John Autry

Educator Appreciation Alert: This is Mrs. Horton. She was my Freshman and Sophomore English teacher. Our Freshman year we read "Huckleberry Finn" and "Great Expectations" out loud in class. Apparently Mrs. Horton saw something in me when I read my assigned parts. In the spring of 1968 she wanted to talk to me after class. She told me about the summer workshop conducted by Pat Reese at the Fayetteville Little Theatre and suggested that I might be interested in participating.

So I did.

That summer exposed me to a whole world I had no idea was out there. First of all there was Pat Reese, a recovering alcoholic and co-founder of the Myrover-Reese Home in Cumberland County. He was a writer for the Fayetteville Observer and a single parent. And he loved the theatre. He led me on a path of discovery that changed my life.

#TeacherAppreciationWeek #ThankAnEducator

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May 5, 2025 at 7:18pmWeb
Show threadJohn AutryMay 5, 2025

Then there was Tom Savini. Don't know who Tom Savini is? Well look him up. He was stationed at Ft. Bragg and had been the makeup artist for "Night of the Living Dead" before being drafted. I never knew there were books about movies and actors until I met Tom. He was so talented not only in the makeup craft but as a performer. One Christmas we did a stage version of Snow White & the 7 Dwarfs and we made 7 kids bald caps and applied age makeup. What a hoot. Tom went back to Pittsburg after his separation and picked up where he left off with George A. Romero for the next 2 Dead movies along with "Creepshow" the first "Friday the 13th" and on and on.

I continued to work on shows until I graduated and then went to California to attend college and seek fame and fortune in the movies. Needless to say Mrs. Horton likely had the most profound effect on me at a very formative period. Shaping who I became and influencing a desire to reactivate myself from time to time. Enthusiastic for what may be around the next corner. Eager to get there.

I never got to let her know how she impacted my life with that one little suggestion. Thank you Mrs. Horton for setting me on this path that I am still on.

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