When Dimitri and Olivia Tiomkin were living in London during the 1970s, their lives were enriched with visits from friends and colleagues from around the world and, in their absence, with correspondence, often centered on the topic of Hollywood.
The following notes—if written today they might be email or text messages—offer a glimpse into the ongoing lives of the correspondents.
Stanley Musgrove, December 17, 1974
Stanley Eugene Musgrove was born in Yuma, Arizona. Musgrove crafted a career in Hollywood after graduating from the University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinema-Television in 1947. He maintained a close relationship with his alma mater throughout his life.
Parlaying his connections as a publicist, he brought entertainment professionals in Hollywood to formal banquet dinners at USC, hosted by Delta Kappa Alpha, the national honorary cinema fraternity. In addition, Musgrove served for 20 years as president of the Friends of the USC Libraries, a support group for the 16 libraries at the university.
The Cinematic Arts Library is home to the Stanley Musgrove Collection of Mae West Papers and the Dimitri Tiomkin Collection and both Musgrove and Tiomkin are represented by School of Cinematic Arts scholarships in their respective names.
Bill Schaefer, undated
Imagine being in the room with Jack Warner for film rushes and screenings and taking notes on everything said. Bill Schaefer was for 40 years the water boy and secretary to Warner, head of production at Warner Bros. In 1971 Warner was producing 1776—the film version of the eponymous musical—for release by Columbia with first-time director Peter H. Hunt at the helm. “JL” in the note may be a reference to septuagenarian Jack L. Warner. Schaefer and Tiomkin held a mutual friendship with longtime Warner Bros. publicist Max Bercutt.
Dimitri Tiomkin with Max Bercutt
Cecil Foster Kemp, Monday [undated]
Cecil Rupert Foster Kemp, known as C. R. Foster Kemp, was born in 1909 to British parents in Shanghai, China. His father, George Samuel Foster Kemp, known professionally as G. S. Foster Kemp, served as headmaster of The Public School for Chinese, a British-Chinese collaboration founded by missionaries whose aim was to instruct Chinese pupils in Western scientific thought, the school was later known as the Polytechnic Public School for Chinese and operates today as Shanghai Gezhi High School. As chairman of the China Committee of the International Cinematographic Institute of the League of Nations, G. S. Foster Kemp oversaw the first showing of educational films at the home of Cheang Park Chew in Shanghai. A hygiene film (Clean Face and Hands), a documentary film (From Flax to Linen), a travelogue (Alaska), and a sports film (unnamed, it showed the motions used by players in a baseball game) were shown.
By 1931, Cecil Foster Kemp can be found in London. Working behind-the-scenes in film production, first as a production manager and assistant director, he notably served as associate producer for Paris Holiday (1958).
After Paris Holiday he signed on as the British production chief for Samuel Bronston Productions Ltd. He was the one who suggested Bronston make 55 Days at Peking according to columnist Sheilah Graham. Tiomkin provided music scores to several Bronston epics: 55 Days at Peking, The Fall of the Roman Empire, and Circus World.
In the note below, Cecil Foster Kemp informs “Dimi” of his meeting with the so-called film producer Dico Dimitrov. [A shadowy figure at best, in addition to his given name of Dimitur Adamov Dimitrov, he was known familiarly as “Diko” or “Dico,” and his pseudonyms include Lyle O. Kelly and Donald K. Donaldson.] Dimitrov’s claim to be a disciple of producer Cecil B. DeMille, if true, the mentoring would have taken place sometime between 1944 and 1952, before the producer-director made The Ten Commandments.
An article by Dave O’Brien notes Dimitrov planned to produce two films, The Escape of Nicholas and Alexandra, followed by an “international conspiracy epic.” Neither film was made.
Sources
Correspondence courtesy of Olivia Tiomkin.
The China Journal, Volume 17, 1932.
“Atlas for China,” by G. S. Foster Kemp, London: Macmillan & Company, 1934.
“Tony Perkins skips taking tax benefit,” by Sheilah Graham, The Birmingham News, October 6, 1962.
“Cinema Fraternity to Hold Annual Banquet January 15,” Boxoffice, December 19, 1966.
“Jack L. Warner Getting His Second Wind at 79,” by Wayne Warga, Los Angeles Times, June 6, 1971.
“Stanley Musgrove, 61; TV Producer, Writer,” obituary, Los Angeles Times, March 19, 1986.
“Secret Mission to Halt Anti-American Black-ops Organization Fails to Prevent Egyptian President Anwar Sadat Assassination!” by Dave O’Brien, throughtheoswaldwindow.com, January 25, 2018.