Wilmington has been synonymous with the East Coast film industry for over four decades now, since producer Frank Capra, Jr. (1934-2007) [pictured¹] arrived in southeast North Carolina in the fall of 1983 to shoot Firestarter (1984), based on the 1980 novel by Stephen King and starring a young Drew Barrymore.

Capra, Jr. eventually decided to form a Wilmington-based company, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, with Universal Pictures’ production head Dino De Laurentiis (1919-2010). The company would work out of their newly built Carolco Studios, better known as EUE/Screen Gems Studios after its acquisition in 1996. At the same time, Capra, Jr. was named the President of EUE/Screen Gems in Wilmington. The studio facility would change its name again in 2023, when it was bought by Cinespace Studios.

Beyond work, Capra Jr. took quickly to the Port City, buying a house in the Hancock Park area of town and marrying a local, Deborah Ann Sprunt, who had previously been married to Kenneth Sprunt, Jr. of the Sprunt family. Capra, Jr. also joined the Wilmington Rotary Club [pictured²] in March 1997...

...though per this memo [pictured³] from January 4, 1999, his attendance in the two years since was lax, leading the Attendance Committee to note he should be dropped from the club's membership. However, he was listed again on the club's 1999-2000 roster for that next membership year and did not fall off until 2000-2001.

Capra, Jr. was the son of famed Golden Age director Frank Capra (1897-1991), best known for films like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and It’s A Wonderful Life (1946). For many years, Capra, Jr. held an annual screening of his father’s holiday classic in town. To learn more about the filming of Firestarter and Capra, Jr.’s time in Wilmington, take a look at the Frank Capra, Jr. Collection.

Sources:

1. MS 250 Frank Capra, Jr. Collection, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History
2. MS 215 Herman Blizzard Rotary Archive, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History
3. MS 215 Herman Blizzard Rotary Archive, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History

Every year, October marks American Archives Month, an advocacy initiative of the Society of American Archivists. Archival institutions across the country highlight their collections with activities and events to promote awareness of archival materials and the importance of maintaining historical records.

Here in North Carolina, the Society of North Carolina Archivists (SNCA) selects an annual theme for archivists across the state to follow when showcasing the work they do in making primary sources accessible to the public.

This year’s theme is North Carolina’s 250th, in honor of the nation approaching its 250th anniversary in 2026, and celebrates the “different peoples of North Carolina and the part they played in the history of the country” since 1776. Special Collections’ manuscript collections contain primary and secondary material that document significant national moments from the last 250 years. Here are some of the people of southeast North Carolina that have made an impact over the years:

18th Century

The Declaration of Independence was signed by three men from North Carolina: Joseph Hewes, John Penn, and William Hooper (1742-1790). Hooper lived in Wilmington at the time, where he’d been practicing law since 1764, and owned a house [pictured¹] on the Masonboro Sound from 1773-1801. He represented New Hanover County on the first Committee of Correspondence, coordinating patriot opposition to British policies in advance of the American Revolution. This work would lead to his election to both the First and Second Continental Congresses. Though he missed the approval of the Declaration on July 4, 1776, he returned to Philadelphia on August 2 and signed not far below John Hancock.

19th Century

The World's Columbian Exposition, commonly referred to as the World’s Fair, was held in Chicago in 1893 and was one of the largest of the fairs, with more than 27 million visitors from across the globe. Florence Hill Kidder (1850-1917) was appointed a "lady manager" for the state of North Carolina by the World's Columbian Commission and helped with the many North Carolina exhibits that were displayed in the subject-specific halls. Her colonial exhibit won an award [pictured²], and upon her return to North Carolina, she established the North Carolina chapter of the National Society for the Colonial Dames of America in 1894. Kidder lived with her husband, George, at 308 Dock Street in downtown Wilmington, where the home, known as the Kidder House, still stands today.

20th Century

Amidst the national civil rights movement, the New Hanover County school system faced community pressure and legal action for its lack of progress towards desegregating schools, as mandated by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954. Integration finally happened in 1968 and included the closure of the Black high school, Williston, where long-time educator and community leader Bertha Boykin Todd (1929-) [pictured³] worked as a librarian before moving to an administrative role at Hoggard High School. Racial tensions post desegregation ultimately led to violence and riots in 1971, when ten individuals, known as the Wilmington Ten, were accused of setting a grocery store on fire. Todd worked to sow peace and amity within the schools during this tumultuous time and later helped to exonerate the Wilmington Ten, all part of her ongoing activism and efforts to build multicultural relationships in New Hanover County. You can learn more about her life in the Bertha Boykin Todd Papers. 

Sources

1. MS 418 Relvin Vaughn (R.V.) Asbury, Jr. Papers, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History

2. MS 083 Kidder Award and Certificate of Membership, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History

3. MS 408 Star-News Image Archive, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History