star of Hollywood’sgolden era, role model of decency, and world patriot,” The Crete News, April 1, 2009, p. B-12.

124. Internet text version of E. A. Kral publications, including 48-page supplement with October8, 1993 Beatrice Daily Sun, accomplishments of Robert Taylor on national and state levels,and profile in April 1, 2009 Crete News, placed on website of Gage County HistoricalSociety in Summer 2009.

125. Profile of Robert Taylor included in E. A. Kral and Jean M. Sanders, NationallyDistinguished Nebraskans: 40 Profiles (Gage County Historical Society, forthcoming).

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MOTION PICTURE APPEARANCES OF ROBERT TAYLORAND YEAR OF RELEASE

1934Handy Andy — FoxThere’s Always Tomorrow — UniversalA Wicked Woman — MGM

1935Buried Loot — MGMSociety Doctor — MGMWest Point Of The Air — MGMTimes Square Lady — MGMMurder In The Fleet — MGMBroadway Melody of 1936 — MGMMagnificent Obsession — Universal

1936Small Town Girl — MGMPrivate Number — 20th Century-FoxHis Brother’s Wife — MGMThe Gorgeous Hussy — MGM

1937Camille — MGMPersonal Property — MGMThis Is My Affair — 20th Century-FoxBroadway Melody of 1938 — MGMLest We Forget— MGM

1938A Yank At Oxford — MGMThree Comrades — MGMThe Crowd Roars — MGM

1939Stand Up And Fight — MGMLucky Night — MGMLady Of The Tropics — MGMRemember? — MGM

1940Flight Command — MGMWaterloo Bridge — MGMEscape — MGM

1941Billy The Kid —MGMWhen Ladies Meet — MGM

1942Johnny Eager — MGMHer Cardboard Lover — MGM

1943Stand By For Action — MGMBataan — MGMThe Youngest Profession — MGM

1944Song Of Russia — MGM

1945*The Fighting Lady — 20th Century-Fox

and U.S. Navy

1946Undercurrent — MGM

1947The High Wall — MGM

1948*The Secret Land — MGM and U.S. Navy

1949The Bribe — MGM

1950Ambush — MGMConspirator — MGMDevil’s Doorway — MGM

1951Quo Vadis? — MGMWestward The Women — MGM

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1952Ivanhoe — MGM

1953Above and Beyond — MGMI Love Melvin — MGMRide Vaquero! — MGMAll The Brothers Were Valiant — MGM

1954Knights Of The Round Table — MGMValley Of The Kings — MGMRogue Cop — MGM

1955Many Rivers To Cross — MGMQuentin Durward — MGM

1956The Last Hunt — MGMD-Day, The Sixth of June — 20th Century-

FoxThe Power And The Prize — MGM

1957Tip On A Dead Jockey — MGM

1958The Law And Jake Wade — MGMSaddle The Wind — MGMParty Girl — MGM

1959The Hangman — ParamountThe House Of Seven Hawks — MGM

1960Killers of Kilimanjaro — Columbia

1963The Miracle Of The White Stallions—Buena VistaCattle King — MGM

1964A House Is Not A Home — Embassy

1965The Night Walker — Universal

1966Johnny Tiger — Universal

1967Savage Pampas — Prades ProductionsReturn Of The Gunfighter — MGM

1968The Glass Sphinx — American

ProductionsWhere Angels Go .... Trouble Follows —

ColumbiaThe Day The Hot Line Got Hot —

Commonwealth United EntertainmentDevil Make Care — Feature Film Corp. of

America

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TELEVISION APPEARANCES OF ROBERT TAYLOR

1952 Ed Sullivan Show - CBS-TV — Guest appearance to promote film

1959-61 The Detectives - ABC-TV — A weekly half-hour program

1961-62 Robert Taylor’s Detectives - NBC-TV— A weekly hour program

1963 Dick Powell Show - NBC-TV — “Colossus” 3/12/63 & occasional host

1965 Star-Spangled City - NBC-TV — Two-part color special of Washington, DC tour

1967 Hondo - ABC-TV — “The Eagle Claw” 9/8/67

Hondo - ABC-TV — “ The War Cry” 9/15/67

1966-68 Death Valley Days - Syndicated — A weekly half-hour program as host andoccasional star.

MAJOR RADIO APPEARANCES

1934-51 Lux Radio Theater — Occasional appearances

1937-40 Good News — Especially as emcee in 1938

1939-51 Screen Guild Theater — Occasional appearances

1941-49 The Prudential Family Hour of Stars — Occasional appearances

1948 Jack Benny Show — Guest appearance 5/16/48

OTHER CREDITS

1943-45 Narrator of 17 training films for U.S. Navy

1958 Taylor formed Robert Taylor Productions

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BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

Linda J. Alexander, Reluctant Witness: Robert Taylor, Hollywood, and Communism (TeasePublishing, 2008).

E.A. Kral, “Robert Taylor: A Golden-Era Hollywood Movie King From Nebraska,” The BeatriceDaily Sun, October 8, 1993, a 48-page tabloid-size supplement.

E.A. Kral, “Robert Taylor: His Patriotism, His Critics, and His Enduring Fame,” and “RobertTaylor’s Accomplishments,” The Beatrice Daily Sun, October 3, 1994, a portion of a 16-page tabloid-size supplement.

E.A. Kral and Jean Sanders, Profiles of Nationally Distinguished Nebraskans (Gage CountyHistorical Society, forthcoming).

E.A. Kral, “Robert Taylor of Beatrice: The Nebraska Roots of A Hollywood Star,” NebraskaHistory, Vol 75, No 4 (Winter 1994), pp. 280-291.

Jane Mercer, Great Lovers of the Movies (Crescent Books, 1975), pp. 110-115. On the cover ofthis book, Taylor is shown with Clark Gable, John Gilbert, and Robert Redford.

Lawrence Quirk, The Films of Robert Taylor (Citadel Press, 1975).

Ursula Thiess, “…but I have promises to keep”: my life before, with & after Robert Taylor(Creative Arts Book Company, 2003) Part II, pages 59-212.

Charles Tranberg, Robert Taylor: The Last Movie Star (forthcoming).

Jane Ellen Wayne, The Life of Robert Taylor (Warner, 1973; Robson, 1987; St. Martin’s Press,1989).

Jane Ellen Wayne, Stanwyck (St. Martin’s Press, 1986).

Jane Ellen Wayne, “Robert Taylor,” The Beatrice Daily Sun, October 3, 1994, a portion of a 16-page tabloid-size supplement.

Jane Ellen Wayne, “Robert Taylor: The Movie Star Whose Spirit Never Left Nebraska,”Nebraska Life, Summer 1998, pages 24-29.

Jane Ellen Wayne, The Leading Men of MGM (Carroll and Graf, 2005) Chapter 5.

Jane Ellen Wayne, The Life and Loves of Barbara Stanwyck (JR Books, 2009).

*Robert Taylor appeared in 80 motion picture and television films, most of them with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the largest and “best” movie studio during the golden era (1925-1960) ofHollywood. He was a motion picture star and a star of two different series on television.

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