On Sunday, January 20th at 2 p.m.,
Nebraska educator and public television personality Ron Hull will talk about
his life in broadcasting and sign his book “Backstage.” Hull has been involved in television
for six decades, nearly since its inception. According to the publisher’s promotional materials, “Hull
sets out in Backstage to tell his story—from playing a bellhop in a
junior class play in South Dakota to initiating the American Experience
series for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Before he even owned a
television set, Hull produced a military TV show at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. But it
wasn’t until he got a job in public broadcasting in Lincoln, Nebraska, that he
truly found his medium. Hull has a lifetime of fascinating anecdotes to tell:
working as a producer and director, encountering celebrities like John Wayne
and William Shatner, befriending famous Nebraskans like writers Mari Sandoz and
John Neihardt and actress Sandy Dennis, moving to Saigon in 1966 to bring
television to embattled Vietnam, and working in Washington as director of the
program fund for the CPB. Through it all, though, Hull’s story is a tribute to
his adopted Nebraska, a celebration of the people—stars and unsung heroes—he’s
known, and a moving memoir of the dramas of life, large and small. “
Come
meet and visit with this Nebraska treasure at the home of another Nebraska
treasure, the John G. Neihardt State Historic Site. The Neihardt State Historic
Site is located at 306 W. Elm Street, Bancroft, NE. The program begins at 2
p.m. with a reception and book signing. Author book will be available for
purchase. The event is free and open to the public. This program is sponsored
by the Nebraska Humanities Council.
