Savannah, Georgia in popular culture

The city of Savannah, Georgia, the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, is frequently mentioned in popular culture. What follows is a list of Savannah, Georgia in popular culture and includes works of literature, music, film, and television.

Savannah was established in 1733 and was the first colonial and state capital of Georgia.[1] It is known as America's first planned city and attracts millions of visitors who enjoy the city's architecture and historic buildings: the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low (founder of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America), the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences (one of the South's first public museums), the First African Baptist Church (one of the oldest black Baptist congregations in the United States), Temple Mickve Israel (the third oldest synagogue in America), and the Central of Georgia Railway roundhouse complex (the oldest standing antebellum rail facility in America).[1][2] Today, Savannah's downtown area is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the United States (designated by the federal government in 1966).^[B][1]

Savannah in literature

The 1994 nonfiction novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (ISBN 0-679-42922-0) by John Berendt (known to locals as "The Book")[3] is set in Savannah, and in 1997 was made into a film, directed by Clint Eastwood.

Savannah resident N.Y.W. Peacocke has completed two books of a trilogy that deal with the war of independence in Georgia, and particularly Savannah. Savannah Spell (ISBN 1-898030-51-0) and Mirror My Soul (ISBN 1-898030-61-8) weave a love triangle around the events of the Revolution in Georgia and Carolina. She more recently, January 25, 2010, completed the Trilogy with publication of Savannah Spell to Yorktown (ISBN 978-1-450575-87-4).

E.L. Doctorow's historical novel, The March (ISBN 0375506713), is about Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's 1864 scorched-earth campaign in which he marched 60,000 troops southeastward from Atlanta to Savannah and then northward into the Carolinas during the American Civil War (1861–65).

Chris Fuhrman authored the book The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, which depicted his life as a Catholic schoolboy growing up in Savannah and attending a local parochial school. Fuhrman actually attended Blessed Sacrament School in Savannah and graduated in 1974. He was also a graduate of the University of Georgia in Athens, where his book was published. Fuhrman died in 1990 of cancer at the age of 30.

Fifth-generation Savannahian Murray Silver is the author of Great Balls of Fire: The Uncensored Story of Jerry Lee Lewis (Morrow, 1981), adapted to the big screen by Orion in 1989 and starring Dennis Quaid and Winona Ryder. Silver is also the author of the bestselling Behind the Moss Curtain and Other Great Savannah Stories (Bonaventure, 2002), now in its sixth printing and also the subject of a new motion picture. His latest book, When Elvis Meets the Dalai Lama (Bonaventure, 2005), is a collection of the author's favorite stories about starting out as a rock concert promoter and eventually becoming an assistant to the Dalai Lama.

The novel Velvet by Echo LaVeaux (ISBN 9781530910861) is a paranormal romantic drama set in the historic district of Savannah and features the city as one of its main characters.

Also the book Delirium of the Brave written by Dr. William C. Harris about the Benedictine Military School and Savannah.

Romantic Comedy Mystery novelist Mary Kay Andrews is the author of two books that take place in Savannah, Georgia and its surrounding areas. Savannah Breeze is about Southern belle BeBe Loudermilk has lost all her worldly possessions, thanks to a brief but disastrous relationship with the gorgeous Reddy, an "investment counselor" who turns out to be a con man. All that's left is a ramshackle 1950s motel on Tybee Island—an eccentric beach town that calls itself a drinking village with a fishing problem. Savannah Blues is her follow-up novel and is about An antiques picker, Weezie Foley combs Savannah's steamy back alleys and garage sales for treasures when she's not dealing with her loopy relatives or her hunky ex-boyfriend. But an unauthorized sneak preview at a sale lands Weezie smack in the middle of magnolia-scented murder, mayhem . . . and more.

The first 2 chapters of the 2011 book Dawn of Sorcerer's, are set in Savannah.

"The Shadow Man" (ISBN 978-1-938296-03-1), by Savannah native and newspaper columnist Dr. Mark Murphy, is a medical thriller about a Savannah surgeon who is framed as a serial killer. The novel made its debut in July, 2012.

Witching Savannah (47North, 2014), a new Urban Fantasy series by J.D. Horn, debuts with The Line (ISBN 1477809732) in February 2014. The Source (Witching Savannah #2) and The Void (Witching Savannah #3) are scheduled for release in July and December 2014.

Karen Kingsbury's novel The Chance is set partially in Savannah. The main characters (high school sweethearts Nolan Cook and Ellie Tucker) place letters under an oak tree at a Savannah park[4] (where they live, before Ellie moves to California) and agree to meet again eleven years later to retrieve and re-read them (in Nolan's case, to reconnect with Ellie, his long-lost love).

Savannah in television

The following is based on a list assembled by the Savannah Film Commission , as well as the IMDb

1988 ( 1969 The movie) Starring Robert Downey Jr., Keifer Sutherland

Year	Title	Network (for TV)	Notes	Reference
2016	The Man in the High Castle	Amazon Studios	In the 10th episode of the second season, entitled "Fallout", Savannah is reported as showing the highest levels of unrest in Nazi-occupied America following the death of Adolf Hitler. The city is set to be razed as a result but the plan is cancelled.
2013	The Haves and the Have Nots	OWN	Show is set in Savannah; exterior shots are scattered throughout the city.
2009	The Office	NBC	In the 10th episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office, entitled "Murder," the series characters participated in a role playing game in which they took roles based on fictitious residents of Savannah. The episode originally aired on November 12, 2009.	[5]
2009	Ghost Adventures	Travel Channel	In the 7th episode of season 2, the TV series conducts paranormal investigation at the Moon River Brewing Company. This episode originally aired on July 17, 2009.	[6]
2008	Ruby (2008 TV series)	Style Network	Ruby is a documentary style reality television series on the Style Network that debuted in 2008 in the United States. It follows the life of Ruby Gettinger who lives in Savannah, Georgia as she attempts to lose weight.
2008	Making News: Savannah Style	TV Guide Network	Sequel to Making News: Texas Style. Reality show features life at the news department shared by WJCL and WTGS in Savannah. First episode aired on June 4, 2008	[7]
2007	Southern Haunts	PBS	Season 1, Episode 3 (entitled "Ghosts of the Low Country") was filmed in Savannah and hosted by Murray Silver. It originally aired on March 16, 2007	[8]
2007	Southern Haunts	PBS	Season 1, Episode 4 (entitled "Ghosts of Savannah") was filmed in Savannah. It originally aired on June 1, 2007	[9]
2006	Paula's Party	Food Network	Paula's Party was one of Paula Deen's shows on the Food Network. The first episodes were filmed in Savannah.
2006	My Celebrity Home	Style Network	26 April 2006 (Season 1, Episode 1) Titled Page Davis and 24 May 2006 (Season 1, Episode 5) Titled Desperate Housewives
2005	The Colbert Report	Comedy Central	District 1 was the first featured in "Better Know a District" segment.
1996	Savannah	The WB		[10]
1994	Scarlett			[11]
1989	The Rose and the Jackal			[12]
1989	My Father, My Son			[13]
1987	Pals			[14]
1983	Solomon Northup's Odyssey			[15]
1981	All My Children	ABC		[16]
1980	East of Eden
1980	When the Circus Came to Town	CBS
1979	The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd			[17]
1976	Roots: The Next Generations	ABC		[18]
1979	Orphan Train			[19]
1976	Roots	ABC	twelve-hour mini-series which aired from 23–30 January 1977	[20][21]
1974	F. Scott Fitzgerald and "The Last of the Belles" (1974)			[22]

Savannah in film

The following is based on a list assembled by the Savannah Film Commission , as well as the IMDb

Year	Title	Notes	Reference
2019	Lady and the Tramp	Starring Tessa Thompson and Justin Theroux.	A Disney+ movie
2017	Baywatch	Starring Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron.	filmed on Tybee Island
2016	The Do-Over	Starring Adam Sandler and David Spade.	A Netflix movie
2015	The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water	Filmed in both Savannah and Tybee Island. Starring Antonio Banderas.	(box office #1 film)
2010	The Conspirator	Filmed completely in Savannah. The Conspirator is a 2010 historical drama about the trial of Mary Surratt, the only female co-conspirator in the Abraham Lincoln assassination and the first woman to be hanged by the United States federal government. It stars Robin Wright Penn, James McAvoy, Justin Long, Evan Rachel Wood, Tom Wilkinson, Alexis Bledel, Kevin Kline, and Toby Kebbell.
2010	The Last Song	Filmed in both Savannah and Tybee Island, The Last Song is the film adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks book by the same name. It stars Miley Cyrus, Greg Kinnear, and Liam Hemsworth. The film's storyline follows a troubled teenager, played by Cyrus, and her estranged father, played by Kinnear, as they reconnect with each other through music during a summer in a quiet Southern beach town.	[23]
2005	Boogeyman	A young man tries to deal with the childhood terror that has affected his life. Starring Barry Watson.	[24] (box office #1 film)
2005	Red Thread		[25]
2005	Snap	Savannah College of Art and Design student film starring actor Bubba Lewis. A young boy must defend his house after his parents are brutally murdered.	[26]
2004	95 Miles to Go		[27]
2004	Damn Good Dog	A profile of University of Georgia mascot Uga	[28]
2003	Undertow		[29]
2000	Meeting Daddy		[30]
2000	The Gift	A woman with extrasensory perception is asked to help find a young woman who has disappeared. Starring Cate Blanchett and Katie Holmes.	[31]
1999	The Legend of Bagger Vance	A disillusioned war veteran, Captain Rannulph Junah, reluctantly agrees to play a game of golf. He finds the game futile until his caddy, Bagger Vance, teaches him the secret of the authentic golf stroke which turns out also to be the secret to mastering any challenge and finding meaning in life. Starring Will Smith, Matt Damon, and Charlize Theron.	[32]
1998	Claudine's Return	starring Christina Applegate, it was released as Kiss of Fire on DVD	[33]
1998	Forces of Nature	Only the last 15 to 20 minutes of the film takes place in Savannah. A soon-to-be-married man encounters an exciting stranger after his plane suffers an accident on takeoff. Starring Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock.	[34] (box office #1 film)
1998	The General's Daughter	Portions were filmed on the campus of Savannah State University and a plantation house on the outskirts of Savannah	[35]
1997	The Dinner		[36]
1997	The Gingerbread Man		[37]
1997	Kiss of Fire	starring Christina Applegate, it was originally released as Claudine's Return	[33]
1997	Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil	Completely filmed in Savannah. Is based on the book by John Berendt by the same name. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a 1997 film directed by Clint Eastwood, and an adaptation the book of the same name. The film features Kevin Spacey as Jim Williams and Jude Law as Billy Carl Hanson. The Lady Chablis, who was a well known transvestite performer at Savannah's Club One plays herself in the film. An appearance by Uga V, the English bulldog live mascot of the University of Georgia, playing his father, Uga IV. The Uga mascots live in Savannah between football games. Starring Kevin Spacey and John Cusack.	[38]
1996	White Squall		[39]
1996	Wild America	starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas	[40]
1995	Something to Talk About	A major scene is created outside the Six Pence pub on Bull Street. Starring Julia Roberts and Dennis Quaid	[41]
1994	Forrest Gump	The park bench that Forrest is sitting on throughout the film (telling his story to other people waiting for the bus), the famous feather dropping opening sequence, and the ending of the film all take place and were filmed in Savannah. The well known park bench that Forrest sat on is encased in the Historic Society in Savannah. Also, Forrest's house in Alabama was actually purpose built in Savannah. Starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinese, and Sally Field.	[42](Academy Award for Best Picture)
1994	Now and Then		[43]
1993	Camilla		[44]
1991	Flight of the Intruder		[45]
1991	Cape Fear	A convicted rapist, released from prison after serving a 14-year sentence, stalks the family of the lawyer who originally defended him. Remake of the 1962 film of the same name, which was also filmed in Savannah.	[46] (box office #1 film)
1990	Love Crimes		[47]
1989	Glory	Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates. Parts of the film were shot in Savannah and nearby Jeykll Island. Starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, and Morgan Freeman.	[48]
1989	The Judas Project		[49]
1989	The Return of Swamp Thing		[50]
1981	Tales of Ordinary Madness		[51]
1981	There Was a Little Girl		[52]
1980	City of the Living Dead
1980	Mother Seton
1980	The Slayer		[53]
1980	White Death
1979	Carny		[54]
1979	Gold Bug
1979	Hopscotch		[55]
1978	The Double McGuffin		[56]
1977	The Lincoln Conspiracy		[57]
1976	The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings		[58]
1975	Distance		[59]
1975	Gator		[60]
1974	The Longest Yard		[61] (box office #1 film)
1962	Cape Fear	A lawyer's family is stalked by a man he once helped put in jail.	[62]
1957	The Young Don't Cry		[63]
1955	View from Pomphey's Head	written and directed by Philip Dunne

Savannah in other media

Year	Title	Notes	Reference
2009	Left 4 Dead 2	Location of the first campaign. Savannah is also the hometown of two of the characters in the game, and is also the setting of the first level.
2012	The Walking Dead (2012 video game)	Episodes 4 and 5 of Season 1 are set in Savannah.

See also

• Hard Hearted Hannah (The Vamp of Savannah)

Notes

A.^{^} Notability for inclusion in this listing is based upon the standards outlined in Wikipedia:Notability.

B.^{^} Savannah had 24 original squares. Today 21 are still in existence.

References

1. "Savannah". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press. 2006-09-11. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
2. "Savannah Information". Savannah Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. Archived from the original on 2008-01-02. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
3. [https://www.blufftontoday.com/news/20190114/25-years-of-midnight-the-book-had-indelible-impact-on-savannah "25 years of ‘Midnight’: ‘The Book’ had an indelible impact on Savannah "] - Bluffon Today, January 14, 2019
4. Gordonston Park, also shown on maps as Juliette Low Park and sometimes referred to as Brownie Park (Juliette Gordon Low, the park's donor, was involved with Girl Scouts). It is a private park (as referenced in the book; in real life its status as such has been the subject of considerable debate) and is partially bordered by Edgewood Road (in the book Nolan lives on Edgewood, across from the park). The park is roughly one block southwest of Kinzie Avenue (in the book Ellie becomes a single mom and names her daughter Kinzie).
5. "Murder" at IMDb
6. "Moon River Brewing Co." at IMDb
7. "Making News: Savannah Style" at IMDb
8. "Ghosts of the Low Country" at IMDb
9. "Ghosts of Savannah" at IMDb
10. "Savannah" (1996) at IMDb
11. "Scarlett" (1994) (mini) at IMDb
12. The Rose and the Jackal (1990) (TV) at IMDb
13. My Father, My Son (1988) (TV) at IMDb
14. Pals (1987) (TV) at IMDb
15. Solomon Northup's Odyssey (1984) (TV) at IMDb
16. "All My Children" (1970) at IMDb
17. The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd (1980) (TV) at IMDb
18. "Roots: The Next Generations" (1979) (mini) at IMDb
19. Orphan Train (1979) (TV) at IMDb
20. "ROOTS". Retrieved 2007-11-20.
21. "Roots" (1977) (mini) at IMDb
22. F. Scott Fitzgerald and 'The Last of the Belles' (1974) (TV) at IMDb
23. The Last Song (film)
24. Boogeyman at IMDb
25. Red Thread (2005) at IMDb
26. Snap (2005/I) at IMDb
27. 95 Miles to Go (2004) at IMDb
28. Damn Good Dog (2004) (V) at IMDb
29. Undertow (2004) at IMDb
30. Meeting Daddy (2000) at IMDb
31. The Gift (2000) at IMDb
32. The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) at IMDb
33. Claudine's Return (1998) at IMDb
34. Forces of Nature (1999) at IMDb
35. The General's Daughter (1999) at IMDb
36. The Dinner (1997) at IMDb
37. The Gingerbread Man (1998) at IMDb
38. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) at IMDb
39. White Squall (1996) at IMDb
40. Wild America (1997) at IMDb
41. Something to Talk About (1995) at IMDb
42. Forrest Gump (1994) at IMDb
43. Now and Then (1995) at IMDb
44. Camilla (1994) at IMDb
45. Flight of the Intruder (1991) at IMDb
46. Cape Fear (1991) at IMDb
47. Love Crimes (1992) at IMDb
48. Glory (1989) at IMDb
49. The Judas Project (1990) at IMDb
50. The Return of Swamp Thing (1989) at IMDb
51. Storie di ordinaria follia (1981) at IMDb
52. There Was a Little Girl (1981) at IMDb
53. The Slayer (1982) at IMDb
54. Carny (1980) at IMDb
55. Hopscotch (1980) at IMDb
56. The Double McGuffin (1979) at IMDb
57. The Lincoln Conspiracy (1977) at IMDb
58. The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976) at IMDb
59. Distance (1975) at IMDb
60. Gator (1976) at IMDb
61. The Longest Yard (1974) at IMDb
62. Cape Fear (1962) at IMDb
63. "Notes for The Young Don't Cry (1957)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2010-01-12.