Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 30, 1995 TAG: 9507280049
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WARREN BERGER N.Y. TIMES NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Such was the case with Michael Rockefeller's strange disappearance in Dutch New Guinea, which briefly dominated newspaper headlines in the fall of 1961.
The event was newsworthy primarily because Michael happened to be the son of Nelson Rockefeller, then governor of New York, and the great-grandson of John D. Rockefeller.
But the story grew larger and more lurid because of persistent unproven rumors that Rockefeller, who was 22, had been killed and perhaps cannibalized by tribal headhunters.
Lost in the sensational and often speculative swirl was the human story behind the tabloid headlines. His surname aside, who was Michael Rockefeller? And why did he venture into one of the most remote corners of the world?
``The Michael Rockefeller Story,'' which will be shown tonight at 9 on the Discovery Channel, sets out to answer those questions, while also re-examining the puzzle of what really happened to the young adventurer who vanished without a trace.
This hourlong documentary is the first of four episodes that comprise a two-part series titled ``Seekers of the Lost Treasure.'' The programs might be described as true-life ``Indiana Jones'' tales, but don't expect Spielberg-style thrills.
Produced by the British film maker Anthony Geffen (who made ``The Promised Land'' last year for Discovery) and coolly narrated by Jeremy Irons, the documentaries fit the mold of the quiet, serious and occasionally methodical programming typically found on the Discovery Channel.
Nevertheless, they are imbued with the fierce spirit of adventure that drove the four men who are the subjects of the series.
The film on Rockefeller is immediately followed by a profile of Edward Thompson, an amateur archeologist who lowered himself deep into a Mayan well in 1909 and resurfaced with priceless artifacts.
On Monday, the first film is Geffen's profile of Thomas Elgin, the Scotsman who was both revered and reviled for having removed the ``Elgin Marbles'' - some 200 friezes and small statues of marble - from the Parthenon.
The final hour, also on Monday, focuses on Giovanni Belzoni, a onetime circus strongman who plundered Egyptian pyramids and tombs in the early 19th century and hauled his treasure back to England.
The legacy of these treasure seekers - jewels, wood sculptures, ancient tombs - can be seen in museums in various parts of the world. But Geffen was more interested in the men than in the objects.
He re-traced their steps, filming at sites around the world and, in some cases, re-staging events that occurred decades or centuries ago. And he probed the adventurers' motivations, from Belzoni's greed to Rockefeller's thirst for understanding of himself and others.
Of the four, the tale of Rockefeller - the only one of the treasure seekers who never returned home - may be the most compelling. It resurrects a story embedded in the memory of Americans who were old enough to read newspapers in 1961, and manages to shed some new light.
``The incident received so much attention at the time, and yet there were so many unanswered questions,'' Geffen said. ``People didn't know what happened, or what motivated Michael, or how his family felt about what happened.''
That's partly because members of the Rockefeller family who were closest to Michael - including his twin sister, Mary Rockefeller Callard, who at the time of the disappearance journeyed to New Guinea with her father to take part in a desperate and fruitless search - have refused to discuss the disappearance over the last three decades.
The family has long felt that press coverage at the time was both insensitive and sensationalist (in the film, Mrs. Callard fairly seethes at the press, and refers to the ``terrible questions'' she was asked upon her arrival in New Guinea).
The Rockefellers eventually agreed to break their silence for Geffen, who approached them two years ago seeking their cooperation on the film.
by CNB