My Father's Eyes

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I did it - I finally finished this one! I was beginning to think that it would never happen.

This is a bit of a departure from my other videos - mixing of older clips with films that are more recent. This is a tribute to Vic Morrow (1929-1982) and Jennifer Jason Leigh - father and daughter who sadly were estranged and when Vic tragically was killed in a helicopter crash - along with two young and illegally hired Vietnamese children - while shooting an action sequence for "Twilight Zone: The Movie" (1984), the tragedy left both his daughters (the eldest is Carrie Ann Morrow) with grief and loss. His children were only 5 and 2, respectively, when he and his first wife, actress/screenwriter Barbara Turner divorced. Barbara was awarded custody of the girls and Vic to his dismay was not able to see them as much as he would have liked to. The youngest, Jennifer Leigh Morrow later changed her name when she decided to be an actress so that she would be able to make it on her own in the business and not rely on her dad's fame, but Vic took it very hard and was deeply upset by it, which caused him to make very little provision for her in his will. For Jennifer, just 20 years old at the time of her father's death and on the verge of her breakout film to be released ("Fast Times At Ridgemont High"), it was hurtful and she was devastated by the fact that she had lost him forever and would never be able to make things right between them. "That's the tragedy of it - there's always hope that you'll get it together, that there's no rush. And when something like that happens out of the blue, it takes that chance away. So there's a lot of pain," Jennifer told People Magazine in 1983. In an earlier article, about four months after the tragedy, Jennifer stated that she loved her father deeply and had hoped for a reconciliation. Carrie said that Vic saw Jennifer's performance in the 1982 TV movie "The Best Little Girl In The World" and he was very proud of her. Jennifer joined her sister Carrie in a wrongful death lawsuit against the director of the film segment, John Landis and others, settling the dispute out of court for an undisclosed amount. She has since declined to discuss her father publicly in recent years, as it remains a very painful chapter in her life, which is understandable. It's astounding how she has inherited the talent of her parents and how much she resembles Vic - not just in looks but also in mannerisms. Anyway, the point of this video is to show that Jennifer can look into her eyes and see her father. He's always there, and a part of her. In March 2010, Jennifer gave birth to a baby boy, so now part of her and Vic lives in her son. Music by Eric Clapton. Hope you like it!

Clips are from:

Vic:

"Blackboard Jungle" (1955)
"Bonanza" Episode "The Avenger" (1961)
"Combat!" TV Series (1962-1966)
"Charlie's Angels" (1976-1981), Season Three, "Angels In Vegas" (1978)
"Twilight Zone: The Movie" (1984)

Jennifer:

"Eyes Of A Stranger" (1981)
"Fast Times At Ridgemont High" (1982)
"The Hitcher" (1985)
"Rush" (1991)
"Dolores Claiborne" (1995)

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Vic
• Morrow
• Jennifer
• Jason
• Leigh
• OneTrueMedia

[Kaffyboy]

This is so lovely Colleen. It was so sad that he was estranged at the time of his death. Life is too short for rifts I think. They never had the chance to patch things up. When I was at his grave, his headstone read Ï loved him as Dad, to everyone else, he was Vic"' It was done by Carrie Morrow. JJL has refused to talk about her dad since he died.

[Muirmaiden]

@Kaffyboy, agreed, life is too short for rifts. I saw footage of Vic's funeral and Jennifer looked very distraught. She did talk about him briefly after his death but in the 90s she stated, "I don't really talk about my dad. Too sad." She thought she had time to get close to him, but fate had other plans. I'd like to think that somehow Vic knows that Jennifer did love him. Certainly there's a lot of Vic in Jennifer. She and Carrie arranged their dad's funeral.

[silviaclamar]

me pregunto si ella vió este video. Más que en sus ojos ella se le parece en su boca, el modo de sacar el labio superior por sabre el inferior, las comisuras junto a la boca, su mentón. Lástima que no fueron muy cercanos.

[swastikausa]

its fun imaging all the vulnerable women she played and how vic would have fought for her.

[timberry0215]

Hi Carrie. This is Tim from Florida. We were friends back in the 80.s. I don't remember everyone but Turk O'Connor Nancy and my Brother Bill are some Im sure you remember.. I never really had a chance to tell you how awful I thought that whole deal was. My best to you. Im at timberry0215@gmail.co if you see this. Tim

[mensahcarrelle]

she looks so much like him !

[scifi707]

Beautiful tribute!

[Realmbelli]

Very nice, as usual :-)

[Dayniac4324]

Beautiful video tribute... I'm sure glad it happened ! Thank you ... love it !!

[fraaaaaag]

Beautiful video, loving momeries.