Reclusive 'Mockingbird' Author Appears

The New york Post ^ | May 22, 2005 | AP Via New York Post

[Diana in Wisconsin]

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Harper Lee, who has been dodging publicity for decades since she published her only book, "To Kill a Mockingbird," made a rare step into the limelight to be honored by the Los Angeles Public Library.

Lee, 79, stopped giving interviews a few years after she won the Pulitzer Prize for her 1960 coming-of-age book exploring racial prejudice in the South. She has turned down most request for appearances. But she couldn't refuse an invitation from Veronique Peck, the widow of actor Gregory Peck, who won an Oscar for his starring role as lawyer Atticus Finch in the 1962 film version of the book and became a lifelong friend with Lee.

"Mockingbird" co-star Brock Peters, who played the black man falsely accused of rape in the film, presented the award to Lee.

After Veronique Peck whispered in her ear, Lee gave her only remarks of the evening: "I'll say it again. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart."

Veronique Peck said Lee is "like a national treasure."

"She's someone who has made a difference with this book," she said. "All the kids in the United States read this book and see the film in the seventh and eighth grades and write papers and essays. My husband used to get thousands and thousands of letters from teachers who would send them to him." She said Atticus Finch was her husband's "favorite role, and he felt that in his professional life, it was probably the best performance he ever gave."

The awards dinner Thursday drew more than 600 supporters and raised $700,000 for computers, computer training and literacy programs.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

This is by far, one of my very favorite books. Glad to see Ms. Lee is still alive and kickin'!

[SquirrelKing]

If you get a chance, visit her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. The old courthouse, the town and the countryside feel and look just like in the book. I believe they do an open-air play of Mockingbird in the Summertime.

One of the best books ever, IMHO.

[Clemenza]

Good book, awful movie. Considering the fact that the book brought up the issue of (attempted) interracial seduction (on the part of the white trash girl who accused the black guy of rape), in 1960. I still found Scout to be annoying in both the book and the movie.

An even better book from that era exploring the issue of race relations in the south is "A Cry of Absence" by Madison Jones.

[xJones]

A wonderful book, particularly for Southerners who can really appreciate the small Southern town jokes.:)

In reading about Miss lee's life you can certainly see where she found the material for her book: Harper Lee. It's interesting that the character of Dill was based on her childhood friend and neighbor, Truman Capote, and the infamous Scottsboro trial during her childhood definitely formed the rough basis of the rape trial in her one novel.

It's sad that she never wrote another book, but apparently she's always been shy and maybe she feared that people would expect too much of her after "To Kill a Mockingbird".

[SquirrelKing]

I'm fond of Intruder in the Dust too.

I appreciate your opinion about Book, movie & etc. but respectfully disagree.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

"An even better book from that era exploring the issue of race relations in the south is "A Cry of Absence" by Madison Jones."

Thanks for the recommendation. :) Have you read, "On The Ocassion of My Last Afternoon" by Kaye Gibbons? I enjoyed that one. It's the story of a Southern family at the end of the Civil War, as a dying woman looks back over her life.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

"Occasion!" Duh.

That's a word I always misspell. Two "c's" together just looks weird to me. ;)

[Steely Tom]

Good book, awful movie. Considering the fact that the book brought up the issue of (attempted) interracial seduction (on the part of the white trash girl who accused the black guy of rape), in 1960. I still found Scout to be annoying in both the book and the movie.

I believe the seduction is brought out in court by Atticus in his interrogation of Tom Robinson. It is a he said/she said situation. His testimony is so convincing that Mayella Ewell, the plaintiff and accuser, is forced to do an amazing act on the stand, in which she tells the jury that they are not really men if they cannot bring themselves to protect the honor of a white woman from a black man (she also calls them one of the most hateful two-word expressions ever invented). Her acting is unforgettable.

I always thought the movie was mighty good. I read the book as a fourth-grader (it was the very first "grown up" book I ever read). So faithful was the book to the movie that, for years, I thought the movie covered the whole book. When I revisited the movie as an adult, I was surprised to discover a number of parts of the book (Mrs. Dubose, and the rabid dog scene, for example) were not in the movie; so vivid were the images created by the book in my mind's eye when I read it.

I also always thought the girl who played Scout was very beautiful, and would have liked to see what she looked like when she got older.

Also, Boo Radley character is played by Robert Duvall. I believe it is his debut appearance in a movie.

I lived in the south as a child, during the years 1960 through 1962 (Dinwiddie County, Virginia). There was a house immediately next to my school that was occupied by a reclusive family; the children made up all kinds of stories about them. The experience of living in the south gave the book incredible resonance for me when I read it, two years later, after having moved back up north.

(steely)

[GretchenM]

All the kids in the United States read this book and see the film in the seventh and eighth grades and write papers and essays.

I wish this had been the case (in the Washington State school) where I attended seventh and eighth grades.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Isn't your tagline sweet!

"I wish this had been the case (in the Washington State school) where I attended seventh and eighth grades."

Well, make up for Lost Time now, FRiend. I'm sure people here could suggest a list of books you may have missed out on in your youth. :)

Actually, I had seen the movie, but didn't read the book until I was in my 40's. I think I appreciated all the delicious undertones of it all the more as an adult. ;)

[Hegewisch Dupa]

[k2blader]

Good book, from what I remember of it from 10th grade. I should read it again.

[GretchenM]

make up for Lost Time now, FRiend. I'm sure people here could suggest a list of books you may have missed out on in your youth

I'm pleased to say that I have been doing just that for a couple reasons. I really did miss out on being herded into good reading pasture as a child and youth; I love literature (good lit); I mentor a fifth grader and have been seeking juvenile book recommendations. So for the past several years, I have been reading classic juvenile literature and listening to audio books, such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and ... Huckleberry Finn, and Uncle Tom's Cabin, where dialects figure prominently.

[Tribune7]

Also, Boo Radley character is played by Robert Duvall.

The thing with Duvall is you remember his characters but forget he played them.

[MozarkDawg]

I also always thought the girl who played Scout was very beautiful, and would have liked to see what she looked like when she got older.

Rent the movie "This Property is Condemned" -- she plays Natalie Wood's younger sister *Willie*, the film was made a few years after "To Kill a Mockingbird."

[Sloth]

One of the best books that's actually included as 'classics' in education these days. And the movie is indeed Peck's most memorable role.

[Steely Tom]

Thanks to all for the information.

I saw the reference to "This Property is Condemned" in doing Google research on the names of the characters, which (except for Atticus, Jem, Scount, and Boo) I had forgotten.

With respect to Mary Badham's recent picture, well, she looks pretty good compared to, say, Melanie Griffith, who is (I believe) some years younger.

Tribune: Great observation about Duvall! You're right!

(steely)

[MozarkDawg]

With respect to Mary Badham's recent picture, well, she looks pretty good compared to, say, Melanie Griffith, who is (I believe) some years younger.

Well c'mon, be fair ... Mary doesn't have to keep Antonio "interested" as Melanie claims she does ! LOL!!

That is a nice pic of Mary Badham ... to think, if it weren't for Patty Duke having made "The Miracle Worker" the same year, she may very well have taken the Oscar home that night.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

"The thing with Duvall is you remember his characters but forget he played them."

I find that very true of Kate Blanchett, as well. She IS her characters, no matter how big or small. Actors like that are much too few and far between. I won't even see some movies because I know the lead will just be playing "The Lead as Him/Herself." Annoying! 'The Play's the Thing!'

Streep is wonderful that way, too. Maybe Kevin Spacey to a lesser degree. Any others?

I'm waaaaay behind on my movies, but I recently watched Kate in "Elizabeth." (Oscar Nominated performance.) She was awesome.

[SamAdams76]

Hi, I'm posting from the future.

Did you know that Shepard Smith will be fired from FoxNews in October of 2019?

Nobody on Free Republic has posted anything about it in the present so I thought i'd go to the past and see if it gains any traction there.