Newsletter Winter 1984-85

COMMEMORATING WALTER HUSTON

In 1984, the year of Ontario’s bicentennial and the City of Toronto’s sesqui-centennial, Toronto Film Society did not celebrate either event with a relevant film series, but we did salute the Queen’s visit with a series of films about royalty and we did play a part in honouring a local boy, born in Toronto a century ago, who made good.

Walter Huston was born on April 6, 1884, the youngest of four children.  His father died when he was still a small boy, and Walter’s eldest brother, Alexander became head of the family, who occupied the house still standing at 11 Major Street near Kensington Market.  Walter studied to become an engineer, but spent his free time with a young drama group at St. Simon’s Church on Bloor Street.  At the age of 16 he made his first stage appearance in the church’s minstrel show at Massey Hall, and became stage-struck.  He joined a small repertory group that soon toured the city and made out-of-town appearances.  On one trip to the United States, Walter decided to work his way to New York where he got a short-lived walk-on part off Broadway.  Later he put together a vaudeville act and joined a road show touring the States.  He married, and when the road show went broke his father-in-law, living in the small town of Nevada, Missouri, got Walter the job of engineer of the town’s Water and Power Company.  (Walter’s son John was born in Nevada.)  Unfortunately, during a fire in the town, Walter pulled the wrong switch, cut off the water supply and half the town burned down.  Walter and his family got out of town fast, before morning.  Soon after, he and  his wife were divorced.

Returning to vaudeville, Walter put a new act together with a dancer who became his second wife.  For twelve years he toured the States and Canada, often playing at the old Shea’s Theatre on Bay Street in Toronto.  He developed into a dramatic actor and became one of the great stars of Broadway and Hollywood.  During his long career he was always a well-known and popular figure in Toronto, where he returned frequently, and was given keys to the city.

Walter’s son John became even more famous than his father, directing such films as The Maltese Falcon (his first directorial effort after some years as a successful screenwriter), The African Queen and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

The story of Walter and John Huston was told by Donald Jones in his “Historical Toronto” column in the Sunday Star of September 6, 1981 (from which the above account is drawn).  Entitled “The minor house on Major Street”, it ended with the following paragraph:

Now, at a time when the Festival of Festivals in highlighting the work of some of the world’s great film actors and film directors, someone in the crowd or one of the film societies should begin campaigning to raise the relatively small sum of $500 to erect one of the Toronto Historical Board’s plaques in front of the Huston home by Kensington Market.  And the next new theatre in town should be called the Huston Theatre.

I took this challenge to the next meeting of the TFS Board of Directors, and it was agreed to contribute the money for a historical plaque.  Donald Jones was pleased to hear that we planned to do this and offered his support.

Then followed a long period of waiting for official approvals and a decision about the actual site of the plaque.  The offer of a donation from TFS was gratefully accepted by the Toronto Historical Board.  Its Plaques, Publicity and Publications Committee approved the proposal in November and prepared the wording for the plaque, which was approved by the Historical Board in December 1981.

But many months were to pass while Historical Board staff made repeated efforts to obtain the agreement of the Portuguese-speaking family occupying the house on Major Street for the installation of the plaque.  letters and telephone calls met with no response.  Also, examination of the site showed that the front yard of the house was really too small for the placing of a rock with the plaque on it, so other sites were investigated.  Two parketes in the general area were considered, and the Historical Board recommended in May 1983 that the plaque should be installed in a small parkette at the north-east corner of Brunswick and College, just one block from Major Street.  This plan was approved by the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation for Toronto, then by the Neighbourhoods Committee, and finally by Toronto City Council on June 27, 1983.

In August we were informed that the actual cost of the plaque, to be cast in aluminum with a bronze-coloured enamelled background, would be only about $300, and the cheque was sent.  In September discussions began about the practical arrangements for the installation and unveiling.

At the same time we wrote to John Huston in Mexico, hoping that he might be able to attend the unveiling of the plaque commemorating his father.  We offered to set the date to coincide with any visit he might make to Ontario, as it was rumoured he would be coming to Toronto in the spring for the premiere of his new film Under the Volcano.  Mr. Huston replied through his secretary that he would be honoured to attend if his schedule permitted.

The date tentatively suggested was Sunday, April 8, 1984–just one hundred years and two days after Walter Huston’s birth–when we would be screening one of Walter’s films, Dodsworth; but the plaque could not be ready in time.  (This year the Historical Board was dealing with no less than 40 historical plaques in various stages of planning.)  We therefore set a new date: June 3.

In May, John Huston was at the Cannes Film Festival for the world premiere of Under the Volcano.  Our good friend and Patron Gerald Pratley was also at Cannes, and we asked him by telegram to inform Mr. Huston of the date for the unveiling.  But Mr. Huston had to decline, as he was quite tired, having been very much in demand at Cannes with reporters lining up to interview him every half-hour.  However, he sent a short written message through Gerald.

An invitation list was drawn up jointly with the Toronto Historical Board, invitation cards with a picture of Walter Huston were sent out, Donald Jones twice inserted a notice in the Star, press releases were issued, and all TFS members were invited, in their notice of our Annual General Meeting, to attend the unveiling at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 3.

The day arrived, with beautiful weather.  Only a few area residents were in the parkette early in the afternoon, but were soon joined by Clive Denton (one-time Programme Chairman of TFS and Programme Director of the Ontario Film Theatre with a CBC crew to televise the proceedings, and Ben Gordon of the CBC; the Chairman and staff from the Toronto Historical Board; Directors and members of TFS, and former TFS Presidents Gerald Pratley, Ron  Anger, Ted Hall and Roy Clifton; the principal speaker, Donald Jones (and probably a number of his faithful followers who regularly attend his historical “walks”).  We were particularly honoured by the presence of Walter Huston’s niece, Mrs. Margaret Huston Walters, and other members of the Huston family in Toronto.  Altogether there were about 200 people present, plus four police officers to control traffic!

Mr. George Rust-D’Eye, Chairman of the Toronto Historical Board, opened the ceremony with welcoming remarks; Professor Barrie Hayne, 1st Vice- President (now President) of TFS, spoke about Walter and John Huston; the plaque was unveiled by Donald Jones; and John Huston’s message was read by Gerald Pratley.  He had written:

That the City of Toronto should remember and celebrate my father a whole generation after his death, gives me the deepest satisfaction.  I only wish I could be present at this memorable occasion.

Following this ceremony, Donald Jones led the way across the block to 11 Major Street, where he addressed the crowd.  Miraculously, he had made contact with the Portuguese occupants and explained the situation to them.  The Pereira family sat smiling on the verandah while Donald Jones introduced them to their visitors and complimented them on having preserved the house so well during the 23 years they had lived there.  Mr. Jones went on to talk about the Huston family in Toronto and about the careers of Walter and John, drawing a warm response from the crowd as he mentioned some of their well-known films.

The afternoon ended with a reception for honoured guests, hosted by the Woman’s Canadian Historical Society of Toronto at its headquarters on Spadina Road.  Mrs. Margaret Huston Walters had been kind enough to bring some photographs of her much-loved “Uncle Wallie” in early stage appearances and at his home in Hollywood, and gave us some glimpses of him from a personal and family point of view.  There was also a letter received from Walter shortly before he had died, suddenly, the morning after his 66th birthday.  Finally, there was a screening of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, presented and introduced by Ron Anger.

That evening on CBC-TV there was a brief news item about the plaque, and another appeared on July 23 as introduction to the CBC telecast of the film Mission to Moscow, starring Walter Huston.

John Huston had asked that photographs of the plaque and the ceremony be sent to him, and this was done.

Toronto Film Society owes much to Donald Jones and Gerald Pratley, to Margaret Baily and Henry Miller of the Toronto Historical Board, and to Joyce Williams, President, and her colleagues Lorna Procter and Elinor Baker of the Executive of the Woman’s Canadian Historical Society of Toronto, for the success of the afternoon.  We also thank the Theatre Section of the Metropolitan Library for allowing us to reproduce its photograph portrait of Walter Huston.

Anyone interested in seeing the plaque may find it at the south-east corner of the Brunswick-College Parkette, placed on a rock shaded by a tree near the College Street sidewalk.  The wording is as follows:

WALTER HUSTON

WALTER HUSTON, STAR OF BROADWAY AND HOLLYWOOD, WAS BORN IN TORONTO, 6 APRIL 1884, AND RAISED NEAR HERE AT 11 MAJOR STREET.  AT THE AGE OF SIXTEEN, HE MADE HIS FIRST STAGE APPEARANCE IN A MINSTREL SHOW AT MASSEY HALL, JOINED A LOCAL REPERTORY GROUP AND LATER, IN VAUDEVILLE, TOURED CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES.  IN THE 1920’S HUSTON CAME INTO PROMINENCE ON BROADWAY AS A DRAMATIC ACTOR AND BECAME FAMOUS FOR HIS RENDITION OF “SEPTEMBER SONG”.  HE WORKED IN A NUMBER OF FILMS WITH HIS SON, SCREEN WRITER AND DIRECTOR, JOHN HUSTON.  IN 1948 BOTH WON ACADEMY AWARDS FOR THE FILM THE TREASURE OF SIERRA MADRE.

TORONTO HISTORICAL BOARD 1984

Footnote
The February 1970 issue of Films in Review included a career article about Walter Huston and a complete filmography.  of the 48 films in which he appeared, TFS has screened the following:  Law and Order, American Madness, Rain, Dodsworth, The Maltese Falcon (twice), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (twice), and Summer Holiday.  Walter Huston also spoke the narration in John Huston’s documentary Let There Be Light, shown by TFS last year.

by Helen Arthurs