Al Gannaway, 88 - writer, composer and television producer for The Grand Ole Opry
Bob Feigel
Albert C. Gannaway Jr.
GANNAWAY, JR., Albert C. Film and television producer, writer and
composer known best for the "The Grand Ole Opry" television series
dies at age 88.
Al Gannaway, a motion picture and television producer, writer,
director and songwriter died on Wednesday in Baltimore, Maryland. He
was 88.
Mr. Gannaway produced several full length feature motion pictures
during the 1950s and 60s but is perhaps best known for his production
of the long running weekly television series "Stars of The Grand Ole
Opry" which featured many legendary country music stars including Chet
Atkins, Marty Robbins, Minnie Pearl and many others.
Mr. Gannaway was the first to produce a television series using 35mm
color film when television broadcasting was exclusively in black and
white.
As a songwriter he wrote with Johnny Mercer and also wrote songs for
Nat King Cole, Bob Hope and Frankie Lane.
Mr. Gannaway is survived by his former wife, Dana Gibson Gannaway; and
his sons, Gary Gannaway, James Gannaway, Tyrone Young, his
daughter-in-law, Wendy Gannaway; and two granddaughters.
A private memorial service will be held in New York City. The family
has expressed their wish that gestures of sympathy in lieu of flowers
be made by charitable donations to the "Fund for Johns Hopkins
Medicine", 100 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 with a note
indicating the donation is in memory of Al Gannaway for the benefit of
Dr. Marek Mirski Research.
--
"It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens." - Woody Allen
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Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
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bway...@gmail.com
> http://www.legacy.com/latimes/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=...
>
> Albert C. Gannaway Jr.
Um, Bob... this is the second week in a row you've reposted a death
notice I had posted the previous day. This week Albert Gannaway; last
week Kathryn Skatula. What gives?
-Tim, confused
Bob Feigel
magnanimously proffered:
Hi Tim - DGH does that to me regularly and I know it's irritating. So
it was deliberate.
But I've gone back and re-read the two posts and I notice that both of
your obits you refer to were prefaced with personal comments, that
neither had links to the original source - only IMDb links - and that
the obits themselves were unformatted (I reformat obits for ease of
reading).
You'll notice that we used different subject headers for each:
Yours: Albert C. Gannaway, producer/director ('50s "Grand Ole Opry" TV
series)
Mine: Al Gannaway, 88 - writer, composer and television producer for
The Grand Ole Opry
Yours: Kathryn Skatula, 54, actress
Mine: Kathryn Ann Skatula, 54 - Actor, singer, pianist, composer &
voice teacher
I actually read both your obits, but because the attributions were
multiple (eg: Los Angeles Times, New York Times and Los Angeles Daily
News) and had different dates (probably because of our different time
zones) I didn't associate them with the obits I posted. IMO providing
links to the original obits would help cut down on repeated obits.
Cheers, b
Here's your post:
Judging from the age, I'm guessing this is the same Mr. Gannaway:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0304431/
Interesting that the death notice mentions his work on the "Grand Ole
Opry" series, but does not mention any of the same credits that are
listed in the IMDB - the nine feature films he directed (and usually
produced) between 1956 and 1961. Eight of them were B Westerns; most
were released by Republic Pictures; and several of them featured Opry
stars (Webb Pierce, Faron Young, Carl Smith and Marty Robbins).
I have several videos from his Opry TV series - the picture quality is
startlingly good for its age.
-Tim
GANNAWAY--Albert C. Jr., film and television producer, writer and
composer known best for the "The Grand Ole Opry" television series
dies at age 88. Al Gannaway, a motion picture and television producer,
writer, director and songwriter died on Wednesday in Baltimore,
Maryland. He was 88. Mr. Gannaway produced several full length feature
motion pictures during the 1950s and 1960s but is perhaps best known
for his production of the long running weekly television series "Stars
of The Grand Ole Opry" which featured many legendary country music
stars including Chet Atkins, Marty Robbins, Minnie Pearl and many
others. Mr. Gannaway was the first to produce a television series
using 35mm color film when television broadcasting was exclusively in
black and white. As a songwriter he wrote with Johnny Mercer and also
wrote songs for Nat King Cole, Bob Hope and Frankie Lane. Mr. Gannaway
is survived by his former wife, Dana Gibson Gannaway and his sons,
Gary Gannaway, James Gannaway, Tyrone Young, his daughter-in-law,
Wendy Gannaway and two granddaughters. A private memorial service will
be held in New York City. The family has expressed their wish that
gestures of sympathy in lieu of flowers be made by charitable
donations to the "Fund for Johns Hopkins Medicine", 100 North Charles
Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 with a note indicating the donation is in
memory of Al Gannaway for the benefit of Dr. Marek Mirski Research.
Published in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, Sunday,
August 31, 2008.
Here's mine:
http://www.legacy.com/latimes/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=116669379
Albert C. Gannaway Jr.
Here's your Skatula post:
I learned of this passing from a posting by Julie Stevens on the
annieorphans.com message board. She writes: "Kathryn was in the
ensemble of the original California company of 'Annie' (the 2nd
National Tour). She was diagnosed with a horrible, deadly muscle
condition a few years ago. Kathryn continued to work in musical
theatre after 'Annie' and even taught voice to many alums from the
show, myself included. She will be missed."
Kathryn Ann Skatula
SKATULA, Kathryn Ann (54), of Valley Village, California, died
peacefully at her home Thursday, July 21, 2008, after a courageous,
year-long battle with ALS. An accomplished actor, singer, pianist,
composer, and voice teacher, she was born June 11, 1954 in Tacoma,
Washington to Roman and Marty (Sabo) Skatula of Sheridan, Wyoming. She
grew up in Sheridan, representing the state in the 1972 Junior Miss
Pageant, in which she won a talent scholarship to Colorado Women's
College where she studied music and theatre, eventually touring with
several singing groups including The New Christy Minstrels. In 1977,
she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her childhood dream of a
professional acting career. As a member of Actor's Equity, SAG, and
AFTRA, she performed in national touring companies of Annie, Nine,
Annie Get Your Gun, The Sound of Music, and Cathy Rigby's Peter Pan.
The greatest joy of her career, however, was as a founding member of
the Musical Theatre Guild, an organization devoted to presenting
rarely-performed musicals. She was a proud member of Mount Olive
Lutheran Church in Santa Monica, serving as organist, choir director,
soloist, and liturgist. A passionate humanitarian, she was active in
many causes, including the Actor's Fund and Relay for Life. Kathryn
travelled widely, loved sports and hiking and nature, feeling a
special connection to Wyoming's Big Horn Mountains. It is fitting,
then, that a portion of her ashes will be scattered there. She is
survived by her partner in life, Ali B. Olmo; her parents; Rick (her
brother) and Kim Skatula and their children, Adam and Gretchen of
Casper, Wyoming; Debra (her sister) and Dick Mason and their children,
Jordan and Zachary of Bellevue, Washington; and Mary Jo (her sister)
and Clark Johnson and their daughter, Sara, of Sheridan; and more
friends than she could possibly count. Services will be held at Mount
Olive Lutheran Church, 1343 Ocean Park Boulevard in Santa Monica on
Monday, August 25th at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, Kathryn requested
donations be made to the ALS Association, the Musical Theatre Guild,
or the Mount Olive Memorial Fund.
Published in the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Daily News,
August 23, 2008.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0803917/
Here's her bio from the Musical Theatre Guild website (which lists
more TV credits than her IMDB page):
KATHRYN SKATULA has performed in over 40 MTG staged reading/concert
projects. Favorite theatre roles include: SPLENDORA (Celebration
Theatre); QUILTERS (Perf. Riverside—Inland Award); Musical Theatre
West’s LA CAGE AUX FOLLES; Theatre League tours of SOUND OF MUSIC,
CAMELOT w/David Birney, and OLIVER w/Richard Kline; SINGIN IN THE RAIN
and MIRETTE (FCLO); HARRY CHAPIN: LIES AND LEGENDS (ICT/Dramalogue
Award); Amanda McBroom’s HEARTBEATS (Pasadena Playhouse); MY FAVORITE
HUSBAND w/Marilu Henner (LATheatreWorks); both Liz Swados’
MISSIONARIES w/Sharon Lawrence and THE BEAUTIFUL LADY w/JoAnne Worley
(Mark Taper); Westcoast premieres of SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE
and CINDERELLA (Long Beach CLO); World Premieres of GOYA and MASADA;
ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (Alliance); MARRY ME A LITTLE (Met); Billy Barnes’
MOVIE STAR (Westwood Playhouse); and National Tours of Cathy Rigby’s
PETER PAN, Tommy Tune’s NINE, and ANNIE with Reid Shelton. Film/TV:
“ER,” “Frasier,” “Out On a Limb” w/Shirley MacLaine; Mel Brooks’ “Life
Stinks,” “Passions” (Daytime Emmy Award); “The Jessica Savitch Story,”
“Matters of the Heart,” “Saved By the Bell,” “Mrs. Santa Claus,” and
“Geppetto.”
Here's mine:
http://www.legacy.com/latimes/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=116198654
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0803917/
Kathryn Ann Skatula
SKATULA, Kathryn Ann (54), of Valley Village, California, died
peacefully at her home Thursday, July 21, 2008, after a courageous,
year-long battle with ALS.
An accomplished actor, singer, pianist, composer, and voice teacher,
she was born June 11, 1954 in Tacoma, Washington to Roman and Marty
(Sabo) Skatula of Sheridan, Wyoming.
She grew up in Sheridan, representing the state in the 1972 Junior
Miss Pageant, in which she won a talent scholarship to Colorado
Women's College where she studied music and theatre, eventually
touring with several singing groups including The New Christy
Minstrels.
In 1977, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her childhood dream of a
professional acting career.
As a member of Actor's Equity, SAG, and AFTRA, she performed in
national touring companies of Annie, Nine, Annie Get Your Gun, The
Sound of Music, and Cathy Rigby's Peter Pan.
The greatest joy of her career, however, was as a founding member of
the Musical Theatre Guild, an organization devoted to presenting
rarely-performed musicals.
She was a proud member of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Santa Monica,
serving as organist, choir director, soloist, and liturgist.
A passionate humanitarian, she was active in many causes, including
the Actor's Fund and Relay for Life.
Kathryn travelled widely, loved sports and hiking and nature, feeling
a special connection to Wyoming's Big Horn Mountains. It is fitting,
then, that a portion of her ashes will be scattered there.
She is survived by her partner in life, Ali B. Olmo; her parents; Rick
(her brother) and Kim Skatula and their children, Adam and Gretchen of
Casper, Wyoming; Debra (her sister) and Dick Mason and their children,
Jordan and Zachary of Bellevue, Washington; and Mary Jo (her sister)
and Clark Johnson and their daughter, Sara, of Sheridan; and more
friends than she could possibly count.
Services will be held at Mount Olive Lutheran Church, 1343 Ocean Park
Boulevard in Santa Monica on Monday, August 25th at 3 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, Kathryn requested donations be made to the ALS
Association, the Musical Theatre Guild, or the Mount Olive Memorial
Fund.
Bob Feigel
<b...@surfwriter.net.not> magnanimously proffered:
>[Default] On Mon, 1 Sep 2008 09:01:27 -0700 (PDT), bway...@gmail.com
>magnanimously proffered:
>
>>On Sep 1, 12:34 am, Bob Feigel <b...@surfwriter.net.not> wrote:
>>> http://www.legacy.com/latimes/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=...
>>>
>>> Albert C. Gannaway Jr.
>>
>>Um, Bob... this is the second week in a row you've reposted a death
>>notice I had posted the previous day. This week Albert Gannaway; last
>>week Kathryn Skatula. What gives?
>>
>>-Tim, confused
>
>Hi Tim - DGH does that to me regularly and I know it's irritating. So
>it was deliberate.
I meant: was NOT deliberate.
bway...@gmail.com
> [Default] On Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:46:09 +1200, Bob Feigel
> <b...@surfwriter.net.not> magnanimously proffered:
>
>
>
> >magnanimously proffered:
>
> >>On Sep 1, 12:34 am, Bob Feigel <b...@surfwriter.net.not> wrote:
> >>>http://www.legacy.com/latimes/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=...
>
> >>> Albert C. Gannaway Jr.
>
> >>Um, Bob... this is the second week in a row you've reposted a death
> >>notice I had posted the previous day. This week Albert Gannaway; last
> >>week Kathryn Skatula. What gives?
>
> >>-Tim, confused
>
> >Hi Tim - DGH does that to me regularly and I know it's irritating. So
> >it was deliberate.
>
> I meant: was NOT deliberate.
Fine, I wasn't hurt, just a little confused. No problem.
-Tim