THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 10, 1994 TAG: 9408100047
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 125 lines
TO THE THUNDERING percussion of that memorable Elmer Bernstein music, ``The Magnificent Seven'' will ride again on TV Thursday. In the foreground will be Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn and the other stars - one of the most memorable ensemble casts in pop movie history.
In the background, though, will be a meticulously ornate 16th century chapel, dozens of poverty-soaked adobes and an entire Mexican village - all designed by the late Edward FitzGerald of Ocean View.
In a way, Thursday's screening at 9 p.m. on TNT is a posthumous tribute to the artistry of the longtime Norfolk resident who, before he came here 20 years ago, was one of Hollywood's and Mexico's foremost art directors. FitzGerald died at his Ocean View Avenue home in January of what his wife, Paula, calls ``sheer exhaustion.'' He had spent his life creating both movie and theatrical magic.
The FitzGeralds' hope for local theater was much publicized in the late '70s and '80s, when they signed a 10-year lease on the old Colonial Theater in downtown Norfolk. There, they proposed to present world premieres of what they called ``heroic'' theater - with scripts written by themselves and actors paid by them. Their subjects ranged from Woodrow Wilson to George Washington Carver to Jesus Christ, but only ``My Eldest Son,'' a play about the family life of Jesus Christ, received a major local premiere. Co-written by Paula and Edward FitzGerald, it was a product of meticulous research and was a play that, to say the least, challenged audiences.
Paula FitzGerald proudly proclaims that she plans to continue the theatrical tradition of her husband - ``as a tribute to Fitz.'' She has 12 scripts ready for what she hoped to establish as the Corinthian Radio Drama Theater - a form of theater that will use no sets and no costumes. Fitz, as friends called her husband, thought it was ironic that, in the last years of his life, he pioneered a form of theater without sets. For more than 200 movies in Mexico and Hollywood, he had been a premier designer of sets.
The romance and drama of Paula and Edward FitzGerald began at about the same time as ``The Magnificent Seven,'' which began filming in the spring of 1960 in Tepoztlan, Mexico. When they met in Mexico City, she was a poet and writer. He, in typical modesty, told her only that he ``worked at the studio.'' In actuality, he had established the first authentic sound studio in Mexico. He worked with Orson Welles on ``The Lady From Shanghai'' with Rita Hayworth, creating the famous house of mirrors scene that is the finale. He did the art direction for Hollywood's ``Garden of Evil'' (1954) with Susan Hayward and Gary Cooper.
Fitz was a native of Canada. His father was the famous Canadian painter Lionel Lemoine FitzGerald, who was a fascinating story in himself. His paintings, many of them landscapes with an Asian influence, didn't become famous until after his death in the 1950s. Now, an entire wing of a gallery in Toronto is dedicated to L. Lemoine FitzGerald. It was through the sales of Fitz's father's paintings that some of the Norfolk theater ventures were financed.
Edward FitzGerald went to Mexico because, in his own words, ``it was a purer form of movie making than in Hollywood.'' Most of his 200 movies were made in that country, including 10 years of work with famed director Luis Bunuel.
``Fitz would never sell out to Hollywood, and that irritated them,'' Paula FitzGerald remembered. ``He was always his own man and agreed to one film at a time.''
One such film was John Sturges' ``The Magnificent Seven.'' Based on Akira Kurosawa's classic Japanese film ``The Seven Samurai,'' the Western involved the recruitment of seven paid gunfighters who band together to protect a village from Mexican bandits, led by Eli Wallach.
FitzGerald spent eight months constructing the entire Mexican village. It looked so realistic that Oscar voters thought it was a location rather than a set - and consequently failed to give him the expected Oscar nomination. Rather than build a set, FitzGerald's men actually built the town - brick by brick. (Although Oscarless, he won five Ariels, the Mexican equivalent of the Oscar).
Yul Brynner and FitzGerald quickly became friends. ``Yul and Fitz became like brothers,'' Paula FitzGerald remembers. ``Fitz, at that time, was wearing ranchero jackets and tailored suede boots. Yul wanted that look and dressed like Fitz. We'd go to bullfights. No one would recognize Yul when he hadn't shaved his head. We went everywhere together. When Yul decided to marry a woman named Doris, the wedding occured on the set of `The Seven' - in front of the chapel. Fitz set everything up for the wedding - including entertainment by hundreds of dancers and singers. It was quite a production.''
Rumors from south of the border flew that Brynner, who had never appeared in a Western, was at odds with young Steve McQueen, who was a veteran of TV Westerns and was apparently out to steal the film. According to John Eastman in the book ``Retakes,'' Brynner resented McQueen's fiddling with his hat or gun in every scene - trying to distract attention from the star. Brynner reportedly hired a person just to watch McQueen's on-screen actions.
Paula FitzGerald, though, doesn't recall any such feud. ``It was the most harmonious set imaginable,'' she said. ``John Sturges himself has said that it was done on first takes alone. There was a great feeling of camaraderie among the actors.''
She recalls that Charles Bronson was ``a stunning and very likable man, but very quiet. Fitz commented that he was particularly good at handling the horses.''
On James Coburn: ``So very intense and committed. He believed in really living the part. I remember the night he commented, `It's my turn to die tomorrow,' and he was totally depressed about playing the scene - as much because it meant the end of his filming as it did the character's death.''
On Eli Wallach, who played the Mexican bandit: ``The super-egotist of the cast. He had just worked in `Baby Doll,' and he was unspeakable.''
The film's theme went on to become famous as the music in the Marlboro cigarette commercials. The film itself, in a poll made by TV Guide in the 1980s, was said to be the most-often-televised and most-seen movie in TV history.
The FitzGeralds went to live in Ireland where they pioneered studies in reincarnation, religion and psychic happenings. ``Fitz found a new meaning in life,'' Paula said. ``He repeatedly turned down movie offers in favor of research. Finally, he announced that he would never work in film again - that he had found a new life.''
They arrived in Hampton Roads 20 years ago, partially because of the Edgar Cayce foundation here that provided research materials. She describes their 35-year marriage as ``a love affair but also a friendship. We were lovers but also friends - like brother and sister. Now that he is gone, I must be the director of the plays''
Singer Randy Travis will host Thursday's telecast, and Paula FitzGerald plans to watch. She will not be concentrating on the plot, though. She'll be looking at the sets - and she'll be remembering. ILLUSTRATION: FILE PHOTO
The late Edward FitzGerald of Ocean View, with wife Paula in a 1977
photo, created the background for ``The Magnificent Seven,'' which
will be aired Thursday at 9 p.m. on TNT.
by CNB