Friday, May 20, 2016

Progress, setback in search for crusading stripper

Exotic dancer Susanne Haines (edited)
Yesterday was one of those "good news, bad news" days in my on-again search for Susanne Haines -- the dancer at the center of Sacramento's landmark 1969 strip club indecency case.
The case made national headlines when Judge Earl Warren Jr. decided the jury needed to see the dance to decide whether it violated community standards. It also featured a performance from San Franciso dancer Carol Doda. It remains relevant because the case helped set the rules for exotic dance in California.
The bad news: new clues lead to yet another dead end (for now).
Good news: I found her sister Evangeline Fullmer AND she agreed to be interviewed on camera.
Finding Susanne has been no so simple get.
She was Susanne Haines
But first she was Susanne Tropper
then she was Susanne Register
and now Susanne Medina
Suddenly after months of no progress, I had actionable intelligence (i.e.  a phone number and address).
But alas it appears Susanne sold her central Florida residence and moved again. (Confirmed by a neighbor and realtor.com) If she not running sometimes it appears that way.
In the great news category, I've tracked down both her siblings Carlton Tropper and Evangeline (Tropper) Fullmer.
I spoke with Evangeline for about an hour.
The conversation started awkwardly, as one might suspect. I call out of the blue and her I am asking about things that happened nearly 50 years ago. But once we started talking, I think she enjoyed the trip down memory lane. At 73, she's sharp and thoughtful.
As a teen herself, Evangeline became the de facto mother to her younger sister Susanne and brother Carlton after their mother died and their father slid into alcoholism.
Susanne emerged as a free-thinking firebrand, unafraid to do her own thing.
"Susanne was different. She beat to her own drummer," Fullmer said. "Knowing Susanne I wasn't surprised," she said of her sister's path into stripping.
Susanne's sister won't be much help finding her. She didn't know Susanne had moved and isn't in regular contact with her once newsworthy sister.

Monday, May 9, 2016

News writer Ed Fletcher turns eye toward film




One should always have a bio ready for job they want. But I'd neglected one for film. After all, what am I going to say "I attend the CFAA screenwriters group monthly." That's true, mostly.

So while I've been steadily trying to convert creative ideas into action, I hadn't written a film bio. It's funny the things to fear.

Some months ago I agreed to host a school film forum. So when my contact (a teacher) messages me Saturday asking for a bio and reel of my work I finally had a deadline I couldn't shrug off. The highlight reel is above. The narrative film projects included are "Dance Step of Death" (2012) "Goldie" (2014) "Le Chapeau Genial" (2016) and "Save Quentin" (2016). It also including some of my work as a swashbuckling video reporter. Here's my film bio raft:  

Longtime Sacramento Bee reporter Ed Fletcher looks to follow a long line of journalists to transition into writing for film. Unlike many developing screenwriters, Ed has the fortitude, drive, and collaborative skills to bring those stories to the screen.As a writer and producer, Fletcher is not one to be typecast. His projects have tackled zombie outbreaks, gender identity, adolescent yearnings, mascot abduction, and free expression.His 2016 short film "Le chapeau gĂ©nial" received an award of distinction at the 2016 Sacramento International Film Festival. Fletcher's most recent completed project was a transmedia narrative "Save Quentin" that used social media, television, and radio to chronicle the abduction and rescue of local non-profit's mascot. Fletcher's creative exploration has included performing improv and standup comedy as well as attending the Burning Man counterculture festival annually.  He's an active member of the community and serves on the local community cable channel board of directors. After growing up in Sacramento's suburbs, he attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He returned to Sacramento in 2000 as a staff writer at The Bee.