Go Native

by Eileen Schwartz

October 2001

BRIGHT MINDS, SMALL CITIES Two small towns will honor two incredibly gifted native sons at special events this month. The first takes place October 4-6, when Larry McMurtry's hometown of Archer City commemorates the thirtieth anniversary of the classic coming-of-age-in-a-small-town film, The Last Picture Show. The movie, based on McMurtry's 1966 novel of the same name, will be shown at the Royal Theater. Ironically, this will be the movie's premiere screening in Archer City, where it was filmed the year before its 1971 release. The festivities also include a gala dinner with such celebrity guests as McMurtry, director Peter Bogdanovich, and actress Cloris Leachman, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of the football coach's wife, Ruth Popper. On October 13 and 14 head to Denison, where that city remembers architect Donald Mayes (he was born in Denison in 1914 and died there in 1966). The weekend of activities paying tribute to Mayes, who played a major role in the modernization and urban planning of his hometown during the late fifties and early sixties, includes public discussions with top Texas architects Frank Welch and Heather McKinney, an outdoor party with music and food that takes place near many of the residences Mayes designed (see picture), including his own, and a tour of some of his suburban homes built in the fifties, which are reminiscent of those of Frank Lloyd Wright. See Elsewhere.