Louis “Studs” Terkel (1912-2008) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, historian, broadcaster, and raconteur. After surviving the McCarthy-era blacklist, the Chicago TV pioneer carved out an illustrious career as the nation's preeminent radio interviewer, appearing on the air at WFMT in Chicago for nearly half a century. He and his wife, Ida Goldberg Terkel, were outspoken activists in the peace, labor and the civil rights movements for decades.
Media Burn Archive holds the largest collection of Terkel video in the world, about half of it donated by Terkel himself. The other half is the work of founder Tom Weinberg and his colleagues who videotaped and collaborated with Studs for four decades. The entire collection of more than 300 hours was restored through support from the federal National Historical Publications and Records Commission and the Chicago- based Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation in 2008 and 2009. It is also notable for containing ten of the fourteen surviving episodes of the 1950-51 TV program “Studs’ Place.” Media Burn’s celebrated documentary collection of more than 8,000 videotapes presents 40 years of life in Chicago and America.
For this special tour, we are opening up our Studs Terkel collection of videos, films, photos, papers, and ephemera to create a “Studs’ Place” for visitors to immerse themselves in all things Studs. Aside from the digital video files presented on mediaburn.org, none of these items are usually accessible to the public.
This event is free.
Registration is not required for this event.
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