John Schmidt Documentary

Chuck Pennington is organizing this fundraiser to benefit SRO Theatre Company.

Tax deductible

Johnnie Schmidt just celebrated his 95th birthday. He has been a pole vaulter for Ohio State University (1944 National Collegiate Champion), a private detective, in WWII, and originated roles in four Broadway shows from 1947-1951 (Brigadoon, Paint Your Wagon, Out of This World, and Polonaise). He also sang on the radio, was the first live person seen on WOSU television (1956), had his own children's show, taught at OSU, produced agricultural educational films --- and all the while he was (and still is) a tree farmer!

I met John when I joined the board of directors of SRO Theatre Company, formerly known as Grandparents Living Theatre and Senior Repertory of Ohio. The company was founded by Dr. Joy Reilly in 1984 as a senior theatre company that evolved out of oral history workshops with Columbus residents. I was interested in meeting the surviving former members of the company, and John was at the top of the list.

After getting to know John and looking through so many of his scrapbooks and sampling his 16mm films in his basement archive, I proposed making a documentary on his life to be produced by SRO Theatre Company. At age 95, John is still full of life, and everyone who meets him ends up wanting to know more about his experiences. I have started the process of digitizing many of his films, photos, articles, slides, and negatives, and I have started doing on-camera interviews with John covering all the different facets of his life. As the President of SRO, I am donating my time and equipment to make this project a reality, but we still need outside help to bring it to fruition.

* WHO WILL BENEFIT?
We intend to make our finished documentary available for the public to view on our YouTube channel as well as arrange theatrical screenings in the area. We hope that this will be the first of many such projects highlighting the extraordinary lives of area seniors, and John's stories about being on the sports field as a pole vaulter and performing on Broadway will appeal to all kinds of people all across the country. I firmly believe in the company's original mission set forth by its founder Dr. Reilly: our seniors should only grow in esteem and respect as they grow older, and their wealth of knowledge and experience is a resource not to be ignored.

* WHERE WILL THE MONEY GO?
The funds we raise through this campaign will go directly to costs related to the production of this documentary (film scanning, rights to footage and music) as well as supporting the theatre company with costs ranging from theatre rental space to rights to perform shows as part of our season. John and I are not receiving any money from this campaign for our work and participation; it is all going to SRO Theatre Company, a non-profit organization that serves to produce intergenerational theatre in Columbus, Ohio.

* HOW SOON DO WE NEED THE FUNDS?
Honestly, we need financial support as quickly as possible. John is in very good health for someone quickly approaching the century mark, but time is against us. We need to preserve as much of his history as we can while he is able to assist in the process. This includes scanning and preserving many films, photos, and scrapbooks, including slides and negatives from the 1920s-1940s that only John can identify and explain to us. To meet our target releasing the documentary in spring 2018 and guarantee production, we need to raise as much of the $30,000 budget as possible.

* WHY SUPPORT THIS PROJECT?
I encourage anyone with a curiosity about the life of a man who has had so many fruitful careers to support our work in preserving his life story. No, John Schmidt may not be a household name, but he was quite well known in Columbus for many decades in the middle of the last century from being a staple on WOSU television. He is in OSU's Sports Hall of Fame, and he still performs in public! He has stories about Broadway composers Cole Porter and Frederick Lowe, choreographer Agnes DeMille, and stars Burl Ives and Charlotte Greenwood, but his expertise also extends to the early days of television broadcasting. John's unabashed honesty in recounting his life - flaws and all - is refreshing, and I firmly believe that there is an audience out there who will benefit and enjoy the wisdom and life experiences John has to share.

More information about SRO Theatre Company can be found at www.SROTheatre.org