Staying home, casting about for something to occupy myself, I came across on Youtube, a 1987 TV series "Poor Little Rich Girl, the Barbara Hutton Story". Early in the series, a 4 year old, Barbara Hutton, is driven in a limousine to the home of her grandfather, F.W. Woolworth. ( those of us of a certain age will remember the Woolworth 5& Dime stores). The screen says, Winfield Hall, home of FW Woolworth, but the mansion in the background has a certain familiarity to it. The crunch of the gravel, and I honestly expected Carson to be at the door. Yes, it was Highclere standing in for Woolworth's Long Island mansion, Winfield Hall. A few shots of the interior cinched it. Though it looked a good deal darker and gloomier than in the days of the Crawleys. Are those the same red velvet sofas in front of the fire place???
I have no idea why they used Highclere, except that I think the bulk of the series was filmed in Europe. It's pretty bad. Burl Ives as a rather jolly Woolworth. Farrah Fawcett as the adult Barbara.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32700 posts
Farrah Fawcett?
Now that's a blast from the past. I thought she was otherwise engaged about that time....
Posted by
Brooklyn, NY
3816 posts
I remember watching. Long time ago. And of course I remember Woolworths. There were two in our neighborhood, not far from each other. I also remember my first trip to Germany in 1981 and we were in Nuremberg. We were walking around and saw a Woolworths. They had displayed in the window fur coats. Such a step up from the housecoats our stores sold.