After five years of work by Linfield College alumni, a feature-length documentary film about Mark Hatfield is making its television debut.
The Gentleman of the Senate: Oregon’s Mark Hatfield will air on Oregon Public Broadcasting Monday, Jan. 19, at 10 p.m. In addition, the film will show at Linfield College on Wednesday, March 11, at 7 p.m. in Ice Auditorium. A Q&A with the filmmakers and former Hatfield staff members will follow the Linfield showing.
One never knows where an idea may come from, as Kevin Curry ’92 and Devon Lyon ’97 learned one summer evening when the idea for a documentary film on Oregon statesman Mark Hatfield popped up in casual conversation among friends.
“We were talking about the broad impact a politician like Mark Hatfield has on the state through all of the people that worked for him,” said Curry, an executive producer on the film. “I expressed my surprise that no one had done a documentary on Senator Hatfield. Be careful what you wonder about out loud, it could lead to an amazing, difficult and rewarding experience.”
Focusing on Hatfield’s years in the U.S. Senate, the film examines how his leadership approach served him well on the big issues of the day. The 55 interviews conducted for the film encompass a range of people including President Bill Clinton, former U.S. Senate colleagues Sen. Bob Packwood (R-OR) and the late Sen. Daniel Inoyue (D-HI), as well as Oregon leaders and many former staff members who worked daily with Hatfield.
“Senator Mark Hatfield’s legacy as a compassionate leader is considered one of Oregon’s greatest gifts to this country and the world,” said Rick Dancer, an executive producer of the project and long-time TV journalist from Eugene. “There are important lessons here for today’s leaders and the citizens who elect them.”
Linfield College’s connection to the production is significant. In addition to alumni Curry and Lyon, executive producer Rick Dancer is the great-grandson of J.O. Maxwell after whom Maxwell Field is named, and his parents, Roy and Betty Dancer, are alumni. Further, both Senator Hatfield and his wife, Antoinette, received honorary degrees from Linfield in 1971.
One of the biggest challenges the filmmakers faced was distilling down the life of a public leader who served in the legislature, as Oregon secretary of state and governor, and 30-years in the U.S. Senate.
“It’s a real challenge to take a rich, complex story like the life of Mark Hatfield and tell it in 90 minutes. A lot ends up on the cutting room floor,” Lyon said. “Plus, we wanted to get to the heart of what made him a great leader, so we structured it around those qualities while demonstrating them through significant moments in his career.”
The film focuses primarily on Hatfield’s U.S. Senate career, including his high-profile opposition to the Vietnam War and nuclear weapons, as well as Oregon-specific work like river preservation, the restoration of Oregon’s tribes, and support for health research at Oregon Health Science University.
“I hope this film inspires people to seek out public leaders with the characteristics Mark Hatfield demonstrated,” Curry said. “It doesn’t mean you have to agree with them on every issue, but if they can lead with the integrity of Mark Hatfield our state and nation will be better for it.”
