The following obituary appeared in the New Rochelle Standard-Star, August 14, 1969: “William Francois ‘Pep’ Noel, a vigorous individualist all his life, lost his battle for life last night at New Rochelle Hospital. He died at 7 p.m. The 84-year-old longtime resident who was a familiar figure in this city had been stricken August 5 with a cerebral hemorrhage at the New Rochelle Tennis Club, where he had been groundskeeper for more than 20 years. The stories about ‘Pep’ were legion. A native of Canada, he was a man who believed in long walks and the outdoor life. He neither drank nor smoked and was a vegetarian all his life. Known to residents for his constant hiking (he never rode anywhere) he grew up in the pioneer days of the motion picture industry. He was a stunt man and cameraman (in those days actors did everything) and was the original ‘Tarzan’ in the silent films.
“He made movies with D.W. Griffith when he had a studio in Mamaroneck and also worked for Thanhouser studios in New Rochelle in those early days of film making. When the industry moved to California, Pep went along as a cameraman and stuntman, but eventually returned to New Rochelle, probably when movies changed to big business and glamor in the ’20s. He was once the rowing coach for the New Rochelle Rowing Club, and according to a former club member, now living in California, he fought the board of governors of the Rowing Club when they reportedly blackballed a number of Italian-American boys who wanted to become members. The same man says that Pep did all his life what the hippies and flower people are trying to do, in the best sense. He saw the unfairness and wickedness in our society and wanted no part of it, becoming a ‘free soul.’ ‘You might say he was a Gandhi without followers,’ his old friend said. Another resident recalls how Pep had taught her children to ice skate at Huguenot Lake a number of years ago.
“The stories of his frugality, part of his philosophy of life, are many. Pep, so the story goes, refused to pay the nickel fare on the ferry of Long Island Sound many years ago and always swam across, a considerable distance. He was proud and although he was eligible years ago to collect Social Security, he refused to collect it. He was a daily visitor to the Fire Station on North Avenue at Eastchester Road, where he cooked his simple supper, and socialized for a few hours. Wherever he went he was followed by his cocker spaniel, Taffy. The present Taffy is the third one and old himself. He is being cared for by Mr. and Mrs. Philip Lautkin at the Tennis Club, who said they will continue to do so as long as Taffy lives. The dog refuses to eat but they are feeding him by hand as best they can. Pep was one of the founders of the old Polar Bear Club, an informal group of men who swam daily in Long Island Sound, whether the weather was freezing or not. He has no family. He never married. His mother is buried here in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.”
Notes: The New Rochelle Pioneer, April 22, 1916, listed a Frank E. Noel among the Thanhouser players who were to stage a minstrel show on April 27th. However, the same account contained many misspellings of names, “Eugene Mohr” for Eugene Moore, for example, and it may be the case that William Noel was intended for the Frank E. Noel listing. If not, then Frank E. Noel represents another employee. In some accounts, William Noel’s middle name was given as Eugene; in others, as Francois.
