Emmett Forrest
William Emmett Forrest, Jr. (September 3, 1927 – January 12, 2013) was an American pop culture collector, museum founder, and longtime friend of actor Andy Griffith. Forrest was an extensive collector of memorabilia spanning Griffith's career. He persuaded Andy Griffith to donate set pieces and other items from the Andy Griffith Show. Forrest used his collection to found the Andy Griffith Museum in Mount Airy, North Carolina, which opened to the public on September 26, 2009.
Forrest was born in Gaston County, North Carolina, on September 3, 1927, William Emmett Forrest, Sr. and Margaret Haynes Forrest. He served in the United States Navy during World War II. He worked for the Pike Electric Company during his professional career. Forrest became involved with the Surry Arts Council following his retirement, which would lead to the Andy Griffith Museum years later.
Forrest and Andy Griffith were longtime friends and he devoted much of his life preserving items from Griffith's career, with Griffith's approval. Forrest partnered with the Surry Arts Council to plan a museum dedicated to Griffith career, one of Hollywood's best known actors, singer, and television producers. A potential museum was in the planning stages for more than twenty-five years. Forrest's vast array of memorabilia formed the basis for the Andy Griffith Museum permanent collection, which he opened in Mount Airy, North Carolina, in 2009. The 2,500-square-foot museum, located less than a mile from Griffith's childhood home, cost approximately $500,000 to construct. According to Griffith's widow, Cindi Griffith, Forrest made no financial gain from donating his collection to the museum.
Forrest
Forrest may refer to:
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Forrest (surname)
Forrest is a common English surname deriving from Forest. Variant spellings include Forest, Foriest, De Forest, De Forrest, DeForest and DeForrest. It appears to originate in Scotland around the Edinburgh region. The Forrest clan fought with Bonnie Prince Charlie travelling down to England with the Scottish invasions of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Notable real persons with the name include:
Forrest (singer)
Forrest M. Thomas Jr. (April 21, 1953 – September 9, 2013), known professionally as Forrest, was an American singer, based in the Netherlands.
Born in Galveston, Texas, where he sang in church during childhood, he moved to Los Angeles, California as a teen and won several contests there as a singer. After this stage in his career, he moved to the Netherlands, where he had a hit in 1982 with the song, "Rock the Boat", a cover of The Hues Corporation's 1974 No. 1 US hit. His version peaked at No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart and in his native United States (No. 9 Hot Dance Club Play).
A second single, "Feel the Need in Me" (originally by The Detroit Emeralds), was a hit in the UK, reaching No. 17. A third single, "One Lover (Don't Stop The Show)", peaked at No. 67 in the UK.
He and his wife, Manon Thomas, a television presenter had two sons, but later separated, after which he began to concentrate again on music. He sang in R.E.S.P.E.C.T., a theatre show, in 2001, dedicated to 1960s soul music. He was asked by DJ Roog to front the band Planet Hardsoul, who had a minor hit with their cover of "Where Did Our Love Go". In December 2012 Thomas married again, to Diana van Lippen.
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