14.02 - Anthony 'Tony' Jackovich: Orphan, Fighter, Sailor, Actor, Designer, and Painter + Marseille...
Tony Jackovich... "Turned out we had one thing in common, a love of France" + Marseille has a recent uptick in ‘coolness’ factor and so much more, let's dive in.
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Merci. Judy - 20.1.24
Who’s today’s featured MyFrenchLife Magazine Contributor? - Mark Jespersen
This is the fifth article from Mark Jespersen on MyFrenchLife Magazine and I’m delighted to share it with you, especially as Mark is such a great storyteller. Do you agree with me?
Mark describes himself this way:
Born in San Francisco and raised in Chicago, I fled Minnesota and landed on the coast of New England (as far as I could go at the time). There I met my wife, Kim, in a used bookshop. Fifteen years ago, we set sail for France. Creating – from music to writing to photography to art — keeps us busy.
Mark’s Website can be found here.
1. Anthony 'Tony' Jackovich: Orphan, Fighter, Sailor, Actor, Designer, and Painter by Mark Jespersen
He must’ve been in his eighties, probably older, but his dark eyes didn’t miss much as he gave me and the Renault the once over.
Come back at supper time, Sheala’s cooking a chicken. And bring your wife if you’ve got one.”
That was the beginning of my friendship with Anthony ‘Tony’ Jackovich.
Our first dinner, at an old table surrounded by his paintings, was seasoned with one fascinating story after another.
Turned out we had one thing in common, a love of France.
More dinners followed, and more stories… Stories so good, I used my iPad to record them all.
Tony was born on a dirt-poor farm in Iowa. His parents never made a go of it or anything else. The family split up during the Depression when his father, a coal miner, was sent to prison and his mother was institutionalized. Tony and his younger brother, Joe, were sent to the Minnesota State Public School for Dependent and Neglected Children in Owatonna.
Between 1886 and 1945, 10,635 orphaned, abandoned, or abused kids like Tony lived there.
The experience taught him one thing: how to survive.
At Owatonna, he became a welterweight boxing champion and a skilled artist. His early paintings showed promise and earned him a place at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where Georgia O’Keeffe had studied. His lessons were cut short by the war when he joined the US Navy and served in the South Pacific. Discharged in 1946, he returned to Chicago.
When our train finally stopped, hell, we were all smiling, a sigh of relief on every face. And then, a quiet word or two between comrades, to make sure this was real. It was. My gods, we were back home.”
Two years later, fed up with the abstract expressionist classes he had to endure at the Art Institute, he got into a brawl with his teacher and quit. Instead, he went to Paris to study impressionism, taking advantage of the new G.I. Bill to study abroad.
He enrolled at the Ecole Superior Nationale des Beaux Arts and the Académie Julian where became friends with a tight group of American artists, writers, actors, and musicians like Hilda Simms, Jess Hahn, Billy Beck, Eddie Constantine, Jack Kennedy, Jack Giasullo, and Larry Eisler.
In the evenings, to supplement his income, Tony ran a small jazz club.
We had Charlie Parker up on our stage, but he would never leave.”
Not such a bad thing, I thought, when he first mentioned it at dinner. He also boxed professionally in Paris, under the name of Tony Savoy, but gave it up.
I was tired of hurting another human being.”
Tony continued his art studies and began acting, accepting small parts in gangster films, under the name Tony Jarvis. On his way as an American actor in France, he appeared in films with Kirk Douglas and in La Môme vert-de-gris with Eddie Constantine.
To read the remainder of this wonderful story, you‘ll find it here.←
2. Other recent MyFrenchLife Magazine articles
Keep up to date with the new articles published on our Magazine.
Marseille: From Edgy to Edgy and Cool by Michelle Mason
Have you heard; Marseille may have a new title? Did I miss something? Was I not paying attention when I should have been?
Not only is Marseille the oldest and second largest city in France but it is now considered by some to be a hip vacation destination. Located on the Mediterranean, the city has long offered historical, cultural, multi-cultural, and unique experiences, but it’s the recent uptick in the ‘coolness’ factor that makes it now a must-see, must-visit... Discover more and read this article here.←
3. MyFrenchLife French Book Club #Bookchat
We’ll start reading on 22 January (in just two days!), with discussion running through until late February here and here. Are you in?
An online Discussion EVENT will be held in late February. Our challenge with this event/s to to include all of you which last time was across 9 time zones, so make sure that you’re included. It’s time to think about getting the book :)
Here’s our first QUESTION/JOSEPHINE B.
Respond below or in our #Bookchat groups as linked above.
For the members who may (- or may not- ) soon read 'The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.' with us:
Have you seen 'Napoleon' by Ridley Scott and if you have, what do you think of Vanessa Kirby as Josephine? (the costumes, her acting, good casting or not, can you think of another actress who would have been suitable for this role ?...) .
Prefer to read in French?
This book was written in English but is available as a French translation if you’d prefer. I know that some of you like to read in French whenever possible. The French title is: ‘Vies et Secrets de Joséphine B.’
Note: Take Care as there are other similar titles also by Sanda GullandHere’s where you can get the French translation:
- USA - ‘Vies et Secrets de Joséphine B.’ paperback available
- France - ‘Vies et Secrets de Joséphine B.’ available via FNAC and eBay
If you’d like to read this book with us or join our #bookclub named #Bookchat, then leave us a message or send me an email, whichever you prefer.
4. Merci mille fois
Most of you know that I am now in my 14th year of writing le Bulletin, the weekly newsletter of MyFrenchLife Magazine… hence this le Bulletin is number 14.02. That’s 14 years of weekly newsletter writing… you do the math, it’s a big number :)
I love that some of you have come along for the ride with me for many of those years, and I welcome those of you who’ve subscribed more recently, and there has been quite an influx already in January. You’re all very welcome!
Judy
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Feeling grateful for this lovely story about Tony and Sheala!