opinion

Judy Putnam: Aging creatively in East Lansing

EAST LANSING – Proving that creativity doesn’t disappear with age, two dozen residents of Burcham Hills retirement center modeled for a delightful 2016 calendar based on famous Hollywood scenes.

Photographs were taken of the retirees recreating iconic moments from the big and little screens. The calendar goes on sale this week for $10. A signing party will be held Tuesday.

For January, there’s Holly Golightly from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” with her signature cigarette holder, tiara, pearls and silver tea service.

Other months feature a dapper James Bond holding a gun from a “Dr. No” scene; Mary Poppins, umbrella in hand, lifting off over London; and Rocky with his arms raised in triumph.

There’s also Lucy and Ethel in the chocolate factory. You know the scene. It’s the one where the conveyor belt goes too fast and they start stuffing candies in their mouths to keep up.



The project is the brainchild of Burcham Hills resident Bruce Greenman, who recreates Sean Connery’s James Bond in the photo for May 2016. Greenman, 94, has a background in musical theater (he created the now defunct Burcham Little Theater on the Hill that produced Broadway shows for six seasons) and has been working on the calendar idea for two years.

Greenman has lived at the retirement community for a decade. When Eleanor Pinkham, 89, moved in last year, he cast her immediately.

“From the day Eleanor moved in here, I said ‘Holly Golightly,’” Greenman said.

Pinkham, 89, posed for the iconic scene made famous by Audrey Hepburn.

“It was fun,” Pinkham declares. She made trips to the mall to buy costume jewelry and other accessories while others dug into a supply of costumes from Riverwalk Theater.



The staff sold commercial sponsorships for each of the 14 months (it includes January and February 2017 to give it a longer shelf life) to underwrite the costs. Alesha Williams, the recreation and therapy manager who used to work as a professional photographer, took the photos. Maia Harris, 15, the homeschooled daughter of Marcy Harris, the resident center director, volunteered to photo-shop the images to help set the scenes.

But the residents came up with the ideas, costumes and props to create “Show Business Legends.” Other characters are based on “The Honeymooners,” Shirley Temple in “Bright Eyes,” Charlie Chaplin in “The Tramp,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “Casablanca,” “Gone with the Wind,” “Laurel and Hardy” and Cary Grant and Mae West in “She Done Him Wrong.”

The oldest model, LeRoy Dugan, playing Dr. Watson in “Sherlock Holmes,” is 100.

“It’s definitely a resident-led project, which is wonderful,” said Marcy Harris. “It’s been a big topic of conversation.”

Gay Hanna, executive director of the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit National Center for Creative Aging, told me that with age, life experiences and skills come together to produce creative work.

“Later life is the creative age,” she said. “As we age both sides of our brain start working together. That’s why the theory of ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ … is wrong.”

The calendar project idea was borrowed. Other similar calendars have used modern films but Greenman said he rejected scenes from newer movies.

“We’re 80, 90 years old. I wanted them from our time. These are stars of our time," he said.

Judy Putnam is a columnist with the Lansing State Journal. Contact her at (517) 267-1304 or at jputnam@lsj.com. Write to her at 120 E. Lenawee St., Lansing, MI, 48919. Follow her on Twitter @JudyPutnam.