Cypress Gardens: The Beauty Queens' Playground

A TRUE SOUTHERN BELLE

Miss America 1966 Debbie Bryant poses as a Southern Belle.

Great credit for the success of Cypress Gardens should be given to the lovely wife of founder Dick Pope. Not only did Julie Downing Pope plant almost every original plant in the Gardens, she was also a creative individual who had a keen sense of business (impressive in the '40s). Plus, her undying support of the often crazy schemes of her husband gave her great joy over the years.

A true "Southern Belle," Julie's manners, style, and patience were examples of a true lady who, even in the midst of turmoil, kept a cool head and used her intuition to develop a plan of action. A primary example is her handling of a problem after a freeze in December of 1940. Julie noticed that as visitors approached the entrance gate, they would notice the Flame Vine (covering the entrance fence) had been damaged by the freeze (although it had been covered by a blanket). With her quick thinking, Julie had one of the girls who worked for the Gardens don an antebellum dress with a hoop skirt and shawl that they only used for photography purposes. Julie instructed her to stand in front of the fence and greet the visitors letting them know that the Gardens were in wonderful shape and that the freeze had not damaged the interior.

Julie truly saved the day and began what is still a tradition at Cypress Gardens. Today, the Southern Belle girls are the same symbol of Southern hospitality as they were in 1940 and continue to adorn the beautiful landscaping.

For fun, almost every Miss America has spent a portion of her time in the traditional Southern Belle dress. Donning the costume and their all-American smile, these admired women spent countless hours greeting the public, signing autographs, and posing with fans for pictures.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Miss America 1957 Marian McKnight.

It's interesting to note that Dick Pope, always the visionary, made sure that almost every move made in the first days of the actual planting of the Gardens (which took years) revolved around the perfect photograph.

So, when he began to design the Gardens, he accounted for beautiful photographic settings from every possible angle along each path. Every plant, flower, and tree was placed in position after he had viewed the spot through a camera lens, especially to take advantage of light. Dick even hired a man who sported a light meter around the park at all times to help guests set up shots and operate either the cameras the park loaned out for free or the guest's own photo equipment. Over the years, Cypress Gardens was featured in hundreds of publications due to the distribution of over 40,000 photographs.

THE BIG SCREEN

With the regular shooting of beauty queens, water-skiers, commercials, and several TV episodes shot on location (i.e. the Ed Sullivan Show, the Tonight Show), soon Hollywood began to take notice. They too wanted a piece of the action (and profits), so Hollywood brought its glamour and fame to this remote tropical paradise in Winter Haven, Florida.

Mike Douglas photo

TV talk-show host Mike Douglas visits the gardens in the '70s.

The first "shorts" starred soldiers and local girls and became very popular with Americans, since these clips were sent to American troops and played in local theaters across America. Their content and patriotic themes included a little silliness and plenty of fun, but that was normal for films of the day. The main thing is that the entire world was now aware of this paradise on Earth.

According to Cypress Garden's history, the first movie produced at the Gardens was On an Island With You starring Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban! Many local water skiers were in the film, and its reputation as a hit in Hollywood went far above the expectations of top producers.

Another feature film was Easy To Love which also starred Esther Williams along with Van Johnson and Tony Martin. The film was known to have thrilled Hollywood after it was seen by 170,000 people a day on Broadway in New York over the next year!

Other notable movies shot in the Gardens included Neptune's Daughters, Water Babies, and Moon Over Miami, which starred Betty Grable, Don Ameche, and Robert Cummings.

Although it was almost always sunny in this tropical paradise, to accommodate production crews during rare cloudy weather, Richard built a studio ("Studio B") designed specifically for shooting television and motion pictures indoors.

INTO THE 21ST CENTURY

Today, television still plays a large role in promoting Cypress Gardens. Periodically, video news releases are shot in the Gardens and put up on satellite so that it is available to every television station around the world. Currently, the most successful television show in Germany and Switzerland is Florida Lady which is filmed in the islands area of the Gardens.

The great number of additions and improvements over the years has made it even more photogenic than it has ever been before. One technological improvement, the Honeymoon Mirror (for the more than five weddings performed in the Gardens per day), allows couples to take a picture of themselves with the lush Gardens in the background! Spots specifically set up for photographs are located throughout the many pathways. (At one point in time, more Kodak film was sold at Cypress Gardens than any other place in the country!)

In this issue, Pageantry's Prom 2000 Photo Shoot was shot on location at Cypress Gardens. Of all of the locations we've produced photo shoots (i.e. Asheville, Daytona Beach, Severeville) Cypress Gardens was the most difficult location to select good backgrounds, simply because there were so many! Hopefully, Pageantry's readers will have a glimpse of these beautiful Gardens; however, like the Grand Canyon, an actual visit is the only way to truly appreciate the splendor.

Carol Burnett skiing

World-famous comedienne Carol Burnett on the shoulders of a Cypres Gardens skier.

Because of the Pope's love of the water, today guests can view daily water-ski shows (featuring world-class water-skiers), take a 2-hour cruise on the Southern Breeze (a paddle boat), or take a canoe ride through the beautiful canals. Guests can also visit the Butterfly Conservatory, see one of daily ice-skating and acrobatic shows, observe rare animals up close, experience one of many daily bird or snake shows, take a ride 16 stories high, go shopping in one-of-a-kind boutiques, and enjoy countless other exhibits, shows, and rides in addition to being mesmerized by the Garden's hypnotic beauty.

As Cypress Gardens moves into the 21 Century, and as new additions expand its beauty and charm, there will be even greater opportunities for guests, photographers, directors, producers, celebrities, beauty queens, and publishers to enjoy well into the new millennium.

A WORD TO THE WISE

As you're always reading throughout Pageantry magazine, the name of the game is to believe in your dreams.

The dream the Popes created with their own hands is testimony to believing in one's own dreams, even when you have plenty of doubters. With hard work, determination, and an attitude of "We Can," together they created the first major Florida attraction to promote the State of Florida and a world-class attraction that heralds the beauty of the Earth and its inhabitants in all its splendor.