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News Fri May 14 2010
Chicago Legend and National Treasure, Remastered for the Digital Age
Beloved author-radio host-actor-activist Studs Terkel is fondly remembered, indeed. Born in 1912 ("I came up the year the Titanic went down"), he lived to be 96 and had a long and prolific career, most notably as the host of "The Studs Terkel Program" on WFMT from 1952 to 1997. In that time, he interviewed almost every important cultural figure there was, including Rosa Parks, Bob Dylan, and Martin Luther King Jr. A young Marlon Brando was said to have been so intrigued with his hour-long interview with Studs that he asked for a second hour. Studs was equally fascinated with everyday people and brought them center stage as well in books such as Division Street: America, Working, and American Dreams; Lost and Found. His legacy is now getting a handsome remastering upgrade: this past Monday a deal was struck between the Library of Congress and the Chicago History Museum, with the generous support of the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, to digitize approximately 800 open reel and 1,350 cassette sound recordings of interviews conducted for Terkel's book projects. Approximately 6,000 hours of sound recordings of his radio programs donated to the Museum by Terkel and WFMT radio network in 1998 will also be digitized. What this means for them: approximately two years of work. What this means for you: a goldmine of audio history will soon be available online.
