Jim and Marian Jordan “Fibber McGee and Molly”

by Bob Doucette

 

Born and raised in Peoria, Jim (1896-1988) and Marian Jordan (1898-1961) were national stars during the golden age of radio. The couple were natural performers and formed a vaudeville-style traveling group soon after getting married. After working in radio for a few years, their act eventually became Fibber McGee and Molly. The show premiered in 1935 and was the top-rated program in America during World War II. The show was eventually adapted into a series of feature films and came to an end after a 24-year run. The couple are members of the Radio Hall of Fame and have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

About the Mural Artist

Bob Doucette’s whimsical and highly saturated paintings come from the world of dreams. Sometimes bordering on surreal, his imagery is a product of a decade of theater work, puppetry and twenty-five years in the world of animation. As an animation director he was responsible for many well known animated children’s programs for PBS including, Chloe’s Closet, Dive Olly Dive and Clifford’s Puppy Days. He started in animation at Warner Bros. and was involved with many classics like Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs. His independently animated films won him many prestigious awards and honors and his MFA thesis film Pink Triangle, the first animated film to depict the persecution of homosexuals by the Nazis, is in the permanent collection at the New York Public Library. As a doll maker Bob has been in galleries since the early 90s. His Ben Franklin doll, created for the White House Christmas tree in 1999, is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian. Many of his dolls are in the private collection of Demi Moore and have been featured in books, magazine articles, and TV programs. 

Bob earned a BFA at Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA at CalARTS and studied both illustration and animation. He was born in Waterville Maine and at present lives in Peoria with his husband Tom and his two cats Gingerbread Princess Pumpkin-head. Website: http://bobdoucette.com/

About the Augmented Reality Performing Artists

Chip Joyce is a director, actor, and designer with over 100 theatrical credits throughout Central Illinois. He works as a graphic designer for Bradley University and is happy to be playing a true Peoria legend for the Big Picture, an organization for which he cares deeply!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mary Ellen Milem’s first appearance on stage was in A Christmas Carol (1975) and she hasn’t been able to shake the bug yet. Since moving to Peoria, she has performed at Peoria Players, Eastlight, the Apollo, Shore Acres with Chillicothe Players Theater, and at Corn Stock in both the tent and the theater center as well as working on sets and sewing costumes. She participates in improv events with Die Laughing Entertainment and has done several film projects. Milem graduated Magna Cum Laude from Bradley University with a BS in Industrial Engineering just two weeks before her fiftieth birthday. She has been a member of the Caterpillar Employees Mixed Chorus for several years and is involved in many areas of our church as well as attending (fully costumed) Renaissance Festivals, reading, and playing Dungeons & Dragons with friends. Her most important roles are as a wife to a wonderful husband, a mom to three adult kids and four cats, and a grandma to eight energetic grandchildren!