5/15/2007
I believe that tomorrow is the birthday of a Chicago icon- Studs Terkel. He’s an amazing writer and even has roots in early television here, and he turns 95 tomorrow! Here’s hoping he has a great birthday. It’s great to make it to such a lofty age, but to do so and still be sharp as a tack is even better. I don’t know if I’ll ever get that far, and my brain is already devolving into a substance something like Cream of Wheat…
One of my co-workers, Kabir, told me a great story regarding an elderly person. He said that his friend Ben (who, as a small child, used to call me “Gool-goolie”!) had shot a picture of Kabir at his desk. He showed it to his grandfather, who said
“oh, is that your new job?” Ben said, no, his job was elsewhere, that was where his friend worked as a promotions writer, at WCIU. His grandfather said “oh, WCIU- that’s where Svengoolie is!” A little later, Ben was shocked to have his grandfather point him out and say “that’s my grandson Ben- he’s a writer for Svengoolie!” Ben later explained to whomever that it wasn’t the case, and then explained to his grandfather that he WASN’T a writer for Svengoolie…only to hear his grandfather say later “that’s my grandson- he USED to write for Svengoolie!”
Speaking of golden agers, I recently ran into a couple of them (now Groucho would ask “did you hurt them?”) at the TV Academy’s Silevr Circle Awards. My old friend , weatherman Harry Volkman came over to say hello (see, HE doesn’t hold any grudges for the time when I was attempting to be a TV weatherman!)- I’ve known Harry forever, having gone to school with some of his sons, and I’ve been friends with his son Eddie V at B-96 for a long time. When I did some fill-in work at WCFL in the 80s, Harry was the weatherman! It’s always great to see Harry, still with a great sense of humor- and, no, he didn’t do any of his “whoosh!” wind sound effects! The other person I met- for the first time- is a real Chicago television legend- Lee Phillip Bell. Lee was a groundbreaking broadcaster here at channel 2 in Chicago, one of the most prominent on-air talents from the early days of television right through to the 80s. She later went with her late husband Bob Bell (no, not the “Bozo” Bob Bell) to L.A., where they created soap operas like “the Young and the Restless.” Lee was here to co-introduce, with Walter Jacobson (who now has a sporty mustache/goatee combination!), a longtime director, Phil Ruskin, who was inducted into the Silver Circle. She told a great story about how she had come to a TV station with her brothers to promote their family floral business, ended up on camera to do some flower arranging, did so well she was asked to come back- and her career was launched!
It’s so great to be given the chance to meet and talk with people who are true pioneers and icons in Chicago broadcasting. Especially someone like Lee- who is probably one of the first people I remember seeing on local TV as a child!(Yes, they HAD TV back when I was a child- why, I oughta…)
One of my co-workers, Kabir, told me a great story regarding an elderly person. He said that his friend Ben (who, as a small child, used to call me “Gool-goolie”!) had shot a picture of Kabir at his desk. He showed it to his grandfather, who said
“oh, is that your new job?” Ben said, no, his job was elsewhere, that was where his friend worked as a promotions writer, at WCIU. His grandfather said “oh, WCIU- that’s where Svengoolie is!” A little later, Ben was shocked to have his grandfather point him out and say “that’s my grandson Ben- he’s a writer for Svengoolie!” Ben later explained to whomever that it wasn’t the case, and then explained to his grandfather that he WASN’T a writer for Svengoolie…only to hear his grandfather say later “that’s my grandson- he USED to write for Svengoolie!”
Speaking of golden agers, I recently ran into a couple of them (now Groucho would ask “did you hurt them?”) at the TV Academy’s Silevr Circle Awards. My old friend , weatherman Harry Volkman came over to say hello (see, HE doesn’t hold any grudges for the time when I was attempting to be a TV weatherman!)- I’ve known Harry forever, having gone to school with some of his sons, and I’ve been friends with his son Eddie V at B-96 for a long time. When I did some fill-in work at WCFL in the 80s, Harry was the weatherman! It’s always great to see Harry, still with a great sense of humor- and, no, he didn’t do any of his “whoosh!” wind sound effects! The other person I met- for the first time- is a real Chicago television legend- Lee Phillip Bell. Lee was a groundbreaking broadcaster here at channel 2 in Chicago, one of the most prominent on-air talents from the early days of television right through to the 80s. She later went with her late husband Bob Bell (no, not the “Bozo” Bob Bell) to L.A., where they created soap operas like “the Young and the Restless.” Lee was here to co-introduce, with Walter Jacobson (who now has a sporty mustache/goatee combination!), a longtime director, Phil Ruskin, who was inducted into the Silver Circle. She told a great story about how she had come to a TV station with her brothers to promote their family floral business, ended up on camera to do some flower arranging, did so well she was asked to come back- and her career was launched!
It’s so great to be given the chance to meet and talk with people who are true pioneers and icons in Chicago broadcasting. Especially someone like Lee- who is probably one of the first people I remember seeing on local TV as a child!(Yes, they HAD TV back when I was a child- why, I oughta…)
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