Alex Katz Exhibit Highlights

By Janet Dodrill

A trip to an exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Brand-New & Terrific Alex Katz in the 1950s, earlier this month proved to be very inspiring. The works were done in oil on linen, canvas, board and masonite, color lithograph, and collage with cut paper on watercolored paper. Here are selected photos from my visit to the show.

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Everett Dodrill, Writer, Actor, Director, Producer, Talent, and Artist

By Janet Dodrill

Career Highlights – Everett L. Dodrill Jr.

Everett Dodrill

1940s

Columbia College, BS Degree, Science and Literature, NY, NY

Morey, Humm & Johnstone, NY, NY, 3 years, wrote articles for 4-color magazine “House Organ”

Art School, one term, NY, NY

Pratt Institute for advertising design, NY, NY

Professional Magician, Ajax the Magician (1940s & 1950s), Larchmont, NY

Ballet Dancer, performance at Metropolitan Opera house of a Russian opera, NY, NY

1950s

Bedford Players theater group, Founder, Bedford, Ohio

Lakewood Little Theatre, actor & director, Lakewood, Ohio

Karamu House theater, actor, Cleveland, Ohio

Clague Playhouse, actor, Cleveland, Ohio

Penn, Hamicker, Meldrum & Fewsmith ad agency, writer, Cleveland, Ohio

Lang Fisher & Stashhower ad agency, writer, Cleveland, Ohio (1950s)

1960s

Chagrin Valley Little Theater, actor, Chagrin Falls, Ohio

Dobama Theatre, founding theater company, actor & director, Cleveland Heights, Ohio (1960s through 2000s)

Story Craft, script writer for “On Location” radio shows and daily show “Speaking of Money”, Cleveland, Ohio

Editorial Features, and Editorial Services, writer with author Bill Ellis on book The Cuyahoga, Cleveland, Ohio

Mark V advertising agency (1960s & 1970s), Cleveland, Ohio

1970s

Dodrill-Vasilakes & Co. (1970s & 1980s), training and sales documents, technical writing, sales & educational scripts and presentations, articles for “Basic Utility Sales Techniques” industrial magazine, Cleveland, Ohio

“The Wandering Muse of Artemus Flagg” TV special, writer, starring Burgess Meredith, featuring the Cleveland Orchestra and Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, WJW Channel 8, Cleveland, Ohio

“Say Older My Son, Not Old”, wrote and produced, WVIZ Channel 25 an Emmy winning TV series, Cleveland, Ohio

Heartsong USA project, wrote and produced, WVIZ Channel 25, Cleveland, Ohio

1980s

“Home Again”, wrote and produced, WVIZ Channel 25, Cleveland, Ohio (on rehabbing a Cleveland house)

Educational Research Council of America (1980s), wrote 50 educational stories including Truck Mechanic, Ecologist, and Market Researcher for its “Real People at Work” series, and 3 textbooks, Cleveland, Ohio

Freelance writer (1980s and 1990s), research, technical writing, training and development for user manuals and sales presentations for National Electrical Carbon Corp., General Electric, NASA Lewis Research Center, Union Carbide Corporation, and BFGoodrich, Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland Playhouse, actor, Cleveland, Ohio

AFTRA male model (1980s & 1990s)

1990s

Rotary Club, president, Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Cain Park Theater, actor, Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Cleveland Museum of Natural History, volunteer, molds/casts of fossils, Cleveland, Ohio

Case Western Reserve Medical School acting as a patient in its doctor training program, Cleveland, Ohio

Special effects makeup artist

2000s

“Christmas Classics by Cleveland”, producer and cast member, a two hour collection of original and classic Christmas narratives, recorded at WJCU 88.7 FM, Cleveland, Ohio

“A Christmas Carol”, starred as Scrooge, recorded at WJCU 88.7 FM, Cleveland, Ohio

Artist and sculptor

 

Everett Dodrill, Ajax the Magician Business Card

Everett Dodrill ballet dancer, 1940s

Marji Dodrill & Everett Dodrill, acting at Karamu House theater, early 1960s

Everett Dodrill in Caligula, Dobama Theatre, 1962

Everett Dodrill, model, talent, 1980s

Everett Dodrill special effects makeup artist, 1990s

Ceramic mask sculpture by Everett Dodrill

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Marji Dodrill, Actress, Model, and Talent

By Janet Dodrill

Tribute to Marjorie “Marji” Dodrill

Marji Dodrill, 1931-2004

 

Marji Dodrill, A Little Night Music (Mme Armfeldt), (Cain Park Theatre &) St. Louis Repertory/Great Lakes Theatre, Cleveland, 1998

 

Marji Dodrill, Driving Miss Daisy (Miss Daisy), Lakeland Community College, Cleveland, 1995

 

Marji Dodrill, Follies (Phyllis), (Baldwin Wallace College &) Cain Park Theatre, Cleveland, 1988

 

Marji Dodrill, My Fair Lady (Mrs. Higgins), (Lyric Opera &) Cleveland Opera, Cleveland, 1989

 

Marji Dodrill, Rape of the Belt, Dobama Theatre, Cleveland, 1962

 

Marji Dodrill, House Hunt (Hostess), weekly real estate television show, Cleveland, 1968

 

Marji Dodrill, Donald Bianchi’s Memorial Service, Dobama Theatre, Cleveland, 2003

 

Marji Dodrill, AFTRA talent guide head shot, Cleveland, 2000

 

Marji Dodrill, Modeling shot, NYC, 1950s

 

Testimonials About Marji Dodrill

My grandma, Marji Dodrill, taught me many important lessons. She taught me how to take pride in my falls, and to recover from them. She started off my career in acting at the Marylin Bianchi Kid’s Playwriting Festival at Dobama Theatre. She also taught me to enjoy life. Not until she died last summer from a reoccurrence of cancer did I realize she was and will be the most important person in my life. – Max Krieger (age 12)

MARJI – If there is any one thing to say about Marji – and there never was just one – it is that she made everyone feel good about themselves. When you talked to her you always knew you had a friend. On stage with her you could feel your own star shine. No play was insignificant, no role too small and a supporting role was often more important to her than any lead. Family and friends came first in her life and a friend could always count on Marji. At age seven she wanted to be an actor. With the Curtain Pullers and Cain Park she practically grew up in theater, but then she moved to New York City to begin her work all over again. “It’s going to be a long hard process,” she wrote home to her childhood friend, “but someday we’ll be great –and you’d better hurry up and get here so you can be great, too.” It is so wonderful to know we have friends like Marji and can all be great together. That’s how Marji made us feel. – Everett Dodrill

…Often after work I’d stop at Nighttown and have a drink with brand-new Cleveland friends – like Marji Dodrill, who worked at Marcus and was vital in helping us do run-throughs of the Cash Explosion show in the office to make sure the game worked. She was one of the best actresses I’ve ever met, and after I settled here three years later I saw her onstage many times in such plays as Driving Miss Daisy, Medea, and The Perfect Ganesh. We remained friends until she eventually lost the toughest and bravest fight I’ve ever seen anyone wage against cancer. She was my personal hero, and I was flattered and moved that her husband, Everett, asked me to be one of speakers at her memorial service. (By the way, the Dodrill house and the Alexander house were used as settings in my future novels. In my first Cleveland book, Pepper Pike, my descriptions of my detective hero’s former home, the one in which his ex-wife still lives, is reminiscent of Marj and Everett’s place in Cleveland Heights….) Source: Les Roberts, Author, We’ll Always Have Cleveland

Career Highlights

MARJI DODRILL
AFTRA, SAG, EQUITY
Height: 5’6” Hair: Blond Weight: 123 Eyes: Green

The Early Years: Cleveland & NYC
Dramatic Training:
Curtain Pullers: Cleveland Playhouse 1943-49

Cain Park Theatre 1943-49

Western Reserve College, Oxford, O. 1949-51

Tamara Daykarhanova, N.Y.C. 1951-52

Dramatic Experience:
Civic Little Theatre, Allentown, Pa. 1960, lead in “Once More With Feeling”

Pennsylvania Playhouse, Bethlehem, Pa. 1960, lead in “The Dark at the Top of the Stairs”

Taught drama to crippled children in summer 1960, camp, Allentown, Pa.

Amateur Comedy Club, N.Y.C. 1951-55

One of top 10 national winners in 1st annual scholarship contest: Photoplay Magazine 1948 (dramatic reading)

Modeling:
Penna. Power and Light Co., Allentown, Pa. 1960 (series of color slides of young housewife and Reddy Kilowatt shown throughout state)

Saks Fifth Ave., N.Y.C. – Stag Shop (fashion) 1950-51

Henri Bendel, N.Y.C. (fashion) 1950-51

Garment Center, N.Y.C. (fashion) 1950-51

Photography – William Benedict, N.Y.C. (fashion & demo)

Radio:
Children’s story-telling – Oxford, Ohio 1949-51

Ohio Story – WTAM 1948-49

Know Your FBI – WGAR 1948

Fairytale Theatre (Ester Mullen) – WGAR 1946-49

Television:
Crime Syndicated – CBS, N.Y.C. (dramatic) 1950-52

Herb Shriner Show – NBC, N.Y.C. 1950-52

Agent – Ben Pratt 1950-52

And the Next 30 Years
Commericals, Industrial Films & Live Shows:
Weekly on-camera T.V. spots for Pick ‘N Pay 4 years

Female voice for Halles T.V. and radio 2 years

Dramatic Teacher – 3 yrs. Cleve. Hts. Bd. of Ed.; Chagrin Theatre

Fashion Coordinator, Bobbie Brooks 3 1/2 yrs.: Fashion Shows, Sales, Conventions, Grooming Clinics, Speeches

Broadcast Coordinator: Marcus Advertising

Hostess on weekly T.V. half hour series “House Hunt”, 1 Yr.

Weekly Cleveland Press radio and T.V. spots

News Reporter for Channel 5, 1 Yr. (anchor John Hambrick)

Weekly TV & Radio Voice for Cleveland Newspaper, 1 Yr.

Modeling Teacher – 1 yr. – Patricia Stevens

TV, Theatre & Movie Reviews

Acting Teacher, Children’s Theatre On The Heights & Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, 3 Yrs.

Acting Teacher – John Carroll University, 1-2 classes

Acting Coach, 5 Yrs.

Kronheims TV Commerical Producer

Radio and TV Spots (Local, regional and national)
Radio:
1st Nat. Bank of Cinci.
Bobbie Brooks
Bootie’s
C.E.I.
Central Cadillac
Central National
Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Orchestra
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Dairylea Milk
Dramatic Shows: KYC TV
Drug Fair
East Ohio Gas
Fisher Foods
Fostoria China
General Electric
Giant Tiger
Goodyear
Higbees
Hoover Vacuum
Issue 31 Political Commercial (Arts Tax)
May Co.
National City
Ohio Bell
Ohio Power
Parma Mall
Peninsula Night Club
Pro Toothbrush
Procter & Gamble
Richman Bros.
Sherwin Williams
Sohio
Smuckers
Society National
Spaulding Cleaners, etc.
Spitzer Northfield (Voice)
Star Bronze
Superior Meats
Tub & Sink Jelly
Qua Buick
Westinghouse
White Motor
Women’s Federal
WKYC
Xerox

Slide Films:
Bobbie Brooks
Diamond Crystal
Durkees
Kodak
Memory Lessons

(Industrial) Films:
Carrier Air Conditioning
Dupont
Goodyear
Kirby Vacuum

Additional Slide Narrations, Industrial Films & Live Industrial Shows:
American Greetings
Arkansas Power & Light
Blue Cross of Northeast Ohio
Bullock’s
East Ohio Gas
General Electric
Procter & Gamble
YWCA

Ad Photo:
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Issue 14 Political Commercial (Cleve. Schools)
Issue 31 Political Commercial (Arts Tax)
Ohio Lottery
Richman Bros.
Severance Center
Society for the Blind Annual Fur Sale
Timken Products
Warren-Teed Laboratories (Modane)
White Sewing Machine
Weiss Furs

Industrial Shows:
Bobbie Brooks
East Ohio Gas
Ohio Power

Narrator:
“Arlie The Alligator” Story Book on Tape

Film/TV Features:
Mischief, the mother, 1985
Principal United Artists

Presumed Guilty, the judge (starring Martin Sheen, Brandon Fraser), 1991
Supporting NBC

Wednesday’s Children, the mother
Principal Venture Productions

Unsolved Mysteries, Episode: The Countess, 1991
Principal ABC

Slide Narrations, Industrial Films & Live Industrial Shows:
American Greetings
Arkansas Power & Light
Blue Cross of Northeast Ohio
Bullock’s
East Ohio Gas
General Electric
Kirby Vacuum
Ohio Bell
Ohio Power
Procter & Gamble
YWCA

Special Skills:
TV, Drama & Acting Coach, Character Singing & Dancing, Makeup: Straight & Character, Fashion Coordinator/Stylist, Most Sports, Most Dialects, EAR Prompter

The Domino Heart, Dobama Theatre, Acting Coach, 2003

Stage
Theater:
A Delicate Balance, Claire, Dobama Theatre, 1980

A Kiss for Cinderella, Queen, Cleveland Play House, 1999

A Little Night Music, Mme Armfeldt, Cain Park Theatre 1998

A Little Night Music, Mme Armfeldt, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis/Great Lakes 1998

A Perfect Ganesh, Katharine, Dobama Theatre

A Touch of the Poet, Deborah, Cleveland Play House

Angels in America Part I, Hannah, Dobama Theatre

Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (starring Barbara Eden), Doatsey Mae, Kenley Players

Big River, Cain Park, 1997

Company, Joanne, Cain Park Theatre

Cripple of Inishman, Kate, Dobama Theatre

Cyrano de Bergerac, Duena, Great Lakes Theater Fest

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Anita, Cleveland Play House

Driving Miss Daisy, Daisy, Lakeland Community College, 1995

Fallen Angels, Jane, Cleveland Play House

Fantastics, Henry, Cain Park Theatre, 1996

Follies, Phyllis, Cain Park Theatre, 1988

Follies, Phyllis, Baldwin Wallace College

Foxfire, Annie, Porthouse Theatre

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (starring Loni Anderson), Lady Beekman, Kenley Players, 1995

Hay Fever, Myra, Cleveland Play House

Heart’s Desire, Jocko’s Mama, Cleveland Play House

Lady From Maxim’s, Mme Vidauban, Great Lakes Theater Fest

Loot, Nurse Fay, Cleveland Play House

Man and Superman, Mrs. Whitefield, Great Lakes Theater Fest

Medea, Nurse, Lakeland Community College

Much Ado About Nothing, Ursula, Actor’s Theatre Louisville

My Fair Lady, Mrs. Higgins, Cleveland Opera, 1989

My Fair Lady, Mrs. Higgins, Lyric Opera

Rape of the Belt, Dobama Theatre, Cleveland, 1962

Richard III, Elizabeth, Cleveland Play House

Richard III, Duchess of York, Great Lakes Theater Festival

Talkin’ With, Big Eight, Dobama Theatre, 1986

The Best Man (w/ Victor Jory), Alice, Actor’s Theatre Louisville

The Cherry Orchard, Cuyahoga Community College

The Children’s Hour, Martha

The Interview, Bracha, Halle Theatre, JCC, 2002

Three Penny Opera, Betty, Great Lakes Theater Fest

Young Man from Atlanta, Ensemble Theatre

W.I.T., Evelyn, Dobama Theatre

…and many more…

 

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Train, A Game Designed by Max Krieger

By Janet Dodrill

Train game screen.

Train is a recently released FREE narrative, conversational game about journeys and destinations, by game designer Max Krieger (@maxkriegervg) and his team.

Schedule:
February 2017 Pre-release at GDC, San Francisco, CA www.gdconf.com
March 2017 Release, Cleveland, OH
April 2017 Launch Party, Cleveland Public Library, Cleveland, OH

See a Trailer of Train:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RnUNnjn12M&feature=youtu.be

Download Train:
Available for Windows (v1.1.0, 191 MB) or Mac (v1.1.0, 202 MB)
www.gamejolt.com/games/train/235477

Train – “A Human Adventure” Description:
Train is a narrative-driven, conversation-based art game about journeys, destinations, and reconciling perspectives. Touching upon difficult social topics such as socioeconomic inequality and privilege, Train seeks to help players connect to those topics by showing how they impact people’s lives, told through an organic, rocky, human narrative.

Features:

•    Explore the game’s unique Topic Bubble conversation system, which opens up exponentially more branching conversations as the story progresses.
•    Enjoy 5 contemplative minigames, each drawn in a unique way by a team of artists in a “short film compilation fashion,” and discover how their mechanics are relevant to the story.
•    Do you often lose your spot in narrative games? Don’t worry – the Star Chart dialogue tree system will help you keep your place and track conversations.
•    Accessibility options for the hearing impaired and colorblind.

Play the game, provide feedback, and rate it!

About the Game Designer:
Max Krieger is an independent game developer in the Cleveland area and a DePaul game development program graduate (2015). He is an advocate for Games As Media and new exploration in game narrative.

 

Train game screen.

Train game screen.

Train game screen.

Max Krieger tweet on Train.

https://twitter.com/MaxKriegerVG/status/846794646198145026/photo/1

 

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Cleveland Exhibit Fall 2017 at Cleveland History Center

This year, the Western Reserve Historical Society / Cleveland History Center celebrates 150 years! Many talks, events, and exhibits have been scheduled throughout the year labeled ‘Sharing Our Stories.’ Northeast Ohioans are invited to share their story.

A permanent exhibit and digital portal that explores the rich and diverse history of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio is being constructed. The exhibit is Cleveland Starts Here and will open November 1, 2017.

And if you stop by the museum’s gift shop, you will find a freshened stock of my Cleveland prints and note cards in time for the Fall exhibit.

Cleveland Prints by Janet Dodrill

#CleStartsHere
#WRHS150

Resource Links:

Cleveland Starts Here exhibit, November 1, 2017
https://www.wrhs.org/cleveland-starts-here/

Sharing Our Stories
https://www.wrhs.org/share-your-story/

Western Reserve Historical Society / Cleveland History Center Events
https://www.wrhs.org/events/

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Archibald Willard, Friend to Hugo Max Schmitz of Schmitz-Horning Co.

By Janet Dodrill

Hugo Max Schmitz I (late 1800s). (Schmitz family archives)

It is believed that in the 1890s, a promising artist left his family and relatives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and made his way to Cleveland, perhaps attracted to its thriving art community. He was Hugo Max Schmitz (1867-1938), my great grandfather, and in his mid-30s. Hugo, of German descent, joined Cleveland’s Art Club (formerly know as The Bohemians) and attended regular drawing sessions in its location above City Hall, and participated in their exhibits and possibly traveled abroad with other artists.

President of the established Art Club (and also co-founder and trustee) at the time was notable northeast Ohio artist Archibald MacNeal Willard (1836-1918). He was best known for his painting of The Spirit of ’76. He was born in Bedford, Ohio and at the age of 17 moved to Wellington, Ohio. There is a museum in Wellington in his honor.

Photo portrait of Archibald Willard, restored (Schmitz family archives).

Archibald Willard was a prolific artist who worked in a variety of mediums and subject matters. He was a talented portrait artist as well as landscape artist.

In addition to the Wellington museum, several Cleveland museums carry his work including the Cleveland Museum of Art and Cleveland History Center/Western Reserve Historical Society. A dedicated plot just east of Cleveland City Hall is known as Willard Park.

A search in Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer archived newspaper articles, resulted in stories about Cleveland artists which included Archibald Willard and photos of him working in his studio.

Archibald MacNeal Willard in his studio (Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 17, 1899, Several of Cleveland’s Well Known Artists Seen At Work In Their Studios).

He had a friendship with Hugo, and gave him a portrait photo of himself, plus as a wedding gift in 1902 an original landscape oil painting, which resembles the area’s Chagrin River. In addition my great grandfather received a small statue of The Spirit of ’76 from Mr. Willard, which may be a one of a kind working prototype in porcelain by Stanway.

Hugo Max Schmitz co-founded the Schmitz-Horning Company in 1905, a well-regarded scenic wall paper and mural manufacturing firm, and was president of the company until 1938, when his son Warren Reynolds Schmitz ran it until the company’s closing around 1960.

Landscape oil painting by Archibald Willard (Schmitz family archives).

Statue of Spirit of ’76 by Archibald Willard (Schmitz family archives).

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Former Schmitz-Horning Company Building Destroyed by Fire

By Janet Dodrill

The Schmitz-Horning Company building, Cleveland, Ohio, about 1925. (Schmitz family archives)

In April 2011 when I began my research into family-owned Schmitz-Horning Company (Cleveland, Ohio, 1905-1960), a prominent high-end mural and wall covering manufacturer and printer (co-founded and run by my great-grandfather and later by my grandfather), two things happened. First, I discovered a black and white photograph of the building from around 1925 in our family documents. Second, after Googling the building’s address of 777 E. 82nd Street in Cleveland, search results showed it was being occupied by an industrial chemical company, and the building looked well maintained from the photo on Google street view.

777 E. 82nd Street, Cleveland, Ohio
Photo: Google, 2007

Excited about the find, it was my intention to go see the building. Several months rolled by and I Googled the business address again and many recent articles dated June 27, 2011 came up stating that an accidental fire had destroyed the building, most likely started by roofers, drawing 60 firefighters from 15 departments — a triple three alarm fire! Fortunately, no one was injured.

Fire at 777 E. 82nd Street, Cleveland, Ohio
Photo: Cleveland.com, June 27, 2011

Initially, the owner announced plans to rebuild on the same site but renovated offices were built directly across the street in other facilities owned by the company. The site where the building once stood is today a lot for parking and storage of machinery and equipment.

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