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The Pinecone
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March 2015
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For star-struck wannabees, Tinseltown was the place to be. The
place to become known, to be Somebody! So it was with a young
girl of 16 years of age, Stella Brown, daughter of Stella Jones
Brown and John Preston Brown.
Determined to establish herself in Hollywood, Stella moved
to California to live with an older sister. Acting was not her
strong interest but, rather, the production side of the movie
industry. In 1941, Stella and her sister went to San Diego’s Del
Mar Race Track, and were invited to visit the Track’s Turf Club.
It was here that Stella got her first ‘taste of fame by association’
– meeting the famous actors William Powell and Pat O’Brian
and, later, Donald O’Connor who sang to her. She found work
at Universal Studios, working initially in the mailroom; a
fortuitous position because her delivery route included daily
contact with the office staffs of the Studio’s President and Vice
President, and on-set homes of Dianna Durbin and Charles
Boyer both of whom signed autographs for the starstruck young
woman. Attending her first Studio Christmas party gave Stella
her first taste of “spirits”, but the Vice President was kind enough
to have his limousine driver take her for a ride to clear her head.
She was an avid reader of the Hollywood Reporter and Variety
Magazines, and spotted an announcement for an upcoming movie
“George White Scandals”. Maybe this was her chance to make
it big. Stella was one of hundreds of girls to be interviewed, but
couldn’t meet the basic requirement to be a professional dancer;
she had never had dance lessons. Nevertheless, she was selected to
join a troupe that toured across the United States, from California
to Boston, MA and the East Coast and down through the Southern
States, closing in San Antonio, TX with a glittering party held at
the Grey Moss Inn.
Starstruck no longer, she left the California movie scene and
settled in Memphis; as she puts it “she grew up”. We know her as
Stella Ely, a Kirby Pines resident who recalls friends in the movie
industry and who in later years, became a mother, grandmother,
and leader of Memphis-based community ministries. She married
Dr. William E. Hurt in 1946, and they had 5 children. He passed
away in 1965. In 1972, Stella married Richard Ely and the blended
family grew to 8 children, 13 grandchildren, and 11 great grands.
She and Richard established the Fountain of Life Ministries, and
were diligent in exploring additional volunteer opportunities.
Richard passed away in 1999.
Youthful dreams – we’ve all had them. As adults, we have
visions of what can be done to provide succor to those in need.
Both dreams and visions have their place in our lives, and what we
do with them give shape to who we ultimately are. Stella had her
dreams and lived them, so to speak. As an adult, she understood
the broader purpose of her life and embraced the efforts required
to bear fruit, not for “self” only but for the larger community of
which we all are a part. Well done, Stella.
-Jacqueline Besteman,
Resident
I think the best part in going to the movies
is you feel something and you relate,
whether it’s to family struggles or dimming your light
for someone. I would say to never dim your light
and to really, truly follow your dreams.
- Tika Sumpter
A couple beautiful
head shots from
Stella’s early career
L I V I N G T H E D R E A M
Stella Ely