{Event} Marietta Gone with the Wind Museum–Belles, Beaus and Barbecue

Last weekend I headed down to Marietta Square for a Gone with the Wind event held by the Marietta Gone with the Wind Museum.

I didn’t attend all the events, such as Friday night’s Sock Hop. You can see the full schedule here.

Saturday we headed down to the square near the museum for Belles, Beaus and Barbecue!

Summer in Atlanta is not pleasant, as any fellow resident will attest. It was 94 degrees on Saturday and it sure did feel like it! We managed to stay in the shade and we had our fancy hand fans to keep us cool.

There were several brave souls who showed up in their Gone with the Wind-replica gowns. Ladies, I am impressed with your dedication!

We chatted with Patrick, Mickey and Morgan for a while and met Melissa, who writes for the local online publication, Marietta Patch. Check out her article on the event, as her pictures are far better than mine!

After a break to freshen up, we headed to the fabulous Strand Theater in Marietta Square to hear interviews with Patrick, Mickey and Morgan. Fascinating as always. Morgan is a bit younger than the two “Beau boys” but she has great tales of working with Alfred Hitchcock and Rosalind Russell and on the sets of such classic TV shows as Gunsmoke, Rawhide, Andy Griffith and more. Mickey not only worked with Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind but also played the young sailor who helps her find her streetcar in A Streetcar Named Desire. After someone alerted her to the fact that he was the same actor who appeared in GWTW, she summoned for him and he spent 30 minutes with her in her trailer talking over old times. Amazing! Mickey also worked with John Wayne, Bette Davis, Van Johnson, Melvyn Douglas, Rosalind Russell, Merle Oberon and Irene Dunne, to name a few!

Patrick was a baby when he was in GWTW and has no memory of it but he has lots of tall tales of classic era Hollywood, including Clark Gable. Clark was a friend of his father’s and routinely played poker and rode motorcycles with him. If you’ve ever attended a GWTW event that Patrick attended, you’ve heard this tale of Patrick riding in Clark’s jaguar, and I finally got it on video. I had some technical difficulties posting it but will soon.

On Sunday, we wandered around the Marietta Gone with the Wind Museum which I have visited several times before but I love it anyway. The two main attractions being the original bengaline gown that Vivien Leigh wore in the film (scene where she and Clark are shopping in New Orleans and she tells Clark that Mammy called them mules in horses harness!) and the two chairs from Scarlett and Rhett’s foyer. Gorgeous!

They held an auction with some original prints. Mickey and Patrick were the auctioneers and it raised money for the museum.

Afterward there was an autograph session with the three stars. I’ve had items signed by them before so I didn’t participate this time but it was a blast seeing them. And as usual, I loved seeing all the familiar “Windie” faces.

Until next time!

Check out the gallery below for all the photos!