Friends of Old-Time Radio Convention

October 24, 2009: The Holiday Inn in Newark, NJ
Wow! RadioLovers.com



This is the very talented, Brian Gari. He is an outstanding panel host who is exceedingly knowledgeable and he moves things along with a huge amount of enthusiasm and contagious joy. He and Stu Weiss moderated a discussion with guests Clay Cole, Eugene Pitt, Tracey Dey, and Billy Goldenberg. The hour included film and audio clips.
Brian is the grandson of Eddie Cantor.
Here is my interview from last April with Brian Gari.


This is the very beautiful Janet Cantor Gari, the daughter of the phenomenal entertainer, Eddie Cantor. She is Brian Gari's mother.


This is the infamous hoaxer, Alan Abel.


This is Tracey Dey, Clay Cole, and Brian Gari.


This is the legendary Joe Franklin. At the convention, he was the host of the Joe Franklin Show with Mary Owen, Lillian Murphy (Harvest of the Stars) and Cherie Becker (wife of Sandy Becker).


This is "Billy" Goldenberg. He is the composer who wrote the scores for many of Steven Spielberg's films and also for the TV series Kojak and Columbo.


This is the great Eugene Sampson Pitt who sang with "The Jive Five."


I had the pleasure of meeting Mary Owen, the daughter of Donna Reed, at the convention. She told me about letters she found that were written to her mother. Mary Owen speaks in the NYTimes about the G.I. letters sent to her mother, Donna Reed, during WW II.

45th-year high school reunion

These were taken in the lobby of my apartment building after the reunion. I took no photos at the reunion.



These were not taken at the reunion. They were taken that night after the reunion, in the lobby of my apartment building.

"Grey Gardens" and me

Tonight, Jessica Lange won the Emmy for Lead Actress in the movie "Grey Gardens." She thanked Al Maysles, the filmmaker of the documentary "Grey Gardens." This is a photo (taken in June 2009) of me and Albert Maysles, who created that "artistic smash."


And these are photos of Jerry (Edie Beale's "Marble Faun,") Albert Maysles, and me! How wonderful it was to see them together again, almost 35 years after that legendary documentary was made.

The Grand Concourse, a boulevard in the Bronx

Roosevelt Gardens apartments, in 1922 the world's largest apartment house


a kiosk


a boulevard most grand


unidentified, now "Citizen's Advice Bureau"


The Andrew Freedman house


1150 Grand Concourse, an Art Deco residential building


The Loew's Paradise


Concourse Plaza Hotel


1244 Grand Concourse


Although this was not "an interview," the experience of visiting this once great boulevard today was very moving. I enjoyed it so much I never even felt the heat... and trust me, today was a typical New York summer shvitz bath.
You can read more in these NY Times articles:
here and here.

At Forgotten-NY:
here.

Women of Washington Square

Several months ago, I went on this tour with The Transition Network. We saw the homes of Eleanor Roosevelt, Emma Lazarus, Edith Wharton, Ida Tarbell, Dawn Powell, and Mabel Dodge. This was a walking tour organized by The Transition Network as part of the "Explore NYC" series. And while I was not able to interview these interesting women whose homes we saw on the walking tour, I learned much about them from our guide, Jane, who said:

"Greenwich Village is renowned for the extraordinary women who’ve lived in this historic area over the decades....Eleanor Roosevelt, Emma Lazarus, Edith Wharton...to name just a few. On this hour-long walking tour we’ll see where these women, and other notable feminists, lived and worked and we’ll talk about their lives."

These are some of the photos I took along the walk.

Harlem Renaissance Tour

Yesterday, I joined The Transition Network tour which explored the Harlem of the 1920s. We visited historic sites which were presented by a member of the Schomberg Center for Black Research & Culture. I loved seeing the beautiful Strivers Row. And the Renaissance Theater and Ballroom with the old "Chow Mein" sign was a wonderfully nostalgic touch. On the ride home, we had a bit of unexpected excellent entertainment. This was a wonderful walking tour and a thoroughly enjoyable morning.

Wave Hill, the gardens

Today I visited the the gardens at Wave Hill. It is a beautiful place for relaxation and contemplation. In the distance, the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River is visible... with the tall buildings of New Jersey and the lofty hills in the horizon.