Those of you who could bring in Detroit TV in the 50’s may remember George Pierrot’s “World Adventure Series.” The show was broadcast to the TV audience, and live in the theater of the Detroit Institute of Arts downtown. We always watched the early travel/lecture films Pierrot brought in, and if the presenter was Stan Midgley, the funny man with a bike, a jeep, my dad would take us downtown to be in the audience. Stan’s winning combination of breathtaking scenery and hilarious slapstick sight gags were wonderful and entertaining family events.
The butt of Stan’s gags was always himself, using a tag team of cameras and timers (he always traveled alone). My favorite moment was when Stan stopped along Montana’s Going To The Sun highway to film a particularly dramatic view. He pointed out how the puffy clouds looked just like cotton balls floating in the sky. Then a second camera he had on a tripod zoomed out to reveal Stan, finished with the shot with a hand-held camera, picking off real cotton balls he’d stuck on the side window of the jeep: he’d been shooting the cloudless sky through the driver’s side window with cotton ball "clouds" stuck on the glass! Then Stan acted befuddled and embarrassed at being “caught in the act” as he always did when his gags were revealed, while the audience roared.
Yesterday I went out with my camera to look at the sky, and saw these puffy clouds over my roof, looking like they were waiting for Stan to pick them up and stick them on his jeep window again. Later, when I was searching for DVDs of Stan's landmark films (sadly, there doesn’t appear to be any available), I discovered that Stan passed away in 2000. He’s probably up there arranging cotton balls from the other side.
To view more skies from all around our beautiful planet, or to join in, visit SKYWATCH. Live links after 2:30 p.m. EST time or 19:30 GMT
Posts
