Film version of local author's 'Angel Doll' to air
By Judi Brinegar
Staff Writer, The Courier-Tribune
ASHEBORO - Written in 2000, Jerry Bledsoe's book, "The Angel Doll"
touched hearts everywhere.
Now, the long-awaited movie version of the Randolph County native's story
is coming to the small screen.
"The Angel Doll" will premiere internationally Monday night
at 9 p.m. on the Lifetime Network (Cable channel 33). The movie, starring
Keith Carradine, Diana Scarwid, Michael Welch, Cody Newton, Betsy Brantley
and Nick Searcy, will be shown again at 5 p.m. Dec. 24.
The movie, set in the 1950s, is the story of 10-year-old Whitey Black
and his quest to fulfill his sister Sandy's Christmas wish for an angel
doll. Whitey and his best friend search all over their hometown of Thomasville,
N.C., to find the doll for Sandy. Their quest for the doll leads them to
the greatest gift of all, the lesson of love. Bledsoe wrote the book in
1995 in memory of long-time friend Mutt Burton.
"It has been quite a struggle to get this little film made,"
said Bledsoe about the independent film which was made in 2002. "The
film's young producer and director Sandy Johnston died right before it was
finished, the actor who was playing the grown-up me suddenly had to leave
the film and Keith Carradine stepped in, we ran out of money, you name it.
"Sandy actually became the producer after he fell over a stack of
books (copies of 'The Angel Doll') at a book store. He was a dreamer and
was so passionate about doing this film. He died at age 41 from a stroke
and we thought it was all gone, but we pulled it together and got started
again."
Bledsoe is the author of the New York Times number one bestseller "Bitter
Blood," as well as two other national bestsellers, "Blood Games"
and "Before He Wakes," and nearly a dozen other books, including
the follow-up to "The Angel Doll," "A Gift of Angels."
He spends his time between homes in Randolph County and Carroll County,
Va.
The movie was filmed on location in Wilmington and the small town of
Burgaw, which was substituted for the book's setting of Thomasville. Several
scenes in the movie were filmed at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital
in Memphis, Tenn., a moving experience by Bledsoe's recollection.
"There was one little girl there who was bald (from treatments for
cancer) and proud of it," he said. "We had angel dolls for all
of the children and this little girl was going to be in one scene with Keith
Carradine. The prop man shaved her doll's hair off before the scene. The
little girl didn't have any lines, but she tapped Keith and the shoulder
and said 'She looks just like me.' Wonderful.
"I don't know how Keith held it together. It was a wonderful scene,
but the whole movie is like that - filled with love."
For those who do not have access to cable, copies of the movie can be
rented at local video stores and may also be available at some retail stores.
"My hope is that the story of the angel doll will become a classic,"
Bledsoe said. "This release has made the holidays much happier for
all who worked so hard on this, and I hope that if folks get to see it,
it will impress on them the enduring power of love, the message this season
brings."
* * *
For those who have never read "The Angel Doll: A Christmas Story,"
it retails for $14.95. This hardcover title features 125 pages and black-and-white
illustrations. The ISBN is 1-878086-54-5. It is 51/2" x 7". The
book may be ordered from most bookstores.
Copyright 2002, Stephens Media Group
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