One of the winners at Sunday night’s Academy Awards grew up in Western Pennsylvania and a local man has a special connection. John Righetti is Director of Development for the Community Health Clinic of Butler County and he went to school with Frances McDormand.
Righetti told our newsroom, “Frances McDormand and I went to junior high and high school together. Her parents are originally Canadians but they came to Monessen which is where I grew up because he was assigned there as a pastor at the First Christian Church. So she joined our circle of friends very early in junior high school and we became very good friends. We were in a lot of classes together. We were yearbook editors together.”
McDormand took home the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in the film “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” This is McDormand’s second Oscar for Best Actress. She also won the award in 1997 for her role in “Fargo.”
Righetti recalls participating in an acting class with the future Oscar winner and because of that close friendship, he asked her to go to the prom with him. Although she politely declined the invitation, Righetti did not take it personally and still ended up having a good time.
“She wrote me a letter and said that she was a real feminist and she just said that proms weren’t her kind of thing. At least to her credit, I think I’m right in my remembrance that she didn’t go with anybody so she just wasn’t planning on going to the prom so I don’t take it too personally,” Righetti explained.
Righetti believes that we should be proud that this talented actress spent many of her formative years in our area enjoying a quality education as she developed a can-do attitude.
Written by Ryan Saeler
Photo by ivoryelephantphotography
The post Local Man Recalls Connection With Two Time Oscar Winner appeared first on ButlerRadio.com – Butler, PA.
