July 15, 2003

Contact: Angela Logan (201) 921-3833; Roger Hrabe, Rooks County Economic Development Council (785) 425-6881; Twila Sanders, Stockton Chamber of Commerce (785) 425-6556; Char Heenan, Nova Theatre (785) 425-6759.

African-American TV pioneer, KU alum returns to Kansas for tribute in Stockton

LAWRENCE -- Lorenzo Fuller Jr., 84, an African-American musical prodigy who became a television pioneer in New York City, will return to his hometown of Stockton in western Kansas for the first time in many years. A tribute in his honor is planned in Stockton's renovated Nova Theatre, 517 Main St., at 8 p.m. Thursday, July 24. A 7 p.m. reception precedes the program.

Fuller left Kansas after graduating from the University of Kansas in 1941 with a degree in music to attend the Juilliard School in New York City. Eventually he performed on Broadway, on national radio and on early television.

He is returning to his Kansas hometown at the request of a TV producer and biographer, Angela Logan of Teaneck, N.J. The July 24 tribute to Fuller is a fund-raising event to help Logan produce a documentary, "Lorenzo Fuller: Black Pioneer in Early Television." Her proposal for this project won her acceptance at the Sundance Producers Conference during summer 2002.

Smoky Hills Public Television will film parts of the tribute for the documentary, which will explore Fuller's life and career of making history in Kansas, in the broadcast industry and among African-Americans, Logan said. She will be in Kansas for five days following the tribute, working with Smoky Hills Public Television to interview area residents who knew Fuller and his family. His Stockton relatives include three cousins

As a KU student Fuller was known as the "Paul Robeson of KU" for his performance in "The Emperor Jones." While a KU student, Fuller performed monthly on KFKU radio and became the first black man to sing with the KU Symphony. An estimated crowd of 2,000 showed up for his solo senior recital, compared with the 75 or so who usually attended that type of event, Logan said.

Fuller spent much of his life pioneering in the new medium of television entertainment and as an African-American in the arts. Logan said, "In 1947, Fuller was host for a 15-minute musical show on NBC television and went on to become a musical director and special effects manager for hit TV shows such as: 'Robert Montgomery Presents,' 'The Ted Steele Show,' 'The Jerry Lester Show,' among others. He competed on the 'Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts' and won."

Fuller's radio show, "Van and the Genie," on WPIX in New York City, was the first show in the nation where a black man starred opposite a white woman. He was the first black in the nation to have his own TV show: "Musical Miniatures." Nat King Cole followed Fuller a few years later with his own show.

"His [Fuller's] contribution to television has been largely overlooked," Logan said. A professional actress whose interest in photography and cinematography led her to producing documentaries, Logan said she met Fuller through her agent. "He was introduced to me as the vocal coach to the stars." The more Logan learned about Fuller's career, the more she was convinced his contributions to television and the entertainment industry needed to be documented on film.

Born in Stockton in 1919, Fuller left Kansas in 1945 for New York City. His mother, Effie Green Fuller, was the first black child to come to Rooks County, northwest of Hays. His grandfather "Cap'n" Green, a member of the 79th Colored Regiment of Kansas in the Civil War, was a pioneer homesteader. Fuller's father, L.D Fuller Sr., was a self-made man who flourished as a publisher (The American newspaper in Coffeyville), a barber and later as a musician.

His father founded the Fuller Concert Company, which entertained audiences throughout the Midwest from Kansas to Canada and Mexico. At age 8, Fuller was performing in his exceptional family's troupe. "Most of the audiences the company played for rarely saw blacks, let alone black musical talent playing classical music," Logan said.

At Logan's request, Stockton residents have located instruments from the Fuller Concert Company. The instruments, music and the family's touring car were sold in an estate auction several years ago, many purchased by Rooks County residents.

"We found the xylophone and some bells, but not the harps," Logan said. The family's touring car also was found but needs renovation. LaDonna Veverka Schneider, Jean Lindsey of the Rooks County Historical Society and Vada Hazen are some of the Stockton residents who are searching for Fuller memorabilia to display at the tribute.

Logan selected July 24 for the tribute to coincide with the annual emancipation celebration of Nicodemus, a frontier black settlement in Graham County, about 20 miles west of Stockton on the Solomon River. "Mr. Fuller's mother used to march in the annual parade at Nicodemus," Logan said.

One of the musical numbers planned for the tribute will be "Too Darned Hot," from Cole Porter's "Kiss Me Kate." "Mr. Fuller brought down the house with his high Fahrenheit rendition of 'Too Darned Hot' on Broadway," Logan said. Fuller has recalled that he visited Stockton when the song was popular. He told Logan, "My father was performing a religious selection at one end of town, and strains of 'Too Darn Hot' could be heard coming from a local jukebox."

Brett Schlaegle, a Stockton High School student, will sing "Too Darned Hot" and one of Fuller's own compositions, "Anybody's Child." Other vocal performers will include Stockton's mayor, Kim Thomas, and Stockton residents Wade Rozean and John Russ Jr., accompanist.

A number of Stockton area groups are working with Logan to produce the tribute to Fuller, including: Solomon Valley -- Highway 24 Heritage Alliance Inc., Rooks County Historical Society, Rooks County Economic Development, the Stockton Sentinel, the Stockton Chamber of Commerce, the Stockton Theatre Corp., the Kansas Film Commission and KU.

Roger Hrabe (pronounced ROH-bee), director of the Rooks County Economic Development Corp., is coordinating the tribute.

Stockton's Nova Theatre was renovated about seven years ago through the Stockton Arts Council and is operated as a nonprofit theatre by community volunteers. Char Heenan chairs the Nova board of directors, and her husband, Mike, does the bookkeeping. Deb Dix handles the maintenance and supplies; Sally Lowry trains volunteers for the projection work; and some 12 more community members rotate volunteering one weekend each month to manage the theatre for movies each weekend.