The Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society

Collecting, preserving, and interpreting the history of our community!

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Scenes from the classic 1956 movie Giant were filmed in the Keswick area of Albemarle County in the summer of 1955. Photographer Ed Roseberry (b. 1925) took this photo in the Terrace Room, a private, upstairs dining room of the Thomas Jefferson Inn on Emmet Street where the stars and some crew were staying. The Inn had first opened in May 1951, closed in 1968, and is now the Federal Executive Institute. Having snuck in through the kitchen, Roseberry obviously surprised some of the famous cast members as they were eating. On the far left is actor Paul Fix; in the middle is Rod Taylor; a 30-year-old Rock Hudson looks over his left shoulder; and next to him is 23-year-old Elizabeth Taylor. The movie also starred James Dean, though he did not appear in these scenes filmed in Virginia. Unfortunately, Giant was to be Dean’s last movie, as he died in a tragic car accident on September 30, 1955 in California, over a year before the film’s premiere. The movie was nominated for ten Academy Awards, and Director George Stevens won the Oscar for Best Director.

Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society Board of Directors and Staff

Board of Directors

Phyllis Leffler – President
Ted Coates – Vice President
Luke Roark – Treasurer
Mary Jae Abbitt – Secretary
Shelley Murphy
Bunny Gibbons
Helice Henderson Jones
Alex Rayfield
Sam Towler

Staff

Olivia Brown – Executive Director
Miranda Burnett – Research Librarian
Seth Clark – Administrative Assistant
Keri Matthews – Collections Manager

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