Any public perception of Norman Maclean's father -- who famously blurred the lines between fly fishing and religion -- was forever changed by Tom Skerritt's 1992 portrayal of the man. But look at the remarkable resemblance between Skerritt and the Rev. John Norman Maclean, and how involved the actor still is in the movie and its after-effects, and you might begin to wonder who changed who more.
The Missoula, Montana church where the elder Maclean once preached will honor him and his son with a monument to be unveiled this weekend.
"The reverend died in late 1941 at age 78. Clara, 10 years his junior and herself a remarkable leader in the church and the family, died at 79 in 1952. Both are buried in the Missoula Cemetery, as is Paul, around whose murder in Chicago in 1938 Norman constructed the plot of 'A River Runs Through It.'" Kim Briggeman of The Missoulian.
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