Local columnist 'goes Hollywood' 6/19/2009 12:04 AM By TOM MACK Columnist
Recently I had the opportunity to make my motion picture acting debut in a docudrama on the history of a local landmark - the Pickens-Salley House. Entitled "Edgewood: Stage of Southern History," the film, still in production, chronicles the lives of two remarkable families that once resided in this classic example of Upcountry architecture. Now part of the USC Aiken campus, the house was moved from Kalmia Hill in three parts in 1986 and from its original site in Edgefield to Aiken in 1929.
Built in 1829, Edgewood was originally the private residence of Francis Pickens - grandson of Andrew Pickens, Revolutionary War hero, and son of Andrew Pickens Jr. - our state's governor from 1816 to 1818. Like his father, Francis Pickens appeared destined for a life in politics, serving as a member of the U.S. Congress before being elected governor of South Carolina on the eve of the Civil War.
Between those two periods in elected office, Pickens spent three years in Russia as our country's ambassador to the court of Czar Alexander II. The time spent in St. Petersburg was particularly eventful for Pickens' third wife, Lucy Holcombe Pickens, who became a personal favorite of the royal family. The czar adopted her as a regular dancing partner, and both the czar and czarina served as godparents to the Pickens' daughter nicknamed Douschka, born in Russia in 1858.
The excitement of foreign travel was, however, followed by the turmoil of national politics when the couple and their newborn child returned to South Carolina in the fall of 1860 and Francis Pickens became almost immediately embroiled in gubernatorial electioneering. As governor, he supported secession; he is also credited with having approved the first military engagement of the Civil War: firing upon the relief ship Star of the West that was bringing supplies to Major Robert Anderson's besieged garrison at Fort Sumter.
Lucy also ardently served what came to be known as the "Lost Cause." She helped finance a combined infantry and cavalry contingent named the Holcombe Legion in her honor, and she is purportedly the only woman whose image is emblazoned on Confederate currency: the $1 and $100 CSA bills. Because of the latter distinction, Lucy eventually became popularly known as the "Queen of the Confederacy."
After his term of office ended in 1862, Francis, then in ill health, retired to Edgewood, where he died in 1869, bearing witness to the devastation of his home state and the loss of much of his property - particularly his plantations in Mississippi and Alabama. Lucy, who was only half her husband's age and outlived him by 30 years, managed to preserve Edgewood by selling off some of her valuables, trying to make the plantation profitable under difficult economic conditions and plying her pen.
In addition to tracing the fates of the first proprietors of Edgewood, the film tells the story of members of the enslaved population that helped make the Pickens family lifestyle possible, especially Lucy's maid Lucinda (played by Juanita Palmer) and Francis' manservant Tom (played by Teddy Palmer).
Shooting for the first half of the docudrama, the part devoted to the Pickens residency, has just wrapped up; the second half, focused on the years that the house was the home of Eulalie Salley, pioneer businesswoman and ardent suffragist, will be filmed this fall.
The Pickens family segments were shot at a number of locations in Aiken and Edgefield, and I twice journeyed to the latter municipality to strut my stuff before the camera.
On June 7, Tim and Beth Worth welcomed the film crew into their home, Halcyon Grove, once the residence of Andrew Pickens Jr.; it was there that I joined the pretend mourners at the 1856 funeral of Francis Pickens' second wife, Marion Antoinette Dearing (played by Yvonne Brunson, who had to recline over half an hour during the shoot in a coffin constructed by Teddy Palmer, the Etherredge Center's assistant technical director). As Francis (played by Jim Anderson) places a single red rose in the folded hands of his deceased spouse, I peer over his left shoulder, trying as hard as I can to display the right amount of mournful sympathy.
On June 14, I was confronted with an even bigger acting challenge at Oakley Park, the Edgefield house museum now operated by the Daughters of the Confederacy. In the morning, my hair was darkened a temporary color called "chocolate kiss" for my role as Dr. Breznikov, a Russian physician attending the ailing Francis Pickens in December 1859. With pince-nez firmly clipped to the bridge of my nose, I tried to convey a sense of medical solicitude for and scientific interest in the American ambassador's grave condition.
In the afternoon, I returned to my antebellum planter persona from the week before to play in three scenes. I attended a Christmas dinner hosted by Francis and a summer dessert social hosted by then-widowed Lucy (played by Ciara Lee Chaltas). I also joined a group of secession-minded individuals railing against federal intrusion in the affairs of our state. This scene, termed by the film's director, Chris Saxon Koelker, as the "man cave" scene, offered plenty of opportunity for histrionic malcontent. I enjoyed myself immensely.
According to Dr. Maggi Morehouse, the film's producer and historical consultant, "Edgewood: State of Southern History" is set to premiere on March 30, 2010, at the annual Pickens-Salley Symposium at USCA. After additional screenings at other regional venues, the one-hour film will be marketed to PBS affiliates and Netflix. For more information on the project, visit www.edgewoodfilm.com, a site maintained by Dr. Deidre Martin, the film's executive producer.
Dr. Mack is a Carolina Trustee Professor at USC Aiken.
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Comment Title: great story and great photos
What a fabulous project! I always enjoy reading Dr. Mack's columns, and I look forward to the premiere of this film.
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