#18 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Wednesday May 5)
Good morning!
LESSER APPRECIATED ROLES OF MAJOR STARS
A while back I noted that George Carlin, Ringo Starr and Alec Baldwin starred at various times as the Conductor on Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. I can’t imagine that the remuneration was all that good or that their brief stints on that show were particularly career enhancing. I would like to believe they accepted the gig because it was fun and it was for kids.
There are other “stars” whom I admire for work they have done, much of it outside of the bright lights, glamor and TMZ exposes. One is Henry Winkler, forever known as “The Fonz” from Happy Days and attorney Barry Zuckerkorn, on Arrested Development. Henry (who was once the emcee for the USC Scripter Awards) suffers from dyslexia, and wrote 17 children’s books about Hank Zipzer, a hero who shared that challenge. In this way, he has used his personal challenge to inform literature to share and educate children who have learning challenges. Another star who has had an impact on kids is LeVar Burton.
ROOTS AND A TINY BIT OF HERO WORSHIP…
LeVar Burton got his start in the iconic TV miniseries (when that genre was in its infancy), Roots. That show was a big event and opened many eyes to the story of American slavery and Black American history, as told through the story of generations of Alex Haley’s family. Burton was the original young slave, Kunta Kinte, captured in Africa and forced against his will into slavery in America. Haley’s story parallels his family life against the backdrop of American history and the Black experience. It highlighted many of the great Black actors of the era, including Louis Gossett, Jr., John Amos, Ben Vereen, Leslie Uggams, and Cicely Tyson. While the characters and events are real, much of Haley’s story is fictional, relying upon historical events to recreate events and settings. But that doesn’t detract from the narrative, which weaves together history, documented family records and oral history.
Roots was groundbreaking on so many levels, exposing Americans in an approachable story-telling manner to the ugly legacy of slavery and Jim Crow through the experiences of individuals caught up in its horrors. It did not just tick off the various seminal events in American history but it did so through the eyes and the experiences of Alex Haley’s ancestors. And while the series was unsparing in its depiction of horrific events, it also showed joyful moments as well. That is what made it so real—because we could identify with the characters as people and not statistics. The series also was groundbreaking in the genre of the “must watch” mini-series, introducing Americans to history in a personal way that was a precursor to other great historical storytelling. Its finale remains the third most watched TV episode of all time.
READING RAINBOW
Most of remember Burton’s next big venture, as Geordi La Forge, on Star Trek, The Next Generation (“known as TNG” to fans). While this is not about Star Trek, let me put in my vote that TNG was the best of the various Star Trek series…
But to our family, LeVar will always be the host of Reading Rainbow. For 23 years, he hosted 155 half-hour episodes for the show with the tag line “Opening Books / Opening Minds.” That such a show existed, encouraging reading engagement for kids, is a tribute to this man’s singular focus to have an impact on the world. And I’ll always remember that when LeVar told a story, he would always say, “but don’t just take my word for it” and the story would continue…
JEOPARDY AND THE REVENGE OF THE NERDS
Burton and his fans have waged a public campaign to become the successor to Alex Trebek, as host of Jeopardy! Burton is a self-confessed trivia nerd, having appeared on Celebrity Jeopardy. There is a petition afoot to convince the producers to designate LeVar as the new host. I won’t sign petitions for recall; I won’t sign petitions to put initiatives on the ballot (for good reasons I’ll lay out some other time). But if this petition crosses my path, I’m in. He deserves it. He’d be good at it. He wants it. “I think my whole career is an advertisement for being the host of Jeopardy,” he chided. Last week we learned he will be one of the guests hosts, later this season.
Here’s hoping LeVar is back on the air soon on a regular basis, either on Jeopardy or somewhere else!
Have a good weekend,
Glenn