From left: Aunt Adele, cousin Tim, Eloise, my Grandmother, myself, and my mother prepare for a ride in the old Ford that was owned by The Howdy Doody Show and used in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

About Me

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My Roots

My parents, Fran and Bob.

My father, Robert Hultgren (or "Bob"), was born in Villa Park, Illinois, in 1921. He attended Washington University and later graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. He was a U.S. Army captain with the Anti Aircraft Branch and served 3-1/2 years in the Pacific during World War II.

My mother, Frances Miller Hultgren (or "Fran"), was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1920. She graduated from the Louisville Collegiate School, Vassar College, and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She was also active during World War II in the American Theatre Wing War Service. Her stage name was Frances Fielding.

My father (left), Gabby Hayes (center), and Rip Rippen, from The Howdy Doody Show.

Dad worked as a program producer/director for the National Broadcasting Company in New York City, starting in the late 1940s. His credits include The Howdy Doody Show, The Pinky Lee Show, Ruff and Ready, The Shari Lewis Show, Jeopardy! and General Electric College Bowl. He also directed numerous specials, including The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and national election coverage for NBC. He filled-in occasionally as the director of The Today Show and The Tonight Show. Dad worked for NBC for 20 years..

Clarabell, Howdy Doody, and Buffalo Bob Smith on The Howdy Doody Show.	Lamb Chop and Shari Lewis on The Shari Lewis Show.	Art Fleming (who along with Don Pardo taught me my first off-color joke) begins a round of Double Jeopardy on Jeopardy!

My father's family: a simple life

My father's family is descendant from Johan and Anna Jonsson, who lived in Hult, Sweden, in the early 1700s. 

My great-grandfather, Lorenz (also known as Lars) and great-grandmother Alma. The baby is my Aunt Adele. Also in the picture are my great aunts Tootsie and Agnes.

My great-grandfather, Lorenz Otto Hultgren, was born in Nodjehult in 1841. He ran away from home after his mother's death and worked for a wealthy family, taking care of their horses, until he was 15 years old. He then moved to Stockholm and learned the cabinet maker trade by age 17. He  traveled to Germany, Russia and finally America where he lived in Chicago and worked for such firms as John A. Colby & Sons, Kimball Piano Co., A.H. Andrews Co., and Brunswick-Balke-Collander Co. 

In Chicago he married my great-grandmother, Alma Matilda Nelson, who was born in Norkoping, Sweden, of poor parents. After her father left for American, she and her mother made a meager living by selling home made sausage in the open market. After her mother's death, she went to live with her father in Chicago. 

Undated photo of my fraternal grandparents, A.C. and Eloise.

My fraternal grandmother's mother, Adele Wilhelmina Bollman Wersen, and my grandmother Eloise.

My grandfather, Arthur Carl Fredrick Hultgren (known as A.C.), did not have a high school or college education. After starting work as a newsboy, he went to work for the railroad and retired as Traffic Manager for the Shell Petroleum Company in New York City.

My grandmother, Eloise Madeline Wersen Hultgren, was a accomplished artist.

Undated oil painting by my fraternal grandmother, Eloise Hultgren.

My mother's family: a noble life

My mother came from a family that for over a century had taken a very active role in the civic, political, and judicial life of Louisville and Kentucky, including: 

• My grandfather, Shackelford Miller Jr., from a portrait presented to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

  My grandfather, Shackelford Miller Jr., was appointed by President Roosevelt as Federal District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky. Later, he was appointed by President Truman as Judge of the U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, where he served for 19 years, including two years as Chief Judge. He graduated valedictorian of the Louisville Male High School Class of 1910, Princeton University, and the Harvard Law School. He served in the U.S. Army as a captain in the 335th Field Artillery Regiment in France during World War I.

• My maternal great grandfather, Shackelford Miller, from a 1916 photograph at the Kentucky Court of Appeals.

  My great-grandfather, Shackelford Miller, was chancellor of the Jefferson Circuit Court and later Chief Justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals (which later became the Kentucky Supreme Court). He graduated from the Louisville Law School. His grandfather made his way to Kentucky on foot, coming through the Cumberland Gap in 1796 and settling in Lower Ponds Kentucky.
• My great-grandmother, Mary Floyd Welman, lived in Louisville through the age of 99 and was highly regarded for her many years of service in civic affairs and as a Democratic campaign volunteer and speech maker. 
• My great-uncle, Neville Miller, who served as dean of the University of Louisville Law School and later as Mayor of Louisville in 1933-37.

My great-great-grandfather, John Miller, married Barbara Anne Neville and into the Neville family in 1851. Ten generations before me lived William Neville, who was the first from his family to come to America. That family, originally from France, went to England with William the Conqueror. An old noble family, several Queens of England were from the Neville family, including Ann Neville, wife of Richard III. Ann's father, a powerful nobleman, was the Earle of Warwick and known as the Kingmaker.

Other branches of my mother's family include Hugh Capet, King of France, and numerous Counts, Countesses, and Marqui.