I was in Memphis, Tennessee visiting with my mother, father and step-mother the week before Father's Day due to a conflict in schedule which prevented me from being in Memphis the following week.
On June 12, 1999, after a lovely breakfast and time of togetherness, I asked my step-mother if she’d like to go searching for Civil War items with me. I had been chosen to chair The Shirley Temple Collectors Convention so I decided to have it in Atlanta, Georgia with the theme of “Shirley In The South” which concentrated on her two films, “The Littlest Rebel” and “The Little Colonel”. Well, my step-mother agreed to go with me on my quest. We headed over to the Pink Palace Museum Gift Shop, but they didn’t have any reproductions of Confederate Money or Confederate flags or anything like that. I was looking for something Civil Warish to put on our guest tables at the convention. The manager of the gift shop suggested that we go the Hunt-Phelan House Gift Shop and said that I would, more than likely, find what I was looking for in that regard. So, my step-mother and I headed to Beale Street at his suggestion. We didn’t bother going into the beautiful, antebellum mansion. We went straight into the gift shop. I went through the front door and there was a man sitting on a chair just inside. He greeted me with “Hello.” I said, “Hello”. He said, “Wasn’t it wonderful?” I said, “Wasn’t what wonderful?” He said, “The house!” I said, “Oh, we haven’t been inside the house. I’m just in here looking for Civil War stuff.” He looked a little taken aback, but smiled. I assumed that the man I was speaking with was the gift shop owner because he was so friendly. We small-talked for a little while. Then some people came over to the gentleman that I’d been talking with, so I excused myself and went on with my quest. I thought they were asking him something about the gift shop. A little later, while perusing in the shop, I came across a marquis which read, “MEET GONE WITH THE WIND'S BRENT TARLETON”. I turned to the cashier and said, “What?” She said, “You were just talking to him.” I said, ‘No way.” She said, “Way.” Fred was there for a personal appearance and had some photos on hand in case people wanted to get his autograph. He was also going to be making an appearance at the Orpheum Theatre and was cross-plugging to enhance their attendance. They were going to be showing “Gone With The Wind”. After folks cleared away from him after obtaining his autograph, I decided to go over and talk to him again since “Gone With The Wind” was my most favorite movie. I said, “So you were in the movie?” Fred replied, “Yes, m’am.” I said, “Of course! You were one of the Tarleton Twins on the front porch at Tara.” He said, “Yes, that’s right.” We talked about various things. He told me that his wife had died in November of the previous year of Cancer and that it had been very difficult for him. He said that this was his first “junket” since his wife had passed. I asked him, “Have you ever been to Atlanta?”. He said, “Yes, and if Turner has a gala for the 60th anniversary of GWTW, I will probably be there again.” Immediately, I went into “Yente, the Matchmaker” mode. I was going to “fix him up” with my former mother-in-law, who was an actress in Hollywood for many years. She was widowed and I thought they would probably know some of the same people in the business and hit it off.” I told him that if he came to Atlanta, I would get him a date. He asked if I had an email address. I answered with an affirmative; so, we exchanged e-mail addresses. When I went to shake his hand, he kissed me. I said, “I don’t know if "Mumsey" will go for you or not. She likes singers.” (“Mumsey” had been married to a famous singer during the Big Band Era.) All of a sudden, Fred began singing a song to me in German, “Dein Ist Mein Ganzes Herz” translated to “Mine Is Your Heart Alone.” I said, “Don’t call us, we’ll call you!” We had a good laugh. When I arrived back to Georgia where I was living, I called “Mumsey” and told her that I had a date for her. She said, “What?!” I began telling her about how nice Fred was and, after talking to her about 20 minutes, I told her that I was sure she’d have a great time. I told her, “My goodness, you don’t have to marry him, just go out with him to the gala event if Turner has it in Atlanta.” She reluctantly agreed. I then typed an e-mail to Fred with the heading, “When are you coming to Atlanta?! You've got a date!” I began sending Fred pictures of "Mumsey" and telling him all about her. She was a beautiful woman and had been a Vogue model, a dancer and an actress in her youth. Fred and I began exchanging emails with each other and I was filling him up like a sausage with all kinds of information and alluring tidbids about “Mumsey”. But, something totally unexpected happened. We began getting inside each other’s head and then in each other’s heart. Well, to make a long story short, after approximately 1,600 letters, Fred and I got to know each other pretty well. It was 180 degrees from where it had begun and, before we knew what had happened, we discovered that Cupid had pointed his arrow right at us. We married on October 23, 1999 at the beach on Tybee Island near Savannah, Georgia.
On June 12, 1999, after a lovely breakfast and time of togetherness, I asked my step-mother if she’d like to go searching for Civil War items with me. I had been chosen to chair The Shirley Temple Collectors Convention so I decided to have it in Atlanta, Georgia with the theme of “Shirley In The South” which concentrated on her two films, “The Littlest Rebel” and “The Little Colonel”. Well, my step-mother agreed to go with me on my quest. We headed over to the Pink Palace Museum Gift Shop, but they didn’t have any reproductions of Confederate Money or Confederate flags or anything like that. I was looking for something Civil Warish to put on our guest tables at the convention. The manager of the gift shop suggested that we go the Hunt-Phelan House Gift Shop and said that I would, more than likely, find what I was looking for in that regard. So, my step-mother and I headed to Beale Street at his suggestion. We didn’t bother going into the beautiful, antebellum mansion. We went straight into the gift shop. I went through the front door and there was a man sitting on a chair just inside. He greeted me with “Hello.” I said, “Hello”. He said, “Wasn’t it wonderful?” I said, “Wasn’t what wonderful?” He said, “The house!” I said, “Oh, we haven’t been inside the house. I’m just in here looking for Civil War stuff.” He looked a little taken aback, but smiled. I assumed that the man I was speaking with was the gift shop owner because he was so friendly. We small-talked for a little while. Then some people came over to the gentleman that I’d been talking with, so I excused myself and went on with my quest. I thought they were asking him something about the gift shop. A little later, while perusing in the shop, I came across a marquis which read, “MEET GONE WITH THE WIND'S BRENT TARLETON”. I turned to the cashier and said, “What?” She said, “You were just talking to him.” I said, ‘No way.” She said, “Way.” Fred was there for a personal appearance and had some photos on hand in case people wanted to get his autograph. He was also going to be making an appearance at the Orpheum Theatre and was cross-plugging to enhance their attendance. They were going to be showing “Gone With The Wind”. After folks cleared away from him after obtaining his autograph, I decided to go over and talk to him again since “Gone With The Wind” was my most favorite movie. I said, “So you were in the movie?” Fred replied, “Yes, m’am.” I said, “Of course! You were one of the Tarleton Twins on the front porch at Tara.” He said, “Yes, that’s right.” We talked about various things. He told me that his wife had died in November of the previous year of Cancer and that it had been very difficult for him. He said that this was his first “junket” since his wife had passed. I asked him, “Have you ever been to Atlanta?”. He said, “Yes, and if Turner has a gala for the 60th anniversary of GWTW, I will probably be there again.” Immediately, I went into “Yente, the Matchmaker” mode. I was going to “fix him up” with my former mother-in-law, who was an actress in Hollywood for many years. She was widowed and I thought they would probably know some of the same people in the business and hit it off.” I told him that if he came to Atlanta, I would get him a date. He asked if I had an email address. I answered with an affirmative; so, we exchanged e-mail addresses. When I went to shake his hand, he kissed me. I said, “I don’t know if "Mumsey" will go for you or not. She likes singers.” (“Mumsey” had been married to a famous singer during the Big Band Era.) All of a sudden, Fred began singing a song to me in German, “Dein Ist Mein Ganzes Herz” translated to “Mine Is Your Heart Alone.” I said, “Don’t call us, we’ll call you!” We had a good laugh. When I arrived back to Georgia where I was living, I called “Mumsey” and told her that I had a date for her. She said, “What?!” I began telling her about how nice Fred was and, after talking to her about 20 minutes, I told her that I was sure she’d have a great time. I told her, “My goodness, you don’t have to marry him, just go out with him to the gala event if Turner has it in Atlanta.” She reluctantly agreed. I then typed an e-mail to Fred with the heading, “When are you coming to Atlanta?! You've got a date!” I began sending Fred pictures of "Mumsey" and telling him all about her. She was a beautiful woman and had been a Vogue model, a dancer and an actress in her youth. Fred and I began exchanging emails with each other and I was filling him up like a sausage with all kinds of information and alluring tidbids about “Mumsey”. But, something totally unexpected happened. We began getting inside each other’s head and then in each other’s heart. Well, to make a long story short, after approximately 1,600 letters, Fred and I got to know each other pretty well. It was 180 degrees from where it had begun and, before we knew what had happened, we discovered that Cupid had pointed his arrow right at us. We married on October 23, 1999 at the beach on Tybee Island near Savannah, Georgia.
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