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Playlist From the Archive

From the Archive

From the Archive: 'Grease' Becomes a Movie

Daniel Hautzinger

The smash-hit film version of Grease premiered 40 years ago on June 16, but it was already a huge success on Broadway, and had originated as a small play in Chicago. One of its co-writers discusses its popularizing transformations into something different from the original.

50 Years After the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy

Daniel Hautzinger

50 years ago today, Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in the midst of the 1968 presidential campaign. Explore his unrealized potential in a 1969 Studs Terkel interview. "There was this great strength to him, a decency and simplicity and a willingness to listen and a willingness to learn."

From the Archive: 'Dune' Author Frank Herbert

Daniel Hautzinger

The author of the world's best-selling science fiction novel discusses the broad base of knowledge he draws on in imagining other worlds, as well as his environmentalism. "I refuse to be put in the position of having to tell my grandchildren, 'I'm sorry, there's no more world for you, we used it all up.' " 

Five Extraordinary Conversations from the Studs Terkel Radio Archive

Daniel Hautzinger

Studs Terkel talked to everyone, from people down on their luck to people at the top of their career. Now many of his insightful conversations are available through the Studs Terkel Radio Archive – discover five exceptional conversations with remarkable people here.

Era-Defining Journalist and Novelist Tom Wolfe Has Died

Daniel Hautzinger

Tom Wolfe, who wrote The Right Stuff and Bonfire of the Vanities and gave us the terms "'Me' decade" and "radical chic," died yesterday at the age of 88. Watch him discuss his trademark white suit and the similarities between counterculture and evangelicalism in this archival interview.

From the Archive: Alice Walker

Daniel Hautzinger

The Great American Read's list of America's 100 most-loved books has been revealed, and it includes Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 The Color Purple. Revisit a 2013 interview with Walker on Chicago Tonight. "I go where my heart says I need to be," she says. 

NPR Icon Carl Kasell Dies

Daniel Hautzinger

Carl Kasell, the beloved NPR newscaster and judge and scorekeeper of the news quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! died yesterday at age 84. Remember the radio icon with WTTW archival videos: an extended interview, and a behind the scenes look at Wait Wait.

From the Archive: Cesar Chavez

Daniel Hautzinger

Before watching Independent Lens: Dolores, take a look back at this 1985 interview with Dolores Huerta's compatriot and fellow labor organizer Cesar Chavez, in which he discusses his activism, the decline of labor, and the difficulties facing the movement.

From the Archive: Phyllis Schlafly

Daniel Hautzinger

Illinois just became the 37th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, which sought to prohibit discrimination of women, more than 40 years after Congress approved it. Watch a 1977 interview with the woman who led the successful opposition.

From the Archive: Toni Morrison

Daniel Hautzinger

In 1977, Toni Morrison spoke to WTTW's John Callaway about empathy, the importance of storytelling, and her deep love of writing in an extraordinary interview. Watch the Nobel Prize-winning novelist speak honestly early in her career.

The Chicago Mural Created by a Famous Artist and Hundreds of Students

Daniel Hautzinger

In 1989, Keith Haring painted hundreds of his iconic figures on a 488-foot stretch of wall in Grant Park. Hundreds of students then filled them in however they liked. Watch a WTTW documentary about this unique project, now partially on display at the Cultural Center.

From the Archive: James Baldwin in Conversation with John Callaway

Daniel Hautzinger

Watch James Baldwin share his ever-incisive observations late in his life on Chicago Tonight in 1985. "When Americans say progress, they really mean how quickly, and to what extent, and how profoundly, a black person becomes white," Baldwin says.

Influential Evangelist Billy Graham Dies

Daniel Hautzinger

The Rev. Billy Graham, America's most famous Christian evangelist who was friend and priest to presidents, died today at the age of 99. Watch him tell how he would like to be remembered, while an associate explains the "Billy Graham rules," in an excerpt from a 1994 WTTW program.

From the Archive: Mister Rogers

Daniel Hautzinger

In 1985, Mister Rogers appeared on Chicago Tonight to discuss 30 years on television and offer some wisdom in his characteristic thoughtful manner.

From the Archive: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Widow Coretta Scott King

Daniel Hautzinger

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, listen to the woman who helped make the civil rights leader's birthday a federal holiday, as Coretta Scott King discusses her husband's sense of humor and legacy, as well as the structural problems undergirding racism.

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