Video Audio
(((Open on 5-10 seconds of Jefferson beauty shot of ocean))))(((pump up NAT SOT of ocean)))(((dissolve to old film))))
TOM VOICEOVERTape 52:00-34-27: Dad & siblings @ beach, to 00-34-4900-36-25: Grandma takes a dip00-36-55: CU Jeanne holds Connie 00-35-28: girl sticks out tongue00-35-19: Man looks up from sunbathing00-43-25: WS of ocean to 00-43-3200-43-33: ….which pans right to a WS of house and then pans left to take in the whole vista, to00-43-44 ((((Nat ocean SOT)))IN THE 1920s, THE MURRAY FAMILY BEGAN SPENDING THEIR SUMMERS ON THE EAST END OF LONG ISLAND. (((beat///let old film play)))THE PLACE WAS CALLED SOUTHAMPTON. (((beat///let old film play)))THREE GENERATIONS ARE ROOTED THERE—INCLUDING MY FATHER, MY BROTHER AND ME. THIS IS OUR STORY.
MY DAD, THOMAS E. MURRAY II, WAS BORN IN 1926. HE WAS ALWAYS TOMMY TO HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS. ONCE I CAME ALONG, MOM STARTED REFERRING TO DAD AS “BIG TOMMY” AND TO ME AS “LITTLE TOMMY.” AND THEN THERE’S CHRISTOPHER, MY YOUNGEST BROTHER, BORN IN THE SPRING OF 1960.
(((Coming out of black))))Tom in, tape 2, 02-42-03: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, don’t go anywhere yet.Chris: What?Jefferson We’re going to take some pictures where you don’t have to talk.Tom: We’re just going to get some shots of you sitting there.Chris: And then I could get up, right?Tom: Yeah.Chris: (Talks to himself) Stay sitting there! Don’t move!(go out on his smile) 02-42-16(((((beat///music)))Tom: If I asked you, you know, what your name was….Chris: YesTom: ….and what would you….Chris: YesTom: …what would you say?Chris: My name is Chris Murray. I’m an artist and I paint and draw very good and I’m very talented and excellent and very well.Mom: You need to smile.Chris: (Laughs) Yeah, I’ll do it again. Let’s do it again, please.Tom: OK…we’ll do another take, OK?Chris: OKTom: That was take one. If that was take one, what’s this?Chris: What?Tom: If that was take one, this would be, what? Take….Chris: Two, two.Tom: Alright, take two.Chris: Can I go ahead now?Tom: Go ahead.Chris: My name is Chris Murray. I’m an artist and I draw very good and I paint very excellent and I’m very talented and I’m so great. Chris: Yeah, I’ll do it again.Tom: Alright.Chris: Uh, maybe I could do it in a loud voice.Tom: Why don’t you try that, you want to try it in a big, in a big voice?Chris: OK, yeah. My name is Chris Murray. I’m an artist and I’m very talented and I paint and I draw very well and (clears throat) I’m very excellent with my drawing and I draw pretty well and I draw pretty good buildings and (clears throat) I really draw New York City skylines and I’m very talented (laughs). Ssssssss.
Voice of Mom in, tape 47, 05-39-09: I definitely had a premonition.(((butt to)))05-39-14: When I was pregnant with Christopher, I had a strange experience. I woke up.(((butt to)))05-39-46: It wasn’t a voice but it was knowledge that was conveyed to me that this was going to be a difficult birth, that this was going to be very different. And it certainly was. It certainly was.(((music///beat)))Tape 47, 05-57-40: WS Mom & Chris on bench, sitting, no talk (8 seconds)((((note: also have a matching shot from behind, tape 48, 06-18-18)((((butt to)))Tape 48 in, 06-04-16 Camera pans up from Chris’ hand to his face and he looks @ camera @ 06-04-17, looks away.Jefferson: Hey Chris? You can look around. Just don’t look at the cameraChris: (to himself) You can’t look at the camera! Don’t look at the camera!Jefferson: Look at my hand.Chris: (won’t look, still talking to himself)(((We tell him to look around))))Chris: I got it, Tommy!! I’m looking, Tommy!! Tommy: Make it look naturalChris: ((to himself)) OK, just look natural as you are, OK? 06-05-05(((butt to))))CU Chris face & eyes @ 06-32-24Music////beat////transition))))
((((Dissolve to 5 seconds of hypnotic wave shot)))((((change order of wording)))) Roll Title: “Dad’s In Heaven With Nixon”Produced, Directed & Written ByTom Murray
TOM VOICEOVER THAT BEACH WAS SUCH A SPECIAL PLACE FOR ALL OF US. THERE WAS ME, THE OLDEST, MY SISTER HELEN AND BROTHER DAVID…..RIDING THE WAVES, DAY AFTER ENDLESS, CAREFREE DAY. CONNIE, THE YOUNGEST, KEPT HER DISTANCE FROM THE SURF IN THOSE EARLY YEARS. AND THEN THERE WAS CHRISTOPHER, THE TOWHEAD, FLITTING BACK AND FORTH AT THE WATER’S EDGE, FRENETIC, BUT SOMEHOW ALSO FOCUSED AND PURPOSEFUL.
Tape 29,.00-10-38: Pan from pool to front. Then pan of house from front to pool, back to house, fence with hedge overgrown. Tape 29, 00-10-38: Front of property, push into sign and road that leads to beach. Tom in, tape 1, 00-08-53: What do you remember about Southampton?Chris: I remember Hidden Lodge. The house used to be white. It had a swimming pool and a trampoline. (((butt to)))00-11-57: Was the beach pretty close to where we lived?Chris: It was way down, the beach was way down, the ocean was way down, all the way down, down.(((butt to)))Chris: It was a couple hundred yards from the house. 00-12-10Tom: And then, what did you like most about going to the beach.Chris: I liked swimming in the ocean. I love it.(((butt to)))Tom: And then sometimes, when you were a really little boy, you used to go down by the ocean.Chris: YesTom: And you know what you used to do?Chris: What?Tom: You used to put your hands over your ears.Chris: I used to when the ocean was loud, right.Tom: Did the ocean seem loud to you somehow?Chris: Oh yes it does, yeah.Tom: What was it?Chris: The waves cracking like thunder. 00-12-43(((butt to)))Chris: And I rode the waves. I rode the waves in the ocean while I was out in Southampton.00-13-08
TOM VOICEOVERTape 52, 00-34-08: CU of Dad and Wiffie (?) @ beach (to 00-34-20)Tape 52, 00-34-51 TO 00-35-05 IT WAS DAD WHO BROUGHT US FOR THOSE SUMMERS IN SOUTHAMPTON WHERE HE TOO HAD GROWN UP AND LEARNED TO SWIM AT THE SAME BEACH WE ALL DID.THERE HE IS, RIDING A SEE-SAW ON THE SAND, THE LITTLE GUY ON THE RIGHT ….(((pause///beat))))THERE WERE HORSE-DRAWN WAGON RIDES FOR DAD, HIS BROTHER AND FIVE SISTERS ON A VAST FIELD BY THE OCEAN. (((Beat))) “LIGHTHOUSE FARM,” THE FAMILY COMPOUND THAT ENCOMPASSED OVER 50 ACRES, WAS JUST NEXT DOOR TO THE HOUSE HE’D EVENTUALLY BUY FOR HIS OWN FAMILY…..((((pause////beat)))))DAD LOVED THIS PLACE MORE THAN ANY OTHER IN THE WORLD.AND THE OCEAN, SOMETIMES WILD AND DANGEROUS, CAPTIVATED HIM. ONE STORMY DAY, HE SAT IN HIS CAR, JUST FILMING THE SURF THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD AS THE WIPERS FLOPPED BACK AND FORTH, BACK AND FORTH.(((music///transition)))
TM Standup # 1 03-40-34: We first started going out to Southampton almost 50 years ago and back then it was known as The Country. There was no LIE, no quick way to get out there, potato fields and farm houses for miles once you got out there and, of course, the ocean. 03-40-50
TOM VOICEOVERtape 28, 00-09-58: Panorama shot of beach & property (((transition to VO Narration)))BACK THEN, IT WAS SUCH A DIFFERENT AND SPECIAL PLACE. ONE SUMMER AFTERNOON, DAD FILMED THE SAME FIELD WHERE HE TOOK THOSEWAGON RIDES AS A KID, PANNING FROM THE SMALL BEACH HOUSE THAT HE OWNED RIGHT ON THE OCEAN AND RENTED OUT IN THE SUMMERS, PAST HIS FIRST PARCEL OF BEACH-FRONT PROPERTY AND THEN ONTO THE SECOND. ALL OF IT SURROUNDED BY ACRES OF POTATO FIELDS STILL YEARS AWAY FROM BEING DIVIDED AND SOLD OFF.WE DIDN’T REALIZE HOW PRIVILEGED OUR LIFE OUT THERE WAS. AT THE TIME IT SEEMED SO QUAINT, SIMPLE AND INNOCENT. WHEN WE WEREN’T IN THE OCEAN, WE WERE SWIMMING IN MY AUNT AND UNCLE’S POOL NEXT DOOR.(((let it breathe…..show film of us @ pool))))THERE WERE FAMILY PICNICS AND BONFIRES AT THE BEACH....(((pause))))THERE WAS A SHARK-HUNTING EXCURSION THAT I TOOK OUT OF MONTAUK ONE DAY WITH DAD AND SEVERAL OF HIS FRIENDS.FRANK MUNDUS, THE CAPTAINOF THE BOAT, WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR THE CHARACTER OF QUINT IN THE BOOK AND MOVIE, “JAWS.” (((pause))))OUR LIVES REVOLVED AROUND ACTIVITIES AT THE MEADOW CLUB, WHERE WE PLAYED TENNIS. EVERY AUGUST, THERE WAS A TOURNAMENT ON THE GRASS COURTS AT THE CLUB, WHEN THE BEST PLAYERS IN THE WORLD WOULD DESCEND ON SOUTHAMPTON AND EVERYONE WOULD TURN OUT TO WATCH THE MATCHES FROM BOXES SET UP AROUND THE FRONT COURTS.WE SWAM AT THE BEACH CLUB TOO, BUT THAT WAS ALSO WHERE ALL THE BOYS WHO WERE OUT THERE FOR THE SUMMERS WOULD SPEND A COUPLE MORNINGS A WEEK DOING A SERIES OF WARM UPS AND CALISTHENTICS AND THENPUMMELING EACH OTHER WITH OVERSIZED GLOVES AT MR. DOCKS BOXING CAMP. THAT’S HOW YOUNG MINDS AND BODIES WERE DEVELOPED BACK IN THOSE DAYS.THAT’S MY BROTHER DAVID IN THE BROWN SHORTS, SHOWING SOME FANCY FOOTWORK IN ONE OF HIS BOUTS.…..AND THAT’S ME, IN THE BLUE SHIRT, IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP BOUT OF THE HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION. I THINK I WAS AROUND 12 AT THE TIME. (((TOMMY GOES DOWN, WINS TROPHY)))DAD WAS THE ONE WHO SHOT ALL THIS FILM. ALWAYS BEHIND THE CAMERA, NEVER IN FRONT OF IT. THE ONLY IMAGES THAT WERE CAPTURED OF HIM FROM ALL THE FOOTAGE FROM THOSE YEARS WERE THESE FLEETING FEW SECONDS IN A POOL AT A SUBURBAN CLUB.AND THEN SEVERAL YEARS LATER IN ANOTHER POOL WITH CHRIS. YOU CAN READ HIS LIPS: “BLUB, BLUB, BLUB,” HE’S SAYING, “BLUB, BLUB, BLUB.”AND THEN, HE DRIFTS OUT OF FRAME, NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN IN ANY OF OUR HOME MOVIES.(((music///transition)))
Tom in, tape 1, 00-02-24: Chris, what do you remember about Dad?Chris: Well, he was, Dad was wonderful. Dad was a wonderful man and I loved him very much.
Tape 32, 00-41-02 Pan of beach house to right, dunes, C and Helen on beach 00-41-26 all of us together: Dave and Chris, Mom, Helen, me—grumpy 00-41-59 Tom in, tape 1, 00-13-27: When you think of Southampton, Chris, is that a happy place for you?Chris: Yeah, it was a happy place for me, yes, it was.(((Butt to)))Tom: And that’s the time when all of us were together.Chris: Yeah, we were together. The family was together. 00-14-00(((Music)))
TOM VOICEOVER IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS THAT WERE TAKEN EVERY YEAR, I THINK WE LOOKED PRETTY TYPICAL, LIKE SO MANY OTHER FAMILIES THAT WE KNEW FROM THE CITY, THE BEACH AND THE GOLF AND TENNIS CLUBS. BUT I KNOW NOW THAT WE WERE DIFFERENT, IF ONLY BECAUSE ONE OF US WAS DIFFERENT—EVEN THOUGH WE NEVER REALLY THOUGHT OF CHRISTOPHER THAT WAY.
Mom in, tape 11, 01-15-14: The reason he had such a difficult time being born was he was a very large baby—he was almost 9 1/2 pounds. 01-15-27 (((butt to)))01-15-39: To put it in the simplest terms, he got stuck.(((butt to)))
Mom SOT continues, 01-17-01. And back in those days……(((butt to)))….they did not do cesareans in that situation because it was considered to be very hazardous. 01-17-17
Mom SOT continues, 01-17-23: So when he was finally born he was in a certain amount of distress because one of his lungs was not functioning properly. 01-17-33.(((butt to)))01-18-04 There was one day where they brought him into me and his eyes opened and it was a chilling sight because the whites of his eyes were completely scarlet. There was no white at all. It was just blue surrounded by bright red. So that made me very uneasy, although at the time I didn’t know that that’s a sign of oxygen deprivation. And clearly he didn’t get enough oxygen when he was being born. 01-18-45
TOM VOICEOVER HE DIDN’T WALK UNTIL HE WAS 16 MONTHS OR SO AND HE DIDN’T TALK AT ALL UNTIL HE WAS FOUR. THE DIAGNOSIS OF AUTISM DIDN’T COME UNTIL MUCH LATER.
Mom SOT in, tape 15, 04-00-45 (approx): I remember thinking that there’s nothing I can do. But then I realized there was one thing I could do and that was to love him.
Mom SOT in, tape 15, 04-01-58: He got a bombardment of love….(((butt to)))…I did believe that love could perform miracles.(((music///transition)))
IT WAS A CAMPAIGN, REALLY, HEADED BY MOM AND WILLINGLY JOINED BY ALL OF HIS SIBLINGS, TO PULL EVERYTHING OUT OF CHRISTOPHER THAT WE POSSIBLY COULD. THERE WERE VITAMINS AND SPECIAL DIETS, SEEMINGLY ENDLESS TESTS AND TRAINING EXERCISES. ALL DESIGNED TO STIMULATE HIS BRAIN.
TALKING WAS THE FIRST BIG BREAKTHROUGH—FOR CHRISTOPHER AND ALL OF US.
Tommy SOT in, tape 2, 02-41-00: Can you tell me why you talk in the voice that you talk in, you kind of whisper loudly? You’ve always done that, haven’t you?Chris: Uh, yeah.Tommy: Do you know why?Chris: Uh, ‘cause my voice sounds very hoarse.Tommy: Yeah.Chris: And I have laryngitis.Tommy: It sounds like it.Chris: Yep. 02-41-13Tommy in, tape 2, 02-41-13: But do you know why it sounds like laryngitis all the time?Chris: I don’t know why. I just….Tommy: You’ve always spoken that way.Chris: I’ve always spoken that way, yes.
TOM VOICEOVER ONCE CHRISTOPHER STARTED TO TALK, ONCE THERE WAS A REALIZATION THAT HE COULD COMMUNICATE AND COULD BE REACHED, THERE WAS A GREAT SENSE OF RELIEF.
HE STARTED GOING TO SPECIAL SCHOOLS AND WE ALL JUST KIND OF SETTLED INTO OUR LIVES WITH A BROTHER WHO WAS SO SWEET AND GENTLE AND LOVABLE AND KIND. THERE WERE STILL REGULAR VISITS TO PSYCHOLOGISTS, PSYCHIATRISTS AND SPECIALISTS. BUT THAT WAS VERY MUCH LEFT TO MOM. DAD WAS ALMOST COMPLETELY REMOVED FROM THAT PROCESS.
Mom SOT in, tape 36, 03-49-30: The responsibility for looking for help was mine.(((butt to)))03-45-25: Your dad loved Christopher just as he loved all of you. But he absolutely could not deal realistically with Christopher’s problems. (((butt to)))03-48-00: He overestimated his ability to grow and he underestimated the degree of handicap. (((butt to))))Tommy SOT in, tape 36, 03-48-50: And did he talk to you about what happened in the evaluations?Mom: Not really. I mean he would say how did it go? But then he didn’t want to hear. (((butt to)))Mom SOT in, tape 36, 03-34-46: It was very hard for him. He just couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that he had a neurologically damaged child.(((butt to)))Mom SOT in, 03-48-15: There was absolutely no grip on reality, absolutely none.((((beat.///music/////transition))))
NAT SOT Ocean beauty shot
TOM VOICEOVER MY GRANDPARENTS WERE BOTH 19 WHEN THEY WERE MARRIED. DAD WAS THE FIFTH OF SEVENCHILDREN, BORN IN A SPAN OF 11 YEARS. THE FAMILY SPLIT THEIR TIME BETWEEN SOUTHAMPTON AND THEIR WINTER HOME IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.
TOM VOICEOVER LIKE MOST MEN IN THOSE DAYS, GRANDAD SPORTED A MUSTACHE TO MAKE HIM LOOK OLDER AND HE SEEMED TO BE A GUY WHO ENJOYED JOKING AROUND AND MAKING PEOPLE LAUGH.(((pause////enjoy the 2 fish jokes)))WHEN FDR WAS GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK, HE APPOINTED GRANDAD AS A COMMISSIONER OF THE PORT AUTHORITY.BUT GRANDAD ASPIRED TO A CAREER IN POLITICS AND JOINED THE FLATBUSH DEMOCRATIC CLUB IN BROOKLYN, WHERE HE EARNED A REPUTATION AS A SUNNY, IRREVERENT MAN WHO MADE FRIENDSEASILY—LIKE GENTLEMAN JIMMY WALKER, THE MAYOR OF NEW YORK. (((pause)))AND THAT’S ANOTHER POLITICAL CRONY, AL SMITH, FORMER GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE IN 1928.POLITICS NEVER PANNED OUT FOR GRANDAD. AND NEITHER DID A CAREER ON WALL STREET. AND THAT’S WHEN HE BEGAN TO BROOD MORE AND SOCIALIZE LESS. THERE’D ALWAYS BEEN A DARK, REMOTE SIDE TO HIS PERSONALITY, ALONG WITH A GREAT AFFECTION FOR ALCOHOL. (((transition into Tom OC)))
TOM OC 02-01-03: Dad always told me that his father was never drunk or bombed in the traditional sense of that word that I guess we all know. He said he was the kind of guy who’d be at the breakfast table and there was always this flask that he had and he would start his day by pouring whatever he had in this flask into a glass of milk. 02-01-31 And he’d be just buzzed all day long……/////……from early morning until he went to bed at night, steadily drinking throughout the day. 02-01-51(((beat)))02-02-10: There was a word that Dad used about how his father felt about him and he said his dad hated him. You know (very emotional) that was the word he used. It was hate. 02-02-28(((butt to)))02-05-57: I don’t know, I mean Dad told this story about, uh…02-06-00(((butt to)))02-06-13: My grandfather coming home from a business trip to the house in SH or Brooklyn and all the kids lining up on the stairs, oldest to youngest and he starts at the top and has a present for every one of the kids and he gets to my dad and he says, ‘I don’t have anything for you because you don’t deserve anything. 02-06-44 and my dad is 6, 7 years old. 02-06-51
TOM VOICEOVER MY GRANDFATHER SPENT THE LAST FIVE YEARS OF HIS LIFE SUFFERING FROM CIRRHOSIS OF THE LIVER. HE WAS ALSO RACKED BY WHAT THEY CALLED MELANCHOLIA BACK IN THOSE DAYS. NOW IT’S AN ASPECT OF WHAT IS KNOWN AS BIPOLAR DISORDER. WHEN HIS DOCTOR SUGGESTED THAT HE SEE A PSYCHIATRIST, HE REFUSED. BY THE END, HE WAS IN SUCH BLINDING PAIN THAT EVEN THE TOUCH OF BED SHEETS ON HIS BODY WAS UNBEARABLE. HE DIED IN 1937 AND WAS BURIED THE DAY BEFORE HIS 38TH BIRTHDAY. DAD WAS 11 WHEN HIS FATHER DIED. AND I REMEMBER HIM TELLING ME THAT HE WAS RELIEVED. SOON, HE’D LEAVE HOME FOR GOOD. TO PREP SCHOOL IN CONNECTICUT…(((pause)))THEN THE MARINE CORPS AFTER GRADUATION….(((pause))))….……AND THE COURTSHIP OF MY MOTHER IN NEW YORK IN THE MID 40S….(((pause))))
Tom: Did you feel you knew him?Mom: I knew him as much as he would allow me to know him.(((butt to)))Mom SOT in, tape 36, 03-41-35: He was incapable of any real intimacy. He could not bear it. And if I got too close to that, it absolutely threw him into a tailspin. He couldn’t deal with it.(((butt to)))Mom SOT in, tape 37, 04-28-50: He said to me once, I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to get close to me. Andnobody ever has and nobody ever will. And that about sums it up.(((beat////music////transition)))
TOM VOICEOVER MY MOTHER TELLS ME THAT AS A LITTLE BOY I DIDN’T PLAY A WHOLE LOT. APPARENTLY, I SPENT MOST OF MY TIME FOLLOWING MY DAD AROUND.
Mom SOT in, tape 37, 04-11-45: I know he absolutely adored you and you always, even as a tiny little boy, you would be outside working alongside your dad whatever he was doing//////I think he had a very special relationship with you and vice-versa////I’m sure you were the closest one to him.
TOM OC 02-13-32: I idolized my father so much that I didn’t really see any faults. 02-13-39(((butt to)))02-13-46: I was blind to a lot of things that others in the family were very affected by and very traumatized by to some degree. 02-13-54
Mom SOT in, tape 36, 03-33-31: The temper was explosive and it could come out of nowhere ///// I never knew what I said or did that made him angry, but he could explode over practically nothing.
Connie, tape 44, 02-12-24 (starts to make face) Put the candlestick down!!! That’s what it was…I still bite the insides of my cheek. It’s like making a fist with your face when you bite (she does it) the insides of your cheek, but that was Dad. 02-12-44
TOM OC 02-15-24: I mean I think in some bizarre, weird way I not only accommodated his temper but in some sense glorified it 02-15-35
TOM VOICEOVER ((((transition into VO/Narration)))AND WHAT I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND AT THE TIME—NONE OF US DID—WAS THAT DAD WAS VERY MUCH HIS FATHER’S SON. PROBABLY BIPOLAR—JUST AS HIS FATHER WAS—AND DRIVEN TO WIN THE AFFECTION OF A MAN WHO NEVER LOVED HIM AND WHO’D BEEN DEAD FOR DECADES.
David SOT in, tape 35, 02-39-35: I think there was in his genetic situation with his father and his mother, there was a Petri dish of bio-chemical problems.
Tommy SOT in, tape 37, 04-00-40: Do you remember ever having a conversation with him, trying to persuade him to go and talk to someone?Mom: Oh, Lord yes…((butt to)))…Oh yes. But I mean it always ended in a hideous explosion.
David SOT in, tape 35, 02-28-20: I knew that Dad would sooner be picked apart by crows on the rack than go in and deal with his psychiatric situation.(((beat///music////transition))))
TOM VOICEOVERMAKE SURE THAT MARC KNOWS THAT THIS LINE IS COMING OUTTIME CODE: 01:24:25 HE BEGAN TO DABBLE IN REAL ESTATE, BUYING SMALL HOUSES, OLD BARNS, WITH THE IDEA OF FIXING THEM UP TO SELL OR RENT OUT. ((((BUT THAT NEVER HAPPENED EITHER.)))) AND IT TURNED OUT THAT HE WAS BORROWING MONEY FROM LOTS OF PEOPLE TO PULL OFF THESE PURCHASES.
David SOT in, tape 35, 02-18-40: In 1973 and 1974 the stock market had a terrible stretch because there was an oil embargo.(((butt to)))David SOT in, tape 35, 02-18-52: That was just a terrible time to be a floor broker and he wasn’t making any money and his indebtedness was severe.
Helen SOT in, tape 34, 01-44-45: House in Southampton, gone. Whatever land he owned in Southampton, gone. The apartment in New York, gone, almost auctioned off at a public auction……I mean, it was like everything that we grew up with was gone.
TOM VO INCLUDING OUR PARENTS MARRIAGE. IT ENDED IN 1976.
David SOT in, tape 35, 02-23-18: The experience was of an unraveling and a destruction of a way of life that was absolutely going to be total. //////. In other words, loss of a marriage, loss of a home…(((butt to)))….I mean, everything is lost, including one’s sanity.(((beat)))
TOM OC 02-32-06: He’d say things like, you know, I’m going to get the apartment back, I’m going to get the house in Southampton back, I’m going to pay all my creditors 100 cents on the dollar. That was his expression, I’m going to pay them 100 cents on the dollar 02-32-21
Helen SOT in, tape 34, 01-06-40: I mean, he truly believed that something good was going to happen///butt to////It’s gonna be fine. I’m working on this and working on that and you know, you just start to realize that no, it’s not gonna get any better.
David SOT in, tape 35, 02-34-35: The abdication of responsibility was just breathtaking. I mean, it was biblical in scale.
TOM OC 02-33-18: I’d get these calls from him a couple times a month where he’d call me up and say, hey, you know, can you lend me 100 bucks and I’d say sure. And he’d come up to my office and I’d meet him out at the elevator and I’d go out and give him the money, the cash, and he’d say I’ll pay you back tomorrow and I’d say, I know, I know you will. 02-34-12
David SOT in, tape 35, 02-35-00: It got worse and it got worse and it got worse. And Dad’s, you know, the pain that everybody felt just kept increasing. ((((music////beat///transition)))
TOM VOICEOVER IT WAS EARLY IN THE MORNING, SATURDAY, AUGUST 4TH, 1979. I WAS IN SOUTHAMPTON, STAYING IN A HOUSE OUTSIDE THE VILLAGE.MY CAR WAS ON THE FRITZ AND I HAD THE HOOD UP.
TOM OC 02-46-55: I looked up from the hood for whatever reason and at the exact moment that I looked up from the hood, he drove by and I yelled out Dad! Dad! And he stopped and he pulled in. 02-47-12 and ‘what’s wrong with the car?’ 02-47-16
TOM VOICEOVER HE ENDED UP TOWING ME DOWN TO THE SERVICE STATION IN THE VILLAGE. IT WAS SOMETHING WE’D DONE HUNDREDS OF TIMES BEFORE, SPENDING TIME TOGETHER, DOING A LITTLE CHORE.HE WAITED WITH ME UNTIL THE CAR WAS FIXED.
TOM OC 02-48-40: I still remember everything about that morning. I remember the way he smelled and when he didn’t shave he had this really harsh….my kids used to tell me when they were little they used to tell me ‘Daddy, your beard is sharp’ and that’s the way his beard felt that day. It was sharp. And I gave him a hug and a kiss and I told him I’d see him that night, we were going to have dinner, and I told him I loved him. And that was it. That’s the last time I saw him. 02-49-29 (quiet OC to 02-49-44)(((music///transition))))
TOM VOICEOVER(((Life flashing before eyes sequence can cut even more quickly))) THEY SAY THAT JUST SECONDS BEFORE YOU DIE, YOUR WHOLE LIFE FLASHES BEFORE YOUR EYES.(((music////insert footsteps in sand shot here)))
TOM OC 02-47-30: I’ve thought about that morning a million times. What was at work that morning that allowed for that moment for me to lift my head up at the exact moment that my father’s driving by? If I’d looked up a second earlier or a second later I never would have seen him and I never would have had that last visit with him, which basically was an opportunity for both of us to say goodbye. 02-48-07((beat)))
Helen SOT in, tape 34: 01-41-30: Why he went in? Because he went in every day and a rough ocean wouldn’t have deterred him in the least.(((butt to))))Helen SOT in, tape 34: 01-42-15: I don’t think there was anything that would have kept him away. It was fated (laughs). It was fated.
Mom SOT in, tape 37, 04-22-23: It seemed fitting that he died, you know, in the place that he loved so much.((((butt to)))04-21-35: There was an element of, you know, he’s at peace and the suffering that he’s had is over.
Helen SOT in, tape 34, 01-37-40: On August 4th, 1979, God turned around and saw //// seven people in extraordinary pain. And the person who was in the most pain was the person who was the cause of the pain for everybody else. And He took him.((((music///beat))))
TOM VOICEOVER I LEFT THE BEACH THAT DAY AND WENT TO THE MORGUE TO IDENTIFY HIS BODY. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS HE LOOKED PEACEFUL, HAPPY, AS IF HE WAS ASLEEP. I LIKE TO THINK THAT THE LITTLE BOY IN THOSE OLD FAMILY FILMS HAD FINALLY ALLOWED HIMSELF TO ACCEPT THE LOVE THAT ALL OF US HAD FOR HIM. HE WAS JUST 52 YEARS OLD.((((beat//////music///transition)))))
Tommy & Chris @ the beachTommy SOT in, tape 25, 02-10-54: I’ll tell you something, every time I come up to go swim in this ocean, I always think about Dad when I go to the beach.Chris: I do too, Tommy, yes. I do.((((Music///beat//))))Tommy SOT in, tape 25, 02-12-15: Now, tell me something. What do you think happened with Dad that day, Chris?Chris: He drowned at the ocean. He swam far out on the ocean, way far out.Tommy: How far out do you think he went?Chris: Way far out and all the way, and the big wave came and hit him. And then he drowned. And he drowned really easily, down on the bottom of the ocean. And I felt really sad about it. I really did. 02-12-41Tommy: Chris, did you feel, when you found out that Dad died, I know you were really sad, but were you relieved at all? Did you feel Dad was happier and in less pain than he was when we was…Chris: Yes, he was. Yes. Tommy: Why do you say that?Chris: He’s peaceful where he is. And he’s happy up there. And he’s in no pain. He’s not sick anymore. 02-14-45 He’s well.((((music////beat////cover jump coming up))))Tommy SOT in, tape 25, 02-20-03: And when you say he’s up there, where do you think he is? Where is up there?Chris: HeavenTommy: Yeah.Chris: He’s up in Heaven. 02-20-09(((beat///music)))Tommy in, tape 25 02-18-37: So how are you feeling?Chris: Pretty good, Tommy.Tommy: Yeah?Chris: Yeah. I feel sad about Dad.Tommy: You feel like crying?Chris: Yes, I do Tommy.Tommy: That’s OK. You can cry. That’s OK. That’s OK.(((Chris & Tommy hug))Outcue @ 02-18-58 ((((music///transition)))))
Tommy in, tape 49, 07-42-22: Christopher, where do you think Heaven is?Chris: All the way up.Tommy: Up where?Chris: EarthTommy: Up from earth?Chris: Up from earth.Tommy: Uh huh. Do you think it takes a long time to get there?Chris: No, it….no (shakes head and looks down) 07-42-36Tommy: Do you think we’re all going to end up in Heaven?Chris: Yes we will, when we get older. Yup.Tommy: Do you think you’re going to go to Heaven?Chris: Maybe I might, when I get old.Tommy: Yeah. How old do you think you’ll be when you go to Heaven?Chris: 90 years old.Tommy: You think you’ll be 90?Chris: Yes. 07-42-52((((butt to))))Tommy in, 07-44-56 And then what happens after you turn 90?Chris: I’ll die.Tommy: And where will you go then.Chris: (points up) In Heaven. 07-45-03Tommy: And who’s going to be up there?Chris: Dad’s gonna be up there. 07-45-06((((music////transition))))
Tommy SOT in: Do you think Dad’s looking at us….?Chris OUT: He’s thinking of me
TOM OC 03-13-37: It’s been 30 years since Dad died and he’s still this incredibly powerful force in C’s life.(((butt to)))03-13-52: C thinks that Dad is up in Heaven, surrounded by friends and family IN
Chris on beach SOT in: He knows how well I’m doing….Tommy: Do you think he’s thinking about me?Chris: Yes, he’s thinking about you.Tommy: (laughs)
TOM VOICEOVER AND CHRIS ALSO BELIEVES THAT ONCE YOU GO TO HEAVEN, EVEN A FORMER MORTAL ENEMY BECOMES A FAST FRIEND.
Tommy in, tape 49, 07-41-05 Who else is he up there with in Heaven?Chris: Hank the How.Tommy: Yeah, and who else?Chris: Nixon. Tommy: Nixon?Chris: Yes. 07-41-12
Connie SOT in, tape 45, 03-24-49: One of the great definitions of our father was his hatred of Richard Nixon. 03-24-55
Mom SOT in, tape 47, 05-23-35: Visceral, violent hatred, yeah, it was. 05-23-46
Tommy SOT in, tape 49, 07-41-13: Now, tell me about Nixon and Dad. What did Dad used to do when Nixon’s name was mentioned?Chris: (biting lip) Lying Arabian bastard!! That’s what he did (as I laugh). 07-41-24Tommy: What did he call him?Chris: Lying Arabian bastard. 07-41-28
TOM OC 03-15-02: It sounds like ‘lying Rabian bastard. I don’t know whether he’s trying to say lying Arabian bastard? But I never heard Dad refer to Nixon as a lying Rabian or Arabian bastard. I heard everything else, you know 03-15-17
Tommy: And who was Nixon?Chris: President.Tommy: And what did dad think of Nixon?Chris: Dad hated his guts. 07-41-35
Mom SOT in, tape 47, 05-23-46 But in Christopher’s head, when they died they both went up to Heaven and became friends. So, it’s kinda sweet, really. 05-23-58
Tommy SOT in, tape 49, 07-41-40: Are Dad and Nixon friends?Chris: They’re friends.Tommy: Really.Chris: Yes.Tommy: And what do you think they’re doing right now?Chris: hanging out.Tommy: Yeah. What else are they doing?Chris: Playing poker…..Eating up meals. (((butt to)))07-42-05 watching TVTommy: Do you think they talk about you?Chris: Yeah, they talk about me, yes.Tommy: And what do they say about you?Chris: Dad says I’m proud of you, Chris.Tommy: And what do you think Nixon says?Chris: (imitating him) Good Chris (as Tommy chuckles) 07-42-21(((beat////music)))
TOM VOICEOVER CHRISTOPHER MOVED TO NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT WHEN HE WAS 19, IN 1979, JUST BEFORE DAD DIED. INITIALLY, HE WAS A RESIDENT AT CHAPEL HAVEN, A LIVING FACILITY FOR ADULTS WITH COGNITIVE DISABILITIES. BUT HE GRADUATED FROM THE PROGRAM AND HAS BEEN LIVING ON HIS OWN NOW FOR OVER 25 YEARS.
Nat SOT in, tape 4, 00-48-03: Chris preps breakfast. NAT SOT with Tommy.
TOM VOICEOVER HE NAVIGATES WITH EASE AROUND NEW HAVEN, BY BUS.
TOM VOICEOVER ONE OF HIS JOBS IS AT YALE NEW HAVEN HOSPITAL.
Tommy SOT in, tape 5, 00-06-09: Now, Chris, tell me what you do at Yale New Haven Hospital.Chris: I do the sweeping, I do.Tommy: What else do you do?Chris: I sweep the floors, I clean up….I throw the garbage away. Tommy: Yeah.Chris: Yep.Tommy: And how many times a week do you do that?Chris: I do it every week.Tommy: How many days? How many days do you do it?Chris: Mondays and Tuesdays. 00-06-26
TOM VOICEOVER THE OTHER THREE DAYS HE’S AT A HEALTH FOOD STORE CALLED EDGE OF THE WOODS.
Nat Chris working @ Edge Of The Woods
Chris in, tape 49, 07-25-43: I worked there since 1981.Tommy: And tell me what you do at Edge Of The Woods.Chris: I’m a dairy person stocker. I stock milks, eggs, yogurts, and I stock bread and I also stock Hagen Dazs ice cream. I do. 07-26-00
TOM VOICEOVERSound design train sounds, Grand Central (((nat tape 5, Chris buys train ticket))))NEW HAVEN IS JUST A 90-MINUTE TRAIN RIDE FROM NEW YORK. CHRIS VISITS QUITE A BIT. THE ROUTINE HAS BEEN THE SAME FOR ALMOST 30 YEARS.((((NAT SOT on train to NY, in NY, up to Mom’s apt.))))
TOM VOICEOVER MOM LIVES JUST A FEW BLOCKS AWAY FROM THE APARTMENT WHERE WE ALL GREW UP, A PLACE THAT STILL RESONATES WITH MEMORIES FOR EVERYONE—ESPECIALLY CHRISTOPHER.
Chris SOT in, tape 5, 01-00-23: I was very happy when I lived at 1125. And it was a nice apartment and I really liked it a lot.(((butt to)))01-00-37: I used to play with my toys and what else did I do? I used to go for walks with Dad in Central Park, ‘cause I did some nice things with Dad in Central Park. 01-00-48
Mom in, Tape 47, 05-19-18: I think Christopher was profoundly affected by your dad’s inability to really connect with him. I think he knew that something wasn’t right.((((butt to))))05-20-52: I think Christopher in his own way felt what all of you felt, which was that this man who was/////fundamentally a loving person, was adrift and unstable.
TOM VOICEOVER HE COULDN’T ARTICULATE HIS CONFUSION AND GRIEF THEY WAY WE ALL COULD. SO HE HAD TO FIND ANOTHER WAY.
Chris: I sat down with a piece of paper…./////…..and I started to draw with a pencil and a ruler.(((butt to)))What I did, I tape all the pieces together and I tape them together with white sheet papers.(((butt to)))Tom: Do you know why you decided to make the pictures bigger instead of smaller? Why you taped everything together?Chris: ‘Cause I wanted to make it look it look huger and huger. That’s what I wanted to do.Tom: Why do you want your pictures to be so big?Chris: Because I wanted to fit in all, all the stuff in.
TOM VOICEOVER MOST OF CHRISTOPHER’S PAINTINGS WERE OF NEW YORK BUILDINGS—SKYSCRAPERS, BROWNSTONES, MUSEUMS.
TOM VOICEOVER (((beat))))HE STARTED GIVING HIS PAINTINGS AS CHRISTMAS AND BIRTHDAY PRESENTS TO HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
Kerry SOT in, tape 21, 01-34-50: I think I became acquainted with Chris’ work in 1997 (((butt to)))01-35-35: There were, you know, like 12 to 15 largeexamples of Chris’ work spread over this large apartment and I immediately liked it.(((butt to)))01-36-59: I was struck by the physicality of it. They werelike these wrinkled up giant pieces of paper all taped together, and it was very physical. It was very textural. It was almost sculptural and it was kind of abused.(((butt to)))01-37-36: And it looked like, what, I don’t know, it looked like something I hadn’t seen before.(((butt to))))01-35-50: I thought wow, this is really something.(((beat////music))Kerry SOT in, tape 21, 01-39-10: As soon as I started presenting it, I started selling it.(((butt to)))01-39-05: It was kind of easy with Chris’ work ‘cause a lot of people liked it immediately. It wasn’t like a hard thing.((((beat///music///transition)))
Tommy SOT in, tape 49, 07-47-09: Chris, have you and Mom talked about when she’s not going to be here anymore? Chris: She said she was going to die. Tommy: But you know we’re all going to die at some point, right?Chris: Yes we are, yes.(((beat////music))))Mom SOT in, tape 47, 05-06-57, I feel more and more comfortable as the years pile up on me that he’s going to be OK. I have been deliberately, over the years, kind of pulling back a little bit//// 05-06-27 in order to prepare him for the inevitability that I won’t always be around. 05-06-36 and I think it’s worked. 05-06-39((((beat///music))))Mom in, tape 48, 06-23-11: You know, we’ve talked about this a little bit in the pastChris: yes, we did.Mom: That one day I won’t be aroundChris: (rears back a bit) What are you going to do, Mom?Mom: Well, I’ll be up in HeavenChris: I’ll be sad about it (starts to cry)Mom: Yes, I know. But you know what, you know what? (strokes his head), you’ll be fine because….Chris 06-23-30 Don’t die Mom, please.Mom: (laughs) Well, I’m not planning on doing that for awhile. But we all die eventually, Darling. 06-23-37Chris: We’ll go up and see Dad. 06-23-39Mom: And I’ll see Dad. And I’ll see Nana and Harry and Mrs. Reece…06-23-46 and that’s something that we have to think aboutChris: Right. Yes. Yeah. 06-23-54(((butt to)))Mom in, 06-24-59: That’s not going to happen for a while.Chris: No it won’t, no. Not for a long time.Mom: I hope not.Chris (to himself) Well I guess not. I hope it doesn’t. 06-25-08
4-5 second WS of Mom and Chris in Park, dissolve out…..
WHEN I WAS YOUNG, MY FATHER WAS MY GUIDING LIGHT AND MY LIFE WAS PREDICTABLE AND UNCOMPLICATED.(((beat)))I GRABBED HOLD OF MY LITTLE BROTHER, DETERMINED TO PROTECT HIM FOREVER FROM THE CRUELTIES OF THE WORLD.(((beat)))TODAY I’M OLDER THAN DAD WAS WHEN HE DIED. AND LIFE HAS NEVER SEEMED MORE DAUNTING AND UNCERTAIN.(((beat)))AND NOW CHRISTOPHER HAS ASSUMED THE ROLE THAT I USED TO PLAY FOR HIM—GUIDING ME BY JUST BEING WHO HE IS AND LIVING HIS LIFE THE WAY HE DOES.(((beat)))
Tommy in, tape 49, 07-53-25: Do you think your life is pretty happy?Chris: Yeah, my life is very happy. ‘Cause I’m happy up in New Haven. ‘Cause I’m happy with my jobsTommy: What else makes you happy?Chris: Do my food shopping and also clean the apartment, taking care of the apartment, everything 07-53-50(((butt to)))Tommy in, 07-52-26: When you get to be an older man, like when you’re in your 80s, where do you think you’re going to be living? Do you think you’ll still be in New Haven?Chris: I’ll still be in New Haven. Yes. I will be. Yes.Tommy: And what do you think you’ll be doing in NH when you’re in your 80s?Chris: All I want to do is be working at the same jobs. I really do. Yes. At Yale New Haven Hospital and Edge of The Woods.Tommy: And doing your drawings.Chris: And doing my drawings, yeah, my artwork. 07-53-01(((music///beat)))
Tom OC 03-48-37: I have so much to learn still about life and happiness and success and what all that means 03-48-48 and I think about C, who even though he is supposedly limited insome ways, he has so much of that stuff all figured out.03-49-01 (((music///beat///dissolve to)))
HE’S INSPIRED EVERY DAY TO TAKE US TO PLACES WHERE THE CLOUDS ARE ALWAYS FULL AND WHITE AND FLUFFY…(((beat)))….. THE SKY IS A BRILLIANT BLUE….(((beat))))….……AND THE SUN IS ALWAYS SHINING. ….(((beat)))….…..AND ALL HE ASKS IN RETURN IS THE LOVE AND APPROVAL FROM THOSE WHOM HE CHERISHES MOST.
Tom in, tape 3, 03-36-19: Can you give me a hug?Chris: I love you, Tommy. You’re very proud of me.TM: I love you too, ChrisChris: And you feel very proud of me.TM: I’m very proud of you. 03-36-29
Tom OC/VO 03-37-06: I think sometimes about how he was supposed to end up. 03-37-11 He was supposed to end up in this dark, silent place, shuttered off from the world 03-37-20 not communicating with anybody 03-37-23
5-10 seconds of Chris artwork
Tommy in, tape 26, 03-29-08: So let me ask you a question….Chris SOT out, 03-29-55: (as we walk out of frame): Me, Tommy (as I laugh)Chris Outcue: We’re all finished!!!! 03-29-56((((Music/////dissolve from Lake Agawam to credits))))((((Lay credits over old film, stills))))EnditTRT: 52:00 Including Credits
Dissolve out of Agawam shot to:Slo-Mo:5 seconds of Dad running on stairs5 seconds of Tommy catching a wave5 seconds of Chris dancing in the surf(((dissolve to))))final Jefferson beauty shot of the ocean((((dissolve to)))))Mom dedication, followed by credits. USE ONLY IMAGES OF CHRIS AND HIS ARTWORK IN CREDITS……