RobinsoNovember: Ewilda Miller Robinson

Posted on by

mrs-jtr-in-1938In a hallway at Robinson Center, are portraits of Senator Robinson and his wife:  Ewilda “Billie” Miller Robinson.  It is fitting that she be recognized at the building in addition to her husband.

Mrs. Robinson first was connected to Robinson Center when she participated in the groundbreaking on December 24, 1937. That ceremony was the first mention that the building would be named in memory of her husband.  On February 16, 1940, she cut the ribbon to officially open the new building.  At neither ceremony did she make remarks.

From the time they were married in December 1896 until his death in July 1937, Mrs. Robinson was devoted to her husband. She rarely spent time away from him.  She traveled the world with the Senator.  Given his leadership positions within the Senate and the Democratic Party, she spent time with numerous national and world figures.  When he died in Washington DC, she was actually back in Little Rock to make preparations for them to take an extended trip.  It was said she was inconsolable upon learning of her husband’s death.

After the Senator died, Mrs. Robinson was appointed postmistress of Little Rock and served in that capacity for 15 years.  For someone who was not sure she could survive a day without her husband, she lived another 21 years after his death.  She died in August 1958 and was buried next to him in Roselawn Cemetery.

Kick of the Christmas Season at the Capital Hotel

Posted on by

2016-cap-hotel-treeOn the day after Thanksgiving, the Culture Vulture goes to the Capital Hotel to see the Christmas tree arrive and be erected.  This year’s tree is 34 feet tall. It very nearly touches the stained glass ceiling in the Capital Hotel lobby.

Over the weekend, the busy elves of Tipton Hurst work to get the tree decorated in time for the treelighting festivities.

Tonight (Monday, November 28) Santa makes his first 2016 appearance in downtown Little Rock for the annual Christmas Tree Lighting!

The Capital Hotel will be roasting chestnuts, enjoying Christmas cookies and sipping on hot chocolate and our famous eggnog. The festivities begin at 5:00pm with the tree lighting at 6:30pm.

There will be music, merriment, and more.

RobinsoNovember: Emily Miller

Posted on by

emilyFrom January 1940 until December 1971, Emily Miller served on the Robinson Auditorium Commission.  She was the longest serving member of that body and had one of the longest tenures of any person on any City of Little Rock commission.  In keeping with the times, she was always referred to publicly as Mrs. Grady Miller. Probably the only time she was ever listed in a newspaper as Emily Sturges Miller was her obituary in 1993.

Born in Ohio in 1903, she studied at Smith College in Massachusetts. In 1925, she visited Washington DC for the presidential inauguration of Calvin Coolidge. While there she met Grady Miller, who was the brother-in-law of Senator Joseph T. Robinson.  After marrying Mr. Miller, she moved to Arkansas and made it her home for the next seven decades.

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, she was active in the PTA, Junior League of Little Rock, and Colonial Dames.  Mrs. Miller was also active in Second Presbyterian Church.  As her two children became older, she and her husband traveled extensively.

Because she was related to Senator Robinson’s widow, Mayor J. V. Satterfield asked Mrs. Miller to serve on the Auditorium Commission.  She was subsequently reappointed every time her term came up.  For the 1940 ribbon cutting, Mrs. Miller joined her sister-in-law and Mayor Satterfield on the stage.  They were the only participants.  (It had been Mrs. Miller who informed Mrs. Robinson of her husband’s death.  Mr. Miller had called Mrs. Miller, who was visiting family in Ohio at the time, to inform her.  She then called her sister-in-law to extend her sympathies, not realizing that no one had yet informed Mrs. Robinson who was in Little Rock preparing for a trip.)

Several decades later as a Sunday School teacher in her late 60s, Mrs. Miller was not in favor of the musical HAIR being performed at Robinson.  When a federal judge ruled that it had to be allowed, Mrs. Miller was the only member of the Auditorium Commission who would speak to the press. Her response is one of the Culture Vulture’s favorite statements ever made to a member of the media.  “Oh dear,” was her only reply. She refused further elaboration.  While the Commission was wrong in opposing the show, the fact that none of her fellow commissioners (all men) would speak to the press, shows a lot of moxie on her behalf.

RobinsoNovember: Barry Travis

Posted on by

bl-travisThe new patrons lounge in Robinson Center is named in honor of Barry L. Travis.  He retired as CEO of the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau in 2006 after 35 years with the bureau.  (His retirement took effect on February 9, 2006, the anniversary of his start date in 1971.)

Over his 35 years at LRCVB, Travis was involved with the agency taking over Robinson in late 1971 as well as the renovations and creation of the convention center from 1972 to 1974.  Over the years, he led efforts to upgrade Robinson and to garner support from voters during two Little Rock capital bond elections.  He was also successful in LRCVB bond elections to build and later expand Statehouse Convention Center.

In recognition of his efforts, Travis received the Henry Award from the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism in 1989. That goes to the top person in the tourism industry in the state.  In 2002, he was inducted into the Arkansas Hospitality Association’s Tourism Hall of Fame.  In 2005, he received the Maurice Lewis Lifetime Achievement Award.

RobinsoNovember: The Ten Tenors in concert tonight

Posted on by

ten-tenors-rcmhTonight is the first vocal event at the new Robinson Center.  And what better way to test the new acoustics than the vocal stylings of ten tenors?

Home for the Holidays is a magical experience for the whole family that will dazzle, delight and captivate audiences. Join Australia’s rockstars of the opera as they amaze and enthrall with their unique selection of traditional and contemporary seasonal favorites. With soaring versions of Joy to the World, Sleigh Ride, White Christmas, Amazing Grace, Winter Wonderland, Feliz Navidad and many more, Home for the Holidays is the perfect way to celebrate the spirit of the season.

The TEN Tenors are undoubtedly one of Australia’s most successful touring entertainment groups of all time, with more than 90 million people worldwide witnessing their unmistakable charm, camaraderie and vocal power.  Following 17 years of sell-out performances across the globe, including more than 2000 of their own headline concerts, THE TEN TENORS have cemented their place as one of the world’s most loved classically based contemporary music groups.

Tickets are available at Celebrity Attractions’ website.

RobinsoNovember: James Rice and Jim Rice

Posted on by

J Rice 1920On June 7, 1920, the Little Rock City Council finally authorized the demolition of Little Rock’s 1906 temporary auditorium.  The structure had originally been built as a skating rink which, when chairs were added, could be used for public meetings.  Since the mid 1910’s, the City Council had discussed tearing it down over safety concerns.  But since Little Rock had no other structure as a substitute, the Council kept delaying the decision.
In 1920, though there was not alternative space available, the Council decided that the structure had to come down.  So City Engineer James H. Rice was authorized to have the building removed.

JimRice RobinsonToday, Rice’s grandson, also known as Jim Rice is the COO of the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau.  In that capacity he oversaw the renovation of Little Rock’s 1940 municipal auditorium – Robinson Center Music Hall.

While his grandfather was efficient at demolishing a worn out building that was beyond repair, Jim deftly helped make sure that the existing city auditorium was refitted and restructured so that it would no longer be worn out.

RobinsoNovember: Ben Piazza

Posted on by

benpiazza book coverAnother of the spaces in Robinson Center is named in memory of actor-director-playwright-author Ben Piazza.  He was born on July 30, 1933, in Little Rock, and graduated from Little Rock High School in 1951 as valedictorian. He also had starred in the senior play that year (The Man Who Came to Dinner) and edited the literary magazine.

After graduating from Princeton, he moved to New York City to become an actor.  He made his Broadway debut in 1958 in Winesburg, Ohio.  In April 1959, he starred in Kataki and received a Theatre World Award for his performance.

As the 1960s dawned, Piazza joined a small cadre of actors who had achieved status on Broadway who then also returned to acting Off Broadway.  Colleen Dewhurst, George C. Scott, and James Earl Jones were others in this select group who helped establish Off Broadway as an entity in itself, instead of being just a farm team for Broadway.

In February 1963, he took over the role of Nick in the original run of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? on Broadway.  During the run of this show, Piazza’s novel The Exact and Very Strange Truth was published.  It is a fictionalized account of his growing up in Little Rock during the 1930s and 1940s.  The book is filled with references to Centennial Elementary, Westside Junior High, Central High School, Immanuel Baptist Church and various stores and shops in Little Rock during that era.

In August of 1967, his play The Sunday Agreement premiered at LaMaMa.  This was Piazza’s first playwright output to be professionally staged.  In March 1969, a double bill of his one-acts: Lime Green/Khaki Blue opened at the Provincetown Playhouse.  It

Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, Piazza toured in many plays nationally and internationally. He also appeared in major regional theatres as an actor and a director.  As the 1970s progressed, he turned his focus to television and movies.

Piazza’s film debut had been in a 1959 Canadian film called The Dangerous Age. That same year, his Hollywood film debut came opposite Gary Cooper in The Hanging Tree.  Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he appeared in a number of TV shows including Studio One, Kraft Theatre, Zane Grey Theatre, The Naked City and Dick Powell Theatre.

In the 1970s and 1980s, his appearances included I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, The Bad News Bears, The Blues Brothers, and Mask.  On TV, he appeared in Dallas, Dynasty, Saint Elsewhere, Barnaby Miller, Moonlighting and Family Ties. 

Piazza’s final big screen appearance was in the 1991 film Guilty by Suspicion.  He played studio head Darryl Zanuck in this Robert DeNiro-Annette Bening tale of Hollywood during the Red scare.

Ben Piazza died on September 7, 1991.