Biography frank spig wead

When Frank Wilber Wead was born on 24 October , in Peoria, Peoria, Illinois, United States, his father, Samuel De Forest Wead, was 42 and his mother, Grace Bestor, was He married Minnie Louise Bryant on 17 January , in San Diego, California, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 2 daughters. He lived in Peoria City Township, Peoria, Illinois, United States in and Beverly Hills Judicial Township, Los Angeles, California, United States in In , at the age of 45, his occupation is listed as writer, motion pictures . He died on 15 November , in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California, United States, at the age of 52, and was buried in Springdale Cemetery, Peoria, Peoria, Illinois, United States.

American screenwriter

Frank Wilbur "Spig" Wead (24 October – 15 November ) was a U.S. Navyaviator who helped promote United States Naval aviation from its inception through World War II. Commander Wead was a recognized authority on early aviation. Following a crippling spinal injury in , Wead was placed on the retired list. In the s, he became a screenwriter, becoming involved in more than 30 movies. He also published several books, short stories and magazine articles. During World War II, he returned to active duty. He initially worked in a planning role, but later undertook sea duty in the Pacific, where he saw action against the Japanese in –44 before being placed on the retired list in mid

Early life

Frank Wilbur Wead was born to Samuel De Forest Wead and Grace (Bestor) Wead on 24 October , in Ward No. 5 of Peoria Township, Peoria, Illinois. Frank graduated from Peoria High School.

The Wead family had a strong background of service to the American nation. The Weads of Massachusetts were represented in one of the Committees of Safety established during the American Revolutionary War, and also as patriots in the Colonial Wars, forming part of the General Society of Colonial Wars during – The Connecticut Weads were also patriots of the American Revolutionary War. The Wead families were prominent in Illinois and Vermont in several fields during the 19th and 20th centuries: politics, law, education and as supporters of the Union during the American Civil War, during which one branch of the Wead lineage became actively involved with the United States Sanitary Commission.

Military career

On 16 July , Frank Wilbur Wead (aged 16) was admitted into the United States Naval Academy as a member of the Class of His classmates included John D. Price, Ralph E. Davison and Calvin T. Durgin. The Class of graduated on 29 May

Following graduation from the Naval Academy

Frank ‘Spig’ Wead was a pioneering navy pilot whose determination to advance the cause of U.S. Naval aviation through race victories and record setting made him oblivious to the needs of his family. After an accident at home left him paralysed, he took up writing, giving him the chance to once more promote naval aviation through screenplays. This biopic is typical John Wayne fare, complete with knockabout humour, bar-room brawls and depiction of camaraderie among men. But it shows signs that it could have been so much more.

These are scenes in The Wings of Eagles which feature some of the Duke’s finest acting, and his on-screen chemistry with Maureen O’Hara enhances their domestic scenes. Yet it is here that director John Ford’s friendship with Wead inhibits the movie. There is a suggestion that alcohol abuse played a significant part in the disintegration of the couple’s marriage. Children are left to fend for themselves while their mother goes out for the night, and Spig confides to director John Dodge (read Ford) that he too used to make excuses for drinking in the afternoon. But before any of this can be really explored, we’re off to more familiar John Wayne territory.

This is still an entertaining yarn, but Ford’s struggle between honestly depicting his friend’s life while also paying homage to him is evident in the movie’s uneven pace.

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Due to the character of John Dodge being seen as a representation of director John Ford, the movie contains the following anachronisms -

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• John Ford was not the director of Hell Divers, though the two did collaborate on Air Mail and the classic They Were Expendable (also starring John Wayne)

• infers Hell Divers was Wead's first film, whereas The Flying Fleet and Dirigible were made beforehand.

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Film depicts the US Army’s aro

Introduction

During the recently completed centennial of naval aviation (), there were many and varied tributes to the factual history of naval aviation. Nevertheless, we cannot forget that public perception of the armed forces is also a strong historical consideration. In Sailing on the Silver Screen: Hollywood and the U.S. Navy, Lawrence Suid has observed that “for most of the past ninety years the American film industry and the U.S. Navy have worked together to their mutual benefit. Hollywood used the Navy to obtain—at little or no cost—personnel, equipment, and locations for movies filled with adventure, romance, and drama. In turn, the Navy obtained—at little or no cost—a positive public image that boosted both its recruiting efforts and its relations with Congress.” This is especially true if we consider how the careers of two pioneers of Hollywood and the U.S. Navy—director John Ford and screenwriter Frank W. “Spig” Wead became intertwined during the Golden Era of filmmaking and how Ford paid tribute to his friend and colleague in The Wings of Eagles ().

Wead’s Early Naval Career

Wead was born on October 24, , in Peoria, Illinois. He entered the U.S. Naval Academy in at the age of sixteen and graduated in He spent time during WWI doing mine work in the North Sea, after which he qualified as a naval aviator. In he led the Navy team that competed in the Schneider Trophy Race at Cowes, Isle of Wight. Two of his teammates—Lt. David Rittenhouse and Lt. Rutledge Irvine—placed first and second in the race. Wead continued as a naval aviator, setting naval aircraft records for speed, endurance, and distance and eventually working for the Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics.

Wead’s Hollywood Career

In , an unexpected turn of events changed Wead’s life forever. After he took a fall in his house in Coronado, California, he was seriously injured, having fractured the fifth cervical vertebra in his neck and doing irreparable damage to his spinal cord