When you think of classic Hollywood, A-listers and Oscar winners, East Tennessee isn’t necessarily top of mind. But you might just be surprised. It’s worth a trip to a new exhibition opening on Saturday, November 19, in the Museum of East Tennessee History to get the inside story.
Lights! Camera! East Tennessee, presented by Knox County Public Library and the East Tennessee Historical Society, explores the magic of moving images from the earliest promotion of Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscope in 1895 to hometown folks who’ve walked the red carpet.
East Tennesseans have factored into Hollywood from the glamour days of the golden era to current blockbusters. They’ve directed Hollywood’s greatest stars, written some of the most classic screenplays and racked up some of the most prestigious awards for outstanding performances on the silver screen. Moreover, the region has been the backdrop to movies starring everyone from Ingrid Bergman to Sam Rockwell, Hal Holbrook and Burt Reynolds.
Today, most people know about the Clarence Brown Theatre on UT’s campus. But few people know his claim to fame and his outsized impact on Hollywood as a director of iconic stars including Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney. Likewise, James Agee is known to us today as a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, but in his time, he was better known as a pre-eminent film critic and screenwriter. Knoxville was home to Best Oscar winner, Patricia Neal, and Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, Mary Costa. The list goes on.
The exhibition also explores the local movie theatre scene – from the urban movie palaces to the suburban cineplexes – and the story of segregated movie houses. Lights! Camera! East Tennessee was made possible with the generous support from Humanities Tennessee, the Jay Family, Visit Knoxville Film Office, Downtown Knoxville, Arts & Cultural Alliance and UT Libraries.
Mary Pom Claiborne is assistant director for marketing, communications and development for Knox County Public Library