A speech in three acts: John Lithgow gives first lecture in Port Huron Town Hall Series
Emmy award winning actor John Lithgow spoke at McMorran Place for Port Huron Town Hall's lecture series Monday.
Lithgow said he was told his speech could be about anything of his choosing, but was urged to consider the topics of culture, entertainment and charity. Lithgow said he was going to do his best to meld all of those topics. He said his speech would be in three parts: a piece about a recent community service connection, a comic essay about the ridiculousness of being an actor and then ending it all with a musical extravaganza.
"My philosophy as an entertainer is that if you give a 50-minute speech, to make sure it gets more entertaining as it goes on," Lithgow said.
Some of his notable roles include Winston Churchill from "The Crown," Dick Solomon from "Third Rock from the Sun" and Gallimard from the Broadway show "M. Butterfly."
About 800 tickets were sold for Lithgow's show in Port Huron.
The lecture was Lithgow's first time in Port Huron. He said that the view from his hotel was amazing, and it felt like he was in a Thomas Hart Benton painting. Additionally, his time in Port Huron allowed him to see Lake Huron for the first time. He said after traveling to the country to give speeches over the years, he's come to realize that he always has a friend at least 50 miles away.
After the speech, he said he will be having lunch with one of his old college friends from the area.
"It's just always an adventure," Lithgow said. "It's a great way to see the country."
The first section of his lecture was about arts education, a topic Lithgow said is very important to him. As a child, Lithgow said he always knew he wanted to be an artist. During his early high school years in Akron, Ohio, he was encouraged to take an arts elective. In college, he fell into the theater crowd, and that was part of what made him become an actor.
During his lecture, Lithgow said he is convinced those extracurriculars played a crucial role in social and educational development.
"There's no doubt in my mind that my arts education made me a far better student," Lithgow said.
In preparation for the first lecture, Port Huron Town Hall organized a scavenger hunt where people had to find a cardboard cutout of Lithgow over multiple days for a chance to win two free tickets to his lecture. Clues were posted from Aug. 27 to Aug. 31 to the organization's Facebook page.
Laurie and David Boyd won the "Where's John Lithgow?" scavenger hunt. Laurie Boyd said she was very excited to see Lithgow speak.
"I'm sure (Lithgow's speech) is going to be interesting," Laurie Boyd said.
Lithgow said he was unaware of the scavenger hunt until he arrived to give his lecture. He said he was delighted with the photo Port Huron Town Hall chose for the cutout. He said it was from a sitcom called "Trial and Error."
There are three remaining lectures in Port Huron Town Hall's series. The remaining speakers include HGTV personality Alison Victoria on Oct. 9, author John O'Leary on Nov. 13 and singer, songwriter Barbara Payton on Dec. 11.
Contact McKenna Golat at mgolat@gannett.com or 810-292-0122.
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This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: John Lithgow Port Huron Town Hall lecture
