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Grab some popcorn and head to the Greenwich Library on Friday for a screening of "Holes in My Shoes," a documentary about the late Jack Beers of Greenwich. Beers, an ironworker who helped erect some of New York City's iconic buildings and also worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II, died last year just short of his 99th birthday.
The 90-minute movie kicks off the return of the Friends of Greenwich Library's Friday Film Series. The lineup this season includes Oscar winners, indies, best sellers-turned-blockbusters and documentaries.
Beers, who lived in Greenwich 50 years, was 94 when the documentary was filmed. He tells of his childhood growing up in New York City in extreme poverty and being named New York City's Strongest Boy. A self-taught structural engineer, he helped build Radio City Music Hall, the spire on the Empire State Building and many other city landmarks.
Beers eventually earned the nickname the Jack of all trades. He appeared in more than 200 films and even bred boxers and showed them in the Westminster Dog Show.
Beers says in the film, "When I look around [New York City], I see some of the buildings I've worked on. You know what? I've built hundreds of buildings all over [the city].
"One of my greatest achievements was on the Manhattan Project," he says. "What I did saved a lot of American lives."
The screening at the library is free and open to the public. Doors of the Cole Auditorium open at 7:40 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. For more information, call (203) 622-7922.
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