Director Norman Lear recalls fond time in Iowa
In 1620, the Mayflower Pilgrims sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean until they struck New England at a place they called Plymouth Rock. They ate turkey. And it was good.
Almost 350 years later, a New Englander traveled even farther west to Iowa at a place he called Eagle Rock. He made the movie "Cold Turkey." And it was good, too.
"My eight weeks in Iowa in the summer of 1969 directing 'Cold Turkey' remain a highlight of my life," Norman Lear wrote in his new best-selling memoir, "Even This I Get to Experience."
The book chronicles his role as the TV producer for groundbreaking sitcoms such as "All in the Family," "Sanford and Son," "One Day at a Time," "The Jeffersons" and "Maude," plus the movies "Stand By Me" and "The Princess Bride." But the movie he shot in and around Greenfield, Iowa — the fictional Eagle Rock — was one of his favorites, which is why he's coming to next month's Celebrate Iowa gala, sponsored by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.
"I'm as excited about going as anybody in Iowa," he said a few days ago, while being chauffeured to a guest appearance on "The View" in New York. You could almost here the 92-year-old smile over the phone when he recalled his first Iowa trip in 1969.
"I was an Eastern kid, from Connecticut, but I got along famously," he said.
Lear ended up writing and directing "Cold Turkey" himself, after another screenwriter had to back out for a prior commitment. So it was Lear who drafted the script, based on Margaret and Neil Rau's unpublished novel "I'm Giving Them Up for Good," about a cynical ad man who talks a tobacco company into offering $25 million to any American town that can give up smoking for 30 days. And it was Lear who chose to shoot the movie in Iowa.
"I don't even know if it's geographically the center, but for me, it's always been the emotional center," he said. "Iowa is Hometown, America."
So the movie's crew and cast —Bob Newhart as the ad man, Dick Van Dyke as the local preacher, and others — hauled their trailers out to Greenfield, Orient and Winterset. They used Terrace Hill (before the governors moved in) as a stand-in for a tobacco plantation and briefly raised the Confederate Flag from its familiar tower.
That stunt might be harder to pull off now.
"There's a political correctness today," Lear said. "We're a more uptight society. We may not be looking at ourselves as honestly as we did at one time."
When asked what TV shows he watches these days, he listed "Veep," "Family Guy," and "Transparent," about a family who discover their dad is transgender. "It's a fabulous show," he said. "It really walks the line between hilarity and heartbreak."
Lear is a vocal supporter of the First Amendment and the founder of People for the American Way, which supports many of the civil liberties he learned to value as a Jewish kid growing up in Connecticut.
But "had it not been for my experience in Iowa, my TV career would have been very different," he said.
He credits his "Cold Turkey" trip for sharpening the views against racism, sexism and homophobia, which he brought up in shows like "All in the Family." He's stood up ever since for Iowans — and American audiences, in general — whenever Hollywood bigwigs say something "won't fly in Des Moines."
"What was so wonderful about being in Iowa was that Iowans gave me all the affirmation that I guess I was born feeling. I learned about a common humanity," he said.
"If I had a bumper sticker it would say 'Just another version of you.' "
SCREENING: See "Cold Turkey" at 1:15 p.m. Saturday (after Thanksgiving, naturally) at the State Historical Building, 600 E. Locust. Admission is free.
GALA: "Cold Turkey" director Norman Lear will be the guest of honor at the Celebrate Iowa gala, hosted by honorary chairs Gov. Terry and first lady Chris Branstad, on Dec. 12 at the State Historical Building. Highlights include Iowa foods and craft beers, an edible mural by Crème Cupcake & Dessert Lounge, plus entertainment by Jive for Five, Revival Center Church Choir, and Bob Dorr and the Blue Band. $100 for most adults, $75 for adults 35 and younger.
RELATED: "Cold Turkey" is one of several Iowa-based films, including "State Fair," "The Music Man," "Field of Dreams" and "The Bridges of Madison County," which are featured in the "Hollywood in the Heartland" exhibition on display through 2016 at the State Historical Museum of Iowa.
