Discovering The Mature Lifestyle Pickleball continues to grow in popularity with seniors. Page 3
Arts & Recreation April Issue
BY SUE WEBBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Bob DeFlores grew up in Hollywood, the only child of parents who were performers in movies, radio and nightclubs. He lived next door to Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, and went to school with David and Ricky Nelson. His aunt Iris appeared with Johnny Weissmuller in the Tarzan series, and his aunt Gladys worked as a secretary for Harold Lloyd. In 1953, when he was 17, DeFlores began collecting old films and movies. “Over the years I’ve found a lot of rare films and helped to preserve them,” he said. “When you grow up like that, it gets in your blood. It’s what keeps me alive. I like history.” His collection now numbers 6,000 films, which he shares through film programs for TV stations and organizations throughout the country that are looking for footage for documentaries, tributes and TV specials. Since 1977, DeFlores has provided film for 250 documentaries and 40 biographies, he said. “Movies are art,” he said. “They paint pictures in your mind.” A resident of Richfield, DeFlores came to the Twin Cities in 1969 to work as an art director for Ellerbe, a Minneapolis architectural film. “KSTP found out about my huge archives, and I would be on TV once or twice a month with something unique or rare,” DeFlores said. He left Ellerbe in 1977 to devote full time to pursuing his passion for finding and preserving rare films. His work takes him all over the country. “It’s mind-boggling what’s
April 21, 2016
happened since I left Ellerbe,” he said. His specialties are early musicals, jazz and big band movies. Among his collected movies are some of the early Bing Crosby films. In 1976, DeFlores donated “Swing with Bing” to be shown at the Bing Crosby Golf Tournament in Pebble Beach, California. Crosby had lost his copy of the 1937 movie and hadn’t seen the film for years. As a result, Crosby invited DeFlores to his home in 1977 and subsequently arranged to make copies of other films available to him. DeFlores has remained close to Crosby’s family since then and now is the official Bing Crosby family archivist. Films from DeFlores’ collection have been used in tributes to a variety of stars in addition to Crosby, with whom DeFlores become friends. DeFlores also has assisted many other celebrities in completing their film libraries, including Ginger Rogers, Eleanor Powell, Shirley Temple, Tex Beneke, Buddy Rogers, the family of W.C. Fields, Loretta Young, Frankie Carle and Phil Harris. “Anytime you have film of an actor, it opens doors for you,” he said. “They invite you to their house, and the next thing you know, you’re a friend.” Over the years, DeFlores estimates he’s found and preserved at least 1,000 movies. “I have one of the largest jazz collections in the country,” he said. Many of the 6,000 films he owns are stored in a limestone quarry in Kansas; others are housed in a cool basement in downtown Minneapolis. He has worked with CBS and NBC, and supplies the Grammy Awards and the Kennedy Center Honors with Bob DeFlores, a Richfield resident, grew up in Hollywood and has spent much of his life collecting old films and movies. DEFLORES - TO PAGE 3 (Submitted photo).