Filmed in Georgia: Stratton Leopold brought Hollywood, and a selection of stars, to Savannah

Filmed in Georgia is a weekly column by Frank Hotchkiss, the Savannah author of Playing with Fire at local bookstores and on Amazon. Contact Frank with recommendations for future film reviews at online@savannahnow.com.

Any Savannahian interested in the film business would do well to start at Leopold’s Ice Cream on Broughton Street.

Not just because the ice cream is delicious and the walls are decorated with movie posters from films tied to Leopold’s owner, Stratton Leopold, but because you just might run into Stratton himself scooping behind the counter.

He stumbled into film making at the beginning of his adult life and never left, and his knowledge of it seems encyclopedic.

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A direct-speaking man with a delightful patrician air, he is happy to share his experience of being everything from a location manager to executive producer of major films like "The General’s Daughter," and "The Sum of All Fears."

In the course of these and other films, Stratton has befriended a long list of A-listers including Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames and James Woods. John Travolta is among his favorites.

“Travolta is a fun guy,” he says today. “He loves people.”

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Travolta is something of a Savannah fan, it seems. Once, Stratton was in London on a film project and got a message from the Broughton store. It was a picture of Travolta trying to be incognito in a skull cap. Apparently the server, concentrating on scooping his order without looking up, said, “You sound like John Travolta.” Then she looked up and the cat was out of the bag. “You ARE John Travolta!”

Travolta is something of a “foodie” it turns out. Leopold’s was a natural place for him to be.

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How in the world did a young man from Savannah – a long way from Hollywood – end up in the film business?

Stratton’s mother thought it was a terrible idea, and wouldn’t speak to him about it for years. She wanted him to become a doctor.

When his father, head of the Leopold family ice cream business, died early, Stratton came home to help out, but he had been bitten by show business – theater to be specific. He spent several years in New York pursuing that career, but without great success. Then he moved to Atlanta, and an unexpected call changed his life, although he didn’t know it at the time.

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A friend of a friend asked him to track down a local agent to cast an upcoming film. No one was available. “Then you do it,” the person said. “I’ll walk you through what to do,” and she did.

After that, one thing led to another and he moved up the film production ladder until he ended up in Los Angeles. He eventually had nearly 60 film and television credits to his name and was made an executive vice president at Paramount Pictures.

But Stratton is a man on two tracks. The second is following the family tradition and making really great ice cream. He is also a creative marketer. Leopold’s annually says “Thank You for Your Patriotism” and gives any child 12 or under (accompanied by an adult) who recites the Pledge of Allegiance from memory, a free child’s scoop of super-premium, homemade ice cream.

Leopold’s Ice Cream is now more than a century old. Founded in Savannah in 1919 by three immigrant brothers from Greece named George, Peter and Basil, the ice cream parlor still offers its original signature flavors, and has expanded to include seasonal and even vegan ice cream flavors.

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Stratton’s father Peter passed down the tradition of making super-premium, handmade ice cream to Stratton, his youngest son. Frequently rated among the country’s best ice cream shops, the 1930s vintage ice cream parlor has won numerous national and international accolades. In addition to its Creamery location in downtown Savannah and the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport, Leopold’s Ice Cream offers catering and nationwide shipping.

Soon there may be a new Leopold’s location near the corner of Gwinnett and Habersham where the first parlor originally stood – but that’s just a rumor to date. Here’s hoping …

Leopold and his wife, Mary, are a treasure trove of celebrity trivia and vignettes.

Stories from the set

Filming "The Wolfman" for Universal, Anthony Hopkins (now Sir Anthony) had the Wolfman costume head on to shoot some incidental scenes – and took a break to lap up Leopold’s Ice Cream that Stratton had provided. Unfortunately, no photo of the event is available.

He recalled shooting "Blood in Blood Out" by director Taylor Hackford at San Quentin, an enormous state prison in San Francisco with some 6,000 prisoners in residence. “Cut-cut-cut” was Hackford’s habitual way of stopping filming a scene. The prisoners found that hilarious and began shouting cut-cut-cut at every opportunity, to Hackford’s irritation.

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When filming "The Sum of All Fears" in Montreal, the thermometer dipped 30 below zero, so cold that even Russsian actors from Moscow they were complaining.

Working on "Baron Munchausen," when Sean Connery backed out of a key role for scheduling reasons, director Terry Gilliam told Stratton, “Then get me Robin Williams.”

Leopold hopped on a plane from Rome to San Francisco, where Williams lived in the Castro District, to meet with Williams, who listened and agreed to take a part in the film. Coincidentally, Williams ended up giving Stratton a ride in his VW Vanagon when Stratton needed to go to another meeting. Stratton marveled at Williams’s spontaneity and creativity.

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“He was amazing. He would see a street sign and do three minutes on it.”

General’s Daughter was shot in part at Lebanon Plantation near Savannah, owned by Howard and Mary Morrison. Stratton and Howard were lifelong friends, having attended second grade together at Massie School.

“It was a pretty big company and the Morrisons had just redecorated the plantation house to a tee with detail worthy of Architectural Digest. During the shoot we got word that a giant storm was about to hit Savannah. All hell broke loose with wind and sheets of rain and flooding and mud everywhere. We even had to get the generator wires out of the water.”

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The Morrisons, very cordial and Savannah-like, invited the entire crew – 80 or 90 people – inside for shelter, muddy boots and all.

Asked what luminaries come in to the Broughton Street store now and then to partake of Leopold’s rich-rich ice cream, Stratton didn’t miss a beat.

Ben Affleck, Liev Schrieber, James Cromwell – who loves the vegan ice cream – and John Travolta, of course. For the sake of privacy, they always sit in a booth with their backs to the aisle. While happy to have them, they don’t get any other special treatment, and stand in line just like everyone else.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Movies filmed in Georgia: Ben Affleck, John Travolta fans of Savannah