Page 16 - JIMMY REARDON LETTER TO CHICAGO CRITICS

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movie was ilmed on location in Evanston and Chicago where certain true events

actually occurred in ’61 – might you have taken a serious look at the picture? (I

should note that one Internet site refers to A NIGHT IN THE LIFE OF JIMMY

REARDON as “historical iction,” an interesting oxymoron when referring to one’s

own past.)

Well, if you were a critic back then, Fox and Schwartz prevented you from know-

ing many of these things.

All of this happened 20 years ago. River died in 1993. Neither he nor Elmer

Bernstein lived to see our movie with an audience.

I don’t know what happened to Cynthia Wick and the Fox publicity people who so

aflicted our work with their self-interest.

My old pal, the “affable” Russell Schwartz went on to become President at Gra-

mercy, then New Line. Leonard Goldberg produced the hugely popular “Charlie’s

Angels” series. Sheila Benson left the LA TIMES and few remember “A NIGHT

IN THE LIFE OF JIMMY REARDON.” It never gets included in those collec-

tions of teen ilms they show at festivals, hardly ever

gets mentioned in round-ups of River’s movies, either.

However, I was named “Outstanding Graduate” at

Evanston Township High School the year the book was

published, and I owe my alma mater the ight to keep

the record straight. I also want to show a new genera-

tion River’s truly great performance in its original set-

ting.

Besides, even today, there may be some High School Senior moved up from the

South Side of Chicago having adventures like Jimmy Reardon’s, and the movie

could be instructive. It also shows how a high school grad can say “Fuck you” to

his entire graduation class in book and ilm and print and still remain friends with

them.

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