by Lesia Paine-Brooks
Press Entertainment Writer
The premiere of Christy a two-hour pilot for an upcoming television series will finally allow producer Ken Wales to live out his 17-year dream of seeing his favorite novel made into a movie.
Based on the bestseller by Catherine Marshall Christy is the saga of a young woman who travels from her home in Asheville NC in 1912 to Del Rio Tenn to teach in a one-room schoolhouse. Christy learns more from the people of Appalachia than she could ever hope to teach them The story is closely based on the life of Leonora Wood Marshall’s mother. The television pilot and six following episodes were filmed at a 400-acre farm in Townsend in the Great Smoky Mountains not too far from the town of Del Rio.
“I chose the site while visiting Tennessee in 1984 I loved the way the rolling hills and beautiful misty blue of the mountains created a very picturesque background for filming the books most moving scenes,” Wales said. It looks wonderful and Im so glad that were getting to feature the two-hour pilot because it will give viewers time to get acquainted with the characters who will be appearing in the series,” said Wales about the movie which will be broadcast tonight at 8 on CBS. The Christy episodes have been designed to focus on such contemporary issues as family values education and religion in a traditional setting reflecting the timeless element of the novel. “Like millions of others I simply fell in love with the story of Christy when I first read it in 1967. Today it is still one of those rare inspirational works that have made people devote their lives to service after reading it,” said Wales.
Wales began fighting for the movie rights to Christy in 1977, 10 years after the novel had become a literary success. Anxious to prevent his idea from being shelved by MGM any longer Wales called Marshall and personally requested her permission to make her novel into a film. “She answered on the first ring and said she had prayed that very morning that a movie based on her book would somehow get made,” Wales said. When Marshall died in 1983 her prayer had not yet been answered.
It was not until 1986 that Wales managed to wrestle the rights to the movie from MGM by mortgaging his home and wiping out his personal savings. “Finally having this incredible tale told on screen and having mine and Catherine’s dream come true has made it all worth it,” Wales said adding that he thinks the late writer would be pleased with the finished project which closely adheres to her novel.
Although the movie was filmed in East Tennessee Wales suspects the author also had close ties to Upper East Tennessee. “It is thought that Catherine Marshall may have lived in Johnson City for a short period of time,” Wales said. Ken Harrison a Johnson City resident who is researching historical facts for an information booklet on the “tree streets,” said much of the manuscript for Christy may have been written locally while Marshall as part of her research was visiting her aunts one of whom lived in a house on the comer of West Pine and Spring streets.
“The house is known as The Wood House and in the 1967 edition of the book Catherine Marshall thanks some Johnson City residents for their help with her research,” Harrison said. Wales who also produced ‘Islands in the Stream’ with George C. Scott, ‘Tamarind Seed’ teach with Julie Andrews and co-produced the Emmy-winning ABC miniseries of John Steinbecks ‘East of Eden’, predicts audiences will like what they see. “I think we’ve captured the spirit of Marshalls novel and portrayed Appalachia in a genuinely sincere and honest manner,” Wales said.
“The mountains of East Tennessee are simply like no other. The public wants to see authenticity, and Christy will feature some of the most beautiful scenery in the world and some of the most honest gentle loving people I’ve ever known,” said Wales referring to the 150 Townsend men women and children who were hired as extras. The rule of Christy will be-played by Kellie Martin who is best known for her role as Becca in the ABC family drama Life Goes On. Emmy and Tony Award winning actress Tyne Daly will portray Miss Alice Henderson, a-Quaker missionary.