Programs
Presented in Partnership with
THIS EVENT HAS PASSED
Author William Wellman Jr., son of the late, larger-than-life film director Wild Bill Wellman, will join us for a presentation of his father's 1927 film Wings, the first film to win the first Academy award for Best Picture. The screening will be followed by a Q&A and book signing with Wellman, Jr. and his book The Man and His Wings: William A. Wellman and the Making of the First Best Picture. Both the film and Wellman, Sr.'s personal life were filled with action, romance, humor, comradeship, and tragedy. Join us for a unique look into the making of this landmark film.
This program is presented in partnership with the Univeristy of California Riverside.
Tuesday, April 18
Showtime: 6:00pm
@ UCR Palm Desert Auditorium
Registration Required Here
Film Synopsis
WINGS | A World War I aerial adventure film about two fledgling aviators in love with the same woman and itching to take on the Kaiser's aces. Look for a very young Gary Cooper as a veteran flier.
Event Details
| Date: Apr 18 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. UCR Palm Desert Auditorium |
GUESTS IN ATTENDANCE
William Wellman, Jr., son of Hollywood's legendary director, "Wild Bill" Wellman, spent most of his childhood around filmdom's celebrities. His neighborhood was filled with them. Gary Cooper, Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Carole Lombard, Frank Capra, Lana Turner, John Payne, Jennifer Jones, Red Skelton, Peter Lawford, William "Hopalong Cassidy" Boyd to name just a few. If they weren't coming to his family home, he met them at theirs, or on the sets and locations of 23 of his father's films. His first girlfriend was Jane Fonda.
While still in his teens, he left Duke University for a career in the movies. He is credited with over 180 movies and television shows, 17 stage productions and some 200 commercial and industrial films. In 1981, he was awarded the Best Actor of The Year by the Christian Film Distributors for Heartland's BROTHER ENEMY. He was nominated again in 1982 for Mark IV Pictures' THE PRODIGAL PLANET.