How Georgia’s TV and film industry ‘flew’ to new heights with ‘I’ll Fly Away’

Actors Jeremy London and Cara Buono (center) rehearse a scene from the season one episode "Slow Dark Coming" as crew members prepare for filming. (Courtesy of Celine Ciaccio)

On Oct. 7, 1991, the NBC civil rights drama “I’ll Fly Away” premiered on television. The series starred Sam Waterston of “Law and Order” as Forrest Bedford, a southern district attorney, and Regina Taylor as his quiet but strong-minded housekeeper Lily Harper as both experience the social and political changes of the 1950s South due to the uprising of the Civil Rights Movement.

With continuing storylines and an authentic portrayal of historical events, the series not only changed the face of network broadcast television but also the television and film community of Georgia, allowing local actors and crew members to take full flight with their talents.

A newspaper article from The Macon Telegraph, dated July 1992, with a feature story in center detailing the filming process of “I’ll Fly Away” in Madison, Georgia, and the profile of a recurring “I’ll Fly Away” extra printed on the right. (Courtesy of Peter Redding)

Georgia on my mind

When production began on the series in spring of 1991, only one other television series, NBC’s “In the Heat of the Night,” had taken up production full-time in Atlanta, starting in 1988. Most of the projects that came into the state, however, would spend a handful of months filming and then depart.

“Right now, you walk out the door and you see our film signs on every corner, but at that time, we had a film here and there, but otherwise it was pretty quiet,” said set decorator Amy McGary, would who later receive an Emmy for her work on a separate Atlanta filmed project in 1994. “We were a pretty rare breed for the time.”

“I’ll Fly Away” would be filmed entirely on location in Georgia and hiring Georgia crew members in leading positions, as opposed to recruiting Los Angeles veterans, as seen with “In the Heat of the Night.”

“There wasn’t a lot of day playing, there wasn’t a lot of film,” said Joani Yarbourgh, hair department head for the second season of the series. “If you weren’t department heading the few shows that were starting to come down to Georgia, it would be harder to work a lot.”

Did You Know?

Georgia residents hired onto department head positions throughout the series included Emmy Award-winning production designer Charles Burnett and Academy Award-winning (“Driving Miss Daisy”) make-up artist Lynn Barber.

Cast and crew prep for on location filming during shooting for a season one episode of the NBC series “I’ll Fly Away” in 1991. Film production is big business in Georgia thanks to the state’s generous film tax credit, but economists worry about rising costs and a lack of transparency. (Courtesy of Celine Ciaccio)

The shining of southern stars

While a majority of the regular cast was comprised of New York and L.A. natives, local child actor John Aaron Bennett of Flowery Branch broke the mold after being cast in the role of John Morgan, the youngest of the Bedford children and Waterson’s onscreen child.

Both the casting director Shay Griffin and Bennett immediately knew during their first meeting that he was the right boy for the part.

Before his roles in films such as “Pulp Fiction” and “Eve’s Bayou”, actor Samuel L. Jackson, then primarily a New York stage actor, guest starred on a second season episode of “I’ll Fly Away” as the ex-husband of series female lead character Lily Harper, played by Regina Taylor (Courtesy of Joe Thomas)

“I remember how nervous I was telling the producers that I was bringing in only one boy to read for them,” said Griffin.

During the production cycle, Griffin, who gained three Emmy nominations throughout her career for her work on Georgia-based projects, would scout throughout all parts of Georgia and the southeast region interviewing actors for the series.

The result was the casting of prominent Georgia stage and film actors in recurring roles, including civil rights advocate and Hosea Helps CEO Elizabeth Omilami as Joelyn, Lily’s friend and confidant, and veteran Georgia actor Sonny Shroyer of “Dukes of Hazzard” fame as Bobby Slocum, an alcoholic and abusive father to a friend of the Bedford family, as well as early television appearances of actress Rae’Ven Larrymore Kelly, stage and television actor/director Kenny Leon and comedian Wayne Brady.

“It was a very interesting time because Atlanta talent was appreciated and was utilized to provide support in television in a way that it hadn’t been before,” said Omilami, also co-founder of People’s Survival Theatre, one of Atlanta’s earliest theatre companies. “There was a very rich talent pool for these producers and directors to pull from.”

A Valdosta resident with a career spanning over five decades, actor Sonny Shroyer has been featured in Georgia based projects such as “Forrest Gump”, “Ray” and “In the Heat of the Night”. Shroyer labels his role role as violent alcoholic Bobby Slocum in “I’ll Fly Away” as one of the hardest in his career. “He was one of my worst characters in that he hated his wife and his son…I don’t even think he loved himself,” said Shroyer. “He was the complete opposite of what I stood for.” (Courtesy of Randy Franks).

The man who inspired ‘Away’

With the pilot shot and the production of the first season intact, Ian Sander, a Los Angeles-based producer, relocated to Atlanta to oversee the day-to-day operations of the series.

The three-time Emmy-nominated producer, who passed away in 2016, saw the role as an opportunity to become not just an employer but a mentor to his colleagues.

“You work a lot of hours when you’re doing these television shows, and it can be pretty tough,” said Joe Clayton, “Ian did such a good job at keeping everybody happy throughout the whole time.”

“He made everyone on the crew feel important. He made me feel as if I were a part of the creative process of that show … that the show would be different if I weren’t there, and that’s rare,” said Joe Thomas, first assistant camera for the series. “He was much more than a producer to me; he was a beloved friend.”

“I’ll Fly Away” executive producer Ian Sander oversees production of a season one episode in the fall of 1991. (Courtesy of Celine Ciaccio)

Our town

While the interior scenes were shot in an industrial warehouse outside of Stone Mountain, producers used all of metro Atlanta and its surrounding areas to recreate 1950s Georgia in exterior shots.

The towns of Newnan and Covington primarily stood in for the fictional town of Bryland, Georgia. For local residents, the idea of Hollywood coming down south to Georgia was a major thrill.

The Newton County courthouse is shown Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020, in Covington, Ga. The courthouse was a key filming location for courtroom scenes featuring series male lead character, Forrest Bedford (Sam Waterston). (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

“That hadn’t happened before, so residents were very curious as to all aspects of how a production is made,” said Gary Leftwich, a former Newnan Times Herald reporter during the duration of the series. “It was a big pride point for the city of Newnan for residents to be able to see parts of their town on television.”

“It’s so rare to be apart of something that you were so proud of…”
Kathryn Harrold, Actress (“Christine LeKatzis“)

Still ‘Flying’ high

Nearly 30 years since being off the air, “I’ll Fly Away” helped to launch the blueprint for various productions and studios taking over the state, from Tyler Perry Studios holding down production quarters in Atlanta to films such as “Baywatch” and “SpongeBob 2: Sponge Out of Water” being filmed on the Savannah/Tybee Island shore.

“I’m just so proud of Georgia and our film community, and how much it’s grown and so many people have been successful,” said Phillip “Mr. P” Ivey, hair department head for the first season. “I just knew that it was going to happen; I felt it in my bones. That’s why we all made sure that we worked so hard.”

The series broke ground for the professional landscape of future television and film opportunities to be produced in Georgia. It also left a long-lasting impact on the personal lives of those who worked on it.

“I learned how to read on the show,” said actress Rae’Ven Larrymore Kelly, who portrayed Lily Harper’s daughter Adeline on the series. “We really were like a family. Everybody on the crew were like my aunts and uncles. I have such great memories with John Aaron and our stand-ins on set in ‘Camp Krystal’, our playroom on the set.”

“I was 21 and 22 when I did this show, and it has stayed with me all my life,” said Celine Ciaccio, a camera assistant for the series. “A lot of the life lessons that I learned from the people I worked with impacted me on so many levels. Joe Thomas, my mentor on the set, is ‘Grandpa Joe’ to my kids.”

Former cast member Ashlee Levitch (left), and crew members Joe Thomas (center) and Celine Ciaccio (right) reunite for dinner in Los Angeles in 2011. (Courtesy of Joe Thomas)

Three decades later, most cast and crew members still question how a show that they viewed as so well-written, well-produced and well-constructed could be rewarded for its efforts with only two seasons on the air.

“It’s so rare to be a part of something that you were so proud of, (the show) was deep, it was significant,” said actress Kathryn Harrold, who portrayed Christina LeKatzis, Sam Waterson’s love interest on the show. “It was sad when it went off the air and sort of just disappeared.”

“I still have a crew shirt that was given to us,” said Griffin. “It says ‘I’ll Fly Away’ on the front, and ‘television had its chance’ on the back.”