25 facts about 'Dead Poets Society' in Delaware ahead of anniversary screenings in Middletown

The 30th anniversary of "Dead Poets Society" may be June 2, but Middletown's Everett Theatre is ready now to celebrate the first movie shot entirely in Delaware.

This weekend, the classic Robin Williams film shot across Delaware and at the Everett, will be screened on Saturday (5 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.)

Saturday's event will include a cocktail party with the screening and costs $45. Sunday will feature only the film and costs $10. Get tickets at everetttheatre.com.

To help get in the spirit, here's a walk down memory lane. 

The following article was originally published April 4, 2014:

When it was time to move from his home in Wilmington's Westover Hills neighborhood, Roger Gordon had more than just a stately house in an exclusive area as selling points.

He had Hollywood magic.

Gordon's home was used for a pair of scenes in the 1989 film "Dead Poets Society" – the first major feature film shot entirely in Delaware.

Even though one of the scenes was the heartbreaking suicide of a student, Gordon's Realtor put together a sales brochure leaning on the home's famous past.

It worked. The house sold five years ago, and Gordon says the connection to the Robin Williams film certainly didn't hurt.

Gordon's story is one of many from the army of Delawareans who worked on the film, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary of its release June 9.

"It was just a wonderful experience," says Gordon, 80, who opened his home to the filmmakers for a week of shooting and was not initially told the suicide scene would be shot in his office.

At Middletown's Everett Theatre, where some of the film was also shot, the anniversary will be celebrated this weekend with a screening and gala on Saturday and a second matinee screening on Sunday.

To help with the celebration, we have gathered 25 nuggets filled with facts about "Dead Poets Society" and its time in The Small Wonder.

1. The 70-person film crew stayed in 70 rooms booked at the old Radisson Hotel on King Street in downtown Wilmington, now home to the DoubleTree Hotel. After filming was complete, some actors complained a bit about being bored in a city with little downtown nightlife. Robin Williams said at the time that "staying in a hotel room in a town that shuts down at 5 o'clock at night can be boring." Co-star Ethan Hawke looked for a silver lining when addressing his time in Wilmington, saying that he'd "bet there was tons of stuff to do if we had really worked at it."

2. During a visit to the old Vincente's Restaurant on Lincoln Street in Wilmington, Robin Williams and comedian David Steinberg dined on toasted ravioli and veal marsala. Before leaving, Williams entertained owner Vincente Mancari's grandson by doing his Popeye impression from his 1980 film.

3. While the Everett Theatre is home to a scene in the film, St. Andrew's School near Middletown was home for the bulk of the film's shooting. Old New Castle also gets plenty of screen time with private homes, Delaware Street and Gunning Bedford Middle School each hosting film crews. Roger Gordon's home in Wilmington's Westover Hills neighborhood was also used, among a few other locations in the state.

4. Before Josh Charles' shocking exit from CBS' "The Good Wife" last month in one of the most talked-about television scenes this year, he played Welton Academy student Knox Overstreet in "Dead Poets." The actor was 17 when the film was released.

5. Fun fact: "Dead Poets Society" screenwriter Tom Schulman, who won the Academy Award for the "Dead Poets" screenplay, went on to write comedies like "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" and "What About Bob?" "Dead Poets" was his first feature screenplay.

6. The film's Welton Academy in Vermont was fictional, based on a Nashville prep school Schulman attended as a teen.

7. More than 100 schools across the country were considered as the setting of Welton Academy. When "Poets" director Peter Weir pulled up to St. Andrew's School for the first time, "his eyes got as big as saucers," producer Steven Haft told The News Journal at the time. "He turned to me and said, 'This is it.'"

8. Don't bother trying to find the cave where the Dead Poets Society met. It was a fake made of a latex mold. There's that damn Hollywood magic, again! Here's the twist: The fake cave was modeled after Wolf Cave, a little-known cavern between Creek and Beaver Valley roads near the Pennsylvania state line. The wooded area around the cave was filmed near Newport in Banning Park.

9. Even 25 years later, "Dead Poets" can still pop up when you least expect it. In January, Apple released a 90-second TV ad for the iPad Air that features Robin Williams reading Walt Whitman's poem "O Me! O Life!" The poem is featured in the film. In the commercial, Williams' "Dead Poets" character John Keating comes alive one last time to inspire us again.

10. Remember when Robin Williams was only funny? "Dead Poets Society" was one of Williams' first dramatic roles in a feature film, putting him on a path to do "Awakenings," "The Fisher King," "Being Human" and "Good Will Hunting."

11. While Robin Williams was nominated for an Academy Award for best actor three times – "Dead Poets Society," "Good Morning, Vietnam" and "The Fisher King" – his only win came in 1998 for best actor in a supporting role for "Good Will Hunting."

12. A week before being released on June 9, 1989, local actors and extras used in the film were invited to a sneak preview screening held at the long-gone theater in Christiana Mall.

13. Robin Williams routinely clowned around with St. Andrew's students, many of whom doubled as extras. "He never stops acting. He's always cracking us up, but I don't get a sense of who he is," St. Andrew's senior Robb Ellis told The News Journal in December 1988.

14. The waters on the St. Andrew's School campus where "Poets" actors were seen rowing in the film is called Noxontown Pond, and it's still used by the private school's boys and girls crew teams.

15. While it's been more than a quarter of a century since the "Dead Poets" cast was filming inside the Everett Theatre in Middletown, the theater's historic marquee looks better than ever. How exactly? The 92-year-old marquee was replaced earlier this year with a replica that looks just like the old one – except for the new lights and estimated $50,000 price tag. The rusted, leaky old marquee was specifically replaced in time for this weekend's anniversary events.

16. More than 1,000 Delawareans were used as actors, extras, scouts and crew in the film.

17. The filming of "Dead Poets Society" took 10 weeks, and the company spent about $8 million in the state. Filming at St. Andrew's School spanned 40 days.

18. "Dead Poets" received a 3½-star review from News Journal critic Gary Mullinax. "Seeing Delaware on the screen is by no means the only reason to watch 'Dead Poets Society,'" he wrote. "This is a first-rate movie and a thoughtful antidote to the flood of big budget, low IQ movies coming out this summer."

19. Best known for his comedic ability and ability to improvise, Robin Williams ended up improvising about 15 percent of his dialogue in the film, according to producers.

20. At the time of the film's release, Middletown Mayor Kenneth L. Branner Jr. was upset his town was not selected for a screening. "We weren't included in anything," he huffed.

21. Sure, there are no Delaware references made by any of the characters in the film. But if you wait for the credits, St. Andrew's School, the Delaware Office of Development and the people of New Castle are all thanked.

22. The location manager for "Dead Poets" just happened to be Michael Meehan, who was born in Philadelphia and grew up in the Midway area between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach. He has since done location work for a slew of films, including "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" and "The Perfect Storm."

23. Film crews received part of their pay in $2 bills. They were encouraged to spend the money in Delaware to illustrate the economic impact of the film on the state.

24. Several paintings by late Delaware illustrator Frank Schoonover, who studied under Howard Pyle, are used in the film. Two of the paintings depict rowing and were already housed at the school.

25. In December 1988, Robin Williams took advantage of an afternoon off and went from making a movie to watching a movie. He went to the theater at Christiana Mall and saw Bill Murray's "Scrooged." He also brought his son there to see "Land Before Time."

Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).