FAMOUS MOORESVILLIANS
Click the names below to learn more about these famous Mooresvillians. Also visit Mooresville Public Library's website.
Showing posts with label mooresvillians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mooresvillians. Show all posts
Monday, December 3, 2018
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
(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.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Know Your Celebrity Mooresvillians
How well do you know your celebrity Mooresvillians? This blog and Mooresville Public Library's website offer sketches of several famous folks who hailed from Mooresville, Indiana or vicinity. All were Morgan County residents at some time during their lives--many grew up here but left as young adults, but several spent much of their adulthoods here--before they became household names (for the biggest celebrities among them), or at least well known in the Hoosier state. Click the image below to learn more.
Do You Recognize These Famous Mooresvillians?
(Click Photos to Find Out)
Surprised that prominent persons came from our tiny town? Mooresville is 191 years old (founded in 1824), so one would expect some denizens to hit the big time over the course of nearly two centuries. If you ask around, you'll probably find current inhabitants who are related to some of these luminaries. One still lives in Morgan County--you may have seen him at veterans' events or other public appearances.
If you're from here (or live here currently), you now have some great names to drop at the next party you attend. It would probably sound something like this:
"Hi, I'm Bill, from Mooresville, Indiana."
"Where?"
"It's the town where ____________________ (fill-in celebrity Mooresvillian of choice) lived."
"Really? Do tell."
In case they think you're making it up, direct them to this blog post. I settle a lot of arguments about historical details such as these.
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