6 Friday, August 13, 2021 brooklintowncrier.com When Brooklin Was "Hollywood North East-ish" By Jennifer Hudgins Hollywood brought fame to Brooklin when a made-for-television movie, To Save The Children, was filmed here. Produced by Children's Film Productions for the CBS network on April 5, 1995, it starred Richard Thomas (The Waltons) and Robert Urich (S.W.A.T.). It was based on an actual hostage-taking incident involving 140 children and their teachers that occurred in a Cokeville, Wyoming, public school in 1986. The majority of filming was done at Meadowcrest Public School, but the fire hall on Vipond Road and the Legion were also used. Brooklin became Cokesville as fire trucks, buildings and rented cars bore Wyoming stickers and license plates. Local extras Amy Misselbrook Simpson, hired as an extra in the film, was a grade two student at Meadowcrest at the time. Although she didn't go on to star in other productions, she did manage to earn the princely sum of $77.47 for a day's work. Marg Stevens of Myrtle, her sons Andrew and Michael, her sister Mary, and niece Lisa were also hired as extras. Marg remembers directing actor Richard Thomas to the staff washroom. The filming took place from February 17-22, 1994. Many local residents braved the cold to watch the action. In the fall of 1998, a Canadian- American TV show, The Famous Jett Jackson aired on the Disney channel for 65 episodes and concluded as a movie in 2001. Filming locations included Grass Park, Meadowcrest Public School, Brooklin Montessori School, and Jac's Milk (which later became Bryson Insurance and is now a physiotherapy centre). The house at 3 Cassels Rd. E functioned as the Jackson home. Various streets were used for location shots. The series focused on a teenager who was an actor in the fictional show Silverstone. Jett moved the show from Hollywood to Wilstead, North Carolina, portrayed by the Village of Brooklin. The lead actor, Lee Thompson Young, went on to star in Rizzoli and Isles, a TNT police drama series. Hayden Christensen played a bully in the series and went on to take the lead in Star Wars, Episodes 2 and 3. Other actors include Eartha Kitt and Rachel McAdams. Other productions On April 22, 1996, Ahead By a Century, the Tragically Hip music video was filmed on Medland's loading dock at their store (see BTC, August 30, 2019) and in a farm house on Columbus Rd. E. at Selkirk Dr. It won Best Single at the 1997 Juno Awards and CBC used the song to close the 2016 Summer Olympics. Ihe video went platinum the same year. The Littlest Hobo (see BTC, November 20, 2020) was filmed in 1980, with Fast Freddie, Season 4, Episode 10 and again in 1982, with Happy Birthday Mom, Season 4, Episode 6. In the fall of 1970, The Proud Rider, also known as The Last Ride, was filmed at Groveside Cemetery and included members of the Satan's Choice motorcycle gang . (Most of these clips are available on Youtube.com) As recently as 2017, Brooklin was a location for the filming of the short film Cerpicio.