Mary Badham & To Kill a Mockingbird

The Jefferson County Historical Association (JCHA) is pleased to announce that Mary Badham, the Birmingham child actress who starred as Gregory Peck’s daughter, “Scout,” in the movie, To Kill A Mockingbird (1962), is returning to Birmingham. She will be speaking at the quarterly JCHA membership meeting at the Emmet O’Neal Library Auditorium at 7 pm on October 11, 2018. The public is invited to attend the free event.

Badham will speak about her unparalleled experience in making the movie, To Kill a Mockingbird, as well as the overreaching message of tolerance and compassion of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer-prize winning book (1960). A highlight of her talk is fielding questions from the audience – which can be the most interesting part of her lecture.

The daughter of Henry L. Badham, Jr. and Mary I. Hewitt, Badham grew up in Birmingham and attended Brooke Hill School and later graduated from Fenster Ranch School (Arizona). Her father was president and chairman of the board of the Bessemer Coal, Iron & Land Company, as well as a retired US Air Force Reserve Brigadier General. Her mother was a radio personality in Birmingham, having a long-running noon radio show on WBRC. Badham is a graduate of the University of Arizona.

Nominated for an Oscar in 1962 as best supporting actress, Badham lost to another child actress, Patty Duke, for Miracle Worker. She appeared in several movies and television shows, including “The Twilight Zone.” She attended a screening of To Kill a Mockingbird with President Barrack Obama in 2012 at the White House to mark the 50^th anniversary of the movie.

Now retired and living in Virginia with her family, Badham is an art restorer and a college-testing coordinator. She remains close with family and friends in Birmingham. She maintains a busy schedule traveling around the world recalling her remarkable experiences in making To Kill a Mockingbird, as well as the encouraging the importance of literacy and education.

On Thursday, October 11 the Emmet O’Neal Library auditorium will be open at 6 pm for guests to learn more about and get acquainted with the Jefferson County Historical Association. Light snacks will be served. The program with Mary Badham will begin at 7 pm. Guests are welcome

About Jefferson County Historical Association

Originally founded as the Birmingham Historical Society in 1942, the Society was reorganized in 1975 as the Birmingham-Jefferson County Historical Society and was later re-named the Jefferson County Historical Association in 2011. The Jefferson County Historical Association is dedicated to preserving and publicizing local history through regular meetings, publications, and events, as well as promoting historical preservation efforts. Since 1992, the JCHA has erected over 20 historical markers throughout Jefferson County and sells over 10 publications written by local authors, including former Alabama Secretary of State Jim Bennett.

Holding quarterly member meetings each year at the Emmet O’Neal Library, the JCHA also publishes its quarterly newsletter, The Jefferson Journal. The board of directors and officers are: Alice McSpadden Williams/president, Dan Puckett/vice president, Harry Bradford/treasurer, Jason Bains/secretary, George L. Jenkins, Thomas N. Carruthers, Jr., Cathy Criss Adams, Craig Allen, Jr., Thomas E. Badham, Mary Ellen West, Jeanne B. Bradford, David Bright, Judy S. Haise, Randall Pitts, Jr., Herbert F. Griffin, Edward W. Stephenson, MD, Catherine Pittman Smith, Jim Hard, Leah Atkins Rawls, Walter Dean and Jim Hahn.