TV Alert. PBS tonight- The Legend of Pancho Barnes

[Warbirdnerd]

Anyone seen this show yet?
THE LEGEND OF PANCHO BARNES AND THE HAPPY BOTTOM RIDING CLUB chronicles the thrilling life and extraordinary times of aviation pioneer Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes, one of the most colorful and accomplished women pilots of the early 20th century. ... Narrated by Tom Skerritt, with Kathy Bates as the voice of Barnes, THE LEGEND OF PANCHO BARNES employs newly discovered personal files, never-before-seen photos and rare movie footage to tell her story. The film also includes interviews with Pancho's biographers, and many of her friends, including General Charles 'Chuck' Yeager, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, and famed test pilots R.A. 'Bob' Hoover and Bob Cardenas.

[The Inspector]

Not on Seattles KCTS PBS outlet, we get a 4 year old 'Antiques Roadshow' and another Rick Steves 'Europe on the cheap' special, which is usually a membership fund raiser tub thumper.

[Pogo]

PBS in Houston gives us Antiques Roadshow, and then an Masterpiece Theater/Inspector Lewis double feature; and the fund drive ended over a week ago. Sigh. But thanks for the alert anyway.

[Russ Matthews]

There's a website dedicated to the film here...

http://www.legendofpanchobarnes.com/film/index.php

You can find lots of info including lists of upcoming screenings and broadcasts.

It is also available for dowload (for a fee) from Airshowbuzz...

http://www.asb.tv/videos/view.php?v=3b6ee5b9&a=feature

and for sale on DVD through Amazon.com ...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NHX1YK?ie=UTF8&tag=regulus-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B002NHX1YK

[Steve Nelson]

Neither of our PBS stations is showing it.

SN

[Jollygreenslugg]

I seem to recall a movie or a miniseries based on the life of Pancho Barnes. It was execrable. Really badly written, it was a sanitised version of her life. I hope it wasn't the one mentioned. If so, I hope nobody gets their hopes up and thinks it could be anything other than the stinker it is.

Cheers,
Matt

[IndyJen]

There was a terrible one filmed years ago, with Valerie Bertinelli, of all people, cast as Pancho Barnes.

There's been a new biopic filmed more recently. I haven't seen it, but there is no way on earth that it could be worse than the other one.

It's not showing in my area. I'd like to see it.

[Warbirdnerd]

I watched it and thought it was very good.
An interesting tid bit.
When Pancho found out her old Mystery Ship was going to be auctioned off (As Part of the TallMantz auction, I presume) her and her son headed to the auction. Once word got out Pancho was bidding on her old plane, the other bidders withdrew and she got it back. Does anyone know where her Mystery Ship is now?
Thanks.

[airnutz]

Does anyone know where her Mystery Ship is now?

As I understand, R613K was restored in the UK at Biggin Hill. No further word in the last decade...

[Warbirdnerd]

Does anyone know where her Mystery Ship is now?

As I understand, R613K was restored in the UK at Biggin Hill. No further word in the last decade...

I saw on her Wikipedia page that the Mystery Ship was being restored in the UK.
Another tidbit this time from the Wiki page, her son was killed in Oct 1980 flying P-51 44-73027 N51MP...

[airnutz]

Does anyone know where her Mystery Ship is now?

As I understand, R613K was restored in the UK at Biggin Hill. No further word in the last decade...

I saw on her Wikipedia page that the Mystery Ship was being restored in the UK.

Yep, that's been the general banter the past few years and is repeated or confirmed at the Pancho Barnes film website.
They also attempted to contact the owner but were unsuccessful.

[Russ Matthews]

I hope [the 1988 Valerie Bertinelli TV movie] wasn't the one mentioned [in the title of this thread].

No worries. "The Legend of Panch Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club" is a brand-new documentary film. It is based around a treasure trove of archival photos and artifacts from her colorful life and career, once thought lost in the 1953 fire that devastated her popular "dude ranch" and 9unofficial) test pilot hang out adjacent to Edwards AFB.

Also, of great interest to WIXers are a slew of original interviews with a veritable "All Star" team from America's Golden Age of Flight Test ... including Bob Cardenas, Bob Hoover, Chuck Yeager, and astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

A good friend and classmate of mine from USC film school wrote and produced this excellent film.