Why hasn't this been made into a movie
Unless it was bad and I missed it maybe?
On PBS tonight I caught a short program called For Gold and Glory. It was about a separate auto racing league for black drivers in the 20s and 30s.
The focus was on Charles Wiggins who was as great a mechanic as he was a driver. So much of his life would make for a great movie. He was married to a woman who was as enthusiastic about racing as he was. In fact, he forced her to drop out of a race when he found out she was pregnant (I think she may have been hiding it a little to race). The had three sons 10 years before, all born one year apart, all who died before their first birthdays of TB. Can't you see this moment in a movie? Her determination to race, his to have a child. Unfortunately she would lose this baby, too, but unrelated to racing.
There's another story about how the Bill Cummings, winner of the 1934 Indy 500, wanted to hire him to his crew because he was the greatest mechanic in Indiana at the time. However, the governing body of white racing wouldn't allow him to be hired as anything other than a janitor, so by day he swept and cleaned and then when the officials were gone he and the crew would work into the night on that year's winning Indy Car. And Cummings after the win never concealed Wiggins' involvement. He always attributed his win to Wiggins.
His last race even sounds like a scene from a movie. Both he and his wife showed up at the Gold and the Glory Sweepstakes race sensing something bad was going to happen. The Gold and the Glory was like the Indy 500 for the black drivers and teams. It was to be raced on a dirt track. Before the race the officials had wet the track to control the dust and improve handling. Right before the start of the race, one of the teams took issue with the officials about the equipment of another team. A two-hour long argument ensued. The whole time Wiggins watched the track, saying that someone was going to get hurt if they didn't start the race soon. When the race did at last start, the track conditions were miserable. The track had dried so it was like racing in a dust storm. There was an 13 car wreck. Wiggins was involved. At first his car was on top of his leg, and as some other drivers were lifting the car to get him out, another car slammed into Wiggins. He ended up losing his leg and ending his racing career. He was such a popular driver that the league ended up folding.
But rather than sink into a life of desparation (if this were Million Dollar Baby Clint Eastwood would have him killed off by now) he continued to pursue his passion of auto mechanics for the rest of his life. Yes, even after his fame and glory years he and his wife both passed away virtually penniless, so their graves are unmarked.
There are so many more episodes in his life that would hold up well cinematically. Not only is his a "good story" (if it were just that you could just write a country song about him and be done), but there are so many parts of the story that show you how courage is rewarded and how determination can take many forms.
I think it would be a good vehicle for Taye Diggs. The resemblance is uncanny. Also, both Wiggins and Diggs are shorter men.
On PBS tonight I caught a short program called For Gold and Glory. It was about a separate auto racing league for black drivers in the 20s and 30s.
The focus was on Charles Wiggins who was as great a mechanic as he was a driver. So much of his life would make for a great movie. He was married to a woman who was as enthusiastic about racing as he was. In fact, he forced her to drop out of a race when he found out she was pregnant (I think she may have been hiding it a little to race). The had three sons 10 years before, all born one year apart, all who died before their first birthdays of TB. Can't you see this moment in a movie? Her determination to race, his to have a child. Unfortunately she would lose this baby, too, but unrelated to racing.
There's another story about how the Bill Cummings, winner of the 1934 Indy 500, wanted to hire him to his crew because he was the greatest mechanic in Indiana at the time. However, the governing body of white racing wouldn't allow him to be hired as anything other than a janitor, so by day he swept and cleaned and then when the officials were gone he and the crew would work into the night on that year's winning Indy Car. And Cummings after the win never concealed Wiggins' involvement. He always attributed his win to Wiggins.
His last race even sounds like a scene from a movie. Both he and his wife showed up at the Gold and the Glory Sweepstakes race sensing something bad was going to happen. The Gold and the Glory was like the Indy 500 for the black drivers and teams. It was to be raced on a dirt track. Before the race the officials had wet the track to control the dust and improve handling. Right before the start of the race, one of the teams took issue with the officials about the equipment of another team. A two-hour long argument ensued. The whole time Wiggins watched the track, saying that someone was going to get hurt if they didn't start the race soon. When the race did at last start, the track conditions were miserable. The track had dried so it was like racing in a dust storm. There was an 13 car wreck. Wiggins was involved. At first his car was on top of his leg, and as some other drivers were lifting the car to get him out, another car slammed into Wiggins. He ended up losing his leg and ending his racing career. He was such a popular driver that the league ended up folding.
But rather than sink into a life of desparation (if this were Million Dollar Baby Clint Eastwood would have him killed off by now) he continued to pursue his passion of auto mechanics for the rest of his life. Yes, even after his fame and glory years he and his wife both passed away virtually penniless, so their graves are unmarked.
There are so many more episodes in his life that would hold up well cinematically. Not only is his a "good story" (if it were just that you could just write a country song about him and be done), but there are so many parts of the story that show you how courage is rewarded and how determination can take many forms.
I think it would be a good vehicle for Taye Diggs. The resemblance is uncanny. Also, both Wiggins and Diggs are shorter men.
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