Hollywood star Gary Stretch celebrates town’s movie magic

7th February 2011

Hollywood actor Gary Stretch put St Helens firmly on the cultural map when he officially launched the new St Helens Discovers public art event.

The former champion boxer and star of Alexander and Dead Man’s Shoes returned to his hometown to spotlight its little known links with Hollywood. As well as Gary, the town has also helped launch the careers of Harry Potter Director David Yates and big screen sound inventor George Groves.

With a wealth of fascinating facts to shout about, St.Helens has joined the City of Liverpool’s landmark public art event Liverpool Discovers to uncover the wealth of information about its history - with a focus on its Hollywood connections.

At the heart of the St Helens project are three beautifully crafted kaleidoscopes in Church Square. They’ve been carefully crafted to ensure that no one sees the same image twice. The project also includes 7 pedestrian signs around the town centre featuring the greatest stories ever told about St.Helens.

Gary said: “St Helens has got a lot to celebrate – in terms of its industrial and sporting heritage. But the St Helens Discovers project really does make you realise there’s a lot more to the town than most people think.”

With a wealth of interesting facts to shout about, St.Helens has joined the City of Liverpool’s landmark public art event Liverpool Discovers to uncover the wealth of significant, yet lesser-known facts about its history with a focus on its Hollywood connections. The event has been informed by the people of St Helens themselves, following a pubic consultation in the summer about the town’s hidden secrets. The St Helens Historical Society Research Group played a key role in verifying much of the information.

Councillor Barrie Grunewald, Deputy Leader of St Helens Council and Cabinet Member for Culture, Communications and Town Centre said: “Seeing this project come to life is something I’ve really been looking forward to.

“A lot has been said and written about the traditional aspects of St Helens’ past, but there’s so much more to the town than the glass industry and its mining heritage – important though those things are.

“The beauty of St Helens Discovers is that many of the lesser known facts and connections have been highlighted by local people. So really it’s a tribute to all that local knowledge and pride that we’ve been able to put together such a comprehensive tribute to our hidden cultural gems.”

St Helens Discovers is funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Maps can be picked up for free from MASH Gallery, World of Glass, the Citadel Arts Centre and the Godfrey Pilkington Art Gallery or download a map here.