There is no shortage of local legends to be found at the Jacksonville Historical Museum, which hosted its grand reopening in the spring. One prominent Jacksonville High School graduate honored in an exhibit is actress Lisa Blount, who starred as Lynette Pomeroy in “An Officer and a Gentleman.” Her exhibit sits alongside one honoring AY Media Group President and Publisher Heather Baker.
Born in Fayetteville on July 1, 1957, the Encyclopedia of Arkansas states that Blount moved with her family to Jacksonville and graduated from Jacksonville High School in 1975. She began taking classes at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville when she was 16, but left to pursue acting before she graduated.
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) lists her as having an uncredited role in the 1977 slapstick hockey movie “Slap Shot” starring Paul Newman, but America got a better taste of the wit and charm that would define Blount’s career in James Bridges’ “September 30, 1955,” also released in 1977. Blount played Billie Jean in the movie, filmed in Conway, in which a group of college students is thrown into chaos after the death of James Dean.
Blount’s career-making role came in 1982 with “An Officer and a Gentleman,” for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe. Acclaimed film critic Roger Ebert gave the film four stars when it was released…