Mary Webster - Actress Film and Television
Mary Webster was born in Chicago , Illinois on March 13, 1935 and raised in Santa Monica, California. Mary attended high school in Santa Monica before studying acting at California’s Pasadena Playhouse in its theater arts program.
Webster’s first film role came in 1957 as the love interest in The Delicate Delinquent, with Jerry Lewis in his first solo film following his Martin and Lewis years. Webster then appeared in The Tin Star with Henry Fonda and Anthony Perkins, her first foray into the Western genre carried into many television roles. Webster co-starred in Eighteen and Anxious (1957), and in 1961, she appeared in the science-fiction film Master of the World with Vincent Price.
Aside from westerns, Webster appeared in various television shows including two Twilight Zone episodes A Passage for Trumpet and Death Ship. both of which starred Jack Klugman.
On Broadway, Webster appeared in Dear Charles (1954). She also made national tours with the companies of The Desperate Hours and Mister Roberts.
Mary Webster retired from acting in the mid-1960’s and moved to Dallas, Texas. She purchased the “B.B. Bell Home, Emil A Fretz Jr, 1955” on Langdale Circle where she lived until her death at the age of 81 on January 23, 2017.
photo: Mary Webster on the set of The Delicate Delinquent, 1957, Highland Meadows Preservation Foundation
Euel Box - Musician, Producer, Award Winning Composer
Euel Box was born on December 31, 1928 in Williamson, Texas. He demonstrated a proclivity for music from an early age and after high school studied music at the University of North Texas as well as Southwestern University.
In 1947 Euel joined the United States Marines where he played trumpet in the Marine Corps Band. In 1948 Euel was married to Bettye McCray and after Euel was discharged they moved to Dallas, where in 1957, Euel began working for PAMS Productions, one of the most famous jingle production companies in American Broadcasting. In addition to being a composer and arranger, Euel also played trumpet on many PAMS tracks and was Vice President of Production during the 1960’s. Euel wrote hundreds of PAMS” best jingles for companies like Braniff Airways, Dr. Pepper, Buick, the United States Navy, Haggar, Zales, Texas Instruments, LTV Auerspace, Bell Helicopter, and Frito Lay.
In 1961, Euel and Bettye Box commissioned Max and henrietta Wieland to design and build their home in the Sylvania Dells section of Highland Meadows. 1961 was also the year Euel Box wrote a hit song for PAMS called My Home Town, which was designed to serve as a local radio station identification song, ie Dallas My Home Town, Fort Worth My Home Town, Joplin My Home Town etc. My Home Town was a huge success and the songs lyrics were changed to fit the needs of hundreds of radio stations, large and small, all over the world.
Throuhout the 1960’s Euel’s reputation grew and his star continued to rise. In 1974, he accepted a commission to compose the music for the film Benji. The film’s theme song, I feel Love, written by Euel with lyrics by Bettye Box and recorded by country music star Charlie Rich, won a Golden Globe award for Best Original Song in 1975. It also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.
Euel went on to compose music for numerous films including Hawmps (1976), Charge of the Model T’s (1977), For the Love of Benji (1978), Benji’s Very Own Christmas Story (1978), The Double McGuffin (1979), Oh Heavenly Dog (1980, and Benji the Hunted (1987).
photo: Euel Box, 1961, Highland Meadows Preservation Foundation
Robyn Flatt - Actress, Producer, Director, & Founder of Dallas Children’s Theater
Glenn Mitchell - Journalist, Radio Host
Glenn Mitchell was born in Springfield Missouri in 1950 and began working for KERA in the mid 1970’s. He was the host of the two hour week day talk show “The Glenn Mitchell Show,”and “Anything You Ever Wanted to Know” on the National Public Radio affiliate KERA from 1995 - 2005.
Mitchell interviewed a wide variety of guests including author Salman Rushdie, former President Jimmy Carter, actor Robert Duvall , journalist Mike Wallace, and performance artist Laurie Anderson. He demonstrated a thirst for knowledge and an unusual skill at making his audience a part of the conversation.
Mitchell was the recepient of 19 KATIE Awards from the Dallas Press Club, four of which were for best interview / talk show.In 2006 Mitchell was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame and also honored by the Dallas Press Club with the Buck Myatt Award for lifetime achievement.
Dr. Masashi Kawasaki
Pioneering Otorhinolaryngologist / Honorary Consular General of Japan.
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Masashi Kawasaki spent formative years in a Japanese internment camp on Canada during World War II.
The onset of the war forced Masashi’s parents to sell the small family store for a mere $1,000. Two months later the family was forced to register at Hastings Park Clearing Station - where the Japanese were processed, and later transferred to relocation camps. In Hastings Park, they lived in livestock barns and slept in bunk beds with straw mattresses. The family was split up - Masashi lived in one barn, his father in another, his mother, two younger sisters, a six year old brother in still another. With other Japanese men, his father was transported to Sloan City, British Columbia, to quickly build shelter for the internees - their own families. Fortunately, 3 months later, the family was reunited in Sloan City where they remained until the end of World War II.
When Masashi applied to medical school in London, Ontario, he was told that his acceptance was slim. Aware of preferential treatment to military veterans and relatives of alumni, he requested to interview with the president of the university. Bravely, he asked if it was futile for a Japanese to apply to the medical school. Despite the president’s response that there was not a barrier, Masashi was surprised when he learned he was accepted in the medical school.
Masashi worked double shifts during the summer to raise money for his tuition. Early the first semester, he was hospitalized with pneumonia. Weeks of hospitalization caused him to lag behind in his studies, and he worried that his opportunity for a medical career was over. Slowly his health improved and after two years of care and convalescence, he returned to medical school.
Dr. Kawasaki completed internship at Victoria Hospital in London, Ontario, and received an appointment to a 4 year otolaryngology residency program at Washington University Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. Unfortunately, the annual immigration quota that allowed 185 Japanese entry to the United States was filled. The only avenue available for him to begin his residency was the Foreign Exchange Student Visa Program . Little did he know that this visa would cause him much anguish with his immigration status. Ultimately, the problem was solved, but it was a 10-year ordeal that required involvement of a U.S. Congressman and the introduction of congressional bills n behalf of Dr. Kawasaki.
Dr. Kawasaki became a fellow in the Department of Otolarngology at Washington University for the National Institutes of Health. Dallas Medical and Surgical Clinic brought Dr. Kawasaki to Dallas in November 1968 and to Baylor Medical College.
Dr. Kawasaki established a solo otorhinolaryngology practice in 1971 at 10801 East Northwest Hwy (Mediterranean Drive and Northwest Hwy) where he practiced until his retirement in 2000.
Dr.Kawasaki was Honorary Consul General of Japan in the Dallas - Fort Worth metroplex from 1986 - 1992. He was a founding member of the Japan-American Society in Dallas in 1970 and served as its President.
Photograph: Dr. Masashi Kawasaki, courtesy of WFAA - Highland Meadows Preservation Foundation
Diane Burgdorf
“Just an Ordinary Millionaress" + Drill Team Member + Daughter in Law of Margaret Thatcher
Diane Burgdorf, daughter of Ted and Lois Burgdorf, was born on October 4, 1960 and grew up on Rolling Rock Lane in the Lakeland Hills section of Highland Meadows. Diane attended Lake Highlands High School and was a member of the drill team, her teachers recall her in a 1986 United Press interview as an excellent student. “She was not the stereotype of the drill team member some people have,” said Kathleen Fitzpatrick, her teacher in advanced English courses. “I’d say beautiful and brainy. She has something to offer the Thatchers.”
Diane met Mark Thatcher, son of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, while attending Southern Methodist University. Diane was a glamorous blonde whose father, a successful used car dealer, described her as “just an ordinary millionaress…”
Diane and Mark were married on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1987 in the Savoy Chapel in London. The couple moved to Highland park where they raised two children. They later moved to Cape Town, South Africa in 2004 where ultimately Mark was arrested and charged with funding a coup in Equatorial Guinea. Diane returned to Dallas where she soon announced that she and Mark would divorce. Soon after she began dating and later was married to James Beckett III, a statistics professor, author, editor and publisher.
Photograph: Diane Burgdorf, 1986, courtesy of Associated Press - Highland Meadows Preservation Foundation