One of the blessings of the Internet era is that many archives have opened up and a lot of material has become available. Today’s post is about one such archive, available for endless hours of enjoyment.
Maybe you know the name Studs Terkel from his books, such as Working or The Good War. Maybe you’ve seen him in the occasional film role. Maybe you’ve seen him pop up in documentaries. It doesn’t matter, because the man could do anything and, through his long life, often did. But he had a particular talent for conversation, the ability to talk to anyone about anything, which he parlayed not only into his best-selling books but also into a radio series on WFMT in Chicago.1
And, as it happens, our man Dave Garroway stopped in to talk with Studs one day in 1974. Dave and Studs had known one another since the late 1940s, both as up-and-coming disc jockeys, and subsequently as television stars in the Chicago School firmament (Dave on Garroway at Large, Studs on Studs’ Place). Thanks to the wonderful Studs Terkel Radio Archive2, you can listen to the two old friends talk about a number of things: broadcasting, jazz, race relations and more. Take about an hour and let yourself be entranced by a master communicator and a master conversationalist.3 (Then when you’re done listening to that interview, take a look at the other interviews available in this magnificent collection and enjoy them, too. There’s only about 5,600 shows to go through, so make some time.)
- To my dying day I will regret that I never had occasion to talk with Studs Terkel. Every interview I have seen or heard with him comes across as hearing a favorite uncle telling stories. I especially wish I could have talked with him about Dave Garroway. Jeff Kisseloff’s The Box has a Garroway anecdote from Terkel that gives a hint of the insights I might have gleaned. Oh, well.
- If you want an idea of just how colossal a project this archive was, this article is a good place to start. Historians owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to these good folks.
- There are two acknowledgments I must make here. The first is to the wonderful archivist at the Studs Terkel Radio Archive who, in the months before the Garroway interview was posted, was kind enough to send me an advance copy for my research. The other acknowledgment I should make is to an alert reader who has been very generous in sending me links and other items, who alerted me that the Garroway interview was now publicly available. I am thankful to you both.