During the Golden Age of Hollywood, actors and actresses delivered mesmerizing performances on the big screen, and many still attract fans at their museums and birthplace homes.
By Dorothy Rieke
September 2023
Movie theaters of the 1930s and 1940s were pleasure palaces, beckoning audiences with blinking facades and promises of riveting entertainment. Hollywood’s make-believe worlds, quite different from daily life, launched dreams that someday all would live in fairy-tale worlds where happiness reigned.
For a mere 35 cents, adults escaped the dreary daily problems of the Great Depression and, later, worries of wartime. Using their imaginations, viewers traveled to mystical worlds with Judy Garland and her intriguing pals, resided in Army forts with handsome Robert Taylor, sympathized with soft-spoken Henry Fonda, and danced across the screen with the dashing Fred Astaire. Those hours spent at movie theaters were special to a generation experiencing hard times, thanks to the actors and actresses of that day who invaded audience members’ hearts.
Some of the best-known movie stars were from the Midwest, including Henry Fonda, Fred Astaire, Dorothy McGuire, Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Harold Lloyd, Robert Taylor, Hoot Gibson, John Wayne, and Donna Reed. Here, we remember several of them.
Actor and producer Harold Lloyd was known for his silent comedies. The Nebraska native acted in silent movies and talkies alike between 1913 and 1947. His films contained thrilling chase scenes and daredevil feats. He was the one seen hanging from a clock high above a street in the 1923 romantic comedy Safety Last!
Items in Harold Lloyd’s birthplace tell the silent-film star’s story.
Along with Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, Lloyd became one of the highest paid performers during the 1920s. He retired a multimillionaire and lived in Beverly Hills, California. His 16-acre estate, known as Greenacres, featured a mansion with 44 rooms, 26 bathrooms, 12 fountains, seven gardens, and a nine-hole golf course.
Lloyd was born in Burchard, Nebraska, in 1893. His birthplace home at 405 Second St. is open by appointment. Visitors can watch the movie with the famous clock tower scene, inspect his special Masonic chair, and view other artifacts.
Henry Fonda was born on May 16, 1905, and died on August 12, 1982. The versatile actor appeared in over 90 films during six decades. He created American heroes known for their integrity. He grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and began his career in the Omaha Community Playhouse, encouraged to do so by Marlon Brando’s mother.
Fonda became close friends with Jimmy Stewart, and the two invaded Hollywood with a string of great films in the 1940s and ’50s. Grapes Of Wrath made Fonda a star. Other well-known Fonda films include 12 Angry Men and Young Mr. Lincoln.
This actor, seemingly at home on the stage or in motion pictures, exhibited an effortless acting style that spoke to the common man. Fonda reprised the title role in the film Mr. Roberts after first playing the character on Broadway and winning a Tony Award for his performances.
Today, Henry Fonda’s birthplace home, situated on the grounds of Stuhr Museum in Grand Island, Nebraska, portrays his early surroundings.
Fred Astaire, one of the brightest stars of the 1940s, danced his way across the Hollywood movie screens. His engaging personality made him a perfect actor for numerous roles. In fact, his career spanned 76 years and included 31 musical films. His uncanny sense of rhythm, perfectionism, and innovation was in evidence as he danced with Ginger Rogers in 10 films, as well as other leading ladies. He was not only a dancer but also an actor, singer, choreographer, and television presenter. He has been called the greatest dancer in film history. Many fans may recall the scene in Royal Wedding when he danced on the walls and ceiling.
Clark Gable was a photographer and aerial gunner in World War II and also filmed Combat America in England.
The entertainer was born Frederick Austerlitz on May 10, 1899, in Omaha, Nebraska, and entered show business at the age of 5. The family moved to New York City and by age 7, he and his sister, Adele, had become a successful vaudeville pair. Their next dancing success came on Broadway. In addition to musicals, his cinematic successes later included dramatic roles in On The Beach and The Towering Inferno.
Astaire’s birthplace home still stands at 2336 S. 10th St. in Omaha, although it is closed to visitors. At press time, restoration efforts were underway at the house, with plans to ultimately open it to the public.
Another actor famous for his appearance in many films is Clark Gable. Gable is perhaps best known for his memorable performance in the 1939 classic Gone With The Wind. An earlier movie, It Happened One Night, earned him an Academy Award.
Gable was born in a house at 138 Charleston St. in Cadiz, Ohio. Although not his actual birthplace home, the current structure is an authentic reproduction that has been furnished to represent the time he lived there, with a host of memorabilia, including a 1954 Cadillac, a sled, and other personal belongings. Possessions of Carole Lombard, Gable’s best-known wife, are on display in a small room formerly used as a pantry.
In Grand Rapids, Minnesota, visitors can tour Judy Garland’s restored birthplace (pictured), and a museum that spotlights her career.
Frances Ethel Gumm was born on June 10, 1922, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. This young lady became Judy Garland, an American actress, singer, dancer, vaudevillian, and television and radio presenter. Her career spanned 45 years. She was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a teen. Perhaps her most amazing role was as Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz.
Despite the pressures of early stardom, which affected her physical and mental health beginning in her teenage years, Garland attained international stardom in both musical and dramatic roles.
The actress’s modest white clapboard childhood home, located in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, tells the story of the gifted child born there. Part of The Judy Garland Museum complex, it has been restored to appear as it did when Garland’s family occupied the dwelling in the mid-1920s. The comprehensive facility features educational exhibits, including her test dress from The Wizard Of Oz and her original work permit. Lectures, performances, seminars, film screenings, and other events are held there as well. A children’s museum is also on the premises.
Donna Reed transitioned from movies to television during her career.
During the 1940s, actors and actresses often were chosen for parts because of their appearance. In the case of Donna Reed, she was as talented as she was beautiful, on both the large and small screens. She began her film career in 1941 with MGM’s crime drama The Getaway. She garnered roles in popular movies such as From Here To Eternity and It’s A Wonderful Life.
In later years, Reed became popular on television; the “Donna Reed Show,” a sitcom in which she starred as a middle-class housewife, aired from 1958 to 1966.
Reed’s home, 7 miles south of Denison, Iowa, burned in 1983. Today a marker designates its former location. The Donna Reed Performing Arts Center, located at 1305 Broadway in town, includes a museum that features the actress’s personal items and mementos. It also hosts the Hollywood Bake Shop and Cafe and is home to the Donna Reed Theater.
Another popular actor from Iowa is John Wayne. Born in Winterset as Marion Robert Morrison, he starred in more than 150 movies throughout his cinematic career. He received his first leading role in The Big Trail in 1930. He starred in the classic Western Stagecoach in 1939. The actor won his first Academy Award in 1969 for his role in True Grit. In many films, he played cowboys, soldiers, and other rugged adventurers. He died on June 11, 1979, in Los Angeles, California.
John Wayne’s birthplace and museum in Winterset, Iowa, includes a movie theater.
Wayne’s birthplace home in Winterset is open to visitors at 205 S. John Wayne Drive. The four-room house has been restored and maintained as it would have appeared in 1907, the year he was born. This house/museum holds the largest diversified exhibit of John Wayne artifacts, including movie posters, film wardrobes, scripts, letters, artwork, and one of his customized automobiles. One interesting item is a black eye patch that Wayne wore in one of his films; it had a small hole in the middle so he could see through it.
Early movie scripts appealed to audiences who were eager to be entertained. Special make-believe worlds — from Westerns, dramas, and comedies to musicals, mysteries, and more — were brought to life by some of the most unforgettable actors to ever shine on the silver screen.
Visit The Stars
Harold Lloyd Home
405 Second St.
Burchard, NE 68323
visitnebraska.com/burchard/harold-lloyd-home
(402) 865-4665
Visits by appointment only.
Stuhr Museum
3133 W. U.S. Highway 34
Grand Island, NE 68801
www.stuhrmuseum.org
(308) 385-5316
Henry Fonda’s birth home located on site.
Clark Gable Home And Museum
138 Charleston St.
Cadiz, OH 43907
www.clarkgablefoundation.com
(740) 942-4989
Open March through November.
Judy Garland Museum
2727 S. Pokegana Ave.
Grand Rapids, MN 55744
www.judygarlandmuseum.com
(218) 327-9276
Guided tours available upon request. Grounds also include the Children’s Discovery Museum.
Donna Reed Center & Heritage Museum
1305 Broadway
Denison, IA 51442
www.donnareed.org
(712) 263-3334
John Wayne Birthplace & Museum
205 S. John Wayne Drive
Winterset, IA 50273
www.johnwaynebirthplace.museum
(515) 462-1044
Museum open year-round; birthplace home open March through November.