James "Buddy" Edgerton was recently interviewed on NPR’s popular feature, “Dick Gordon’s The Story” about his new bestselling memoir, The Unknown Rockwell: A Portrait Of Two American Families, co-authored by acclaimed author, columnist, radio host, and public speaker Nan O’Brien. The segment will air today as the lead story in the hour-long program.
To see where and when the program will air in your listening area, please click here: http://thestory.org/Stations. Also, audio will be available on Thursday morning at: http://thestory.org.
The book, which chronicles the life and friendship of the Edgerton and Rockwell families in rural Vermont in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, includes intimate and never revealed information about the private man Norman Rockwell, his artistic process, and the influence the Edgerton family had on his choice of models. James “Buddy” Edgerton was next-door neighbor to Norman Rockwell for ten years prior to Rockwell’s move to Stockbridge, Massachusetts – arguably the most prolific time of Rockwell’s career. He eventually became Rockwell’s most famous Boy Scout model, still gracing millions of calendars and Boy Scout memorabilia nationwide. He also served as the model for the famous Lone Ranger comic books by Dell Comics, created by Rockwell student Don Spaulding.
To honor the seventh-generation Vermonter and his services to the Green-Mountain State, including his historically-important memoirs, Vermont's Governor Jim Douglas will proclaim Friday, December 18th as “James ‘Buddy’ Edgerton Day.” There will be a catered reception with Governor Douglas, followed by a book presentation with authors James "Buddy" Edgerton and Nan O'Brien at the Vermont Historical Society in Montpelier from noon to 2:00 p.m. The event is open to the public.
For more information about The Unknown Rockwell, please visit www.TheUnknownRockwell.com.
“I hope that the Unknown Rockwell will be a part of every family’s library” – Governor Jim Douglas
“I must say that you have written this in such a way that makes it impossible to set the book down for any length of time. You have captured in writing what Rockwell did on canvas, a story that all can visualize and relate to…I am left without words…” – Tim Kavanagh, Television Host, CBS/WCAX
“He [Buddy] was the closest living thing to what I would have liked to have been…like a Greek hero…”
Jarvis “Jerry” Rockwell
Source: Governor's office. December 17, 2009 (Burlington, Vermont)
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