Links – Page 3 – Garroway at Large

More on the researcher’s art

A few posts ago I wrote about the research and writing tasks that any historian or biographer faces. But yesterday, while watching The Best Years of Our Lives (which, for my money, is the greatest movie ever made), I remembered that its director William Wyler was one of the five filmmakers profiled in the book and miniseries Five Came Back. And that led me down a web search that helped me find this great interview with Mark Harris, who wrote the book. In the interview Harris talks about the process he went through, how you gather every scrap of material you can get because you never really know just what will end up providing a key insight, and the little discoveries a researcher makes that can throw unexpected light on the process. Give it a read, because it gives such great insight into what a historian and author must do, and it hits on so many points familiar to my present task.

A Memorial Day offering

In 1960, with the 100th anniversary of the Civil War coming up, Alec Wilder put together a work inspired by the works of Civil War historian Bruce Catton. The piece, titled Names From the War, featured a pair of New York quintets and a choral group. Narrating it was none other than Dave Garroway. Thanks to the Wilderworld Podcast, you can listen to it here.

On this weekend, when we remember those who gave their lives, take the time to listen to this beautiful piece…and as you listen, remember.

Old tiger on the big screen

As work continues on the manuscript (now more than 14,000 words, by the way), sometimes it’s useful to take a break and watch a video or two. In that spirit, here’s a little offering of interest: a clip from the 1948 film I Surrender, Dear. The entire clip is interesting because it gives you a glimpse into what radio was like in the immediate postwar years, but the last minute or so is really interesting for our purposes. Take a look and enjoy.

Peace!

Since it’s Easter Sunday, what better time to explore the beautiful word that was Dave Garroway’s benediction?

Three things come to mind when you mention Dave Garroway: those horn-rimmed glasses; that bow tie; and his sign-off, an upheld hand, palm facing out, accompanied by the spoken word “peace.” Where did that come from? Thanks to the Archive of American Television and an old TV Guide article, we know enough to do a little digging and come up with the likely answer.

Charlie Andrews, who was Dave’s favorite writer and best friend, told the Archive in his lengthy interview that “peace” came from a preacher out of Philadelphia that Garroway took to listening to. This preacher would give these energetic sermons and would use the benediction, “Peace! It’s wonderful.” Garroway took a liking to “peace!” and adopted it as his own.¹

But who was that preacher? The second clue comes from Richard Gehman’s 1961 TV Guide profile of Garroway², which cites the benediction’s origin as borrowed from “Father Divine.” A little search engine magic does the rest, and you soon learn of the Reverend Major Jealous Divine, who indeed ran his ministry from Philadelphia starting in 1942 and employed the exhortation “Peace! It’s wonderful.” His story is much too interesting and wide-ranging for me to try to encapsulate here, so maybe it’s better if you consult this rundown of Father Divine’s life and times. Don’t miss his many interesting connections to other cultural phenomena, including a famous Johnny Mercer composition inspired by one of Father Divine’s sermons.

Garroway with Bob and Ray, 1952/Garroway with Fred Allen, 1952

During the run-up to the premiere of Today, Dave Garroway made guest appearances on some NBC programs. In the process, he got to match wits with some comedy legends. Here’s Dave paying a visit to Bob and Ray in the week before Today‘s premiere:

Maybe it’s me, but in that sketch Bob looks a lot like Pat Weaver and Ray reminds me of Today‘s first newsman, Jim Fleming.

Another preserved bit captures Dave’s January 6, 1952 visit to Fred Allen’s program. It’s a real treat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db9YFL0htlg

I’m working on a very special post for the 14th, to commemorate that first morning. In the meantime, enjoy the clips!

A moment of whimsy

We here at Garroway at Large World Headquarters have to apologize for the lapse. The culprit was the other manuscript on which I was working. The good news is, it was submitted to a prospective publisher last week. The bad news? It’s left my writing impulses a little depleted, and I’ve yet to recover the energy needed to do one of the in-depth pieces of the sort we’ve recently featured here.

Instead, here’s a little moment of wonder that never fails to lift my spirits. Here’s Chicago School-era Dave stopping by to visit his friends Kukla, Fran and Ollie. Whatever’s in your head right now, whatever worries you may have, put them aside, click “play,” and let these few minutes of kinescope footage work their magic.

“No wider than the heart is wide…”

I was working on another post for today until I remembered that October 16 is a special day. For it was on this date in 1955 that Dave Garroway welcomed us to Wide Wide World. The ambitious program, which had aired as a special presentation earlier in 1955, made its regularly-scheduled debut on October 16.

Not much Wide Wide World footage is available, and not even the entirety of the debut is out there to see. But about 60 out of those first 90 minutes is available, starting below. Take the time to watch it, and think about how the remotes we take for granted today seemed like a miracle in 1955.