A Tribute to Frank Gabrenya Melvin and Howard

Join us as we honor the career of Frank Gabrenya, the film critic for the Columbus Dispatch from 1987 to 2009 (and for the Columbus Citizen-Journal for years prior to that).

A longtime supporter of the Wexner Center's film program, Gabrenya introduces one of his favorite movies: Jonathan Demme's Melvin and Howard, an endearing comedy based on a true story. A hapless milkman and gas station owner, Melvin Dummar (played by American Graffiti's Paul Le Mat), claims to have picked up a mangy old hitchhiker (Jason Robards) in the middle of the desert only to discover that it was the one of the wealthiest—and most reclusive—men in the world, Howard Hughes. No one believes Dummar's tale...until Hughes's will turns up under mysterious circumstances leaving Dummar $156 million. The film received Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress (Mary Steenburgen, as Dummar's tap-dancing third wife) and Best Original Screenplay (Bo Goldman). (95 mins., 35mm)