[Elspode]

James Whitmore has left us. IMHO, he was one of our finest actors. There was nothing he couldn't play, and his one man shows, particularly "Give 'Em Hell, Harry", were uniformly outstanding - he was the king of the one man historical personage portrayal, hands down.

The suburban KC town of Grandview, where I lived for over 30 years, is the location of the Truman family farm where Harry spent his teen and young adult years. By way of celebration of its favorite son, Grandview's Spring festival has long been known as "Harry's Hay Days", and Whitmore was brought in a couple of times to do his show many years ago. I never got to see it live, but I've seen the film version (for which Whitmore was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, the only person ever so nominated for a one-person film), and so have always had a huge admiration for Whitmore.

A little-known but amazingly well done film in which Whitmore starred along side Nancy Davis (the future Mrs. Ronald Reagan) is "The Next Voice You Hear", a tidy little moralistic piece which revolves around Jehovah speaking to the world over the radio over the course of six consecutive days. You never actually *hear* God's voice...you only see the reactions of those who have heard Him.

Another of his films that ranks amongst my favorites is "Them", the rampaging giant nuclear mutated ant film, and we cannot forget his outstanding portrayal of Shawshank's librarian in "The Shawshank Redemption".

James Whitmore was an actor of the sort they don't build anymore.