The H-SU Brand (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 38, Ed. 1, Friday, April 11, 1975 Page: 1 of 4
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VOL. 62
George Moran
Guest Artist Is A First;
Moran To Play 'Sherlock'
A Broadway star at H-SU?
Not quite but the presence- of
George Moran who is playing
the title role in "Sherlock
Holmes" next week is a definite
first for the H-SU theatre and
for Abilene.
Most of Moran's theater ex-
perience has been in stock pro-
ductions in Pennsylvania and
Indiana but he has also done
several TV commercials and has
appeared briefly 4n a major mo-
tion picture. In addition he reads
for the blind and is stage man-
ager at a New York night club.
Born in Galveston was
brought up in Pennsylvania. He
considers New York his home
though. He became interested in
theater while in high school but
"I was stung by the 'bug' when I
was 12" he says. He has always
been very interested in radio
drama.
Moran's first professional ex-
perience came when he appren-
ticed at the Totem Pole
Playhouse in Pennysylvania
during the summer of his fresh-
man year in college. He con-
tinued to work there every
summer while he was in college.
It was at Totem Pole where he
met and worked with Jean Stap-
leton now the star of TV's "All
in the Family." "She is one of the.
few actresses 1 know who has
absolutely no ego" said Moran.
"She is a magnificent actress.
'All in the Family' doesn't even
touch what she can do." He cited
her role as Ada in "Tobacco
Road" as an example where her
performance was so dynamic
that an actor in the wings be-
came so fascinated that he mis
sed an entrance.
Moran has been making a liv
ing at acting for about four
years. During that time he ap-
peared briefly in the movie
"Serpico" with Al Pacino "If you
History Center Established
Abilene Honors Richardson
Plans to establish a regional
historical center in Abilene
were announced Tuesday morn-
ing in a press conference at the
Abilene Chamber of Commerce.
The project will be a coopera-
tive effort of th6 city's three in-
stitutions of higher education
with strong support of persons
from throughout Texas who are
interested in southwestern his-
tory and interested in honoring
Dr. Rupert N. Richardson for
whom the center. will be named.
Joining representatives of
Abilene Christian College
Hardin-Simmons University
and McMurry College in mak-
ing the announcement were
have a magnifying glass vou
can see me for a second" he says.
Mst of the scene I was in
ended up on the cutting room
floor. I was very disappointed to
say the least." When asked if he
had ever gotten to meet AL
Pacino he stated that in movies
extras and principles generally
stay apart unlike in the inti
macy of the stage. His biggest
movie role has been in a film for
the U.S. Army entitled "Why
Are We in Panama?"
He has also done voice-over
commercials for the Paulist
Press and he has been seen
nationwide on a commercial for
the League of Women Voters
carrying a bride across a
threshold.
He is now primarily working
as stage manager at the St.
Regis Hotel in New York. Some
of the performers he has worked
with include Kaye Ballard
Lana Cantrell and Mel Torme.
In his role as Holmes Moran
learned all the lines before he
arrived in Abilene during spring sponsored by the Division of Re-
break. In the afternoons of the gion Tuesday.
following week he learned his
blocking or stage movements
in a series of afternoon rehear-
sals and worked at night with
the rest of the cast. His style of
performing the role of Holmes
will be unique. "I can't be Basil
Rathbone (the most famous of
the movie-Holmes)" he says.
"Each actor brings his own style
to the role of Holmes." This pro-
duction will be a challenge for
all concerned."
Does he fit in with the rest of
the performers? "I feel very com-
fortable with the rest of the per-
formers. I find this a delightful
experience. When you're in the-
ater you're always learning." It
is plain that Moran does not con-
sider himself a "star." He can be
seen in his sweatshirt and jeans
helping with work on the set
during work calls. He says "I'm
ABILENE TEXAS FRIDAY APRIL 11
several members of an executive
committee that has been or-
ganized to promote the project.
Clifton Caldwell of Albany
past-chairman of the Texas His-
torical Commission and a
member of the Board of the
Texas Historical Foundation is
chairman of the committee.
The purpose of the Center
Caldwell said is to preserve and
protect the West Texas heritage
and to make material which now
is all but inaccessible readily
available for historical research.
"We're proud of our heritage"
he said. "The problem now is
that research material on this
area is too fragmented and too
widely scattered. This hand-
not what you'd call a star. My
ideal in life is to be an actor
who's always working."
It is certain that while he is
here he will be working and
preparing for the April 15 open-
ing of "Sherlock Holmes."
The Hardin-Simmons Uni-
versity faculty Wednesday re-
elected George A. Newman to
serve as its president for a sec-
ond year.
Bible Profs
To Speak
At Conference
Professors from two
seminaries will speak at the an
nual spring Pastors Conference
All pastors in the Abilene
area have been invited to attend
the conference which will be
held in Moody Center Room
208.
Dr. J. W. MacGorman chair-
man of the Department of New
Testament at Southwestern
Baptist Theological Seminary in
Louisville will be the speakers.
Dr. MacGorman noted for his
missionary work has served as
the New Testament consulting
editor of "The Broadman Bible
Commentary." He will begin the
conference with a discussion on
his new book "The Gifts of the
Spirit" in chapel at 9:30 a.m. in
Behrens Chapel-Auditorium.
Dr. Tupper who recently
wrote a book entitled "The
Theology of Wolfhart Pannen-
bert" will speak on "Resurrec
tion of the Crucified" and "The
Crucified God."
HiflfiZ
1975
icaps the entire West Texas area
in promoting itself through
writings."
The repository will be known
as the Rupert N. Richardson Re-
search Center of the Southwest.
It will be housed in H-SU's new
library which already has been
named for Richardson the
university's president emeritus
and distinguished research pro-
fessor of history.
The project was described
Tuesday morning as one of the
first major cooperative efforts of
the three Abilene schools. Con-
ception of the idea for the center
was attributed to Dr. John
Estes who describes himself as
an ardent admirer of Dr.
Richardson. Dr. Estes an
Abilene dentist has been a
staunch promoter of the project
in its early stages.
Dr. Elwin L. Skiles president
of H-SU said that personal
friends of Dr. Richardson and
others interested in the de-
velopment of education and cul-
ture in West Texas will make
the center possible.
An office will be established
soon to coordinate the project
and to accept gifts and pledges.
At present gifts may be sent to
Drawer A H-SU Station.
The announcement Tuesday
called attention to Abilene's lo-
cation in the center of a unique
historical region one that was a
frontier just a century ago. It
noted that the three institutions
of higher learning herehave
long been recognized for leader-
ship in the field of history and
that the West Texas Historical
Association has been based at
Hardin-Simmons for more than
50 years. The current president
of the association is Dr. Ralph A.
Smith of ACC.
The research center will oc-
cupy space already allocated for
such an operation in the
Richardson Library which is
now under construction. The
center is envisioned as a
cooperative venture of the entire
Southwest with all services av-
ailable to scholars instructors
and other serious students of
history and related disciplines.
The latest technological ad-
vances in the information sci-
ences will be employed.
An extensive effort will be
made to acquire historical mat-
erials includng books monog-
raphs microfilms of regional
newspaper fields archival mat-
erials relating to the Spanish
and Mexican eras copies of re-
cords of military activities in the
Southwest as well as personal
family and business papers of
historical interest.
"We will encourage those who
have early day business papers
and family papers pertinent to
the history of this area to deposit
them in the center so they can be
preserved and properly used"
Caldwell said. "In addition to
material of obviouB historical
value we will be seeking papers
:t '
NO. 38
and letters which have been
hidden away in trunks or piled
in courthouse closets."
A professional staff including
an archivist will be employed
by the center.
Dr. Richardson who is recog-
nized as the foremost authority
on the history of Texas and the
Southwest said his personal lib-
rary and personal papers will be
given to the center.
Dr. Skiles said that in addi-
tion to the executive committee
and advisory council will be es-
tablished. Officers of the executive
committee are Caldwell chair-
man; Dr. Estes and John Ben
Shepperd of Odessa vice chair-
men; and Maurice Brooks of
Abilene secretary. Members in-
clude the three college presi-
dents Dr. Skiles of H-SU Dr.
John Stevens of Abilene Christ-
ian College and Dr. Thomas
Kim of McMurry College;
Katharyn Duff Richard Dillard
and Bob Kennedy all of
Abilene; Dr. Kenneth Yielding
Odessa; F. Lee Lawrence Tyler;
Ronald Thomason Weather-
ford; Mrs. Bob (Nancy) Green
Albany; Truett Latimer of Au-
stin; executive director of the
Texas Historical Commission;
and Congressmen Omar Burle-
son and George Mahon.
Painting
Will Decorate
New Library
A famous painting which once
was the symbol of the Texas
Pacific Railway will hang in the
Rupert N. Richardson Research
Center for the Southwest which
is being established by Abilene's
three colleges.
The painting is of El Capitan
the picturesque mountain
landmark adjacent Guadalupe
Peak in far West Texas. For
many years it was displayed in
the office of the late J. L. Lancas-
ter T&P president.
The painting was given to
H-SU by Mrs. Ray F. Dowling of
Fort Worth the daughter of Mr.
Lancaster and has been hang-
ing in the office of H-SU Presi-
dent Elwin L. Skiles awaiting
completion of the new H-SU lib-
rary. "This valuable painting
along with others which may be
received by this tri-college-community
program will be
placed in the research center"
Dr. Skiles said at a press confer-
ence where the painting was on
display Tuesday morning.
The painting was done more
than 50 years ago by Audley
Dean Nichols a well-known
Texas artist.
A plaque on the frame reads:
"In memory of J. L. Lancaster
1869-1962; president of the
Texas Pacific Railway Company
1917-1945 who commissioned
this picture and made it a sym-
bol of the T&P."
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The H-SU Brand (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 38, Ed. 1, Friday, April 11, 1975, newspaper, April 11, 1975; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth97214/m1/1/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hardin-Simmons University Library.