These images made available by the North Carolina Museum of History on Wednesday show dresses worn by actress Vivian Leigh in the movie ‘Gone with the Wind’. The museum opens an exhibit of memorabilia from the ‘Gone With the Wind’ movie that belongs to Jim Tumblin. He's the former head of Universal Studios makeup and hair department. His collection is considered the largest private holding of ‘Gone with the Wind’ memorabilia.
These images made available by the North Carolina Museum of History on Wednesday show dresses worn by actress Vivian Leigh in the movie ‘Gone with the Wind’. The museum opens an exhibit of memorabilia from the ‘Gone With the Wind’ movie that belongs to Jim Tumblin. He's the former head of Universal Studios makeup and hair department. His collection is considered the largest private holding of ‘Gone with the Wind’ memorabilia.
Associated Press Writer
Sprinkled throughout an exhibit of memorabilia from the movie “Gone with the Wind” at the N.C. Museum of History are reminders that racial attitudes during the era when the film was released had not changed much since the period shown on screen.
The exhibit, “Real to Reel: The Making of Gone with the Wind,” opens Friday. On display are 120 items from the personal collection of Jim Tumblin, a former head of the Universal Studios makeup and hair department who lives in Oregon and Hawaii.
It includes costumes, Vivien Leigh’s Academy Award and the story boards created by William Cameron Menzies. Curator Katie Edwards also notes the ugliness of the times, such as the original segregation of the set in Culver City, Calif., and the banning of the black actors from the December 1939 premiere in Atlanta.
“Just like you can’t talk about the Civil War without talking about slavery, you can’t talk about ‘Gone with the Wind’ without talking about racism,” said Steve Wilson, film curator at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin, home of producer David O. Selznick’s papers.
Selznick decided early on not to mention the Ku Klux Klan in the movie, Wilson said, and the n-word also wasn’t used. Hattie McDaniel, who played Mammy, and Butterfly McQueen, who played Prissy, were three-dimensional characters, which was unusual for the times, yet they also were stereotypes, he said.
The curator’s notes highlight aspects of the era in which the movie was filmed, including this one: The Culver City, Calif., set was segregated until an extra complained about the separate bathrooms to Clark Gable, who said the actors would quit if it continued.
The stars of the show are the clothes: Scarlett O’ Hara’s dress from the Shantytown scene; Bonnie Blue’s velvet dress from her final scene; Belle Watling’s burgundy velvet jacket and fur muff; and the uniform that Ashley Wilkes wore when he returned home at the end of the Civil War.
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Try doing just a little research before talking about something of which you know nothing and trying the sully the name of others!
Let's hope Raleigh doesn't have to "escort" the glorified wig comber out of town too
It’s pathetic that you’ve kept the clippings from the MDJ “Jim” - it’s been a decade since you were “escorted” out of town.
In addition, and according to newspaper reports, rather than being "escorted" out of Marietta, Tumblin gave this city several months notice that he intended to pull his collection for the very same reasons as stated by "Former Museum Worker"!
Furthermore, additional simple online research has discovered that after leaving our city, Tumblin continues to exhibit his collection(apparently very successfully) in several other cities without even a hint or mention of the issues he faced in Marietta.
I would suggest that anyone wanting to comment on this subject do their research first, rather than hastily and unsuccessfully trying to sully someone who merely wanted to do something nice for this city.