Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Have Genealogists Been Characters in Movies?

I got to wondering if any movie or TV characters have played genealogists or family historians in popular movies. It turns out that there have been a few:

1) James Bond (played by George Lazenby) in On Her Majesties Secret Service (1969) played a stuffy genealogist who was soon overwhelmed by the ladies in Blofeld's Swiss chalet.

2) Strega in Amore (Italian, DVD in 2005) - In this romantic horror movie, a family hires a genealogist to help them assemble the late patriarch's papers. While there, he falls in love with the daughter who is not nearly as angelic as she looks. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

That's all I could find in a simple Google search. I saw the Bond flick many years ago and somehow missed his vocation amidst the Blofeld girls. The Italian movie may be in English as A Witch in Love.

There are many movies and TV shows that cover families in history - see http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/article.aspx?article=11109 for a short list submitted by researchers.

Any others you know about? Tell us - I'll add them to the list.

1 comment:

Sally J. said...

In a recent episode of The Simpsons, Lisa is working on her family tree for a homework assignment. For those of you not familiar with my favorite TV family, Lisa is a straight-A student.

Concerned that her boring lineage will get her a bad grade and ruin her chances at attending an ivy league college, Lisa falsely claims that her ancestors were members of the fictional “Hitachee” tribe.

This scene is at the kitchen table, and "Hitachee" was inspired by the Hitachi microwave.

Next to Lisa on the table is a stack of genealogy how-to books. I squealed with delight when I noticed them. Now I wish I had written down the titles!