I always loved being on TV. I will admit to being a media junkie, in that I love to be on radio, TV and in the papers. I can see myself as a small “c” celebrity.OK, no groupies or instant recognition from strangers or adoring fans, well maybe a little, but that will take yet another story.
My first exposure to the media was a TV appearance on Baltimore, Channel 11’s Silver Saddle Roundup in 1951 (I think). I was allowed to go on the stage and get on TV because I was wearing my guns and all gun toting cowpokes could come up and say your name and appear on the air. These were live appearances so I never saw myself on TV at that time.
I can’t really remember much about media as a kid, except they brought in Educational Radio when I was in the 4th or 5th grade, and we had a large console radio in class and had to listen to some educational show.
I do remember that they must have thought city kids had no farm type experience, and Borden sent around Elsie and Elmer in traveling pens so we could see farm animals. Some kids thought these were the real Elsie and Elmer, but the real ones were cartoon characters, so the real ones couldn’t be real.
I do remember much later when Jan Paul Miller, a teacher at the Maryland Institute had to go to court or something, and he forced the insurance company or the client to pay for a video crew to film a panel discussion so his class wouldn’t miss anything. I liked watching myself, in fact all of us, on the tube.
Later, we bought a departmental video camera and it was to be used to tape student teachers. When I was able to finally use it, I found a taped kids football practice and also a female student taking a bath, discreetly unclothed, both quite a surprise.
When I moved back from Kansas City, MO to Baltimore, my wife and I had dinner with our old friends Howie and Rae Millman. These people were our friends in Baltimore where Howie was on the faculty at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. We left in 1974 and returned in 1975 and had no contact with them until we returned. We met them for dinner shortly after returning and found people were coming over to our table to talk with Howie and Rae. Some of the people, it was clear, didn’t even know them. What had happened?
When we left Baltimore, it turns out, Channel 13 was looking for a “regular” couple to host a daily talk show and the Millman’s had been chosen. While we were gone they had become celebrities! I was amazed!
Things do happen and the media records, develops and nurtures it.
Howie has since died, at a very early age, which I found out just recently. He is missed.
In Detroit I made the paper many times in art related articles, including a nice piece in the local (Birmingham) paper on me as an artist, still framed on the wall of my home office. I did a radio show that caused me to meet my wife, or actually my mother-in-law. She was conscripted into waiting at my apartment for my mattress to be delivered by Sears so I could go and do an interview on Jazz radio in Detroit. She told her daughter that I was a “good catch” but her daughter thought I was too old. That’s another story for another time.
In Beverly, MA, I gained a bit of notoriety when I was asked about review some movies by a local reviewer. I (barely) remember reviewing “Frankenhooker”, a great, funny horror film and I know there were some others. We made the paper often with school events and I loved it. I guess that any publicity is good publicity unless there’s murder, mayhem and death attached.
In Calgary, AB we moved out of the art columns onto the cooking page. We appeared twelve times in a sixty minute cooking column, including photos of the whole family cooking. We did a cooking class demo with a hanging overhead mirror and have been included in two cook books. I love this stuff!
There was a great article when we came to Calgary about my son’s coming to Calgary and finding the school on his honeymoon, and his calling me and telling me to go to Calgary and get the job as President of the Alberta College of Art. He did not know that there would be a job, and did not know that they called me to ask me about going there less than six months after he suggested it. It was serendipity.
I have little memory left about TV and radio appearances in Calgary, although I did some. I can remember doing a “live” CBC interview about graffiti while driving in a snowstorm, using a hand’s free cell phone. There is still an interview available on the internet about my involvement getting a degree program for the college. It’s been too long to remember them all.
Since moving to Ontario, I have managed to get into the paper, on the radio and TV as much as can be expected. Several people have facetiously noted that their week would not be complete without seeing me somewhere. We have had a family cooking article, as well, in the Hamilton Spectator.
So all of those who say I’m grabbing for attention are correct. If you’re reading this blog my intension should be obvious.
My first exposure to the media was a TV appearance on Baltimore, Channel 11’s Silver Saddle Roundup in 1951 (I think). I was allowed to go on the stage and get on TV because I was wearing my guns and all gun toting cowpokes could come up and say your name and appear on the air. These were live appearances so I never saw myself on TV at that time.
I can’t really remember much about media as a kid, except they brought in Educational Radio when I was in the 4th or 5th grade, and we had a large console radio in class and had to listen to some educational show.
I do remember that they must have thought city kids had no farm type experience, and Borden sent around Elsie and Elmer in traveling pens so we could see farm animals. Some kids thought these were the real Elsie and Elmer, but the real ones were cartoon characters, so the real ones couldn’t be real.
I do remember much later when Jan Paul Miller, a teacher at the Maryland Institute had to go to court or something, and he forced the insurance company or the client to pay for a video crew to film a panel discussion so his class wouldn’t miss anything. I liked watching myself, in fact all of us, on the tube.
Later, we bought a departmental video camera and it was to be used to tape student teachers. When I was able to finally use it, I found a taped kids football practice and also a female student taking a bath, discreetly unclothed, both quite a surprise.
When I moved back from Kansas City, MO to Baltimore, my wife and I had dinner with our old friends Howie and Rae Millman. These people were our friends in Baltimore where Howie was on the faculty at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. We left in 1974 and returned in 1975 and had no contact with them until we returned. We met them for dinner shortly after returning and found people were coming over to our table to talk with Howie and Rae. Some of the people, it was clear, didn’t even know them. What had happened?
When we left Baltimore, it turns out, Channel 13 was looking for a “regular” couple to host a daily talk show and the Millman’s had been chosen. While we were gone they had become celebrities! I was amazed!
Things do happen and the media records, develops and nurtures it.
Howie has since died, at a very early age, which I found out just recently. He is missed.
In Detroit I made the paper many times in art related articles, including a nice piece in the local (Birmingham) paper on me as an artist, still framed on the wall of my home office. I did a radio show that caused me to meet my wife, or actually my mother-in-law. She was conscripted into waiting at my apartment for my mattress to be delivered by Sears so I could go and do an interview on Jazz radio in Detroit. She told her daughter that I was a “good catch” but her daughter thought I was too old. That’s another story for another time.
In Beverly, MA, I gained a bit of notoriety when I was asked about review some movies by a local reviewer. I (barely) remember reviewing “Frankenhooker”, a great, funny horror film and I know there were some others. We made the paper often with school events and I loved it. I guess that any publicity is good publicity unless there’s murder, mayhem and death attached.
In Calgary, AB we moved out of the art columns onto the cooking page. We appeared twelve times in a sixty minute cooking column, including photos of the whole family cooking. We did a cooking class demo with a hanging overhead mirror and have been included in two cook books. I love this stuff!
There was a great article when we came to Calgary about my son’s coming to Calgary and finding the school on his honeymoon, and his calling me and telling me to go to Calgary and get the job as President of the Alberta College of Art. He did not know that there would be a job, and did not know that they called me to ask me about going there less than six months after he suggested it. It was serendipity.
I have little memory left about TV and radio appearances in Calgary, although I did some. I can remember doing a “live” CBC interview about graffiti while driving in a snowstorm, using a hand’s free cell phone. There is still an interview available on the internet about my involvement getting a degree program for the college. It’s been too long to remember them all.
Since moving to Ontario, I have managed to get into the paper, on the radio and TV as much as can be expected. Several people have facetiously noted that their week would not be complete without seeing me somewhere. We have had a family cooking article, as well, in the Hamilton Spectator.
So all of those who say I’m grabbing for attention are correct. If you’re reading this blog my intension should be obvious.
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