Charles Kuralt - (1934-1997)
|
I. Biographical Notes "One of the sad things about this job is it doesn't survive. It's gone in a twinkling. It's on the air and
never on the air again. It's gone. You can't frame it. You can't send it out to a publisher and hope it sells. It's just a fleeting thing. So I don't think I'll be
remembered for anything. And if I do any good, it's just the same thing all journalists hope they do--maybe some good by enlightening people about the times they live in. Charles Bishop Kuralt was born in Wilmington North Carolina in 1934 during the Great Depression. His family, comprising his parents, grandparents and he, lived on a small farm
just outside the city limits. Kuralt never knew much about the world surrounding him until he attended The University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill (1951-1955). Working as editor for the Daily Tar Heel,
the school newspaper, he learned the fine art of writing and fell in love with it. After graduation Kuralt landed a job in Charlotte for the Charlotte News, and in 1957
started writing for CBS in New York. As a correspondent for CBS, Kuralt became the host of a new show, On the Road and Sunday Morning. Its success became a hit series for CBS.
Yet Kuralt never stopped writing. Many of his best selling books were based on his experiences and successes with the CBS shows. He won thirteen Emmy awards and three George Foster Peabody awards.
Charles Kuralt is known widely for his stories about his experiences with the television series. Leaving CBS after 37 years, Kuralt went on a "dream" journey. He mapped out his
favorite places and traveled America. Exploring the vast, remote places to places one could only find in storybooks, he wrote about all of it in On the Road with Charles Kuralt and Charles Kuralt's American Moments
, part of the American Moment Series. Along the way, Charles Kuralt met many people and made many new friends who later
remembered him as though he were still on his trek across America. Charles Kuralt died in New York City on July 4th, 1997, due to lupus, a chronic disorder affecting his organ and
skin tissue, his joints and nervous system. Kuralt's last wish was to be buried on the University of North Carolina (UNC) campus in Chapel Hill. The former President of UNC,
William Friday, and Kuralt were long time friends, so Kuralt's request was gladly met. Kuralt is buried near the majestic crepe myrtle tree on the UNC campus in Chapel Hill.
Charles Kuralt will be remembered through these, his famous, words: "Time for us to part, you and I. Saying goodbye to the viewers of Sunday Morning is like saying goodbye to
old friends. That's the way I feel. Thank you for making me feel that way." II. Literary Works American Moments Series On the Road with Charles Kuralt Charles Kuralt's America III. Literary Works American Moments Series
Most of these books have been put on an audio series; Kuralt also narrated a Winnie the Pooh series for author A. A. Milne. IV. On the Web
-Charles Kuralt
1965 interview
This series follows Charles Kuralt on his journey from one corner of America to the other and the changes that Kuralt himself goes through. When Kuralt visited places, he
provides full description of people, food, season, and entertainment within these places. The journey begins in New Orleans and ends in New York. Stops vary from busy streets of
New Orleans to the calming sounds of the Pacific Coast.
This book also explores the vast wilderness of America but was based solely on his hit
television show and radio reports On the Road. The book focuses on the feelings of Kuralt during and after the tapings went off air.
A reader has described one of the books from the American Moments Series: "a national treasure." "Filled with humor and insight and that known warmth that its author is famous for." All the books from the
American Moments Series talk about Kuralt's trek around the USA and all the sights he saw. Each part of the series explains a new place filled with new people and ideas.
To the Top of the World
Dateline America
On the Road with Charles Kuralt
Southerners
North Carolina is My Home
A Life on the Road
http://cerebel.com/lupus/overview.html
http://www.simonsays.com
http://www.pbs.org
http://www.wral-tv.com
http://www.historiccharlotte.org
http://www.ncbookstore.com
V. Sources Web sources
This essay was submitted by a student of Rita Achenbach, a teacher at Fuquay-Varina High School in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina.