Several side streets on a small stretch off North Avenue have seen big changes in the past 2 decades.
Today’s edition of “Then & Now” — photographer Dave Matlow’s series of teardowns, and the homes that replaced them — concentrates on those roads, a few yards from Bedford Middle School.
Joy Harmon died Tuesday at her Los Angeles home. She was 87.
Hers is not a household name.
She was Groucho Marx’s assistant on a 1961 game show, and appeared in classic ’60s-era TV: “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “My Three Sons,” “Gidget,” “Batman,” “Bewitched,” “The Monkees” and “The Odd Couple.”
But those were not her most famous roles.
It was a brief — but memorable — appearance in “Cool Hand Luke” that seared her into the American (male) consciousness.
Harmon was, in the Hollywood Reporter‘s words, “the young woman who provocatively washes a car with lots of soapy water as overheated prisoners in the chain gang look on.”
Still, it’s not that scene — with, of course, Westport’s own Paul Newman in the title role — that earns her an “06880” obituary.
She was also a Staples High School graduate.
Eleven years before that legendary film, her 1956 yearbook writeup hinted at things to come. (She was just 16 when she graduated. She skipped 2 grades during Westport elementary school.)
Yet her time in the limelight did not last long.
After being a “pin-up girl” in the late 1960s and early ’70s, Harmon retired from acting, married and had a family.
Baking was always a favorite pastime. She started Aunt Joy’s Cakes, and ran a wholesale bakery in Burbank, California.
Joy Harmon, in a screenshot from a video about Aunt Joy’s Cakes.
Westporters recall 1950s Staples graduates Mariette Hartley and Christopher Lloyd, who went on to movie and TV fame. We claim Michael Douglas too, even though he was shipped off to boarding school after Bedford Junior High.
We never remembered Joy Harmon.
Though — as Paul Newman and the other men working on the chain gang quickly realized — it was hard to forget her. (Hat tip: Christian Hunter)
So how did Joy Harmon’s most famous role come about?
The Hollywood Reporter says: In an interview with author Tom Lisanti for his 2007 book Glamour Girls of Sixties Hollywood, Harmon said her agent told her that she should wear a bikini to her “Cool Hand Luke” audition for Newman and director Stuart Rosenberg, so she did.
“I remember Paul Newman said to me, ‘Gosh, you have the bluest eyes!’ she recalled.
‘They just talked to me, and that was it. It was a small part with no lines, but I wanted to work with Newman, so when they offered it to me I accepted.”
In her scene in the 1967 film, Harmon, in a tattered housedress, turns on the portable radio and washes a 1941 DeSoto under a hot sun as if she’s making love to a man. (George Kennedy’s character imagines her name is Lucille.)
Joy Harmon, in “Cool Hand Luke.” (Photo courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter)
“Stuart was very specific and knew exactly what he wanted,” she told Lisanti. “I guess you can tell that by the way the scene comes off — but I didn’t realize it. And I don’t think I even realized it right after I did it.
“There were a lot of things he made me do a certain way — soaping the windows, holding the hose — that had a two-way meaning. He would tell me to look different ways, and we kept shooting it over and over again. I just figured I was washing the car. I’ve always been naïve and innocent. I was acting and not trying to be sexy.
“I never had any inclination that this would be such a memorable role. Except for being in a movie with Paul Newman, I never expected this part to be so notable and get the reaction it did. After seeing it at the premiere, I was a bit embarrassed. Of all the things I’ve done, people know me most from this film.”
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Today’s edition of Westport homes — teardowns, and their replacements, courtesy of photographer Dave Matlow’s archives and follow-up — takes us to the Compo and Old Mill Beach neighborhoods.
Those areas have seen more changes than many in town. Among them:
Darin Brunstad grew up in Westport, and graduated from Staples High School in 1985. He and his husband David are raising 4 children in upstate Connecticut. Darin writes:
Whitely, Lipson, Weigle: Westport music teachers who saved me.
I think of them often these days, as my own young kids wend their ways through public school music education: choir, sax, clarinet and trumpet.
I started out labeled “gifted” — an early program which sent us to help classmates learn skills we had already mastered.
I liked helping. But by 3rd grade my life settled into the reality of a bad check- writing, alcoholic, unemployed stepfather; a clinically depressed grandmother caretaker, and a mother who was gone 12 hours a day beating her head bloody against the glass ceiling on Madison Avenue.
I changed elementary schools 6 times (including Kings Highway, Saugatuck, Coleytown and Burr Farms). Each was a progression of barely tolerable experiences, save the last one, which was more “Lord of the Flies” than anything else.
Burr Farms was one of Darin Brunstad’s several elementary schools. (Computer image by Steve Katz)
I was chubby, dirty and unkempt. I combed my hair and saw fleas stuck between the teeth. I was afraid of bathrooms because of The Terrible Thing that happened in one. So much shame and fear to keep locked away.
I also had more concussions than a child is supposed to have. (Shoutout to the Assumption kids — that was me who starred the windshield when my Grandma hit your school bus head on).
This probably fried my brain a bit. But I think most of my academic apocalypse had to do with being the new kid too many times.
Mrs. Whitely was the music teacher at my last elementary school. She had long gray hair she wore up, and glasses on a chain. I don’t think I ever saw her smile.
She was mocked and derided by students, yet somehow managed to expose us to such amazing things: outdoor winter concerts, fiery depictions of “Night on Bald Mountain,” barbershop quartets. She pulled off an excellent performance of “Solomon Grundy,” with the composer in attendance.
My first time on stage singing in her choir, watching her hands guide us along with such intensity, changed me.
The rest of the world disappeared. There was only that moment of creation — something I didn’t quite understand yet, but enjoyed immensely.
I was a boy soprano who could sing higher than any girl. Taunts of “faggot,” plus recess bullying, made me quit. I withdrew further, and spent recess volunteering in the cafeteria.
Three years of a music desert followed, as things got worse both at home and school. Even my main tormentor started feeling sorry for me, knitting his brows and saying, “Are you depressed? You seem depressed!”
By Long Lots Junior High I was too skinny, and desperately tried to make my increasingly tall and lanky body fold into itself to remain completely unnoticed.
But into a cramped basement music room with arena seating, all the way in the dark back corner of our school, came Alice Lipson. She was petite, and had hair all the way down to her waist.
Alice Lipson (Photo/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)
She tried diligently to teach us heathens about music theory, using Mozart’s “Symphony #40 in G Minor” to illustrate codas, themes and whatnot. There were even handouts. None of that made much sense to me, but the music — the music — grabbed at me.
Mrs. Lipson corralled a gaggle of reluctant 9th graders, and built an immense choir with an ambitious repertoire.
We were rowdy and disobedient, but somehow she coaxed amazing sound out of us. Some teachers in the audience at our concert actually cried. This thing we were doing not only centered me in my chaotic world, but it could affect others too?
By 10th grade at Staples I was fiercely hiding in the closet, and numbing myself regularly with alcohol. I skipped school, lied a lot, and barely passed anything.
Darin Brunstad, sophomore year.
But high school brought George Weigle — an exacting and immensely gifted choir director.
We sang double choir magnificats, spirituals, and put on huge holiday productions. We sang in Latin, Hebrew, German. The professionalism he required of us made us capable musicians, and better people.
Dr. Weigle was nearing the end of his career. He had little patience for nonsense, and famously less for “mediocrity.”
Dr. George Weigle (Photo/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)
But you’d be wrong to mistake his constant look of intensity and focus as a scowl, even as he looked down at us over his glasses.
In December of sophomore year I came to school late, after a young man I knew took his life. I had spent the previous night trying my best to comfort his mother, and had helped clean up the mess so she wouldn’t have to see it when she returned from the hospital.
I wandered into his choir room and just stood there, still in shock. George Weigle quietly dismissed the 108-voice group and led me into his office. I think he talked to me for an hour.
1984-85 Orphenians.
More than anyone, George Weigle taught me the beauty of that intense moment of silence, after the conductor makes eye contact and right before he raises his baton.
Discipline, focus, intention. Then the sharp intake of breath as he raises it up.
What happens after is always a blur to me. After hours of rehearsals I get lost in the music, barely remembering anything before the final sweeping cutoff motion.
Lost in a beautiful way, though. I just go somewhere else. Somewhere happy.
Darin Brunstad’s senior portrait …
What would I have had if I hadn’t been given this gift of music by these teachers? What would have become of me? Yet my love of music endures, and is integral to my mental health. I can’t imagine life without it.
My husband and I adopted our kids from foster care later in life. l’ve witnessed how music smooths the rough places for them, but those will be their own stories to tell someday.
,,, and today, with a flower he found on the sidewalk.
So to all the beloved music teachers: If you see a kid who is struggling, music may be the answer. Maybe there’s a kid who acts out because they can’t read music and is embarrassed. That was me.
Don’t give up on them. Everything you do is important. It can even be life-saving. Every beginning squeak, scratchy string or flat note can lead to something profound and permanent.
Thank you Mrs. Whitely, Mrs. Lipson, and Dr. Weigle.
George Weigle conducts the 1984 Candlelight concert production number. Darin Brunstad is in the center; he played the father in “Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus.”
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Spring of 2007 brought Staples Players’ production of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.”
The Tony Award-winning musical by Rupert Holmes — based on Charles Dickens’ unfinished novel — is notable for its interactive, “solve-it-yourself” format.
Notable too was that Holmes himself came to the high school, and met with the cast and crew during rehearsals.
Click here or below for highlights of that show. Thanks, as always, to Jim Honeycutt. As Staples media teacher, he filmed the production.
Now, in retirement, he’s producing these weekly nutshells.
Several “Drood” actors went on to careers in entertainment, including:
Hannah Dubne (Ms. Rosa Bud): “Hamlet,” “The Big Gay Italian Wedding”)
Zoe Apoian (Helena Landless)
Britt Hennemuth (Reverand Chrisparkle): Senior vice president of production development and special projects, Universal Pictures
Drew Angus (Horace): recording artist
Brittany Uomoleale (now Baron): “Glow,” “Final Fantasy VII Remake.”
ENCORE!To promote the show, Players filmed a series of videos.
This one features Mia Gentile, who played Princess Puffer. She went on to a Broadway career, including “Kinky Boots.”
Here’s another, with Tyler Paul (who went on to make his mark in children’s theater), and the late Joe Ziegahn, Players’ longtime and much-loved technical director.
Corky Laing’s clanging introduction to “Mississippi Queen” — Mountain’s biggest hit — still resonates, 56 years later.
The band — which included legendary musicians Leslie West and Felix Pappalardi — broke up in 1972. They reunited periodically over the years, for projects and tours.
Corky Laing (2nd from left), and the band.
Laing continued to play percussion. He’s recorded with Ian Hunter (Mott the Hoople), Eric Schenkman (Spin Doctors), Noel Redding (Jimi Hendrix Experience), even Bo Diddley. (In fact, he got his start as a pre-teen, when the famed Ink Spots needed a drummer during a musicians’ strike.)
But he has never forgotten his Mountain days. This Saturday (April 11, 7 p.m.), “Mississippi Queen” — and other hits, including “Long Red” and “Nantucket Sleighride” — will ring out at the VFW.
Gary Shure’s 10$GrandBand offers a tribute to the band.
And Corky Laing himself will sit in, as a guest drummer.
Corky Laing (Photo copyright Joachim Jüttner)
It is far from his first time in Westport.
He lived here for a decade, from 1982 to ’92.
While here he invited Levon Helm, Felix Cavaliere, the Chambers Brothers and fellow Westporter Meat Loaf to play with him at the Levitt Pavilion. He jammed with bands at local clubs and bars.
He hung out often at the Compo Beach home of music executive Terry Coen, and his music-loving wife Gail.
Laing also befriended Harvey Skolnick, owner of the Liquor Locker. During the busy holidays Laing delivered wine for him, to customers like Paul Newman and Diana Ross.
The Liquor Locker. Corky Laing was a famous “employee.”
The other day, Laing recalled his years here with joy. He first came during a snowstorm, when the town was a “winter wonderland.”
He needed a check cashed. Skolnick did it, no questions asked. Laing thought this must be quite a town.
Not long after, he moved to Crescent Road.
This is nothing like Canada, where Laing grew up thinking he’d be a teacher. But playing with the Ink Spots — watching people looking up at “this little Jewish kid behind 4 beautiful Black guys, and smiling” — hooked him on performing.
He began playing loud — including timbales, which are now back in vogue, thanks to Bad Bunny — because he wanted to have a good time.
As for the cowbells to “Mississippi Queen”: that was just the way Laing counted the band in, when Mountain recorded it.
As engineers mixed the music, they decided to leave it — “for now.”
Meanwhile, Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsies were recording next door. Laing had met him through the Montreal music scene, so he invited him to hear the tape.
Hendrix sat behind the board. At the end he just said, “Cool. Love the cowbell.”
The rest is history.
Corky Laing today, Mountain, Jimi Hendrix and an image of the era.
And the history continues Saturday.
The gig came about through Matt Zako, the local music promoter who has a mutual friend of Laing’s.
When Zako explained the venue, Laing was all in.
“Veterans are great guys,” he says. Back in his Mountain days, they worked in a VFW hall on Nantucket.
One of Westport’s best concert venues.
He’s excited to play with Shure, and the 10$Grand Band. “They sound great, and the set list is really good,” Laing says.
He no longer lives in Westport. But life continues to be good.
“Every day, I wake up. And every day, I play the drums,” Laing says.
On Saturday, he’ll do it again, back in his former town.
And with the most famous cowbells in music history.
FUN FACT:In 1969 — shortly after Mountain played at Woodstock — drummer N.D. Smart was replaced by Corky Laing. Three years earlier, Smart had replaced Chip Damiani as drummer for the Remains — the band with Westporters Barry Tashian and Bill Briggs — on their US tour with the Beatles.
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Our drive down memory lane — specifically, past homes that have since passed into history — and a second drive by the houses that replaced them — continues this week.
“06880” photographer Dave Matlow has many photos in his archives. He’s been curious as to what’s taken their place. This week, he explores 4 more.
The Longshore golf course and driving range open for the season this Friday (April 3).
That’s good news. Even better: There’s a new reservation system, new carts, enhancements to communication, and continued course improvements.
The ForeUp reservation service will provide a more user-friendly interface for booking and managing tee times.
Booking begins tomorrow (Thursday, 6:30 a.m.). Tee time booking windows remain 5 days in advance, starting at 6:30 a.m.
Golfers should check their email for a message from ForeUp, with details on setting up an online booking account. That includes a credit card, as no-show fees will be enforced.
Also new: electric lithium-ion Club Car carts. They’re equipped with GPS technology, allowing golfers to have distances available on the course.
A new phone system will be introduced too, to cut down on the general information phone calls going into the pro shop. The website remains the most easily accessible place for info on pricing, tee times, instruction and more.
Westport residents wishing to purchase or renew a golf handpass can do it online or at the Parks & Recreation office in Longshore (weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.).
Almost open! (Dave Dellinger)
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The Westport Police Department has joined a statewide distracted driving enforcement campaign, and public awareness initiative.
Both run all month, as part of National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
Law enforcement agencies across Connecticut will ramp up distracted driving enforcement efforts. The focus is on identifying and citing drivers who text, use electronic handheld devices, or otherwise divert their attention from the road.
In 2023 alone, 5,202 crashes involving distracted driving resulted in 12 fatalities and 78 serious injuries.
Tips to avoid distracted driving:
• Pull over safely if you need to text or make a call.
• Ask a passenger to manage navigation or messages.
• Avoid checking social media while driving.
• Limit interaction with in-vehicle technology. Program
navigation or music before starting your trip.
• Use your phone’s “Do Not Disturb While Driving” feature, or
silence notifications to reduce the temptation to check your device.
Yesterday, Westport Police Officer Bernie Kelley assisted Westport Animal Control Officer Peter Reid in the rescue of a baby great horned owl at Longshore.
The bird was transported to Wildlife in Crisis for treatment of a small wound. If re-nesting proves feasible, it will be attempted. Residents interested in contributing towards the owlet’s care — or that of many other locally rescued and abandoned wildlife can click here.
Officer Bernie Kelley with owlet.
Last Thursday, Westport Police Officer Daniel Lovallo responded to a roaming dog near I-95. The rottweiler was transported to Westport Animal Control, and received Westport Animal Shelter Advocates-funded care the next day.
She has been named Dottie, and is loved by the Westport Animal Control officers and WASA volunteers. No microchip was located and no owner has claimed her, so she is available for adoption. If interested, call WASA (203-557-0361), or email wasa1@optonline.net.
WASA will help with veterinary care. Residents interested in donating to that cause can click here.
The Jazz Society of Fairfield County presents the wildly popular “Jazz at the Post” series. Every Thursday night, they bring musicians — some internationally famous — to VFW Post 399, for 2 great shows. The price is low; the talent level very, very high.
But Jazz FC does much more. Among their projects: outreach and scholarships.
To fund those endeavors, they’re sponsoring a “Jazz Cruise by the Saugatuck” (April 23, 6 to 10 p.m.). NOTE: It’s at the VFW, not actually on the river.
Congratulations to Harry McLaughlin and Eva Slossberg!
The Staples High School seniors were honored Monday, at the Connecticut Association of Schools’ 31st annual High School Arts Banquet.
Harry McLaughlin (visual arts) and Eva (music and theater) were selected by Staples faculty members for their outstanding achievement, dedication, and impact within their disciplines.
The evening included a keynote address about how the arts shape identity, give voice to personal expression and create lasting impact, and a performance by Rubyfruit, a University of Connecticut a cappella group that promotes women’s empowerment through music.
Congratulations too to Staples seniors Justin Halky, Ford Epstein, Patricio Garcia and Kai Schwartz.
The students in Stacey Delmhorst’s Financial Decision Making course placed 2nd at the Tuesday’s state finals of the National Personal Finance Challenge.
In the nationwide competition, student teams analyze case studies and respond to complex financial scenarios involving budgeting, saving, investing and managing risk.
From left: Ford Epstein, Patricio Garcia, Kai Schwartz, Justin Halky.
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Scott Brodie has lived in New York for decades.
But the 1970 Staples graduate grew up here. He visited his parents regularly; his mother Esther died less than a year ago, at 98.
So Scott was intrigued to read in yesterday’s Roundup that one of the homes the Historic District Commission will discuss on April 9, for a demolition permit, is 48 Burr Farms Road — a few houses down from the one his parents built in the 1950s.
He writes: “The house is one of about a dozen cookie-cutter split levels built by Norman Shapiro, who first developed the northern half of the road in the early 1950s.
“Over the years these have been either heavily modified, or torn down to make room for much larger houses. Indeed, #48 has been for many years pretty much the only one of these original houses in essentially its original state:
48 Burr Farms Road
“Only the few folks with long memories and a historically-trained eye can ‘see’ the bones of the original splits in the other, heavily-modified buildings. For example, here is #43:
43 Burr Farms Road
“The dormers, porch and front-facing gable are all add-ons. The original garage with flat ‘sun deck’ survives, but was made into living space, with a new garage added at far left.
” expect the Commission will find little or no historical value in #48 — perhaps the last of its kind. Thus, the end of an era.”
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Nearly 100 Westport Rotary Club members and guests gathered Tuesday, to honor Win Allen.
The longtime, 93-year-old Westporter was celebrated for his service to, and leadership of, the organization. Marty Helman, a Rotary International trustee, came from Maine for the event.
The ceremony included a performance by Diego Carniero, a Rotary International Peace Ambassador, and acclaimed Ecuadorean cellist.
Win Allen (2nd from left) with (from left) Marty Helman, Rotary International trustee; Rick Benson of Westport and Billy Roberts of Massachusetts, past district governors.
Westport Police made 5 custodial arrests between March 27 and 31.
A 29-year-old Manchester man as charged with larceny, burglary and criminal mischief, and conspiracy to commit those crimes, following an investigation into a September burglary at Westport Auto Repair. Two doors were pried open by suspects, who tried to steal the ATM but ultimately took 2 cash registers. They contained $1,000 in cash; damages were $4,800. He was held on a $50,000 bond.
A 28-year-old Bronx man was charged with larceny, after a complaint from Mike’s Factory Direct. After an online order for $33,136 worth of massage chairs was picked up by a man driving a U-Haul truck in November, the credit card company complained of fraud. The man was released on a $50,000 bond.
A 32-year-old Hamden man was charged with larceny, after 17 sets of tire and rim sets, worth over $30,000, were stolen in January from Maserati of Westport. He was released on a $50,000 bond.
A 54-year-old Middlebury man was charged with operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs, and failure to drive in the proper lane, after his vehicle struck one that was parked and unoccupied on River Lane. He was released on a $100 bond.
A 69-year-old Norwalk man was charged with disorderly conduct, after an early morning argument between 2 friends in a home about the quality of food being served turned physical. He was held on a $5,000 bond.
Westport Police also issued these citations:
Traveling unreasonably fast: 12 citations
Texting while driving: 8
Failure to renew registration: 8
Operating a motor vehicle under suspension: 2
Operating a motor vehicle without a license: 2
Tinted window glass violation: 2
Passing a standing school bus: 1
Speeding in a school zone: 1
Reckless driving: 1
Speeding: 1
Distracted driving: 1
Operating a motor vehicle without minimum insurance: 1
Yogi Bear stars in today’s “Westport .. Naturally” photo.
His friend Cat Malkin said yesterday: “When I broke the news that we couldn’t walk on the beach today he replied, “Is this some kind of April Fool’s joke?’”
And finally … on this date in 1968, “2001: A Space Odyssey” premiered at the Uptown Theater in Washington.
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Our look back at Staples Players’ past shows continues today, with the fall 2005 production of “Children of Eden.”
David Roth and Kerry Long directed the 1991 musical. Based on the Book of Genesis, it tells the stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Noah and the flood.
Longtime media teacher Jim Honeycutt created these “nutshells,” part of “06880”‘s continuing coverage of Players, yesterday and today.
He notes that some of actors in this show went on to bigger things.
Mia Gentile (Eve) starred on Broadway in “Kinky Boots.” She also made it onto “Good Morning America,” with hilarious Stanley Steemer ads.
Jacob Heimer (Adam) starred on Broadway in “Beautiful.” Adam Kaplan (Japheth) went on to star on Broadway too, in “A Bronx Tale.”
Drew Angus (Ham) is now a successful recording artist.
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My first time on stage singing in her choir, watching her hands guide us along with such intensity, changed me.
