Frank Inn (Famous Mooresvillian)

Camby native Frank Inn (born Elias Franklin Freeman) (1916-2002) grew up on the Charles Mendenhall farm near Mooresville (the farm was in Guilford Township, Hendricks County). His parents operated E. A. Freeman Florist shop in Mooresville for many years. During the 1950s until circa 1964, the florist shop was located at 42, 46, 60 & 62 East Washington Street (customers and suppliers often used Lincoln Lane for pickups and deliveries).  From circa 1964 through the early 1980s, the florist shop was situated at State Road 67 Bypass and South Park Drive.

Frank Inn was best known as an animal trainer for Hollywood movies (such as Benji, The Thin Man series, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s) and television programs (such as the 1960’s sitcoms The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Petticoat Junction). For Green Acres, Inn trained Arnold the Pig (character name: Arnold Ziffel). Arnold came from Jim Clem’s farm (see image below) on Johnson Road just outside Mooresville.

Inn won 40 PATSY (Picture Animal Top Star of the Year) Awards for the animals he trained for movies and television.  The International Association of Canine Professions (IACP) honored Inn as its first Hall of Fame inductee.  (See Inn's online biography.)

Frank Inn with Green Acres star, Arnold the Pig

 

Jim Clem's Farm on Johnson Road

(Morgan County Plat Map, Brown Township, 1962-1964)

 

Inn’s book about Benji is available to check-out from our Evergreen Indiana catalog.  Visit the MPL Indiana Room, or read this brief biography, to learn more about the man and his talented animals.

Frank Inn & Benji

On May 7, 2016, the library presented a program celebrating the 100th anniversary of Frank Inn’s birth.  We captured the program on video (below). Frank Inn was portrayed by David Reddick, chair of the Morgan County Indiana Bicentennial Celebration.

Moore & Pearce's Pool Hall in Downtown Mooresville

Moore & Pearce ad from the

1923 Mooresville High School

yearbook, White Lick Review

(click image to enlarge)

In the 1920s, Moore & Pearce operated a pool hall in the basement of the Lindley Block at One West Main Street in downtown Mooresville, Indiana.  (The Lindley Block burned down on December 27, 1925.)  It was there that John Dillinger appeared following his aborted holdup of Frank Morgan, owner of the West End Grocery on West High Street. During the robbery attempt, Dillinger had struck Morgan with an iron rod, severely injuring him.  Later, at Moore & Pearce's pool hall, Dillinger asked about Morgan's condition, before news of the assault had reached there.  This made listeners suspicious, some of whom repeated Dillinger's comments to Mooresville Town Marshall Greeson.  This lead to Dillinger's arrest.

Some sources suggest that, prior to the robbery attempt, Dillinger was at Moore & Pearce's drinking with his cousin, Edgar Singleton, with whom he hatched the robbery plot.  According to some researchers, it was Singleton who persuaded Dillinger to commit the crime.

Watch the video below to learn more about Dillinger's attempted holdup.

John Dillinger's Hometown Holdup

(Mooresville Moments #7)

by Mooresville Public Library

Rev. Dr. Frank Claude Huston (Mooresville Moments #8)

Meet Rev. Dr. Frank Claude Huston, world-renowned composer and singer, who served as pastor of Mooresville First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) from 1934 to 1937.

Click (Above) to Play Video

We also have a digitized handout about Dr. Huston, as well as a slideshow and an entry on our "Famous Mooresvillians" web page.  Learn more about the First Christian Church from this historical "flashcard," as well as the church's published history, available to checkout from our Evergreen Indiana catalog.

Frank Inn Program Video

In case you missed last Saturday's (May 7, 2016) library program about Frank Inn, the famous Hollywood animal trainer from Camby and Mooresville, Indiana, we have it on video.

Celebrating a Century of Frank Inn, by MPL

(Starring David Reddick as Frank Inn)

(click play button above to watch video)