The American Diary - Leave it to the Canadians
Left to right: Jack S. Smith, Bernard K. Johnpoll and E.G. MarshallThe American Diary was a documentary produced by Jack S. Smith and Bernard Johnpoll. Hosted by E.G. Marshall, I worked on the series as assistant to Jack while a junior in college. Every time I see a Ken Burns documentary --I wonder-- why the 'Diary' didn't make it. Aired on large independent channels through the mid to late 80's it suddenly disappeared.
Covering the history of the United States through celluloid film, the series started with one of the earliest films,' The Kiss' by Thomas Edison. We were to bring it up to the current day but there was a dispute between the authors and the production company. Only 12 episodes were completed and I gave up my dream of accepting the, "Best Assistant to the Producer" award at the Emmy's.
Still, I had a television credit, made some money, picked up three college credits and was in complete awe of the historical footage. My job was to help select footage and time it with a stop watch while Jack wrote the narration on a IBM selectric. Jack had retired as news producer of the 'Today' Show and even then he thought it, "show-boat journalism." God knows what he would think of it today.
I have a cassette of Jack from a phone conversation we had just after I graduated. The deep rumble of his voice takes me back to the dinners in his home, his stories of the A.P. in London during WW II and the talks we had while working on the series. Of my mentors -- Jack was my favorite.
With dreams of writing for television long gone - a friend called me at work years later to tell me Jack had passed away. I turned my chair to look out the office window and saw Jack's face. A dead ringer for Alec Guiness in Smiley's People. His stories came back . So did the dinners and the history of the American Diary. I thought of the bridges he let me write. A sentence or two to wind it up before a commercial break. The opening sentence after the break. I still remember each and every one.
My VHS tapes were lost years ago but I recently found the series streaming on the Internet. It's not Ken Burns. But the writing is clean, the footage still amazing and the memories as clear as ever. I've also noticed we didn't use any hawk screams. Click here for a clip and let me know if you want patch pockets.
Covering the history of the United States through celluloid film, the series started with one of the earliest films,' The Kiss' by Thomas Edison. We were to bring it up to the current day but there was a dispute between the authors and the production company. Only 12 episodes were completed and I gave up my dream of accepting the, "Best Assistant to the Producer" award at the Emmy's.
Still, I had a television credit, made some money, picked up three college credits and was in complete awe of the historical footage. My job was to help select footage and time it with a stop watch while Jack wrote the narration on a IBM selectric. Jack had retired as news producer of the 'Today' Show and even then he thought it, "show-boat journalism." God knows what he would think of it today.
I have a cassette of Jack from a phone conversation we had just after I graduated. The deep rumble of his voice takes me back to the dinners in his home, his stories of the A.P. in London during WW II and the talks we had while working on the series. Of my mentors -- Jack was my favorite.
With dreams of writing for television long gone - a friend called me at work years later to tell me Jack had passed away. I turned my chair to look out the office window and saw Jack's face. A dead ringer for Alec Guiness in Smiley's People. His stories came back . So did the dinners and the history of the American Diary. I thought of the bridges he let me write. A sentence or two to wind it up before a commercial break. The opening sentence after the break. I still remember each and every one.
My VHS tapes were lost years ago but I recently found the series streaming on the Internet. It's not Ken Burns. But the writing is clean, the footage still amazing and the memories as clear as ever. I've also noticed we didn't use any hawk screams. Click here for a clip and let me know if you want patch pockets.
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