[78-L] Norman Corwin

[soundthink at aol.com]

Just got back from an evening with Norman Corwin at the Thousand Oaks Library. Corwin was there with Martin Kaplan, the director of the Norman Lear Center at USC (Lear himself was in the audience as well and took a bow). Corwin is "98 1/2" (as he put it) and although frail (he walks with a walker), his voice is strong and still recognizable; His brain, thank goodness, is still razor sharp, and he spoke eloquently, if haltingly. He said he was grateful and optimistic, thanks to the recent election, that America is on the right track again, as he "recedes into the shadows" (a particularly poetic thing to say by one of any age). He still champions America, asking rhetorically "what other country?produced writers like Walt Whitman and Mark Twain?" He and Kaplan talked about how entertainment is the force that drives American society, and that entertainment has invaded?politics, news, and all other aspects of our daily life. The Lear Center studies this effect, and has been able to predict the politics of an individual by what they watch on TV and, in many cases, what they eat. It was a fascinating but all-too-short discussion.?

Corwin graciously autographed?my 12" 78 album of "On a Note of Triumph" (he just wrote his name and "2008"). We did talk about Studs Terkel briefly; he had worked with him and considered him a great friend and a wonderful writer.

Incidentally, sitting next to me in the front row was Frank Bresee, whose library of radio shows is housed at the Thousand Oaks Library along with the?archives of Corwin and Rudy Vallee, among others.

There aren't many legends of radio left, but?it's nice to see that Norman Corwin is still aware of and acutely interested in our world and where it is going.?

Cary Ginell?