Henry Jamison Handy
Encyclopedia
Henry Jamison "Jam" Handy (March 6, 1886 – November 13, 1983) was an Olympic breaststroke
swimmer, water polo
player, and leader in the field of commercial audio and visual communications. Handy was noted for the number of training films that he produced over the years.
. He would often wake up early and devise new strokes to give him an edge over other swimmers. Swimming led to him getting a bronze in the 1904 Olympics at St. Louis, Missouri
. Twenty years later he was part of the Illinois Athletic Club water polo team at the 1924 Olympics
in Paris, France. He broke the record of longest period of time between first and last competition. The team won the bronze at that Olympics.
during the 1902-1903 academic year. During that time he was working as a campus correspondent for the Chicago Tribune
when on May 8th he wrote an article about a lecture in the Elocution 2 class given by Prof. Thomas C. Trueblood
as a "course in lovemaking." Handy went on to describe how Trueblood had dropped to a bended knee in order to demonstrate how to make an effective marriage proposal. John T. McCutcheon, a Chicago Record Herald
cartoonist, followed the next day with a cartoon about a "Professor Foxy Truesport" showing his class how to best make love.
Neither Trueblood nor university President James B. Angell were amused. Ten days after the initial article was published, Handy was suspended for a year for "publishing false and injurious statements affecting the character of the work of one of the Professors." Handy was told he could re-apply one year later. Instead, Handy decided to apply to a different school, but he was unable to gain acceptance to other schools because of what had happened at the University of Michigan. Handy was accepted to the University of Pennsylvania
, but was told to leave after two weeks of classes.
Tribune editor Medill McCormick tried to intervene on Handy's behalf, but Angell refused to change the suspension. At that point McCormick offered Handy a job. Handy worked in a number of departments at the Tribune. It was during his time working on the advertising
staff that Handy observed that informing and building up salespeople's enthusiasm for the products they were selling helped to move more merchandise. He also began researching exactly what made people buy a particular product.
Handy left the Tribune to do further work on corporate communications. He worked with John H. Patterson of National Cash Register
, who had used slides to help train workers. With help from another associate, Handy began making and distributing films that showed consumers how to operate everyday products. After World War I broke out, Handy began making films to show how to operate military equipment. During this time the Jam Handy Organization was formed.
Handy was married to Helen Hoag Rogers and had five children. One of his daughter Chaille's children is the printmaker Garner Tullis
.
, creating films for the auto industry, Bray's largest private client.
General Motors selected Handy's organization to produce short training films as well as other training and promotional materials. One such film was Hired!
- a training film for sales managers at Chevrolet
dealerships. This film was eventually featured as two parts on the Mystery Science Theater 3000
episodes Bride of the Monster
and Manos: The Hands of Fate
. Many films produced by the Jam Handy Organization were collected by Prelinger Archives
and may be seen and downloaded at the Internet Archive
.
Handy also produced films for other companies and for schools. He's estimated to have produced over 7,000 films for the armed services during World War II
. Handy was noted for only taking a one percent profit on the films, while he could have taken as much as seven percent. He was noted for never having a desk at work, instead using any available work space. Handy's suits didn't have pockets as he thought they were a waste of time.
. He also continued swimming on a regular basis until just a few days before his death.
Handy's personal papers are housed at the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public Library
. His family and ancestry are featured in a historical collection held at the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan
. The Clements Library also published a book titled Annals and Memorials of the Handys and Their Kindred by Isaac W.K. Handy, edited by Mildred Handy Ritchie and Sarah Rozelle Handy Mallon (Ann Arbor, 1992).
Breaststroke
The breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on his or her chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to its stability and the ability to keep the head out of the water a large portion of the time. In most swimming classes, beginners learn...
swimmer, water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
player, and leader in the field of commercial audio and visual communications. Handy was noted for the number of training films that he produced over the years.
Athletic activities
As a swimmer, Handy introduced a number of new swimming strokes to Americans, such as the Australian crawlFront crawl
The front crawl, forward crawl, or freestyle is a swimming stroke usually regarded as the fastest of the four front primary strokes. As such, the front crawl stroke is nearly universally used during a freestyle swimming competition, hence the synonymously used term "freestyle". It is one of two...
. He would often wake up early and devise new strokes to give him an edge over other swimmers. Swimming led to him getting a bronze in the 1904 Olympics at St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. Twenty years later he was part of the Illinois Athletic Club water polo team at the 1924 Olympics
1924 Summer Olympics
The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VIII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1924 in Paris, France...
in Paris, France. He broke the record of longest period of time between first and last competition. The team won the bronze at that Olympics.
Biography
Handy attended the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
during the 1902-1903 academic year. During that time he was working as a campus correspondent for the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
when on May 8th he wrote an article about a lecture in the Elocution 2 class given by Prof. Thomas C. Trueblood
Thomas Trueblood
Thomas Clarkson Trueblood was an American professor of elocution and oratory and the first coach of the University of Michigan golf and debate teams. He was affiliated with the University of Michigan for 67 years from 1884-1951, and was a nationally known writer and speaker on oratory and debate...
as a "course in lovemaking." Handy went on to describe how Trueblood had dropped to a bended knee in order to demonstrate how to make an effective marriage proposal. John T. McCutcheon, a Chicago Record Herald
Chicago Record Herald
The Chicago Record Herald was a newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois from 1901 until 1914. It was the successor to the Chicago Morning Herald, the Chicago Times Herald and the Chicago Record. It was succeeded by the Chicago Herald Examiner....
cartoonist, followed the next day with a cartoon about a "Professor Foxy Truesport" showing his class how to best make love.
Neither Trueblood nor university President James B. Angell were amused. Ten days after the initial article was published, Handy was suspended for a year for "publishing false and injurious statements affecting the character of the work of one of the Professors." Handy was told he could re-apply one year later. Instead, Handy decided to apply to a different school, but he was unable to gain acceptance to other schools because of what had happened at the University of Michigan. Handy was accepted to the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, but was told to leave after two weeks of classes.
Tribune editor Medill McCormick tried to intervene on Handy's behalf, but Angell refused to change the suspension. At that point McCormick offered Handy a job. Handy worked in a number of departments at the Tribune. It was during his time working on the advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
staff that Handy observed that informing and building up salespeople's enthusiasm for the products they were selling helped to move more merchandise. He also began researching exactly what made people buy a particular product.
Handy left the Tribune to do further work on corporate communications. He worked with John H. Patterson of National Cash Register
NCR Corporation
NCR Corporation is an American technology company specializing in kiosk products for the retail, financial, travel, healthcare, food service, entertainment, gaming and public sector industries. Its main products are self-service kiosks, point-of-sale terminals, automated teller machines, check...
, who had used slides to help train workers. With help from another associate, Handy began making and distributing films that showed consumers how to operate everyday products. After World War I broke out, Handy began making films to show how to operate military equipment. During this time the Jam Handy Organization was formed.
Handy was married to Helen Hoag Rogers and had five children. One of his daughter Chaille's children is the printmaker Garner Tullis
Garner Tullis
Garner Handy Tullis is an American born artist residing in Pietrarubbia, Italy, since the September 11 attacks in 2001.- Biography :...
.
Filmmaking
After the war, the Jam Handy Organization was contracted as the Chicago-Detroit branch of Bray ProductionsBray Productions
Bray Productions was the dominant animation studio based in the United States in the years before World War I.- History :The studio was founded in December 1914 by J. R. Bray, perhaps the first studio entirely devoted to animation, and series animation at that...
, creating films for the auto industry, Bray's largest private client.
General Motors selected Handy's organization to produce short training films as well as other training and promotional materials. One such film was Hired!
Hired!
Hired! is a 1940 short film that was made by the Jam Handy production house for Chevrolet as a training film for sales managers. It was shown in two parts during Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes #423 and #424 .-Plot:In the movie, Mr...
- a training film for sales managers at Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
dealerships. This film was eventually featured as two parts on the Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
episodes Bride of the Monster
Bride of the Monster
Bride of the Monster is a 1955 sci-fi horror film starring Bela Lugosi, along with Tor Johnson, Tony McCoy and Loretta King Hadler. It was produced, directed and co-written by Edward D. Wood, Jr....
and Manos: The Hands of Fate
Manos: The Hands of Fate
Manos: The Hands of Fate is an American horror film written, directed, produced by, and starring Harold P. Warren. It is widely recognized to be one of the worst films ever made...
. Many films produced by the Jam Handy Organization were collected by Prelinger Archives
Prelinger Archives
The Prelinger Archives is a collection of films relating to U.S. cultural history, the evolution of the American landscape, everyday life and social history...
and may be seen and downloaded at the Internet Archive
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
.
Handy also produced films for other companies and for schools. He's estimated to have produced over 7,000 films for the armed services during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Handy was noted for only taking a one percent profit on the films, while he could have taken as much as seven percent. He was noted for never having a desk at work, instead using any available work space. Handy's suits didn't have pockets as he thought they were a waste of time.
Degrees
Despite Handy's troubles with the University of Michigan, his son-in-law Max Mallon, granddaughter Susan Webb, and great-granddaughter Kathryn Tullis received degrees from the school. Handy would receive an honorary doctorate from Eastern Michigan UniversityEastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ypsilanti is west of Detroit and eight miles east of Ann Arbor. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School...
. He also continued swimming on a regular basis until just a few days before his death.
Handy's personal papers are housed at the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public Library
Detroit Public Library
The Detroit Public Library is the second largest library system in Michigan by volumes held , and is the 20th largest library system in the United States. It is composed of a Main Library on Woodward Avenue, which houses DPL administration offices, and twenty-three branch locations across the city...
. His family and ancestry are featured in a historical collection held at the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. The Clements Library also published a book titled Annals and Memorials of the Handys and Their Kindred by Isaac W.K. Handy, edited by Mildred Handy Ritchie and Sarah Rozelle Handy Mallon (Ann Arbor, 1992).