Aviation In The Movies at Planes Of Fame

The Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, California will be presenting its initial monthly Living History Event of 2015 on Saturday, January 3rd. The event is open to the public of course. This month’s feature is titled ‘Aviation in the Movies’, and will feature the museum’s Curtiss P-40N Warhawk. The speakers will be Mark Carlson, author of Flying On Film: A Century of Aviaiton in the Movies, 1912-2012, and William Wellman, Jr., actor and author of The Man and His Wings: William A. Wellman and the Making of the First Best Picture. The Warhawk will be on display and perform a flight demonstration if weather/technical issues permit. The Membership Sponsored Raffle Flight will be in a designated vintage aircraft at 12:00 noon.

WHO: Mark Carlson, author of Flying On Film: A Century of Aviation in the Movies, 1912-2012, will be speaking. His books will be available for purchase and signing at the event. Carlson is a freelance writer, aviation historian, student of filmmaking, and classic film connoisseur. As Past President of Poway-Black Mountain Toastmasters club, he established the FUNspeakable historical entertainment series. He is a former graphic designer who lost his sight through a hereditary disorder in 1998. He worked as a specialist in low-vision assistive technology for seven years. On weekends, he is a docent tour guide at the San Diego Air and Space Museum. He has written articles for several national aviation magazines and organizations. He is the author of six mainstream historical novels, and his work has been published in Bark Magazine, Dog Fancy, Flight Journal, The Hook, Warbirds, and Aviation History. Mark will provide a 40-minute presentation with an accompanying slideshow.

William Wellman, Jr., son of Hollywood’s legendary director, William “Wild Bill” Wellman, spent most of his childhood around silver screen celebrities. His neighborhood was filled with them; Gary Cooper, Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Carole Lombard, Frank Capra, Lana Turner, John Payne, Jennifer Jones, Red Skelton, Peter Lawford, William “Hopalong Cassidy” Boyd to name just a few. If they weren’t coming to his family home, he met them at theirs, or on the sets and locations of twenty three of his father’s films. His first girlfriend was Jane Fonda.

While still in his teens, he left Duke University for a career in the movies. He is credited with over 180 movies and television shows, 17 stage productions and some 200 commercial and industrial films. In 1981, he received the Best Actor of The Year from the Christian Film Distributors for Heartland’s BROTHER ENEMY. He was nominated again in 1982 for Mark IV Pictures’ THE PRODIGAL PLANET.

When: The event will take place on Saturday, January 3rd, 2015 between 10am and 12 noon (the speaker program & flight demonstration). Museum doors will open at 9:00am.

Where: Planes of Fame Air Museum, 7000 Merrill Avenue #17, Chino, CA 91710

Why: Planes of Fame Air Museum’s mission is to preserve aviation history, inspire interest in aviation, educate the public, and honor aviation pioneers and veterans. The museum sponsors regular events in the form of inspirational experiences, educational presentations, flight demonstrations, and airshows in fulfillment of this mission.

Planes of Fame Air Museum, ‘Where Warbirds Fly and Aviation History Lives’

For more information visit www.planesoffame.org