Digging through the past

Today was a day I've long been waiting for. I drove up to Topanga Canyon to meet Amy Marshak, who's late husband Bob was the set photographer for 'Matewan.' I had long been told be PA's and Extras that Bob had taken hundreds of photos that no one had ever seen. I was sure that someone had seen them, just not the people standing third from the left with no lines.

Amy set me up in a beautiful room in her lovely home to start looking through the dozen boxes of slides and photos Bob has taken over his career. Along with being a friend to John Sayles and his film, Bob was a prolific photographer in Hollywood and on Broadway. So, as I'm digging away hoping for the Holy Grail of photographs, I keep running across these beautiful portraits of Heather Locklear or Dick Cavett, or an Allison Janey headshot from years ago. Bob left behind these stunning photographs that captured moments in time that won't soon be forgotten.

I left there with one twelfth of the photos - not all for me. The blessing that I found in these pictures will definitely make my project infinitely better. I hope in the process I made a friend of Amy and her dog, Pearl. I certainly grew a deep appreciation for the work of Bob Marshak.

j.brown