West side of the 1600 block of Vine Street
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James A. FitzPatrick
Born
Feb. 26, 1894
in Shelton, CT
Died
June 12, 1980
in Cathedral City, CA
James A. FitzPatrick took film viewers to many unfamiliar places through the Traveltalks movie shorts he began producing in 1929, but the conclusion of those films was always familiar. “And as the sun sinks slowly in the west, we bid a reluctant farewell to…,” he would say in his melodious voice as the final frames of a tropical beach rolled on the screen. FitzPatrick wrote, produced and directed more than 200 of the Traveltalk films that were distributed through MGM, Paramount and Warner Bros. He may have been the first producer to use the technique of off-screen narration in films. He once estimated that he covered more than 500,000 miles in producing his movies. Although critics said he viewed the world through rose-colored glasses, never reporting on ugliness or even minor annoyances, FitzPatrick maintained that showing young people the bright side of life would put them on the track to more constructive thinking. Before going into film, FitzPatrick taught drama at a children’s acting academy in Brooklyn. He produced a series of movies performed entirely by children before he came to Hollywood and made a series of films on famous American authors. He formed his own company in 1944 and continued to produce Traveltalks until 1955. After that, he made travel films for television and non-theatrical markets. |
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Five thoughts about James A. FitzPatrick
Yes! James A. Fitzpatrick should be considered for the walk of fame because of all the different things he has successfully done in the entertainment field.
An accomplished actor, writer, director, producer, painter, etc-etc.
James is one of a very rare handful of talents that has achieved his goals of successfully Writing, Producing, Directing & Acting in feature films, Television, theatrical plays for the stage, etc-etc.
Pierce was one of my fav actors ever on "All My Children." He all that.
I would recognize Mr. FitzPatrick's voice anywhere. I love his traveltalks. I had no idea he accomplished so much more until I starting reading his bio. I am a TCM fan and see his work often. He is very deserving and I thank him for bringing sunshine into my life.
How do I buy a copy of the tragvel talk on
Tier, germany
I lived there when i was a child and i would like a copy of his visit. gail johnson
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