Florence Avalon Daggett (1907–2002) was an American filmmaker and philanthropist. She is associated with Avalon Daggett Productions, a film production company based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

which specialized in short documentary films, and educational films. Many of her later films were produced for the state of Louisiana.

Biography

Florence Avalon Daggett born in

Jennings Jennings is a surname of early medieval English origin (also the Anglicised version of the Irish surnames Mac Sheóinín or MacJonin). Notable people with the surname include: *Jennings (Swedish noble family) A–G *Adam Jennings (born 1982), A ...

, Jefferson Davis Parish,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

and was raised on a

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

. She lived in Switzerland for a few years. She was described as being diminutive in stature. She filmed with a

Bolex Bolex International S. A. is a Swiss manufacturer of motion picture cameras based in Yverdon located in Canton of Vaud, the most notable products of which are in the 16 mm and Super 16 mm formats. Originally Bol, the company was founded ...

16 mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical Film gauge, gauge of Photographic film, film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm film, 8 mm and 35mm movie film, 35 mm. It ...

camera and her work had been honored at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

. Daggett made documentary films about Western subjects including Native American tribes and cattle, where she made use of a technique known as tribesourcing. Tribesourcing is an approach applied to update, correct, and contextualize educational films; many of these films have historical value but the films are often containing incorrect or demeaning "facts", especially about Native Americans. Daggett also made films about sights in her home state of Louisiana, and about Mississippi. She made a film for the

Louisiana State Sovereignty Commission The Louisiana State Sovereignty Commission was a government agency of the Louisiana state government established to combat desegregation, which operated from June 1960 to 1967 in the capital city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The group warned of "cr ...

, entitled ''A Way of Life'' (1961).

Philanthropy

After she died in 2002, the

Louisiana State University Agricultural Center The Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, or the LSU AgCenter, is an agriculture research center associated with the Louisiana State University System and headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The center conducts agricultural-base ...

(LSU AgCenter) was left with an endowment for professorships by Daggett. Daggett had been friends with Dr. Joe Musick, the former director of the Rice Research Station at LSU AgCenter (near Crowley); where many of her bequeathed funds were used. She also funded a Native American scholarship in Arizona.

Filmography

*Louisiana Gayride (1949) *Indian Pow-wow (1951) *Smoki Snake Dance (1952) *Villages in the Sky (1952) * Peaceful Ones (1952) * Warriors at Peace (1952) *Tribe of the Turquoise Waters (1952) *Apache (1953) *Navajo Canyon Country (1954) *America the Beautiful, series * Mississippi Magic (1954) * 66th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade (1954) * Arizona Adventure (1954) * Weavers of the West (1954) *Herds West (1955) * Father of the Southwest (1957) * Copper, Steward of the Nation (1959) *Roses Pasadena, California; 1955 Theme, Familiar Sayings in Flowers *Marshes of the Mississippi (1961) * A Way of Life (1961), for the Louisiana State Sovereignty Commission * Rice, America’s Food For the World (1962) * The Big Span (ca. 1963) * Signs, Signals and Safety (1966) * School Bus Driver VIP (1967) *Louisiana: The Jazz Age Meets the Space Age (1968), for Louisiana Department of Commerce and Industry (now Louisiana State Board of Commerce and Industry), Baton Rouge *Big Piers (1968), for the

Louisiana Department of Highways The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) is a state government organization in the United States, in charge of maintaining public transportation, roadways, bridges, canals, select levees, floodplain management, port faci ...

*Big River Crossing (1968), for the Louisiana Department of Highways *Swamp Expressway (1972)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daggett, Florence Avalon 1907 births 2002 deaths Film producers from Louisiana People from Jennings, Louisiana American women film producers American segregationists Neo-Confederates