America
ER
November 25, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
An emergency room in a Chicago hospital.
A multi-racial cast.
Humor covering up the pain of working in a trauma situation.
Sounds like ER.
It is ER. But it’s not the one that immediately comes to mind.
Not the one that debuted in 1994.
Not the one that was a cornerstone of NBC’s Thursday night lineup for fifteen years.
This ER lasted only one season.
It was a sitcom based on a 1982 play. It was a nicely written, nicely acted, nicely produced show that aired on CBS during the 1984-85 season.
Elliott Gould plays Dr. Howard Sheinfeld, a twice divorced doctor who moonlights at Clark Street Hospital’s Emergency Room to pay his alimony bills. With Gould’s veteran comedy instincts, ER seems like a good idea for a sitcom. And it was, particularly in hindsight considering
the show’s talent, star power, and ensemble performances.
Conchatta Ferrell plays veteran nurse Thor. She later appeared on L.A. Law as entertainment attorney Susan Bloom. Currently, she stars as Berta, the wisecracking maid on Two and a Half Men.
Mary McDonnell took over the role of Dr. Eve Sheridan, Sheinfeld’s boss and potential love interest. Five years after ER, McDonnell captured America’s attention in Dances With Wolves. Marcia Strassman, Julie Kotter in Welcome Back, Kotter, plays Sheridan in the ER pilot.
Pamela Adlon plays Jenny Sheinfeld, the daughter of Dr. Sheinfeld. She voiced Bobby Hill on the long-running cartoon series King of the Hill.
Before he found fame, accolades, and notoriety as Larry David’s alter ego on Seinfeld -- George Costanza -- Jason Alexander played hospital administrator Harold Stickley on ER.
Lynne Moody plays young, love-seeking, good-natured nurse Julie Williams. In a bit of inspired crossover casting, Sherman Helmsley brought his George Jefferson character to ER as Julie’s uncle in a guest appearance.
Luis Avalos plays Dr. Tomas Esquivel. Avalos is probably best known to Generation Xers from The Electric Company.
And, of course, George Clooney. He appears on both ER shows. In the sitcom, he is Ace -- a heart-throbbing, pulse pounding, personality plus paramedic with rock and roll dreams. The name of his band is The Body Fluids.
Ace’s nickname reinforces his reputation as a ladies man -- My Place Ace. Coincidentally, Tomas reminisces about his younger days with a corresponding nickname -- Mi Casa Tomasa.
Like Night Court, Barney Miller, or Taxi, ER revolved around the workplace. But the potential romance between Sheinfeld and Sheridan, the wonderful acting and writing, and the quirky patients who populated the emergency room at Clark Street Hospital were not enough to keep ER from flatlining.
ER holds a special significance for me. In one episode, a guest character named Dr. Krell makes an appearance. Dr. Sheinfeld remarks on the name. He says, If I wasn’t a Sheinfeld, I’d like to be a Krell.
david@davidkrell.com
An emergency room in a Chicago hospital.
A multi-racial cast.
Humor covering up the pain of working in a trauma situation.
Sounds like ER.
It is ER. But it’s not the one that immediately comes to mind.
Not the one that debuted in 1994.
Not the one that was a cornerstone of NBC’s Thursday night lineup for fifteen years.
This ER lasted only one season.
It was a sitcom based on a 1982 play. It was a nicely written, nicely acted, nicely produced show that aired on CBS during the 1984-85 season.
Elliott Gould plays Dr. Howard Sheinfeld, a twice divorced doctor who moonlights at Clark Street Hospital’s Emergency Room to pay his alimony bills. With Gould’s veteran comedy instincts, ER seems like a good idea for a sitcom. And it was, particularly in hindsight considering
the show’s talent, star power, and ensemble performances.
Conchatta Ferrell plays veteran nurse Thor. She later appeared on L.A. Law as entertainment attorney Susan Bloom. Currently, she stars as Berta, the wisecracking maid on Two and a Half Men.
Mary McDonnell took over the role of Dr. Eve Sheridan, Sheinfeld’s boss and potential love interest. Five years after ER, McDonnell captured America’s attention in Dances With Wolves. Marcia Strassman, Julie Kotter in Welcome Back, Kotter, plays Sheridan in the ER pilot.
Pamela Adlon plays Jenny Sheinfeld, the daughter of Dr. Sheinfeld. She voiced Bobby Hill on the long-running cartoon series King of the Hill.
Before he found fame, accolades, and notoriety as Larry David’s alter ego on Seinfeld -- George Costanza -- Jason Alexander played hospital administrator Harold Stickley on ER.
Lynne Moody plays young, love-seeking, good-natured nurse Julie Williams. In a bit of inspired crossover casting, Sherman Helmsley brought his George Jefferson character to ER as Julie’s uncle in a guest appearance.
Luis Avalos plays Dr. Tomas Esquivel. Avalos is probably best known to Generation Xers from The Electric Company.
And, of course, George Clooney. He appears on both ER shows. In the sitcom, he is Ace -- a heart-throbbing, pulse pounding, personality plus paramedic with rock and roll dreams. The name of his band is The Body Fluids.
Ace’s nickname reinforces his reputation as a ladies man -- My Place Ace. Coincidentally, Tomas reminisces about his younger days with a corresponding nickname -- Mi Casa Tomasa.
Like Night Court, Barney Miller, or Taxi, ER revolved around the workplace. But the potential romance between Sheinfeld and Sheridan, the wonderful acting and writing, and the quirky patients who populated the emergency room at Clark Street Hospital were not enough to keep ER from flatlining.
ER holds a special significance for me. In one episode, a guest character named Dr. Krell makes an appearance. Dr. Sheinfeld remarks on the name. He says, If I wasn’t a Sheinfeld, I’d like to be a Krell.
America
November 21, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
God bless America.
Take a look at a program schedule from the last few years.
Patriotic fever apparently strikes television executives.
America’s Next Top Model.
America’s Most Wanted.
American Chopper.
American Masters.
American Hot Rod.
America’s Next Producer.
American Justice.
America’s Got Talent.
American Experience.
American Inventor.
American Idol.
American Dad.
What accounts for these allusions to the red, white, and blue in television program titles that we might expect during an anniversary year, like a bicentennial?
First, size matters.
America is a pretty big, powerful, and awesome place. With a version of the word America in the title, the program naturally targets a mass audience -- all of us.
Second, success matters.
American Idol is popular, so subsequent offerings borrow from the name as well as the format
Models meet American Idol = America’s Next Top Model.
Inventors meet American Idol = American Inventor.
Third, pride matters.
America gives the audience a sense of pride -- the show could not take place anywhere but America.
For example, American Chopper is a series about the prototypical American success story of a family business -- Orange County Choppers. But success does not come easy for this upstate New York business focused on making one-of-a-kind motorcycles. It is a result of hard work, dedication, and passion.
Paul Teutul started Orange County Choppers in his basement because of his passion for building motorcycles. The business ballooned into a marketing, licensing, and television juggernaut.
Although Made in the U.S.A. fever seems to be contagious given the numerous America-based titles, we’ve actually seen the use of America throughout television history.
American Gladiators.
Good Morning, America.
America’s Funniest Home Videos.
American Dream was a short-lived series in the early 1980’s centering on a family’s move back to the city from their quiet home in suburbia.
American Dreamer took an opposite premise. This early 1990’s sitcom stars Robert Urich as a widower who trades in his globetrotting journalism work for a quiet life in Wisconsin with his family and a job as a newspaper columnist.
Amerika was a 1987 miniseries on ABC that depicted life ten years after a Soviet takeover. Robert Urich also starred in this offering along with Kris Kristofferson.
Americathon was a 1979 tv-movie showing what the country would be like in 1998 -- America is bankrupt, the president is a skirt chaser, and the oil supply is facing depletion. Were the writers prescient or was the plot line simply a coincidence?
The title comes from a telethon to save America.
American Bandstand starred eternally youthful Dick Clark from the 1950’s to the 1980’s. Clark capitalized on the American Bandstand brand and library with American Dreams. This NBC show enjoyed a three-season run -- 2002-2005. It showed us life in the 1960’s through the Pryor family, specifically Meg Pryor. Meg was an All-American teenage girl in Philadelphia who faced the trials and tribulations of growing up as she fulfilled her dream of being an American Bandstand dancer.
Finally, Love, American Style used an anthology format and featured guest stars in love stories that were varied, funny, and somewhat realistic.
Coincidentally, except for American Dreams and American Dreamer, many of the shows mentioned appeared on ABC -- American Broadcasting Company.
david@davidkrell.com
God bless America.
Take a look at a program schedule from the last few years.
Patriotic fever apparently strikes television executives.
America’s Next Top Model.
America’s Most Wanted.
American Chopper.
American Masters.
American Hot Rod.
America’s Next Producer.
American Justice.
America’s Got Talent.
American Experience.
American Inventor.
American Idol.
American Dad.
What accounts for these allusions to the red, white, and blue in television program titles that we might expect during an anniversary year, like a bicentennial?
First, size matters.
America is a pretty big, powerful, and awesome place. With a version of the word America in the title, the program naturally targets a mass audience -- all of us.
Second, success matters.
American Idol is popular, so subsequent offerings borrow from the name as well as the format
Models meet American Idol = America’s Next Top Model.
Inventors meet American Idol = American Inventor.
Third, pride matters.
America gives the audience a sense of pride -- the show could not take place anywhere but America.
For example, American Chopper is a series about the prototypical American success story of a family business -- Orange County Choppers. But success does not come easy for this upstate New York business focused on making one-of-a-kind motorcycles. It is a result of hard work, dedication, and passion.
Paul Teutul started Orange County Choppers in his basement because of his passion for building motorcycles. The business ballooned into a marketing, licensing, and television juggernaut.
Although Made in the U.S.A. fever seems to be contagious given the numerous America-based titles, we’ve actually seen the use of America throughout television history.
American Gladiators.
Good Morning, America.
America’s Funniest Home Videos.
American Dream was a short-lived series in the early 1980’s centering on a family’s move back to the city from their quiet home in suburbia.
American Dreamer took an opposite premise. This early 1990’s sitcom stars Robert Urich as a widower who trades in his globetrotting journalism work for a quiet life in Wisconsin with his family and a job as a newspaper columnist.
Amerika was a 1987 miniseries on ABC that depicted life ten years after a Soviet takeover. Robert Urich also starred in this offering along with Kris Kristofferson.
Americathon was a 1979 tv-movie showing what the country would be like in 1998 -- America is bankrupt, the president is a skirt chaser, and the oil supply is facing depletion. Were the writers prescient or was the plot line simply a coincidence?
The title comes from a telethon to save America.
American Bandstand starred eternally youthful Dick Clark from the 1950’s to the 1980’s. Clark capitalized on the American Bandstand brand and library with American Dreams. This NBC show enjoyed a three-season run -- 2002-2005. It showed us life in the 1960’s through the Pryor family, specifically Meg Pryor. Meg was an All-American teenage girl in Philadelphia who faced the trials and tribulations of growing up as she fulfilled her dream of being an American Bandstand dancer.
Finally, Love, American Style used an anthology format and featured guest stars in love stories that were varied, funny, and somewhat realistic.
Coincidentally, except for American Dreams and American Dreamer, many of the shows mentioned appeared on ABC -- American Broadcasting Company.
The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book
October 23, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
From 1961 to 1966, America watched the adventures and misadventures of a television comedy writer at work and at home.
The Dick Van Dyke Show broke ground as the first sitcom to regularly show the father’s workplace as a significant part of the show. The workplace was the writers’ room for The Alan Brady Show. It also provided a rich source for story lines.
In 1994, Vince Waldron wrote the definitive book about the program -- The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book.
It’s a terrific resource.
The episode guide has the following information -- episode titles, air dates, guest stars and their respective characters, writers, directors, and story synopses.
In addition, Waldron details Carl Reiner’s pilot -- Head of the Family. It was the progenitor of The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Head of the Family aired on CBS on July 19, 1960 with Carl Reiner in the lead role of Rob Petrie.
Reiner tweaked his creation and it became The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Waldron also plunges into other parts of the show’s history.
The casting of Mary Tyler Moore as Laura Petrie.
The brink of cancellation because of sponsor Procter & Gamble almost pulling its sponsorship.
The effect of the John Kennedy assassination on the show’s production schedule, not to mention the emotions of the cast and production staff.
Waldron also describes the background, history, and production of key episodes. One example is It May Look Like A Walnut, a takeoff on The Twilight Zone.
The Dick Van Dyke Show was successful largely because of Carl Reiner’s devotion to reality. In the chapter Playing To An Empty House, writer Jerry Belson tells Waldron about Reiner’s commitment to finding realies.
He was always saying, “We need more realies! Give me more realies!” Carl would ask us, “How do you use that rubber thing on the end of a toothbrush? Well, put that in the show!” Carl didn’t care about funny, he wanted realies. If you sat down with Carl, instead of saying, “What’s funny?” he would sit you down and say, “Okay, what happened to you this week? What’d you fight with your wife about?” And those things that happened to you were the realies that Carl wanted. And so we were always searching for more realies.
The Dick Van Dyke Show aired 158 episodes in black and white. Was color given serious thought? Waldron explains in a footnote in the chapter Curtain Calls.
Although Reiner chose not to heed his executive producer’s [Sheldon Leonard] advice to keep the series on the air, Reiner insists that both he and Sheldon Leonard had given serious thought to filming The Dick Van Dyke Show in color as early as the show’s third season. But, says Reiner, the plan was quickly abandoned as soon as they discovered that filming the show in the more expensive color process would have added about seven thousand dollars to their weekly budget. “It didn’t seem to make any sense at the time,” explains the producer. “There was no big argument. It was like, ‘What do we do? It’ll cost us seven thousand dollars a week more to go to color.’ ‘Oh. Well, in that case, let’s not.’”
For a fan of television sitcoms in general and The Dick Van Dyke Show in particular, The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book by Vince Waldron is a fine addition to the bookshelf.
david@davidkrell.com
From 1961 to 1966, America watched the adventures and misadventures of a television comedy writer at work and at home.
The Dick Van Dyke Show broke ground as the first sitcom to regularly show the father’s workplace as a significant part of the show. The workplace was the writers’ room for The Alan Brady Show. It also provided a rich source for story lines.
In 1994, Vince Waldron wrote the definitive book about the program -- The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book.
It’s a terrific resource.
The episode guide has the following information -- episode titles, air dates, guest stars and their respective characters, writers, directors, and story synopses.
In addition, Waldron details Carl Reiner’s pilot -- Head of the Family. It was the progenitor of The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Head of the Family aired on CBS on July 19, 1960 with Carl Reiner in the lead role of Rob Petrie.
Reiner tweaked his creation and it became The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Waldron also plunges into other parts of the show’s history.
The casting of Mary Tyler Moore as Laura Petrie.
The brink of cancellation because of sponsor Procter & Gamble almost pulling its sponsorship.
The effect of the John Kennedy assassination on the show’s production schedule, not to mention the emotions of the cast and production staff.
Waldron also describes the background, history, and production of key episodes. One example is It May Look Like A Walnut, a takeoff on The Twilight Zone.
The Dick Van Dyke Show was successful largely because of Carl Reiner’s devotion to reality. In the chapter Playing To An Empty House, writer Jerry Belson tells Waldron about Reiner’s commitment to finding realies.
He was always saying, “We need more realies! Give me more realies!” Carl would ask us, “How do you use that rubber thing on the end of a toothbrush? Well, put that in the show!” Carl didn’t care about funny, he wanted realies. If you sat down with Carl, instead of saying, “What’s funny?” he would sit you down and say, “Okay, what happened to you this week? What’d you fight with your wife about?” And those things that happened to you were the realies that Carl wanted. And so we were always searching for more realies.
The Dick Van Dyke Show aired 158 episodes in black and white. Was color given serious thought? Waldron explains in a footnote in the chapter Curtain Calls.
Although Reiner chose not to heed his executive producer’s [Sheldon Leonard] advice to keep the series on the air, Reiner insists that both he and Sheldon Leonard had given serious thought to filming The Dick Van Dyke Show in color as early as the show’s third season. But, says Reiner, the plan was quickly abandoned as soon as they discovered that filming the show in the more expensive color process would have added about seven thousand dollars to their weekly budget. “It didn’t seem to make any sense at the time,” explains the producer. “There was no big argument. It was like, ‘What do we do? It’ll cost us seven thousand dollars a week more to go to color.’ ‘Oh. Well, in that case, let’s not.’”
For a fan of television sitcoms in general and The Dick Van Dyke Show in particular, The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book by Vince Waldron is a fine addition to the bookshelf.
The Taking of Pelham 123
October 13, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
The remake of The Taking of Pelham 123 opened in theaters this past summer. The film stars three actors who got their big breaks on the small screen.
Denzel Washington.
In Pelham, Washington plays Walter Garber, a New York City civil servant who becomes the link of communication to hostage takers on a subway train.
Washington was part of the terrific ensemble cast of St. Elsewhere. In this 1980’s NBC drama set in a Boston hospital, Washington plays the Yale-educated Dr. Phillip Chandler.
His breakthrough movie was Glory, a 1989 film set during the Civil War. Washington earned on Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
John Travolta.
In Pelham, Travolta plays Ryder, the leader of the hostage takers.
Travolta exploded onto America’s consciousness as dim-witted, girl-crazy, and self-involved high school student Vinnie Barbarino in Welcome Back, Kotter.
Kotter premiered in 1975. In the space of three years, Travolta’s career became hotter than a supernova. On the silver screen, he starred in 1977’s Saturday Night Fever and 1978’s Grease.
For the most part, notoriety subsided during the 1980’s. Travolta signaled his comeback in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction in 1994.
James Gandolfini.
In Pelham, Gandolfini plays the Mayor of New York City. If managed properly, the hostage crisis can be good for the politics business. Or very bad.
After highly significant roles on Broadway and supporting roles in films, Gandolfini got the role for which he will forever be identified.
Henry Winkler has Fonzie.
Alan Alda has Hawkeye.
And James Gandolfini has Tony Soprano, the main character in The Sopranos.
Gandolfini’s emotions as the New Jersey mafia don range from the tender to the explosive. He reveals a touching side when talking about or interacting with animals, like his racehorse, Pie-Oh-My.
There is a flip side. Disloyalty, betrayal, and disrespect trigger rage, violence, and an underlying fear of a weakened position in the Soprano mob family.
In 1973, Morton Freedgood wrote the novel The Taking of Pelham 123 under the pseudonym John Godey.
A year later, the story hit the big screen for the first time with Walter Matthau as Garber, Robert Shaw as Ryder, and Lee Wallace as the mayor.
The film accurately captures the aura of violence, fear, and despair surrounding New York City in the 1970’s. Riots. Crime. Financial turmoil. They all contributed to the pressure.
The feeling permeates the film. Walter Matthau’s Garber is in the middle -- a civil servant trying to do his job. On this particular day, it is an ordinary job under extraordinary circumstances. Matthau perfectly fits the role of the rumpled Garber.
The ending of this version of Pelham is an excellent example of a setup and payoff. Something occurs early in the story that recurs at the end.
Hector Elizondo and Earl Hindman play two of the hostage takers. Elizondo later starred in Chicago Hope and played supporting roles in a deep roster of films that include The Flamingo Kid, The Princess Diaries, and Pretty Woman.
Hindman’s face is not recognizable from his signature role -- Wilson, the neighbor on Home Improvement. The running gag on the show was the hiding of Wilson’s face behind the backyard fence and other objects.
Jerry Stiller plays a policeman working with Matthau. Maybe the hostage crisis was a source of sorts for Frank Costanza’s anger.
david@davidkrell.com
The remake of The Taking of Pelham 123 opened in theaters this past summer. The film stars three actors who got their big breaks on the small screen.
Denzel Washington.
In Pelham, Washington plays Walter Garber, a New York City civil servant who becomes the link of communication to hostage takers on a subway train.
Washington was part of the terrific ensemble cast of St. Elsewhere. In this 1980’s NBC drama set in a Boston hospital, Washington plays the Yale-educated Dr. Phillip Chandler.
His breakthrough movie was Glory, a 1989 film set during the Civil War. Washington earned on Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
John Travolta.
In Pelham, Travolta plays Ryder, the leader of the hostage takers.
Travolta exploded onto America’s consciousness as dim-witted, girl-crazy, and self-involved high school student Vinnie Barbarino in Welcome Back, Kotter.
Kotter premiered in 1975. In the space of three years, Travolta’s career became hotter than a supernova. On the silver screen, he starred in 1977’s Saturday Night Fever and 1978’s Grease.
For the most part, notoriety subsided during the 1980’s. Travolta signaled his comeback in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction in 1994.
James Gandolfini.
In Pelham, Gandolfini plays the Mayor of New York City. If managed properly, the hostage crisis can be good for the politics business. Or very bad.
After highly significant roles on Broadway and supporting roles in films, Gandolfini got the role for which he will forever be identified.
Henry Winkler has Fonzie.
Alan Alda has Hawkeye.
And James Gandolfini has Tony Soprano, the main character in The Sopranos.
Gandolfini’s emotions as the New Jersey mafia don range from the tender to the explosive. He reveals a touching side when talking about or interacting with animals, like his racehorse, Pie-Oh-My.
There is a flip side. Disloyalty, betrayal, and disrespect trigger rage, violence, and an underlying fear of a weakened position in the Soprano mob family.
In 1973, Morton Freedgood wrote the novel The Taking of Pelham 123 under the pseudonym John Godey.
A year later, the story hit the big screen for the first time with Walter Matthau as Garber, Robert Shaw as Ryder, and Lee Wallace as the mayor.
The film accurately captures the aura of violence, fear, and despair surrounding New York City in the 1970’s. Riots. Crime. Financial turmoil. They all contributed to the pressure.
The feeling permeates the film. Walter Matthau’s Garber is in the middle -- a civil servant trying to do his job. On this particular day, it is an ordinary job under extraordinary circumstances. Matthau perfectly fits the role of the rumpled Garber.
The ending of this version of Pelham is an excellent example of a setup and payoff. Something occurs early in the story that recurs at the end.
Hector Elizondo and Earl Hindman play two of the hostage takers. Elizondo later starred in Chicago Hope and played supporting roles in a deep roster of films that include The Flamingo Kid, The Princess Diaries, and Pretty Woman.
Hindman’s face is not recognizable from his signature role -- Wilson, the neighbor on Home Improvement. The running gag on the show was the hiding of Wilson’s face behind the backyard fence and other objects.
Jerry Stiller plays a policeman working with Matthau. Maybe the hostage crisis was a source of sorts for Frank Costanza’s anger.
Tim Russert: One Year Later
June 05, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Approximately one year has passed since Tim Russert died on June 13, 2008.
And America's Sunday mornings still are not the same.
From 1991 until his death last year, Tim Russert served as the caretaker of NBC's classic jewel, Meet the Press.
He was the everyman.
The favorite uncle who always asks how you're doing.
The neighbor who shares your passion for sports.
The teacher who is truly interested in your ideas.
Tim Russert loved politics and he loved explaining it to us.
Talking with popes, presidents, and prime ministers, Tim Russert never forgot his roots in south Buffalo.
He never let us forget them either, rooting for the Sabres and Bills regularly at the end of Meet the Press.
While other newscasters may come from the Ivy League or work themselves up the ladder from humble beginnings, they often forget about the average Joe.
Tim Russert never forgot about the average Joe.
The son of a sanitation worker, Tim Russert knew, respected, and embraced the working class that comprises the true backbone of America.
Tim Russert let us into his personal world, writing books with a deep appreciation for a father's sacrifice -- Big Russ and Me and Wisdom of Our Fathers.
To say that his passing leaves a void in television news is like saying Babe Ruth could hit a baseball. The words do not even begin to do justice to the reality of the situation.
During the memorial service, we took comfort in Tim Russert's tremendous legacy at NBC News and in his family, primarily his son who gave a thoughtful, inspiring, and deeply touching eulogy. Luke Russert is a tremendously poised, mature, and well-rounded young man who graduated from Boston College last year. The family went to Italy to celebrate Luke's graduation. Tim Russert returned to Washington, D.C. ahead of his wife and son so he could tape his MSNBC show and work on the June 15, 2008 edition of Meet the Press.
Perhaps appropriately, Tim died at work while recording a track for Meet the Press. Luke Russert described the show as "a second child."
At the memorial service, we also saw many colleagues give thanks, condolences, and memories of the political professional turned public personality.
Once a staffer of New York political icons Mario Cuomo and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Tim Russert became a staple of Sunday mornings -- leisurely breakfast, Sunday newspapers, and Meet the Press.
Luke Russert's eulogy encouraged us to think of a Meet the Press special edition in heaven. Maybe Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr will be on for the full hour. Maybe JFK and Barry Goldwater will debate.
During the 2008 presidential election, transition of presidential power, and these early days of the Obama administration, we miss Tim Russert's enthusiasm as we do his affection, acumen, and stability.
If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press.
But it's still not the same without Tim Russert.
Go Bills!
david@davidkrell.com
Approximately one year has passed since Tim Russert died on June 13, 2008.
And America's Sunday mornings still are not the same.
From 1991 until his death last year, Tim Russert served as the caretaker of NBC's classic jewel, Meet the Press.
He was the everyman.
The favorite uncle who always asks how you're doing.
The neighbor who shares your passion for sports.
The teacher who is truly interested in your ideas.
Tim Russert loved politics and he loved explaining it to us.
Talking with popes, presidents, and prime ministers, Tim Russert never forgot his roots in south Buffalo.
He never let us forget them either, rooting for the Sabres and Bills regularly at the end of Meet the Press.
While other newscasters may come from the Ivy League or work themselves up the ladder from humble beginnings, they often forget about the average Joe.
Tim Russert never forgot about the average Joe.
The son of a sanitation worker, Tim Russert knew, respected, and embraced the working class that comprises the true backbone of America.
Tim Russert let us into his personal world, writing books with a deep appreciation for a father's sacrifice -- Big Russ and Me and Wisdom of Our Fathers.
To say that his passing leaves a void in television news is like saying Babe Ruth could hit a baseball. The words do not even begin to do justice to the reality of the situation.
During the memorial service, we took comfort in Tim Russert's tremendous legacy at NBC News and in his family, primarily his son who gave a thoughtful, inspiring, and deeply touching eulogy. Luke Russert is a tremendously poised, mature, and well-rounded young man who graduated from Boston College last year. The family went to Italy to celebrate Luke's graduation. Tim Russert returned to Washington, D.C. ahead of his wife and son so he could tape his MSNBC show and work on the June 15, 2008 edition of Meet the Press.
Perhaps appropriately, Tim died at work while recording a track for Meet the Press. Luke Russert described the show as "a second child."
At the memorial service, we also saw many colleagues give thanks, condolences, and memories of the political professional turned public personality.
Once a staffer of New York political icons Mario Cuomo and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Tim Russert became a staple of Sunday mornings -- leisurely breakfast, Sunday newspapers, and Meet the Press.
Luke Russert's eulogy encouraged us to think of a Meet the Press special edition in heaven. Maybe Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr will be on for the full hour. Maybe JFK and Barry Goldwater will debate.
During the 2008 presidential election, transition of presidential power, and these early days of the Obama administration, we miss Tim Russert's enthusiasm as we do his affection, acumen, and stability.
If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press.
But it's still not the same without Tim Russert.
Go Bills!