If you’ve ever set foot in my classroom, you may have noticed that I enjoy classic film. Somewhere in between seeing me sip tea from my Turner Classic Movies mug, encountering my framed Art Deco film posters, or glimpsing my alarming collection of movie stills, you may safely deduce that I am a bona fide movie nerd.

My love for what I now know to be Golden Age Cinema, has stuck with me my whole life. Growing up, my favorite time of year would be when the annual broadcast of The Wizard of Oz would come on. There may or may not be home movies of me orchestrating amateur productions of the film with my friends. I also loved black and white comedy shorts, such as Our Gang (also known as “The Little Rascals”), and would get so excited when I’d be able to rent them on VHS from Blockbuster Video. (A moment of silence for life before Netflix.) Anyhow, it got to the point that I started to associate anything black and white as being especially great. When my family got cable television and I discovered Turner Classic Movies at the age of ten, I was over the moon!

While I could go on and on about my favorite films and actors from this important time period for cinema, I want to focus my article upon one particular avenue to which this love for Hollywood’s Golden Era has led me: travel writing. Aside from sharing my enthusiasm for classic film with others, I love to travel. When I was a graduate student, I traveled a great deal to share my research surrounding English Literature with others. However, the towns to which I traveled were not always part of major cities, so I’d have to do a little research about the town in order to take in the local culture.

One afternoon, after giving a presentation on the Harlem Renaissance, I was browsing brochures in a hotel room in Harlem, Georgia, and learned that I was not far from the birthplace of actor Oliver Hardy, from the comedy duo, ”Laurel and Hardy.” Upon venturing to his birthplace, I learned that there was actually a museum there, dedicated to his legacy. I was so delighted to visit the museum, and was happy to see that it was a hub for the neighborhood. On their way back from school, children would stop in and have homemade cookies made by the volunteer (sporting gracious southern hospitality), and watch black and white Laurel and Hardy shorts in their screening room. I couldn’t shake the experience, and so I thought more about the classic film actors I admire so much. Sure, while the road to fame and adventure forever pointed West for them, not many people take a step back and study the origins of their creativity. And, so, my blog, “Hometowns to Hollywood,” was born.

Through my blog, I have been able to profile my visits to the hometowns of various classic film stars, and have explored the legacies they left at home. There is a rhythm to how I go about my adventures, however. First of all, it involves reading and watching films. I let inspiration see where it takes me. Once I have a person in mind, I read even more about him or her. If you’re going to be an independent scholar, you’ve got to study up! Next comes fact-checking. With Hollywood stories, you’ll run into a lot of gossip and myths. One thing that hasn’t changed about the industry over the years is the gossip column! The third step deals with contacting people. I frequently work with libraries, historical societies, archives, estates, and any other places or organizations that deal with my person of interest. The exciting part, after establishing an itinerary, is traveling and actually walking in his or her footsteps. Being able to see the same things one of your idols saw, encountering people who knew him or her, and even working with some of his or her possessions is an incredible experience. I photograph my trip heavily, write about what I remember most, and then market my work.

I have so many favorite moments dealing with my hometown visits, but I’ll name just a few. When I visited Jimmy Stewart’s hometown of Indiana, Pennsylvania, I saw the door to his Beverly Hills home. The door symbolically leads you to an exhibit in the Jimmy Stewart Museum, so it’s as though you’re walking into Jimmy’s life. Knowing how many talents rapped on that same door, it was exhilarating to turn the knob. Another experience comes from when I worked in public relations for the preservation of the former Essanay Silent Film Studio in Chicago. Before there was a Hollywood, Chicago housed the leading film industry. Our building housed (and continues to house) the original soundstage and fireproof film vaults from the 1920s. It was a pleasure to walk through the same door that Charlie Chaplin did each workday! Another phenomenal experience was photographing actress Carole Lombard’s childhood home, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and befriending the current homeowners.

Objects are also a great source of history and glee. In Waukegan, Illinois, I was able to see comedian Jack Benny’s trunk from his Vaudeville days. The same museum houses a bed in which Abraham Lincoln slept (sitting up—he was too tall!). You’re allowed to get into the bed, but are not advised to touch the stage trunk. I love those priorities. Finally, in the not-so-exotic town of Peru, Indiana, I got to play composer Cole Porter’s piano. If I were to focus upon his life when he was already famous, that would take me to his later piano in New York, which has a big “Do Not Touch” sign on it. The same can’t be said for the piano in his hometown!

The best thing about having a passion about which you are tirelessly enthusiastic, is that you never know where it will take you. To paraphrase Buddy Ebsen, my passion is preserving what is good about what is now old. Over the years, we’ve been taught a fallacy that everything big and new is good, and everything small and old is bad, which is simply not true. As a result, I’ve been able to meet many like-minded people, contributed content to a wide variety of magazines and websites, and am eagerly planning more trips to profile more of my favorite stars. It’s also pretty enthralling when Turner Classic Movies shares my posts! Maybe you’ll see me hosting a film or two with Robert Osborne one evening. Who knows? Whatever your passion may be, once you find that “thing” that makes you tick, do something with it. It’ll always be worth your while.

If you want to follow my adventures, visit www.home2hollywood.wordpress.com.