Rainbow’s Lori Brown had a major non-speaking role on an episode of the History Channel series “The Conquerors,” playing Jessie Benton Fremont in the show about John Fremont.
“It was fun to go back in time. The 1830s is a period of time I haven’t studied or haven’t done much in the way of fashion in that time period,” said Brown, who also made two of the costumes she wore on the show which initially aired April 24.
If a decade can be considered to begin with the year ending in “1” and end with the year ending in “0,” John Fremont met Jesse Benton in the 1830s. President Martin Van Buren sent Fremont on an expedition to explore the country between Missouri and the northern frontier, and in 1840 Fremont went to the nation’s capitol to prepare his report of the exploration. Although the exploration was pleasing to US Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri, Fremont’s interest in Benton’s teenage daughter did not please the Senator, who responded by arranging for Fremont to be dispatched on an expedition of the Des Moines River.
“He wasn’t too thrilled with Jessie and Fremont together, so he sent him on his expedition,” Brown said.
After Fremont returned from his expedition, he and Jessie Benton were secretly married on October 19, 1841. Fremont was 11 years older than his wife, who was born in 1824. Jessie Benton is alleged to have written some of Fremont’s subsequent reports on the exploration of the American frontier.
His exploration tasks were diverted to military engagements after President James Knox Polk signed a declaration of war against Mexico on May 13, 1846. On January 13, 1847, Andres Pico surrendered to General John Fremont and signed the Capitulation of Cahuenga. On February 2, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ceded California to the United States, was signed.
Fremont would have a brief political career in California, which included one of the state’s two initial United States Senate seats and a position as the Republican Party’s first nominee for President in 1856, during which he carried 11 of the 31 states in his loss to James Buchanan. Fremont’s political career would resume after the Civil War when he served as territorial governor of Arizona.
Brown and her parents are members of the Spirit of the West Riders, who portray characters representative of the American West. Phil Spangenberger, the leader of the Spirit of the West Riders, waives historical accuracy for safety and allows riders to use breast collars during parades, but the clothing replicates that used by men and women who rode the frontier between 1840 and 1920.
Spangenberger is also a consultant and extra for History Channel and Discovery Channel shows, and he frequently utilizes members of the Brown family for episodes in which they fit. So far the John Fremont episode is the only show in “The Conquerors” in which any of the Browns have appeared on the screen. “I didn’t have too much to do with casting people in this one,” Spangenberger said.
Ironically, it was Brown’s costume design skills which first caused Spangenberger to recommend her participation in “The Conquerors.” “At one point somebody said we have some stage work to be done,” he said. “I knew that Lori had good costumes and could modify things to be of the 1840s period.”
The casting personnel were seeking a woman in her early 20s with dark hair to portray Jessie Benton Fremont, and Brown was also asked to send a picture of herself. “They couldn’t believe the picture, because she looked very, very similar to the real Jessie Benton,” Spangenberger said. “It was almost like a painting they had of the real Jessie Benton. The similarities were uncanny.”
In other shows, members of the Brown family have had fleeting roles. Brown’s portrayal of Jessie Benton Fremont was more extensive. “She was a featured character in this one,” Spangenberger said.
Spangenberger felt that Brown’s role on the show was successful. “She looked very good on screen when I saw her.”
According to Spangenberger, the casting personnel were also pleased. “They were very happy with her,” he said. “They were very happy with the way she accomplished it.”
Brown also handled the costume work for Mrs. Fremont; one of her costumes was already made while the other was made for the show.
“I’d heard about John Fremont, but I hadn’t heard of her before, but it was fun to research them and look into what they did,” Brown said. “That would have been cool to be walking around there then. I’ll bet it looked quite a bit different than it does now.”
The filming took place in March, and Brown had to focus on a different period than the ones she is currently studying at Palomar College. At the time she was studying the 1880s in her American History class and the Romans and Greeks in her Western Civilization class.
Although the John Fremont episode has been the only one in which Brown has appeared for “The Conquerors,” she also made coverings for saddles and other tack which allowed the horses in the “El Cid” episode to look medieval. “She was actually very busy behind the scenes in the El Cid show,” Spangenberger said. “Lori helped a lot behind the scenes in that one even though she wasn’t in the show.”
Whether Brown or her parents appear in any additional episodes of “The Conquerors” will depend on the casting needs, but Spangenberger is willing to suggest their return to the show. “They’re friends of mine, they always do a good job, so I recommend them any time,” he said.
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