[78-L] RIP Norman Corwin

Wed Oct 19 06:10:38 PDT 2011

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i21y_BrPGhLnKxcg0U3jjF7qahrg?docId=e396992353c64decaadda46a14d02cc2

Radio giant Norman Corwin dies in Calif. at 101
By DENISE PETSKI, Associated Press – 4 hours ago
LOS ANGELES (AP) — During a career that spanned more than 70 years, Norman 
Corwin wrote, produced and directed for radio, television, film and the stage.

His insightful writing earned Emmy and Golden Globe awards. He received an 
Academy Award nomination for his script for the 1956 film "Lust for Life," the 
biography of Vincent van Gogh starring Kirk Douglas.

But radio was Corwin's true passion.

"I find it difficult to turn down an offer to be heard," he said in a 2001 
interview on public radio. "Whether it's an anniversary, whether it's on the 
ending of a war, whatever the subject, I am ham enough to enjoy communicating 
to people, to an audience."

Corwin, a creative giant of the Golden Age of Radio whose programs chronicling 
World War II are milestones in broadcasting, died Tuesday at his Los Angeles 
home of natural causes, according to the USC Annenberg School for Communication 
& Journalism where Corwin remained a writer in residence until his death. He 
was 101.

Actor William Shatner, who narrated several of Corwin's later radio programs, 
called him a legend and his hero. He is "the poetic soul of discretion and a 
monument to artistry in America," Shatner once said.

Throughout the 1940s, Corwin was well known to millions of Americans who 
depended on radio for their link to the world. His work during that so-called 
Golden Age of Radio ran the gamut of creative offerings, from variety shows to 
dramas, comedies to documentaries.

Some of his most acclaimed programs dealt with World War II and provided 
perspective about a war being fought thousands of miles away. His writing 
brought the country together, inspiring patriotism, hope and optimism.

He joined CBS in 1938 at the height of the radio network's glory, working with 
such broadcasting greats as Edward R. Murrow and Howard K. Smith. While his 
early work was behind the microphone, Corwin eventually turned his focus to 
writing, producing and directing.

In 1941, he wrote "We Hold These Truths," a commemoration of the 150th 
anniversary of the Bill of Rights featuring the voices of Lionel Barrymore, 
Walter Brennan and Orson Welles. It was broadcast simultaneously on all four 
radio networks days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

"We Hold These Truths" was added in 2005 to the Library of Congress' National 
Recording Registry, formed to honor sound recordings of unusual historical merit.

In 1945, he penned "On a Note of Triumph," considered by many to be Corwin's 
masterpiece. It was broadcast nationwide on May 8, 1945, the day of the allied 
victory in Europe.

In an introduction to the program, Corwin wrote: "I thought to consider what 
had been wrought, and why — what the victory had cost, what, if anything, we 
had learned — and what lay ahead in the way of global obligations and 
responsibilities."

A film about that broadcast, "A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman 
Corwin," won the Oscar in 2006 for best short documentary.

In the mid-1950s, Corwin turned to television and film.

He wrote the first and final programs of a 26-part portrait of President 
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, titled "FDR," that aired on the ABC television 
network in 1963. A year later, he scripted a 90-minute examination of Hollywood 
for NBC titled "Inside the Movie Kingdom."

Corwin wrote at least 19 books and several stage plays, including "The Odyssey 
of Runyan Jones." He received numerous awards in media and the humanities, 
including two Peabody medals. In 1993, he was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.

USC Annenberg Dean Ernest J. Wilson III called Corwin "a true legend." ''His 
insightful, inspiring body of work has been absorbed into the American 
consciousness. He gave us the benefit of his knowledge, wit and keen 
observations through many decades, and he was a literary treasure."

At a 100th birthday celebration thrown for Corwin at USC Annenberg last year, 
Wilson quoted Corwin from an oral history he had shared with Annenberg 
professor Bryce Nelson on his 95th birthday, according to the USC Annenberg 
website. Corwin had said:

"My approach is distinct from that of searching only for what's wrong. I lay 
heavy emphasis on what is right because that too often escapes the awareness of 
a writer..I also place emphasis on rewriting, on the theory that all first 
drafts are trash. And that applies to my own first drafts. I think it's 
terribly important to read, to watch television and movies, and listen to 
radio, to read books, magazines, newspapers, even when the material is poor. A 
student should learn what makes it poor.

"In sum, I urge my students to read widely. I believe in the benefits of 
intellectual osmosis."

Corwin often bemoaned the current state of commercial radio broadcasting.

"Today there is a plethora of a kind of radio that is very inexpensive to 
produce, talking heads," he said in a 2001 interview with Atlantic Public 
Media. "We are not commemorating and celebrating the great events."

Corwin's innovative work was introduced to a new generation in the mid-1990s on 
National Public Radio. A series titled "13 by Corwin," a selection of his 
programs from the 1940s, was digitally remastered and distributed in 1996 as 
part of the NPR Playhouse series.

Corwin greeted the new century with "Memos to a New Millennium," narrated by 
Walter Cronkite and broadcast on public radio. In a January 2000 interview, 
Corwin spoke of his optimism for the next 1,000 years.

"As long as there is room for compassion in this world, we need not despair," 
he said.

Born May 3, 1910, in Boston, Corwin began his career immediately after high 
school as a reporter for The Greenfield Daily Recorder newspaper in 
Massachusetts before turning to radio.