1978

Ferguson Center

By David Muscari

One of the best parts about working on the Program Council (later Alabama Programs) was the opportunity to interact with various newsmakers, performers, and celebrities you might never have met. Among the most memorable was an actor in his fifties named William Windom. UPC photographer Kent Öztekin and I spent time with him over cold martinis at a downtown Tuscaloosa pub called Clancy McQue’s. We probed him on his movies and TV shows, his family, and life in Connecticut. “Bill” was an open book, with stories that could fill volumes. The renowned character actor was a fixture in Hollywood for years beginning in radio in the late 1940s. Later he appeared in movies such as “The Americanization of Emily” with James Garner and Julie Andrews, and “The Detective” starring Frank Sinatra, and his most memorable part as the prosecuting attorney in the Oscar-winning “To Kill a Mockingbird,” he said always held a special place in his heart. We were in Alabama where Harper Lee’s novel took place. He told intimate stories about the movie, his friendships, and details of memorable struggles with some of the other actors. His television credentials were equally impressive as he starred in a variety of programming over the years. Windom was particularly nostalgic about one: “The Farmer’s Daughter.” It starred a young Swedish-American actress named Inger Stevens, whom he considered an actress with significant potential. Tragically, she died in 1970 under what Windom were “strange circumstances.” A few years before coming to Tuscaloosa, Windom had experienced a brief run with an NBC program called “My World … and Welcome To It” in which he played an eclectic character in a show that integrated stories, musings, drawings, and illustrations. It aired for one season on the Peacock Network, and while it won an Emmy and was praised by critics, it never caught on with audiences. After the series was canceled, Windom hit the road. When he was booked to appear at the University of Alabama in “Thurber,” a one-person production based on the life of writer James Thurber (his character in the NBC was loosely modeled on James Thurber’s life and work), he was busy. He created a pair of solo shows based on Thurber's works and another based on the comic writings of Ernie Pyle. “Thurber” had the blessing of the writer’s widow, whom Windom referred to as “no-nonsense” in an interview about his Ferguson Center appearance. Before the show’s first tour, he said he consulted friends like Hal Holbrook, who’d made a living portraying Mark Twain for many years. “Whatever you do, don’t wear make-up!” Holbrook advised Windom. The show was brilliantly performed (without make-up), and well attended by students and faculty.