Norman Corwin: My old college connection to tonight's Academy Awards
When A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin (which focused on the end of the Second World War in Europe), won the Oscar tonight for Best Short Documentary, I was transported back to my days at USC when I was Professor Corwin's laboratory assistant for his popular radio playwriting course.
It's wonderful to see that a documentary of this quality (directed by Eric Simonson) has finally rediscovered "the greatest radio program in history."
Thanks to Norman Corwin, I met a number of people in his inner circle, including Ray Bradbury, Orson Welles, and William Shatner. I heard stories about Hollywood and the Golden Age which astounded me as an impressionable Iowa boy. (Buy my book someday!)
At USC, I remember one of Norman's typical writing exercises, to get the student writers to focus on something personal, internal, and strangely affecting: "Stare into a mirror for as long as you can stand it, looking deeply into your own eyes, and record the experience in a brief scene." (It's more difficult than you can imagine.)
The day I was leaving California (thinking I would return soon, but didn't), Norman called me up to run an errand, but I was about to leave for LAX. I asked him what his summer plans were, and he said he was "flying to Chicago to do a radio program with Bill Shatner." I said: I love Bill's work. I was such a dork!
Another time, Norman Corwin told me, "You haven't really made it in Hollywood until you've been fired by Harry Cohn."
Now there's a story…
It's wonderful to see that a documentary of this quality (directed by Eric Simonson) has finally rediscovered "the greatest radio program in history."
Thanks to Norman Corwin, I met a number of people in his inner circle, including Ray Bradbury, Orson Welles, and William Shatner. I heard stories about Hollywood and the Golden Age which astounded me as an impressionable Iowa boy. (Buy my book someday!)
At USC, I remember one of Norman's typical writing exercises, to get the student writers to focus on something personal, internal, and strangely affecting: "Stare into a mirror for as long as you can stand it, looking deeply into your own eyes, and record the experience in a brief scene." (It's more difficult than you can imagine.)
The day I was leaving California (thinking I would return soon, but didn't), Norman called me up to run an errand, but I was about to leave for LAX. I asked him what his summer plans were, and he said he was "flying to Chicago to do a radio program with Bill Shatner." I said: I love Bill's work. I was such a dork!
Another time, Norman Corwin told me, "You haven't really made it in Hollywood until you've been fired by Harry Cohn."
Now there's a story…
Labels: Writing
4 Comments:
Glad (and envious) you got to meet the man; until recently, I got to know him exclusively through his published or transcribed plays and by reading what he had to say about radio culture in America. I was thrilled to learn about the award. "An Audience with Norman Corwin," a radio interview with clips from some of his works, is available online until the end of this week, on the BBC homepage.
What a cool story. It would make an excellent book. I'd buy it.
Oh, and liking Shatner is not dorky, no sir.
Harry,
Glad (and happy) you noticed this post. I worked as his student assistant for two semesters and enjoyed every minute of it due to the vast amount of skill and history he was conveying in the classroom. Thanks for the BBC tip! I taught broadcasting a few times at a small college and always used clips from his work to illustrate the Golden Age of Radio, in particular.
Trish,
I have to tell you, I love Shatner on Boston Legal and got a real kick out of the Star Trek references they've made on the show!
"Denny Crane" Who else could give that line with the same panache.
No one.
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