Short, Remarkable Life of
Gov. William Casey Marland

 

Elected Governor of West Virginia in 1953, William Casey Marland was considered one of the State's most intelligent and progressive political leaders. The discovery in 1965 that he was driving a taxicab in Chicago shocked the nation. It turned out that driving a cab was part of a rehabilitation program Marland designed to overcome his alcoholism. Shortly thereafter, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died at age 47.

On Sunday, June 14 at 2 pm. Russ Barbour, director of 2008 WV Film of the Year, "Ken Hechler: In Pursuit of Justice," will show and talk about his documentary film, "Reconstructing Bill: the Story of Governor William C. Marland."

"Marland's life story is obscured by fifty years of misconceptions and assumptions," reports Barbour, "Hopefully, West Virginians seeing this documentary will come away with a better understanding of Bill Marland the man and what he accomplished, while learning from the hard lessons he endured in life."

Barbour is a regular contributor to Outlook, West Virginia Public Broadcasting's weekly television magazine, and co-produced WV PBS' "West Virginians Remember WWII" in 2007 and wrote, directed and co-produced 1995's "West Virginians in War."