Library Guides: Iowa-Related Resources: Iowa in movies, music, novels & TV

Noteworthy Mentions of Iowa/Iowans:

American Pickers TV show has its home base in Iowa. Their shop Antique Archaeology is located in La Claire (they have a second shop in Nashville TN). American Pickers is usually shown on the History Channel. Episodes are also available to view via Kanopy.
Ashton Kutcher was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This globally known actor starred in That ’70s Show along with films such as The Butterfly Effect and Dude Where’s My Car.
Bil Baird: World of Puppets in Mason City - - Bil was a puppeteer that grew up in Mason City. A well-know part of his collection are those that appeared in 'The Lonely Goatherd' scene in the Sound of Music film.
‘The Day The Music Died‘ – Singer Buddy Holly died in a plane crash after playing a show at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. You can visit the Buddy Holly crash site. It is in the middle of a field but has a memorial to those that died on the plane and a giant pair of glasses like the ones he used to wear.
Field of Dreams movie site - it was filmed in corn fields outside of Dyersville, Iowa and is popularly known as "The Most Magical Place on Dirt."
James T. Kirk, captain of the Starship Enterprise in Star Trek, will be born in Riverside, Iowa, on March 22, 2228.
Movie star Jason Momoa grew up in Iowa, graduated from Norwalk High School, and attended Des Moines Area Community College.
Movie star John Wayne was born in Winterset, Iowa; however he spent most of his life in California and starred in many Western movies.
The American composer and playwright Meredith Willson was born in Mason City. He is most famous for writing the Broadway show and film, The Music Man. You can visit Meredith Willson’s boyhood home and ‘Music Man Square’ in Mason City.
Long-running television series M*A*S*H character Cpl. Walter "Radar" O'Reilly, the company clerk, was from Ottumwa, Iowa and his favorite beverage was Grape Nehi (which they did, in fact, sell in Ottumwa during the years the show was filming).

The Bridges of Madison County by Robert Waller
Call Number: PS3573 A4347 B75 1992
The story of Robert Kincaid, the photographer and free spirit searching for the covered bridges of Madison County, and Francesca Johnson, the farm wife waiting for the fulfillment of a girlhood dream, The Bridges of Madison County gives voice to the longings of men and women everywhere -- and shows us what it is to love and be loved so intensely that life is never the same again.
The Bridges of Madison County and Iowa : production, reception, and place. by Gregory R. Wahl
Call Number: PS3573 A4347 B7539x 2005
Ph.D. Dissertation from University of Maryland, College Park, 2005.
"But he doesn't know the territory" : the story behind Meredith Willson's The music man by Meredith Willson
Publication Date: 2020
Composer Meredith Willson described The Music Man as "an Iowan's attempt to pay tribute to his home state." This book presents Willson's reflections on the ups and downs, surprises and disappointments, and finally successes of making one of America's most popular musicals.
Miracle of the Music Man by Mark Cabaniss
Call Number: ML410.W714 C33 2022
Mark Cabaniss steps back into the Golden Age of Broadway and brings to life the origins of The Music Man, the music behind it, and the unlikely story of its creator. Cabaniss looks at Meredith Willson’s long and unusual career as a composer, conductor, radio personality, and flutist, which reached its pinnacle in The Music Man. No one initially believed in Willson's "Valentine to Iowa," seeing it as nothing but a corny flop or, worse, a recipe for disaster. Over 65 years later, that star is still marching right to this day, endeared by millions around the world.