Tuesday, January 2, 2007

~*~*~IN MEMORIA~*~*~

DEDICATED IN LOVING REMEMBRANCE OF ROSS ALEXANDER

JULY 27, 1907~JANUARY 2, 1937

This site has been created not only to serve as a memorial but as a celebration of Mr. Alexander's birth centenary. It also has been established to correct the continuing inaccuracies, rumors, outrageously indulgent lies and just plain idiocy which have been perpetrated and perpetuated for the last two decades. Incessantly, misinformation has been eagerly proliferated by the ignorant and careless. Blatant fabrications are cheerfully published by authors with a ravenous self-appointed agenda; clearly manufacturing their personal version of Ross Alexander to season their worthless biographies of Mr. Alexander's associates. It is obvious that said authors think Mr. Alexander is so obscure that they can write virtually anything about him and who would possibly know the difference?

Well, think again.

Welcome to the Ross Alexander Chronicle. My name is Melissa Delgado. As a devotee and collector of Mr. Alexander for 51 years, I felt that if anyone was going to attempt to record Mr. Alexander's life incorporating legitimate source material as well as correspondence with people who actually knew the man, it would have to be yours truly.

The greater part of material herein was originally a 100 page article intended for Classic Images Magazine. Although lauded, I was informed by the editor that it would have to be pared down to 20 pages. My first thought was-----and precisely which 80 pages of information should I discard? Even though the length was previously discussed with Mr. King and agreed upon, the revised editing mandate was simply too severe. Thus, I declined to publish.

Since then, the article has been periodically updated and is now ready once more for perusal. Needless to say, as more information and data is discovered, it shall be included herewith. Although this site is formatted as a blog, the primary use is to issue Mr. Alexander's biography. Any comments kindly given by readers shall remain private and not for public examination.

It is my sincerest hope that any reader, either a fellow admirer, a neophyte fan or the merely curious, will come away with a sense of the man and respect for both Mr. Alexander and his work. The restoration of Mr. Alexander's dignity and an appreciation of his engaging talents is a personal objective. If the reader is educated, entertained but most of all, beguiled by the charm and endearing persona that is Ross Alexander, then this site will have served its purpose.

"Demetrius, I will keep my Word withThee."
~A Midsummer Night's Dream~

THAT'S GRATITUDE:

Heartfelt appreciation to my beloved whiz kid, Denise Fetterly for both her incredible networking as well as technical assistance with this site. With her continual encouragement, patience and generosity above and beyond the call of friendship, she has inspired and helped me in ways she has never realized. I simply could not have lived my life without her. A loving hug to Ginny Michaels for her amazing contributions, not only as a dear and giving friend, but by way of genealogical research and the time and effort it took to locate and photograph family burial plots as well as pertinent landmarks. Because of her, I have been generously gifted with information I never could have had otherwise. Another affectionate hug of gratitude goes to Anne Parisi who first photographed the Freile internment plot as well as attempted to locate the family home. Kind as well as intrepid, her efforts are also treasured. I have been truly blessed by these three and I am forever in their debt.