Uptown Notables

Bill Matteson
Uptown  Chicago History Correspondent

Uptown always was and always is in my mind. It is hard to believe what our Uptown area and Chicago has given to the world. Just looking at the entertainment genre: movie stars,writers, directors.

I was so close to the area where they came from.

Writer Ben Hecht wrote about Uptown.
Dan Greenberg from Stewart School, a very proficient writer, director, actor, and classmate.

Phil Kaufman, also a classmate, writer, director, gave us pod people from outer space, Josy Wales, Han Solo, and Indiana Jones.

Classmate Billy Friedkin also from Stewart gave us the French Connection and The Exorcist.

As a 8th grade patrol boy, I would help younger kids cross the street. Kids like second grader Harrison Ford. Harrison Ford, well, I don't need to tell you his movie accomplishments. But he with some other kids used to watch me and a couple of my buddies work out with our bull whips in the school yard. We wore leather jackets.

Actor Robert Ryan who lived his pre-Hollywood days on the 4800 block of Kenmore across from St Thomas of Canterbury.

Clayton Moore the real Lone Ranger went to Senn High School about 20 or so years before I did. Clayton lived on the north side of Edgewater and attended the Stephen Hayt Elementary School.

Johnny Weismiller the real Tarzan, lived for awhile at 226 West North Ave. His father and brother were brewers and worked at the Fullerton and Elston Brewery. He attended LaSalle Elementary
school. I lived around the corner at 1964 Linclon Ave and went to the same school, many years later.
Clayton Moore was a circus acrobat at age 8, he would learn tumbling and swimming from Johnny Weismiller at the Illinois Atheltic club where Wiessmiller worked so he could get swimming instructions from the coach there.

Put yourself back in time for a minute. Could you ever imagine watching this only to find out they would become Tarzan and the Lone Ranger?

Uptown has a Legacy that was passed on to the world.

Uptown, I miss you