FTV 151 Shakespeare: This was a Man (Part 3 of 3)
This week on From the Vault, we conclude our Shakespeare tribute with part three of a three-part series on probably one of the most ambitious works in the Pacifica Radio Archives. In 1964, on the 400th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare, KPFK- Los Angeles producers Ruth Hirschman and Lee Whiting, in collaboration with John Monteverdi, presented a comprehensive program exploring the personal life, work and legacy of William Shakespeare called William Shakespeare, This Was A Man. This program was awarded the 1965 Ohio State Award for Broadcast Journalism — and thanks to a Preservation and Access Project grant award from the GRAMMY Foundation, we now can listen again to one of the earliest documentaries ever produced for public radio. We also like to remember that this program was edited on reel to reel tape using razor blades and splicing tape; the complex edits you can hear are truly a tribute to the craft of early radio production!
Part 3 contains the final two segments of the Shakespeare: This was a Man. The first segment examines Shakespeare’s private life as revealed in his sonnets, his return to Stratford-on-Avon, and his success as a man of property. The second segment studies Shakespeare’s later years and offers a brief appreciation of his work.
View the original 1964 KPFK Folio celebrating the 400th birthday of William Shakespeare.
From the Vault is presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.
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