Month: September 2023

Wilma Mankiller: A Cherokee Chief’s Journey and Legacy

Bill Thompson

Wilma Mankiller’s journey into leadership in the Cherokee nation was not planned. She started as an advocate for rural development within her community, gradually rising through the ranks of Cherokee leadership.

In the 1980s she was the first woman elected to Principal Chief.

Her 1993 autobiography, Mankiller, gave her the opportunity to fill a void of knowledge about ANative American history and culture.

Her story, as she recountss in this interview, was not only one of personal resilience but also a testament to the strength of Native American communities.

So here now, from 1993, Wilman Mankiller.

Wilma Mankiller was awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And in 2022 her likeness appeared on the quarter-dollar coin minted by the U.S. Treasury.

Mankiller died from pancreatic cancer in 2010. She was 64.

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Betty Friedan

Geraldine Ferraro

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Derek Taylor: Behind the Beatles’ Legacy

Bill Thompson

Derek Taylor was a working journalist when he met the Beatles, literally in the right place at the right time as the band was on the cusp of fame in England.

Manager Brian Epstein brought Taylor aboard as the Beatles’ press agent.

Taylor accompanied the boys as they rocketed to worldwide fame, looking on as they transcended music to become cultural icons.

Taylor’s story — as he recounted in his 1987 book called It Was Twenty Years Ago Today — reminds us that the Beatles were not just a band; they were a cultural phenomenon that continues to shape the world of music.

So here now, from 1987, Derek Taylor.

Derek Taylor died in 1997. He was 65.

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Donovan

Graham Nash

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From Jed Clampett to Abraham Lincoln: The Extraordinary Journey of Buddy Ebsen

Bill Thompson
Photo by CBS Television

Buddy Ebsen, best known for his iconic role as Jed Clampett in”The Beverly Hillbillies,” had a remarkable career in Hollywood.

Ebsen’s career spanned more than seven decades, and his experiences offer a unique perspective on the entertainment industry.

As he told in his 1994 autobiography The Other Side of Oz, Ebsen worked with some of Hollywood’s iconic figures like Shirley Temple and Louis B. Mayer. And even other figures like Al Capone.

And you may know that Buddy was the original Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, but in this 1994 interview he reveals a few things you may not have known.

And he tells about the three questions everyone always had for him.

So here now, from 1994, Buddy Ebsen.

Buddy Ebsen died in 2003 at the age of 95.

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Bob Denver

Don Knotts

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Rosalynn Carter

Bill Thompson

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter were married in 1946. Both came from close knit families in which caring for the elderly was a responsibility taken seriously.

Both of the Carters devoted themselves to volunteer activities after leaving the White House. And Rosalynn took up the cause of supporting America’s caregivers, Who devoted their lives to helping the sick or elderly.

In 1994 Mrs. Carter wrote a book called Helping Yourself Help Others. And with both her and her husband in their twilight years, her words in this interview seem particularly poignant.

So here now, from 1994, Rosalynn Carter.

Rosalynn Carter. Is 96 now. Jimmy Carter will be 99 in a couple of weeks.

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Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter

Jim & Sarah Brady

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Ed Nixon

Bill Thompson
Ed Nixon in 1968

When Edward Nixon was born in 1931, his older brother Richard was already 17. And Ed, along with middle son Don, looked up to their studious and serious big brother.

Ed Worked on his brothers campaigns, but never got further involved in politics, instead choosing what turned out to be a very successful career as a geologist.

After Richard Nixon’s death in 1994, his brothers Don and Ed felt an urgency to write the story they felt needed to be told about the family. But with Don Nixon in failing health himself, the task fell to Ed.

In 2009, he wrote a book called The Nixons: A Family Portrait.

So here now, from 2009, Ed Nixon.

Ed Nixon died in 2019. He was 88.

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Julie Nixon Eisenhower

George McGovern

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Maureen Reagan

Bill Thompson
Photo by John Mathew Smith

Born in 1941, Maureen was the eldest child of Reagan and his first wife, actress Jane Wyman.
By her late teens, Maureen was becoming active in politics. She later played roles in her father’s presidential campaigns, and ran for Congress herself.

President Ronald W. Reagan

In 1989, just a few months after Ronald Reagan left office, Maureen wrote an admiring book called First Father, First Daughter. That’s when I met her.

So here now, from 1989, Maureen Reagan.

Maureen Reagan died of cancer in 2001. She was 60.

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Caroline Kennedy

Margaret Hoover

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Hume Cronyn

Bill Thompson

Sometimes if you’re an actor, it’s helpful to not have a specific look about you. Early In his career, a casting director told Hume Cronyn that he didn’t look like anything, but that may have helped him achieve the longevity many actors only dream of

The Canadian-born Cronyn had a decades-long career in the theater, movies, television and radio. Not to mention a 52-year marriage to actress Jessica Tandy

In 1991, the then-80-year-old Cronyn wrote his autobiography a book he called A Terrible Liar.

So here now from 1991. Hume Cronyn.

After 52 years of marriage, Jessica Tandy died in 1994. Two years later Hume Cronyn married Susan Cooper, his old friend who had persuaded him to write his autobiography. He died in 2003 just a month before his 92nd birthday.

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Maureen O’Hara
Mickey Rooney

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Suze Orman

Bill Thompson

We all know about the laws of nature or the laws of physics but are there laws that govern what happens to money?

So here now from 2003. Suze Orman

There most certainly are says longtime personal finance expert Suze Orman, and if you are ignorant of those laws, you are bound to break them and suffer the consequences she says.

I had the chance to interview her several times over period of years as she rose to national prominence, including this conversationa bout her book The Laws of Money, The Lessons of Life.

Suze Orman is now 72 and currently hosts the “Suze Orman Women & Money” podcast.

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Barbara Corcoran
Tony Robbins

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Dean Murphy

Bill Thompson
Robert J. Fisch

The September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington were to this generation what Pearl Harbor was to our parents and grandparents.

And as the histories of those events are written, it is essential to have contemporary eyewitness accounts.

But in the immediate aftermath of the September 11th attack a New York Times reporter wanted to go beyond just simple eyewitness accounts and assemble an entire oral history of that day.

So in the months that followed, Dean Murphy painstakingly assembled an oral history which was published one year after the attack. His book was called September 11: An Oral History.

Now, while the descriptions in this interview are not in and of themselves graphic, the overall subject matter may be disturbing to some.

So here now, from September 2002, Dean Murphy.

Dean Murphy is now Associate Managing Editor at The New York Times.

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Lisa Beamer
Richard Picciotto

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Janet Evanovich

Bill Thompson
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Over the last three decades, millions of people around the world have enjoyed a series of novels about a fictional amateur bounty hunter from New Jersey named Stephanie Plum.

Stephanie is the creation of writer Janet Evanovich. In the 1980s, she was a stay-at-home mom, but when her kids were nearing the age at which they would be leaving for college, she decided to try something new — like, writing.

She started out as a romance writer, and achieved considerable success in that genre.

But after several years, she realized that what she liked best about writing was the action sequences in her books, and their humor.

So in 1994, Evanovich wrote her first mystery, a book called One For the Money . It introduced Stephanie Plum and her offbeat circle of friends and family.

It was an almost instant hit, and gave rise to a series that continues to this day. There are now 30 books in the Stephanie Plum series.

And this is where it all began. So here now, from 1994, my interview with the newly published Janet Evanovich.

Janet Evanovich celebrated her 80th birthady in April. Her most recent Stephanie Plum book, the 30th in the series, was published this year.

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Patricia Cornwell
Mary Higgins Clark

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