Surprisingly, the film industry has impacted central Illinois more than you might think. Of course, you might be aware that Chicago is a hugely film-impacted city. Hundreds of movies have filmed there or been based on the windy city. However, Bloomington-Normal has had some fame to call its own! Focusing on the way the film industry has impacted BloNo, you might be amazed at what has been filmed here, about here, or who has been here!
Fame From BloNo
Robert Sidney Smith (February 13, 1877 – October 20, 1935)
Born in Bloomington, Sidney always had an interest in the arts. He became quite popular for his drawings, especially his chalk talks. In 1908, he began creating comics for newspapers. His first most popular created was about a talking goat named Old Doc Yak in the Chicago Tribune. On February 10th, 1917, Sidney ended “Old Doc Yak,” and the last panel of the comic showed the famous little goat moving out of his house. On February 12th of the same year, Sidney created a new comic about a family called “The Grumps,” which began with the Grump family moving into Old Doc Yak’s prior home. “The Grumps” became a massive sensation. Sidney fell in temporary love with the secretary of his best friend, but she passed away shortly after knowing him. This inspired the death of Mary Gold, a Grumps character. This was the first death to ever occur in a continuity comic strip. This created plentiful fame for Sidney. However, after signing a promising contract, he passed away from a car accident in 1935.
Wallace Bond Bishop (August 17, 1905 - January 15, 1982)
Born in Normal, Wallace “Wally” actually grew up in Bloomington. As a child, he worked as a newspaper boy here in town. Bishop studied at the American Academy of Arts in Chicago, and was talented as both an artist and a drummer. He was very inspired by the work of Sidney Smith (see above) and his comic “The Grumps.” Due to this, Wally created a newspaper comic titled “Muggs McGinnis” in 1927. In 1928, Wally moved to Florida where he married Louise Carson. That same year, the name of his comic changed to “Muggs and Skeeter.” His comic lasted until 1974 when he retired. Wally passed away in 1982.
Edgar McLean Stevenson, Jr. (November 14, 1927 – February 15, 1996)
Possibly the most famous actor from our town, Stevenson was born in Norma as the great-grandson of William Stevenson, brother of US vice president, Adlai E. Stevenson. Stevenson attended Lake Forest Academy until he joined the United States Navy. After his time in the military, he studied further at Northwestern University. Here he got his bachelor’s degree in preforming arts, and began to work for a local radio station. After graduating, he bounced around many jobs until taking his cousins advice and tried for show business. He applied for and got a scholarship to American Musical and Dramatic Academy. In 1962, he made his career debut in Music Man. Afterwards, he appeared in a random amount of shows and plays. He performed on Broadway. Eventually his climax in stardom began. In 1974, he began his most famous role as Henry Blake on M*A*S*H. The show was a huge hit and his since been considered one of the best situation comedies of all time. Stevenson loved the show and even wrote a few of the episodes. However, he eventually became fed up with not being the star of the show and left. Later, Stevenson admitted that leaving M*A*S*H was a mistake and was sad that the death of his character prevented him from ever returning. In 1996, while recovering from bladder cancer, Stevenson suffered a heart attack and died. He is survived by his wife, Ginny, and three children.
Joel Franklin Higgins (September 28, 1943-now)
Higgins was born in Bloomington, Illinois and graduated from Michigan State University. He has been acting and singing for over thirty years. He began by preforming in local coffee houses to help pay his way through school, but in 1968, he was enlisted in the army. When he was back from the military, he wrote a musical with his friends titled, “Green Apple Nasties” that he sold to a producer before going on the road for the next two years. He lived off of random gigs until a lucky night in Louisville, Kentucky where a producer asked him to play a large role in a local show. Since, Higgins preformed in a great amount of plays and preformed as “Vince” in the first national performance of Grease. He starred in a plentiful amount of ABC television shows, including Salvage 1, where he starred alongside Andy Griffith in 1979. Since then, he has had guest appearances in countless shows and was most recently seen in 2003 on a crime time drama titled Dead Canaries.
For all famous people from the state of Illinois, click here.
Famous Students/Visitors
Jane Marie Lynch (born July 14, 1960)
Lynch was born in Evergreen Park, Illinois. She is a famous American actress, singer, and comedian. After studying locally at ISU, she gained her bachelor’s degree in theatre. Afterwards, she spent ten years bouncing around acting jobs in Chicago until settling in California where she currently lives. Jane Lynch is most commonly known for her roles on iCarly, Two and a Half Men, and especially Glee. Her performance on Glee as a cruel cheerleading coach by the name of Sue Sylvester has won her many awards and granted her mass stardom.
For her entire film background click here:
Cloris Leachman (born April 30, 1926)
Born in Des Moines, Iowa; Leachman also attended ISU and majored in drama. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards, and has acted in 262 shows/films since.
For her entire film background click here:
John Gavin Malkovich (born December 9, 1953)
Malkovich is an American actor, director, producer, and fashion designer. He has appeared in more than 70 films. He also attended ISU.
Tenitra Michelle Williams (born July 23, 1980)
Famous due to her rise in stardom in the R&B group “Destiny’s Child,” Williams attended ISU and pursued a career in criminal justice. However, singing became her true inspiration and led her to fame.
Movies Made Here
**The following includes some films that were shot in Illinois
Batman Begins
The Blues Brothers
The Breakfast Club
Bridesmaids
Child's Play
The Dark Knight
Ferris Bueler's Day Off
GONE GIRL
Groundhog Day
A League of Their Own
Wayne's World
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Transformers: Age of Extinction
Source Code
Spider-Man 2
Sleepless in Seattle
North by Northwest
Meet The Parents
Movies Made ABOUT Here
Often considered boring and corn-filled, BloNo is not your typical hot spot for movies. However, this year, a movie was created and produced all about a local family. "Hoovey" was created by EchoLight Studios, and if you aren't familiar with them, you might know a famous film they came out with in 2011, "Soul Surfer." The movie goes through the dangerous life led by Eric "Hoovey" Elliot, a local father employed at Country Financial. This film is largely Christain-based, which is touched on in the Pantagraph article about the film, "Father and son prayed, then gave it another shove. As the truck made it out of the drift, Ruth Elliott -- watching from the house -- said she saw them receiving some added help, from angels." The article can be found here.
