The Arts

HELENSBURGH-BORN David MacDonald was a director of British films who trained in Hollywood.

Born in 1904, he made some good thrillers — and the occasional comedy — in the late 1930s and immediate post-war years, but seemed to lose his touch after the Christopher Columbus (1949) disaster.

A MUCH admired feature of the exhibition held by Helensburgh Heritage Trust in April 2007 to mark the centenary of the birth of burgh artist Gregor Ian Smith was an excellent portrait of him by Jon Peaty.

The property of Helensburgh and District Art Club, it was lent to exhibition organisers Helensburgh Heritage Trust for display and also for use as a publicity image.

ONE of the most successful BBC television and radio series produced in the 1960s was 'Dr Finlay's Casebook', which was based on stories written by A.J.Cronin, who was born in Cardross and spent part of his childhood in Helensburgh.

Dr Archibald Joseph Cronin was born at Rosebank, a cottage just outside and to the west of Cardross, on July 19 1896.

A WEDDING Casket presented by the people of Helensburgh to local laird Sir James Colquhoun and his wife to mark their marriage in 1904 was sold at auction on May 4 2006.

In the Fine Decorative Arts & Design from 1870 Sale at Sotheby’s in London, the casket, designed by Edward Spencer and executed by Charles Moxey and Robert Fergusson of the Artificers’ Guild, was bought by an un-named buyer for £48,000.

ONE work of art which was not on show in Helensburgh Heritage Trust's 2007 Gregor Ian Smith Exhibition at Helensburgh Library was a watercolour caricature of the late John B.Widdowson during his time as the last headmaster of Larchfield Boys Prepatory School in Colquhoun Street.

HELENSBURGH'S most famous film star Deborah Kerr, who died on October 16 2006 at the age of 86, was regarded in Hollywood as a typical English rose . . . refined and reserved.

But of course Deborah Jane Kerr Trimmer was born on September 30 1921 to Arthur Charles (Jack to his friends) Trimmer, a civil engineer, and his wife Kathleen Rose (known to her family as Colleen or Coll), when they lived in Helensburgh, and spent her early years in the town.

A FORMER pupil of Helensburgh's Lomond School, Lee Bisset, is now one of Britain’s established opera and concert singers.

A HELENSBURGH man drew on his upbringing in the town when working on the film which won him a BAFTA in November 2006.

ONE of the most popular songs sung by a well known Helensburgh singer was "It's a sin to live a lie". But 'boy singer' Master Joe Petersen did just that for most of her life.

Master Joe, as he was known, was in fact burgh girl Mary O'Rourke, who also appeared under the names of Master Wilfred Eaton and Michael Dawnay.

A HELENSBURGH woman who died in 2005 made a huge impact on both professional and amateur drama in Scotland.

Formerly the proprietor of the Bookworms book shop in East Clyde Street, Ros Lane was also for many years an editor and presenter of the local talking newspaper for the blind and otherwise visually handicapped, Headline Helensburgh.

A HELENSBURGH man who for many years was instrumental in selling other people's books to townsfolk is now hoping that they will buy his new book.

Terry Lane has written the biography of the doyen of the small theatre movement he always wanted to write, “The Full Round — the several lives and theatrical legacy of Stephen Joseph”, and it is available at the shop he founded, Bookworms in East Clyde Street.

HELENSBURGH man Terry Lane, who now lives and works in Italy, has published his second book.

“Side by Side”, his history of Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre of which he was the first artistic director and manager, is a very much a labour of love as he and his late wife Ros were instrumental in its launch.