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Kinsman celebration to honor screenwriter for ‘Star Wars’
KINSMAN
Mention Kinsman and most people think of famed Atty. Clarence Darrow.
However, Darrow isn’t Kinsman’s only claim to fame.
It turns out the tiny Trumbull County town also has a connection to the epic George Lucas saga “Star Wars.”
Author Leigh Brackett, who penned the screenplay for “Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back,” lived in Kinsman during the later years of her life.
In honor of the 30th anniversary of the film, the Kinsman Historical Society is hosting Edmond Hamilton and Leigh Brackett Day.
The event begins at noon Saturday at the Kinsman Presbyterian Church and promises to be a sort of “mini Star Wars convention,” according to Kinsman Historical Society member Don Sutton.
“Edmond Hamilton, who was Leigh Brackett’s husband, was from this area and was a well-known science fiction writer,” Sutton explained. “Last year we had an Edmond Hamilton day, and this year we decided we wanted to honor Leigh Brackett as well.”
Sutton expects numerous diehard “Star Wars” enthusiasts to attend the event.
There will be a costume contest at 3 p.m. as well as a kids’ art contest. It is a family-oriented event, and admission is free, Sutton said.
The day’s festivities will also include a talk about Brackett’s life and the raffling of a “Star Wars” Wampa statue, which was donated by Lucas Films.
“A Wampa is a snow monster that was featured in the film,” Sutton explained. “Raffle tickets are $1.”
Brackett was born and raised in California and published her first science fiction story in 1940.
Besides science fiction, she enjoyed much success in screen writing and penned scripts for films starring John Wayne and Humphrey Bogart, among others.
She married Hamilton in 1946.
Hamilton, who was born in Youngstown in 1904, is known as the “dean of science fiction” and wrote the first hardcover compilation of what would eventually come to be known as the science fiction genre.
The work, which was titled “The Horror on The Asteroid and Other Tales of Planetary Horror,” was published in 1936.
Brackett died in California in 1978, and Hamilton died in 1977. Sutton said Brackett was instrumental in the creation of Yoda’s personality.
Haffner press will sell reprints of Hamilton’s and Brackett’s works at Saturday’s event, and a commemorative book will be available for $10.
All profits will go to the Kinsman Historical Society.
For more information, call Don Sutton at 330-876-3178.