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Downloaded from
YTS.MX

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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

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What
is that book, LeVar?

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This is "Amazing Grace."

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This is one of my favorite
episodes of "Reading Rainbow"

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for a couple of reasons.

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One, I just, I love this
book, I love this character.

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And "Amazing Grace" talks
about what it is to be unique

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and how difficult that can be,

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staying true to who you are

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in the face of the opposition
of the rest of the world,

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and I thought that
was a really powerful

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and important conversation
to put in front of kids.

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Do you want the "Reading
Rainbow" treatment?

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Yes.

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Here we go.

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"Amazing Grace" by Mary Hoffman.

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Illustrations by Caroline Binch.

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"Grace was a girl
who loved stories.

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She didn't mind if they were
read to her or told to her

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or made up in her own head.

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She didn't care if they
were from books or movies

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or out of Nana's long memory.

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Grace just loved stories."

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Grace saw someone who could
be anyone she wanted to be,

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and it didn't matter

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that some people said
that she couldn't.

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So if you liked "Amazing Grace,"

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then here are three others
that deserve your applause,

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but you don't have to
take my word for it.

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Oh.

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Hi, my name is Jamie Duneier.

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If you're looking
for an unusual story,

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how about one with
a kid around our age

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that has a friendship
with a 96-year-old lady?

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This book is called

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"Wilfrid Gordon
McDonald Partridge."

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It took me so long to
get that name right.

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"Wilfrid Gordon
McDonald Partridge."

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Nine years old, not
a professional actor.

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I got like the chills.

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My name's Alisa Reyes,

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and I read an incredible
book called "I Want a Dog."

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That's so crazy.

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And when I said the
name of the book,

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my New York accent
came out so hardcore.

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I was like, "I Want a Dog."

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"I Want a Dog."

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I didn't want to
give a blah review.

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I wanted to put a
little energy into it.

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I kind of gave myself
a little tag line.

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I said, "Hello, Americans,
this is Tom Puckett."

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Hello, Americans,
this is Tom Puckett,

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and I think it's just
plain old baloney

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when people say that men
are not supposed to dance.

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And the book "Max" by
Rachel Isadora proves it!

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I think "Jumanji" was the,

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was my second,

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my second review.

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And when the movie came
out, I was like, "Oh, wow!"

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I felt like I had a part
in that, somehow.

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Picture this.

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Rhinoceroses stampeding
your living room,

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an 8-foot python wrapped
around your fireplace.

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Why not try "Jumanji"?

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Being nine years old,

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having a show like
"Reading Rainbow,"

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having a host like LeVar Burton,

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it was even more of
an invitation of like,

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"Ah, I want to be on this show."

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Because I'm already seeing
someone who's like me,

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who's bringing this
into my living room.

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Summertime
and the reading is easy.

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At least it should be

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with a program called
"Reading Rainbow."

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"Reading Rainbow" was
not about learning to read.

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It was about loving to read.

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This book has all
the facts wrapped up.

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This is a book that always
gives me courage when I need it.

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I've been reading
a fascinating book

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all about digging up dinosaurs

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and putting them back together.

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In fact, that's
what it's called.

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Whatever it took to
get kids to pick up a book

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was our goal.

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This is truly a rare,

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once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

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It's reading, yes,

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but really what it is is story,

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and because we're sharing
in this moment a story,

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I feel a part of something.

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Today, we're in
a real fantasy land

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that few people ever get to see.

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We showed that books
could be a portal

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to the rest of the world.

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This is called a bajo sexto.

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- Bajo sexto.
- Bajo sexto.

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For the kids like
me watching LeVar,

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for those of us
who look like me,

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it mattered that LeVar
Burton was a Black man.

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Hi, everybody!

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Hi, LeVar!

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Who wants to hear a story?

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Me!
- "Reading Rainbow"

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wanted children to know

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there's all kinds of
stories out there,

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and while it may not be stories

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from your neighborhood,

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it's stories from a neighborhood

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you should know about.

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It was on the
air for as long as it was

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to inspire generations of people

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who are now doing amazing
things on the planet.

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Hi, I'm LeVar Burton.

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The people who made that show

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were bold and fearless.

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Their love for what they were
doing changed people's lives.

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You never know how far out

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a simple effort of love

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can go.

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♪ I can be anything

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♪ Take a look, it's in a book

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♪ A reading rainbow

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Hi.

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Okay, here
I am.

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When I think about it,

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my whole life led to "Rainbow."

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I have a picture memory of me
getting my first library card.

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The minute I found out

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what a world there was in books,

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I was gone.

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I mean, I'm never
without a book.

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I started in teaching.

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The first and second grade,

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those kids are so interesting.

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They just want to know stuff.

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I read to them.

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We had books everywhere.

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I was dedicated to bringing
joy to the act of reading,

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not duress.

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But I left teaching

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because the school district
got into a whole new thing

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of testing, testing,
testing kids

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on these little tiny objectives.

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Kids don't learn like that.

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They just don't.

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They said, "You've gotta
conform with the rest."

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I thought, there's something
out there I need to do.

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I didn't know what it was.

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And Nebraska ETV gave
me that opportunity.

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They were looking for someone
who knew how to write grants,

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who had elementary school
teaching experience,

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and who knew something
about television.

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I figured two out of three.

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Why not?

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And I got hired.

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One day, my boss
came to me and said,

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"We want to create a
television show about reading.

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I've been talking
to WNED Buffalo

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because they're trying to
make their own reading show.

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Let's partner with them,

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and Tony Buttino can
be your counterpart."

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In those days, the books,
librarians were like here

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and the reading teachers,

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and television was
like over here.

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People said that
we were the enemy.

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Perhaps more than

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any other social
force in history,

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television has
redefined childhood.

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An estimated five hours
a day tied to the tube.

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I resent it greatly.

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I resent it as an educator.

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It's hard to get kids to read

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when they can sit in
front of the tube.

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Television was something
that people viewed

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as a detractor from reading.

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There was
research that showed

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that there's this
reading loss phenomenon

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during the summer.

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Tony thought,

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"If children are watching
television in the summer,

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hey, you have to go
where the children are."

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I just thought as a parent,

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I had five children,

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let's use television to
motivate these children to read.

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The target audience
would have been

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the first grade
or second grader.

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There was
nothing out there

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that encouraged kids
to love reading.

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"Sesame Street"
was very interested

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in preschool early
academic skills.

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"Mister Rogers" was
incredibly focused

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on social and emotional growth.

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So the team constructing and
creating "Reading Rainbow"

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had an opportunity.

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Could we excite
kids about books?

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I had the reading know-how,

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and I'm a very good fundraiser.

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Tony had experience
in broadcasting,

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but we needed a production team.

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And that was Larry and Cecily.

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- This is...
- What are these on?

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This is an
old "Reading Rainbow."

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Doesn't say what episode it is,

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00:10:34,590 --> 00:10:37,680
but this is three-quarter
inch.

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Do you know it's funny to
think that our lives of work

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could be reduced to a
blue tub of plastic.

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I know, it's weird, isn't it?

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00:10:48,996 --> 00:10:50,998
When we were first approached,

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they said, "We want
to make a kids show

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that will get kids
turned on to reading."

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00:10:56,612 --> 00:10:57,874
And we went...

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"Really?"

214
00:11:02,531 --> 00:11:04,968
My avoidance meter
immediately went up

215
00:11:04,968 --> 00:11:08,972
because a show about reading
seemed like a bit of a leap.

216
00:11:08,972 --> 00:11:11,235
But we were
struggling producers.

217
00:11:11,235 --> 00:11:13,542
We were in New York
going from job to job

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00:11:13,542 --> 00:11:15,718
and really hadn't found a niche

219
00:11:15,718 --> 00:11:17,938
and a place to really
start our careers.

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00:11:17,938 --> 00:11:20,549
This was something we could
really sink our teeth into.

221
00:11:20,549 --> 00:11:22,725
Larry Lancit
is the producer-director

222
00:11:22,725 --> 00:11:24,466
of "Reading Rainbow."

223
00:11:24,466 --> 00:11:26,294
Cecily Truett is the producer
of "Reading Rainbow."

224
00:11:26,294 --> 00:11:28,296
She was associate producer
of the nationally broadcast

225
00:11:28,296 --> 00:11:31,734
PBS children's
series "Studio See."

226
00:11:31,734 --> 00:11:34,868
Tony Buttino knew
of my work with "Studio See."

227
00:11:34,868 --> 00:11:38,001
Everything we did on that
show was on location.

228
00:11:38,001 --> 00:11:41,526
It was fresh, it was
unscripted, it was documentary.

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00:11:41,526 --> 00:11:45,226
The real-world perspective
of "Reading Rainbow"

230
00:11:45,226 --> 00:11:48,838
came from my experiences
on "Studio See."

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00:11:50,710 --> 00:11:52,624
And the Lancits
and I just clicked.

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00:11:54,148 --> 00:11:57,412
I was laser-focused on
getting this off the ground,

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00:11:57,412 --> 00:11:59,501
and I had a lot
of naysayers too.

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00:12:00,894 --> 00:12:03,331
None of us had worked
together before, right?

235
00:12:03,331 --> 00:12:05,507
You're an untried group.

236
00:12:05,507 --> 00:12:07,074
And Larry and Cecily,

237
00:12:07,074 --> 00:12:08,771
while they had done that
wonderful "Studio See,"

238
00:12:08,771 --> 00:12:11,948
they weren't known
producers in the system.

239
00:12:12,906 --> 00:12:14,211
It was hard to find money.

240
00:12:15,735 --> 00:12:17,824
The Corporation for
Public Broadcasting said,

241
00:12:17,824 --> 00:12:18,912
"Do a pilot.

242
00:12:18,912 --> 00:12:20,522
We like what we see,

243
00:12:20,522 --> 00:12:22,742
the rest of the money
will be released."

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00:12:22,742 --> 00:12:23,699
So we did it.

245
00:12:25,788 --> 00:12:27,790
Cecily and I were
in our second bedroom

246
00:12:27,790 --> 00:12:29,139
in our apartment in New York

247
00:12:29,139 --> 00:12:30,967
trying to organize
for the pilot.

248
00:12:30,967 --> 00:12:33,187
We made a list of all the
things we were gonna need,

249
00:12:33,187 --> 00:12:35,363
and, of course, one of the
things that we needed to find

250
00:12:35,363 --> 00:12:36,190
was a host.

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00:12:39,106 --> 00:12:41,761
♪ It's a beautiful day
in this neighborhood ♪

252
00:12:41,761 --> 00:12:43,675
♪ A beautiful day
for a neighbor ♪

253
00:12:43,675 --> 00:12:46,417
We were looking for
somebody like a Mister Rogers.

254
00:12:48,942 --> 00:12:51,596
I loved the humanity

255
00:12:51,596 --> 00:12:54,948
that Fred brought to television.

256
00:12:54,948 --> 00:12:57,777
Children had a
relationship with Fred,

257
00:12:57,777 --> 00:13:01,215
and Fred had a relationship
with his audience.

258
00:13:01,215 --> 00:13:02,390
Listen to the swing.

259
00:13:04,740 --> 00:13:09,136
Everybody goes, "You
insisted on a male host?"

260
00:13:09,136 --> 00:13:10,833
I said, "Yep."

261
00:13:10,833 --> 00:13:12,226
"Why?"

262
00:13:12,226 --> 00:13:15,838
Well, because more
boys than girls

263
00:13:15,838 --> 00:13:17,971
have problems in reading.

264
00:13:19,668 --> 00:13:22,105
We were watching
a lot of television.

265
00:13:22,105 --> 00:13:23,933
Trying to look
for that person.

266
00:13:23,933 --> 00:13:27,458
We just couldn't quite find
the right combination of-

267
00:13:27,458 --> 00:13:29,765
It wasn't connecting, right?

268
00:13:29,765 --> 00:13:32,507
Lynne Ganek, our
associate producer,

269
00:13:32,507 --> 00:13:33,856
called us up one
day and she said,

270
00:13:33,856 --> 00:13:36,685
"Okay, hey, LeVar Burton."

271
00:13:36,685 --> 00:13:39,383
And I said, "Lynne, oh,
Lynne, he's such a big star."

272
00:13:41,081 --> 00:13:42,517
There are probably very
few people in America

273
00:13:42,517 --> 00:13:44,606
who missed the
television show "Roots"

274
00:13:44,606 --> 00:13:46,303
or at least saw a part of it,

275
00:13:46,303 --> 00:13:48,566
and my next guest became
known to all of the country

276
00:13:48,566 --> 00:13:52,048
who watched him portray
the young Kunta Kinte.

277
00:13:52,048 --> 00:13:53,571
Would you welcome LeVar Burton?

278
00:13:55,138 --> 00:13:56,705
What a remarkable story
this whole thing was.

279
00:13:56,705 --> 00:13:58,620
If somebody wrote a
motion picture and said,

280
00:13:58,620 --> 00:14:00,143
"We're gonna put on an
8-hour television show

281
00:14:00,143 --> 00:14:01,710
on a best-selling book,

282
00:14:01,710 --> 00:14:03,364
and we're gonna get
a young drama student

283
00:14:03,364 --> 00:14:05,105
and all of a sudden
become a national figure,"

284
00:14:05,105 --> 00:14:06,236
nobody would believe it,

285
00:14:06,236 --> 00:14:07,368
and yet it happened to you.

286
00:14:09,674 --> 00:14:11,807
Before I identified
as an actor,

287
00:14:11,807 --> 00:14:13,853
I was studying for
the priesthood.

288
00:14:13,853 --> 00:14:16,203
So I grew up with the idea

289
00:14:16,203 --> 00:14:18,901
that one's life should
involve service.

290
00:14:20,685 --> 00:14:22,165
When I decided not to do that,

291
00:14:22,165 --> 00:14:25,038
it was like, so now,
what am I going to do?

292
00:14:26,909 --> 00:14:28,693
I was at USC studying theater

293
00:14:28,693 --> 00:14:30,870
and had really no intentions
of becoming an actor

294
00:14:30,870 --> 00:14:32,741
in television or film.

295
00:14:32,741 --> 00:14:34,917
My intention was to go to New
York and work on the stage,

296
00:14:34,917 --> 00:14:37,224
but television kind
of got in the way.

297
00:14:38,529 --> 00:14:41,097
ABC was holding open auditions

298
00:14:41,097 --> 00:14:43,491
and looking for young Black men.

299
00:14:43,491 --> 00:14:46,233
Over
150 actors were seen.

300
00:14:46,233 --> 00:14:47,669
Three received screen tests,

301
00:14:47,669 --> 00:14:50,019
including 18-year-old
LeVar Burton.

302
00:14:50,019 --> 00:14:52,500
These are the fattest goats
I've ever seen, Nyo Boto.

303
00:14:52,500 --> 00:14:54,850
It was his
first time before a camera.

304
00:14:54,850 --> 00:14:56,330
We're not children.

305
00:14:56,330 --> 00:14:58,898
We're very close to
being men, Nyo Boto.

306
00:14:58,898 --> 00:15:00,551
I was a theater actor,

307
00:15:00,551 --> 00:15:03,815
and I had auditioned
for the spring musical,

308
00:15:03,815 --> 00:15:06,035
which was, that
year, "Oklahoma!"

309
00:15:06,035 --> 00:15:07,732
And I got the part of Ali Hakim,

310
00:15:07,732 --> 00:15:09,038
the Persian rug dealer.

311
00:15:10,387 --> 00:15:12,041
The Monday after we
closed "Oklahoma!",

312
00:15:12,041 --> 00:15:13,477
I had this meeting at ABC.

313
00:15:14,957 --> 00:15:15,958
They brought me into the office,

314
00:15:15,958 --> 00:15:17,481
and a few minutes later,

315
00:15:17,481 --> 00:15:20,136
Stan Margulies came
out, the producer.

316
00:15:20,136 --> 00:15:21,790
And he said, "Pack
your bags, kid.

317
00:15:21,790 --> 00:15:23,487
You're going to Savannah."

318
00:15:24,924 --> 00:15:27,839
I was cast as Kunta Kinte.

319
00:15:33,193 --> 00:15:34,977
The story of slavery in
America had never been told

320
00:15:34,977 --> 00:15:37,240
from the perspective
and point of view

321
00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:39,677
of the Black people before.

322
00:15:39,677 --> 00:15:41,027
It had always been explained

323
00:15:41,027 --> 00:15:44,117
as an economic engine,

324
00:15:44,117 --> 00:15:45,988
necessary.

325
00:15:45,988 --> 00:15:48,904
I mean, there are politicians
who say that up to this day.

326
00:15:50,645 --> 00:15:55,737
For Kunta to be first young
and free and unfettered

327
00:15:56,564 --> 00:15:58,087
and then to live under

328
00:15:58,087 --> 00:16:01,264
the most brutal
oppression imaginable.

329
00:16:02,700 --> 00:16:04,224
Kunta Kinte, Kunta!

330
00:16:04,224 --> 00:16:06,139
He's a universal character.

331
00:16:06,139 --> 00:16:09,707
To me and to a lot of people,
Kunta Kinte will live forever.

332
00:16:09,707 --> 00:16:12,406
In eight nights of television,

333
00:16:12,406 --> 00:16:15,757
an entire country was changed.

334
00:16:18,934 --> 00:16:21,371
"Roots" taught me
about the power

335
00:16:21,371 --> 00:16:23,286
of the medium of television,

336
00:16:23,286 --> 00:16:26,289
and it was there
that I really learned

337
00:16:26,289 --> 00:16:29,205
that all television
is educational.

338
00:16:29,205 --> 00:16:31,425
The question is what
are we teaching?

339
00:16:35,472 --> 00:16:37,257
You know, when you
think about, okay,

340
00:16:37,257 --> 00:16:40,912
the enslaved peoples were
not allowed to read or write

341
00:16:40,912 --> 00:16:42,305
for fear of death,

342
00:16:43,263 --> 00:16:45,004
because they couldn't know

343
00:16:45,004 --> 00:16:46,701
about what was
happening to them.

344
00:16:46,701 --> 00:16:49,921
Otherwise they would come
together and organize

345
00:16:49,921 --> 00:16:51,619
and fight back.

346
00:16:52,620 --> 00:16:54,491
To have him play that character

347
00:16:54,491 --> 00:16:56,319
and then be the guy

348
00:16:56,319 --> 00:17:00,280
to inspire millions of kids
around this country to read,

349
00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:06,068
that's some eighth-level
chess happening there.

350
00:17:07,852 --> 00:17:09,158
Where do you see yourself,

351
00:17:09,158 --> 00:17:10,159
where do you see
your career going?

352
00:17:10,159 --> 00:17:11,291
What would you like to?

353
00:17:11,291 --> 00:17:12,814
I'm gonna, I'd like to-

354
00:17:12,814 --> 00:17:14,163
Just take it as it
comes step by step?

355
00:17:14,163 --> 00:17:15,904
Well, I have some
plans, you know.

356
00:17:15,904 --> 00:17:17,079
I have some dreams that
I'd like to see come true.

357
00:17:17,079 --> 00:17:18,602
I'd like to do TV, some more TV.

358
00:17:18,602 --> 00:17:20,039
Quality projects,
though, like "Roots,"

359
00:17:20,039 --> 00:17:22,389
that are entertaining
and educational.

360
00:17:23,564 --> 00:17:26,001
When I first heard the pitch,

361
00:17:26,001 --> 00:17:28,003
the idea for "Reading Rainbow,"

362
00:17:28,003 --> 00:17:30,310
I thought, "What a great idea."

363
00:17:30,310 --> 00:17:32,834
Let's use the
medium of television

364
00:17:34,053 --> 00:17:35,489
to steer kids back
in the direction

365
00:17:35,489 --> 00:17:37,099
of literature and
the written word.

366
00:17:37,099 --> 00:17:38,753
Because my mom was
an English teacher

367
00:17:38,753 --> 00:17:40,102
in the first part of her life.

368
00:17:40,102 --> 00:17:41,234
Before she became
a social worker,

369
00:17:41,234 --> 00:17:42,322
she was an English teacher.

370
00:17:42,322 --> 00:17:44,846
And I know that my life

371
00:17:44,846 --> 00:17:48,154
has been immeasurably enhanced

372
00:17:49,459 --> 00:17:52,549
by my love of the written word.

373
00:17:54,247 --> 00:17:57,772
LeVar was out of
the country doing ABC Sports.

374
00:17:57,772 --> 00:17:59,469
I think it was
whitewater rafting

375
00:17:59,469 --> 00:18:01,210
down the Zambezi River.

376
00:18:02,951 --> 00:18:04,387
I came back to the States,

377
00:18:04,387 --> 00:18:06,215
and I think I went
straight to the set.

378
00:18:06,215 --> 00:18:08,435
Okay,
everybody, stand by.

379
00:18:08,435 --> 00:18:10,132
We had our host.

380
00:18:10,132 --> 00:18:12,134
Okay, let's have it quiet
on the set, take five.

381
00:18:12,134 --> 00:18:13,570
- And roll tape.
- Ready?

382
00:18:14,397 --> 00:18:15,311
Action.

383
00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:20,316
Oh, hi there.

384
00:18:20,316 --> 00:18:23,145
This is 165 East 95th Street.

385
00:18:23,145 --> 00:18:24,973
That's the place-
- Excuse me, sir.

386
00:18:26,888 --> 00:18:28,063
Just the place that I was-

387
00:18:28,063 --> 00:18:29,238
Watch your step.

388
00:18:29,238 --> 00:18:30,805
- Whoa.
- Coming through.

389
00:18:30,805 --> 00:18:32,850
Just the place that
I was looking for.

390
00:18:32,850 --> 00:18:34,417
Boy, it's hard to
move, isn't it?

391
00:18:35,940 --> 00:18:38,334
We shot a pilot
in the fall of 1981.

392
00:18:38,334 --> 00:18:41,642
This book, "Gila Monsters
Meet You at the Airport,"

393
00:18:41,642 --> 00:18:43,339
tells the story of a little boy

394
00:18:43,339 --> 00:18:45,428
who used to live right
here in this very building,

395
00:18:45,428 --> 00:18:47,343
then moved away
with his parents.

396
00:18:47,343 --> 00:18:50,433
Oh! [laughs] "Gila Monsters."

397
00:18:50,433 --> 00:18:51,913
This is such a great book.

398
00:18:53,306 --> 00:18:57,136
"I live at 166 East 95th
Street, New York City,

399
00:18:57,136 --> 00:18:59,050
and I'm going to
stay here forever."

400
00:19:00,748 --> 00:19:03,664
That's what I thought when I
lived in New York too.

401
00:19:04,926 --> 00:19:06,667
It was all about
different lifestyles.

402
00:19:06,667 --> 00:19:08,712
You got the kid from the desert,

403
00:19:08,712 --> 00:19:10,540
and you got the
kid from the city.

404
00:19:10,540 --> 00:19:12,586
And they're also
carrying with them

405
00:19:12,586 --> 00:19:15,589
myths of those
individual places.

406
00:19:17,025 --> 00:19:18,766
"Seymour says
there are Gila monsters

407
00:19:18,766 --> 00:19:20,507
and horned toads out west,

408
00:19:20,507 --> 00:19:22,073
but Seymour says they meet you

409
00:19:22,073 --> 00:19:24,598
at the airport."

410
00:19:24,598 --> 00:19:26,295
The idea of the show,

411
00:19:26,295 --> 00:19:27,992
which was, starting with
a children's picture book,

412
00:19:27,992 --> 00:19:29,472
going on location

413
00:19:29,472 --> 00:19:32,040
to illustrate the
theme of that book.

414
00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:33,476
Gila monsters
really aren't as big

415
00:19:33,476 --> 00:19:34,869
as people think they are.

416
00:19:36,392 --> 00:19:39,003
As you can see, they're
only about 1 1/2 feet long.

417
00:19:39,003 --> 00:19:40,918
And then getting
some kids around

418
00:19:40,918 --> 00:19:43,182
to tell you about books
that they've read.

419
00:19:43,182 --> 00:19:44,400
We called them book reviews.

420
00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:46,141
They were really
book promotions.

421
00:19:46,141 --> 00:19:49,188
Hello, boys and
girls, I'm Afrika.

422
00:19:49,188 --> 00:19:51,625
How would you like to
read a terrific book?

423
00:19:51,625 --> 00:19:53,496
It's called "The Big Hello."

424
00:19:53,496 --> 00:19:55,063
It's about a little girl

425
00:19:55,063 --> 00:19:58,153
that's moving across
country to California,

426
00:19:58,153 --> 00:19:59,720
but she don't want to move

427
00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:02,679
'cause she's afraid she
won't have any friends.

428
00:20:02,679 --> 00:20:04,855
This book has a
real happy ending.

429
00:20:04,855 --> 00:20:06,161
That's why I like it.

430
00:20:06,161 --> 00:20:08,032
That's why you'll like it too.

431
00:20:09,599 --> 00:20:11,035
"Gila Monsters
Meet You at the Airport"

432
00:20:11,035 --> 00:20:12,820
was a Macmillan book.

433
00:20:12,820 --> 00:20:13,908
And so we got dressed up,

434
00:20:13,908 --> 00:20:15,431
and we were gonna go see

435
00:20:15,431 --> 00:20:17,259
the head of subsidiary
rights at Macmillan

436
00:20:17,259 --> 00:20:20,088
and try to persuade her that
we wanted to do this book.

437
00:20:20,088 --> 00:20:22,699
"We're so excited to tell you

438
00:20:22,699 --> 00:20:26,094
that your book has been selected

439
00:20:26,094 --> 00:20:27,574
to be the pilot."

440
00:20:27,574 --> 00:20:28,923
And she said to us,

441
00:20:30,011 --> 00:20:31,752
"Well, I don't understand

442
00:20:31,752 --> 00:20:35,016
why this is going to sell
books for Macmillan."

443
00:20:40,891 --> 00:20:42,153
It was very difficult

444
00:20:42,153 --> 00:20:44,417
to get books in the early days.

445
00:20:44,417 --> 00:20:46,593
I said, "We will get
kids reading more

446
00:20:46,593 --> 00:20:48,159
because they will watch
'Reading Rainbow,'

447
00:20:48,159 --> 00:20:50,771
and they will go
get those books."

448
00:20:50,771 --> 00:20:52,512
Nobody believed us.

449
00:20:52,512 --> 00:20:55,036
They didn't; they didn't
believe that would happen.

450
00:20:55,036 --> 00:20:56,646
It ticked me off.

451
00:20:58,344 --> 00:21:00,868
Well, somebody
had a good sense to say yes.

452
00:21:00,868 --> 00:21:02,086
But it was, you know,

453
00:21:02,086 --> 00:21:03,740
seat of the pants for the pilot.

454
00:21:07,048 --> 00:21:08,397
We had one idea.

455
00:21:08,397 --> 00:21:09,572
You know, we're
out in the desert.

456
00:21:09,572 --> 00:21:10,921
We're shooting the Gila monster,

457
00:21:10,921 --> 00:21:13,010
and we found this tortoise.

458
00:21:13,010 --> 00:21:14,490
Let's do a song

459
00:21:14,490 --> 00:21:16,100
about the tortoise.
- About the tortoise

460
00:21:16,100 --> 00:21:18,320
and his home, and he's
always got it with him.

461
00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:20,975
That relates
to the story we just read.

462
00:21:22,411 --> 00:21:26,154
♪ Don't have a suitcase,
don't have to pack ♪

463
00:21:26,154 --> 00:21:30,158
♪ I've got my house
right here on my back ♪

464
00:21:30,158 --> 00:21:34,293
♪ It doesn't matter
how far I roam ♪

465
00:21:34,293 --> 00:21:37,992
♪ Wherever I go,
I'm always home ♪

466
00:21:37,992 --> 00:21:39,950
♪ Moving on

467
00:21:39,950 --> 00:21:41,735
♪ Moving slow

468
00:21:41,735 --> 00:21:46,130
♪ Turtles go just
where they want to go ♪

469
00:21:46,130 --> 00:21:49,873
♪ Whenever I get
tired of the view ♪

470
00:21:49,873 --> 00:21:53,877
♪ I pick up my house
and go someplace new ♪

471
00:21:53,877 --> 00:21:57,707
♪ It doesn't matter
how far I roam ♪

472
00:21:57,707 --> 00:22:01,929
♪ Wherever I go,
I'm always home ♪

473
00:22:03,583 --> 00:22:05,062
We were trying to figure out

474
00:22:05,062 --> 00:22:06,803
who was gonna write
the music for us.

475
00:22:06,803 --> 00:22:08,631
And we auditioned perhaps,

476
00:22:08,631 --> 00:22:10,372
I don't know, six or
eight different musicians.

477
00:22:10,372 --> 00:22:12,548
We said, "We're doing
a show about reading.

478
00:22:12,548 --> 00:22:13,810
It's called 'Reading Rainbow,'

479
00:22:13,810 --> 00:22:16,291
and we need a lyric and a song.

480
00:22:16,291 --> 00:22:17,510
Can you do a demo for us?"

481
00:22:21,514 --> 00:22:23,385
I think we kind
of wanted to do

482
00:22:23,385 --> 00:22:25,387
anything that came in the door.

483
00:22:25,387 --> 00:22:27,389
We had no idea
that this audition

484
00:22:27,389 --> 00:22:30,174
was gonna turn into
a multi-decade gig.

485
00:22:30,174 --> 00:22:32,089
Hi, I'm Steve Horelick,

486
00:22:32,089 --> 00:22:33,613
and this is Patchworks,

487
00:22:33,613 --> 00:22:35,266
and all of the music
for "Reading Rainbow"

488
00:22:35,266 --> 00:22:36,790
is created right here.

489
00:22:38,531 --> 00:22:40,402
Janet, who's my wife,

490
00:22:40,402 --> 00:22:42,535
but she was my business partner
and co-writer at the time,

491
00:22:42,535 --> 00:22:46,582
said, "We have to create a
sound that when kids hear it,

492
00:22:46,582 --> 00:22:49,106
they're gonna come
running to the TV set,

493
00:22:49,106 --> 00:22:51,195
sliding across the floor,

494
00:22:51,195 --> 00:22:54,416
in anticipation of
what's to come."

495
00:22:54,416 --> 00:22:57,201
We found a wonderful singer
in New York City in the '80s.

496
00:22:57,201 --> 00:22:58,638
Her name was Tina Fabrique,

497
00:22:58,638 --> 00:23:00,683
and Janet, Dennis, and myself

498
00:23:00,683 --> 00:23:02,555
came up with this theme song.

499
00:23:12,129 --> 00:23:15,742
So the notes that I used were
based on a A-major scale.

500
00:23:19,876 --> 00:23:22,226
And now it's
sustaining those notes.

501
00:23:23,576 --> 00:23:24,664
The first thing I want
to do is make sure

502
00:23:24,664 --> 00:23:25,795
I pick the right wave form,

503
00:23:25,795 --> 00:23:27,623
which was a square wave,

504
00:23:27,623 --> 00:23:29,233
and the right timbre.

505
00:23:31,453 --> 00:23:33,194
Change the attack and decay.

506
00:23:35,370 --> 00:23:37,938
I'm going to switch the
keyboard into random mode.

507
00:23:39,461 --> 00:23:40,767
Here's a little tape delay.

508
00:23:43,683 --> 00:23:45,380
It's starting to get there.

509
00:23:45,380 --> 00:23:47,730
And a little bit of reverb.

510
00:23:57,218 --> 00:23:59,916
And voila.

511
00:23:59,916 --> 00:24:02,484
We have the opening to the
"Reading Rainbow" theme song.

512
00:24:29,337 --> 00:24:32,079
♪ Butterfly in the sky

513
00:24:32,079 --> 00:24:34,908
♪ I can go twice as high

514
00:24:34,908 --> 00:24:37,650
♪ Take a look, it's in a book

515
00:24:37,650 --> 00:24:40,740
♪ A reading rainbow

516
00:24:40,740 --> 00:24:45,832
♪ I can go anywhere

517
00:24:47,224 --> 00:24:49,313
♪ Friends to know
and ways to grow ♪

518
00:24:49,313 --> 00:24:52,273
♪ A reading rainbow

519
00:24:52,273 --> 00:24:57,408
♪ I can be anything

520
00:24:58,105 --> 00:24:59,323
♪ Take a look

521
00:24:59,323 --> 00:25:00,716
♪ It's in a book

522
00:25:00,716 --> 00:25:09,725
♪ A reading rainbow

523
00:25:10,596 --> 00:25:12,119
We finished the pilot,

524
00:25:12,119 --> 00:25:13,773
and then Twila took that
pilot off to Washington

525
00:25:13,773 --> 00:25:15,905
to show it to the
powers that be at CPB,

526
00:25:15,905 --> 00:25:18,691
and we're waiting every day
for the phone call from Twila.

527
00:25:18,691 --> 00:25:20,649
"Have you shown it to them,
have you shown it to them?"

528
00:25:20,649 --> 00:25:23,609
It never came, and finally, we
were sitting on the balcony,

529
00:25:23,609 --> 00:25:25,393
and there was this big rainstorm

530
00:25:25,393 --> 00:25:26,916
and a big rainbow came across.

531
00:25:26,916 --> 00:25:29,571
- 180-degree rainbow.
- Across the sky.

532
00:25:29,571 --> 00:25:32,792
Sure enough, the phone
rang and it was Twila.

533
00:25:32,792 --> 00:25:34,141
I couldn't believe it.

534
00:25:34,141 --> 00:25:35,534
We're on the air.

535
00:25:39,755 --> 00:25:41,148
How do you make a show
like this that entertaining?

536
00:25:41,148 --> 00:25:42,323
This is an incredible show.

537
00:25:42,323 --> 00:25:43,977
I guess we have fun ourselves.

538
00:25:43,977 --> 00:25:46,893
We are trying to impart
the idea to children

539
00:25:46,893 --> 00:25:48,068
that books are fun,

540
00:25:48,068 --> 00:25:49,460
and the best way to do that

541
00:25:49,460 --> 00:25:51,332
is to present them
in a fun light.

542
00:25:53,116 --> 00:25:55,031
♪ First you need a card

543
00:25:55,031 --> 00:25:57,381
♪ Your ticket to the stacks

544
00:25:57,381 --> 00:25:59,253
♪ If you check a book out

545
00:25:59,253 --> 00:26:01,385
♪ You gotta bring it back

546
00:26:01,385 --> 00:26:03,431
♪ Check it out, check it out,
check it out, check it out ♪

547
00:26:03,431 --> 00:26:04,693
♪ Don't shout
- You know, when you're a kid,

548
00:26:04,693 --> 00:26:06,303
your world is so small.

549
00:26:06,303 --> 00:26:08,523
"Reading Rainbow" tapped
into the imagination.

550
00:26:08,523 --> 00:26:11,961
It broadened your world,
but it was still grounded.

551
00:26:11,961 --> 00:26:13,615
♪ Wish for all you want

552
00:26:13,615 --> 00:26:15,095
You could just sit there

553
00:26:15,095 --> 00:26:16,966
and just be a sponge
and absorb and go,

554
00:26:16,966 --> 00:26:18,620
"Well, there's a little
girl or a little boy

555
00:26:18,620 --> 00:26:20,230
that looks like me."

556
00:26:20,230 --> 00:26:21,580
♪ Check it out, check
it out, check it out ♪

557
00:26:21,580 --> 00:26:23,277
I'm not gonna be intimidated

558
00:26:23,277 --> 00:26:25,496
by this library of books.

559
00:26:25,496 --> 00:26:28,412
I can just pull any
book down and open it up

560
00:26:28,412 --> 00:26:30,371
and dive right into this world.

561
00:26:33,026 --> 00:26:35,463
These are giant groupers.

562
00:26:35,463 --> 00:26:37,334
And, you know, when I'm
sitting here watching,

563
00:26:37,334 --> 00:26:40,163
I can't help but wonder what
it would be like to be a fish.

564
00:26:41,687 --> 00:26:43,166
But, you know, I just read
a very interesting book

565
00:26:43,166 --> 00:26:45,647
about a person who
loved fish so much

566
00:26:45,647 --> 00:26:47,562
that was all he
could think about.

567
00:26:47,562 --> 00:26:50,347
It's called "Louis the Fish."

568
00:26:50,347 --> 00:26:51,871
How do you
go about picking the books?

569
00:26:51,871 --> 00:26:53,046
It's an arduous selection.

570
00:26:53,046 --> 00:26:54,264
We really have to take a look

571
00:26:54,264 --> 00:26:55,918
at each book individually

572
00:26:55,918 --> 00:26:58,225
to see if it meets several
different criteria.

573
00:26:58,225 --> 00:26:59,618
Number one, is it a good story?

574
00:26:59,618 --> 00:27:01,707
We also test the
books with kids.

575
00:27:01,707 --> 00:27:03,317
Because, again,
it's hard for adults

576
00:27:03,317 --> 00:27:04,753
to make choices that
kids would make,

577
00:27:04,753 --> 00:27:06,537
and so we go right
to the source.

578
00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:10,063
I started as a teacher.

579
00:27:10,063 --> 00:27:13,022
They hired me to be a
production coordinator,

580
00:27:13,022 --> 00:27:16,025
and truthfully, I didn't
know what that was.

581
00:27:16,025 --> 00:27:18,027
We would go into
second-grade classrooms

582
00:27:18,027 --> 00:27:19,899
and read the books.

583
00:27:19,899 --> 00:27:22,205
One of the books that I tested

584
00:27:22,205 --> 00:27:24,294
was by Arthur Yorinks,

585
00:27:24,294 --> 00:27:26,514
and it's called
"Louis the Fish."

586
00:27:26,514 --> 00:27:30,300
It's like a takeoff
of "Metamorphosis,"

587
00:27:30,300 --> 00:27:32,738
a boy who turns into a fish.

588
00:27:33,913 --> 00:27:35,001
We all loved it.

589
00:27:35,001 --> 00:27:36,829
We thought it was a riot.

590
00:27:36,829 --> 00:27:39,875
But somebody said, "Oh my
God, what if the kids think

591
00:27:39,875 --> 00:27:42,312
they'll turn into
something if they like it?"

592
00:27:42,312 --> 00:27:43,705
So we tested it.

593
00:27:43,705 --> 00:27:45,272
"What do you guys think?

594
00:27:45,272 --> 00:27:46,665
You think that if you
love something a lot,

595
00:27:46,665 --> 00:27:48,405
you'll turn into that thing?"

596
00:27:49,755 --> 00:27:51,670
And it was quiet for
about 20 seconds,

597
00:27:51,670 --> 00:27:53,541
and then a girl in the
back raised her hand,

598
00:27:53,541 --> 00:27:54,890
and I said, "Yes?"

599
00:27:54,890 --> 00:27:57,937
And she said, "Jill,
it's a story."

600
00:27:59,765 --> 00:28:01,984
Kids are much
more understanding

601
00:28:01,984 --> 00:28:06,293
and less fragile than
we give them credit for.

602
00:28:07,642 --> 00:28:09,165
You still hungry
for more good books?

603
00:28:09,165 --> 00:28:11,472
Well, here's some I know
you'll just gobble up.

604
00:28:11,472 --> 00:28:13,692
But you don't have to
take my word for it.

605
00:28:15,171 --> 00:28:16,216
Do you like monsters?

606
00:28:16,216 --> 00:28:17,565
Well, I do.

607
00:28:17,565 --> 00:28:19,088
I even have a couple of them.

608
00:28:19,088 --> 00:28:20,133
They're my brothers.

609
00:28:20,133 --> 00:28:22,526
My name's Erica Ernest.

610
00:28:22,526 --> 00:28:24,485
I read "Where the
Wild Things Are."

611
00:28:24,485 --> 00:28:26,356
It's fabulous.

612
00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:29,751
We figured that kids
talk to kids best,

613
00:28:29,751 --> 00:28:31,884
and that's why we decided
on the book reviews.

614
00:28:31,884 --> 00:28:33,189
Hi, everybody.

615
00:28:33,189 --> 00:28:35,452
My name is Cecilia Bobo.

616
00:28:35,452 --> 00:28:37,280
Do you have a best friend?

617
00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:39,718
If you do, I think you
should read the book

618
00:28:39,718 --> 00:28:41,850
called "Frog and Toad Together."

619
00:28:43,243 --> 00:28:45,288
The book reviews
were the kids' voices.

620
00:28:45,288 --> 00:28:47,551
We brought the kids in,

621
00:28:47,551 --> 00:28:49,945
we read the book aloud together,

622
00:28:49,945 --> 00:28:52,513
and we asked them
for their thoughts.

623
00:28:52,513 --> 00:28:54,080
Namaste, everybody.

624
00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:55,298
And in India, we say that.

625
00:28:55,298 --> 00:28:57,170
It means hello.

626
00:28:57,170 --> 00:28:59,302
It sounds a lot easier than
it actually is to do that

627
00:28:59,302 --> 00:29:01,478
because you're talking about
eight and nine-year-olds

628
00:29:01,478 --> 00:29:03,306
trying to give you
a coherent review.

629
00:29:05,569 --> 00:29:06,483
Hello.

630
00:29:08,921 --> 00:29:11,358
Go out and get
this book right now

631
00:29:11,358 --> 00:29:13,360
at your nearest library.

632
00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:16,972
It will really knock your
wits out about boats.

633
00:29:16,972 --> 00:29:18,931
"It'll knock your
wits out about boats,"

634
00:29:18,931 --> 00:29:21,237
and that was his line.

635
00:29:21,237 --> 00:29:22,369
There was no script.

636
00:29:22,369 --> 00:29:24,240
There was no cue card.

637
00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:27,069
There was no coaching as far
as what to say about the book.

638
00:29:27,069 --> 00:29:30,725
So if you need some tips on
living with working parents,

639
00:29:30,725 --> 00:29:32,248
this is a book for you.

640
00:29:32,248 --> 00:29:34,337
Make sure and get
your hands on it.

641
00:29:34,337 --> 00:29:38,080
Writing that book review
and then performing it,

642
00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:41,388
it gave me a sense of ownership.

643
00:29:41,388 --> 00:29:43,259
So read "Jumanji."

644
00:29:43,259 --> 00:29:47,829
I promise you, you won't be
among the bored and restless.

645
00:29:47,829 --> 00:29:50,876
For all of us watching,
it was saying, "You matter."

646
00:29:50,876 --> 00:29:52,051
Your stories matter.

647
00:29:52,051 --> 00:29:53,748
Your voice matters.

648
00:29:53,748 --> 00:29:55,924
Your opinion matters.

649
00:29:55,924 --> 00:29:57,317
Which means that I get to
watch the show and say,

650
00:29:57,317 --> 00:29:58,840
"Huh, maybe I have a voice.

651
00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:00,189
Maybe I have an opinion.

652
00:30:01,147 --> 00:30:03,018
Maybe I have a story."

653
00:30:03,018 --> 00:30:04,367
The thing that's
exciting about this show

654
00:30:04,367 --> 00:30:05,891
is that you also have

655
00:30:05,891 --> 00:30:07,675
some pretty big names
involved in this.

656
00:30:07,675 --> 00:30:09,198
LeVar Burton, you
have Lily Tomlin,

657
00:30:09,198 --> 00:30:10,765
you have Ben Vereen,

658
00:30:10,765 --> 00:30:12,288
and the list goes on
and on and on and on.

659
00:30:13,986 --> 00:30:16,945
The episode I was on was
called "Amazing Grace."

660
00:30:16,945 --> 00:30:18,686
Now you may ask,

661
00:30:18,686 --> 00:30:20,166
"Why would you do something
like 'Reading Rainbow'?

662
00:30:20,166 --> 00:30:21,645
I mean, you're not
making any money.

663
00:30:21,645 --> 00:30:22,908
You're not, you know, there's-

664
00:30:22,908 --> 00:30:24,735
What is the pull?"

665
00:30:24,735 --> 00:30:26,302
I can tell you
why it was for me.

666
00:30:26,302 --> 00:30:28,522
Because I'm dyslexic.

667
00:30:28,522 --> 00:30:31,830
So I learned to read
long after I should have.

668
00:30:32,918 --> 00:30:34,789
Reading opens everything.

669
00:30:36,443 --> 00:30:38,793
My friend Whoopi
Goldberg followed her dream,

670
00:30:38,793 --> 00:30:40,142
and now...

671
00:30:40,142 --> 00:30:42,318
Well, she's a star.

672
00:30:43,885 --> 00:30:46,148
We all agreed that we
needed celebrity narrators

673
00:30:46,148 --> 00:30:47,367
for publicity,

674
00:30:47,367 --> 00:30:49,673
pure and simple.

675
00:30:49,673 --> 00:30:51,675
We wanted good
voices, of course.

676
00:30:53,503 --> 00:30:54,983
"Although they
bounced him and bumped him

677
00:30:54,983 --> 00:30:56,811
and threw him like a
feather on the wind,

678
00:30:56,811 --> 00:30:58,291
Max did not fly.

679
00:31:00,946 --> 00:31:02,556
He just floated
gently back to earth."

680
00:31:03,513 --> 00:31:04,601
We were looking for people

681
00:31:04,601 --> 00:31:07,909
whose voice and personality

682
00:31:07,909 --> 00:31:10,346
matched the feeling of the book.

683
00:31:12,044 --> 00:31:14,873
"The Robbery at
the Diamond Dog Diner."

684
00:31:17,005 --> 00:31:18,702
By Eileen Christelow.

685
00:31:20,487 --> 00:31:22,619
Read by Peter Falk.

686
00:31:22,619 --> 00:31:24,099
I asked if I could go

687
00:31:24,099 --> 00:31:25,927
to the recording

688
00:31:25,927 --> 00:31:27,146
of James Earl Jones

689
00:31:28,756 --> 00:31:31,367
because I just had to see him.

690
00:31:31,367 --> 00:31:34,805
So we're sitting in the
studio and he walks in.

691
00:31:34,805 --> 00:31:36,503
Couldn't have been nicer.

692
00:31:36,503 --> 00:31:38,984
And he said, "I'm sorry
that I have to ask you this.

693
00:31:38,984 --> 00:31:40,724
I would like to reschedule.

694
00:31:40,724 --> 00:31:44,250
You can donate my fee,
but I don't feel prepared.

695
00:31:44,250 --> 00:31:45,947
I want to rehearse this.

696
00:31:45,947 --> 00:31:49,559
I want to get my voice
where it should be for this,

697
00:31:49,559 --> 00:31:53,128
so if you wouldn't mind if
I could come back tomorrow."

698
00:31:53,128 --> 00:31:54,564
And all of us were like...

699
00:31:55,391 --> 00:31:56,740
And we realized then

700
00:31:56,740 --> 00:31:59,134
how important it
was to the artists

701
00:31:59,134 --> 00:32:01,006
to make sure that they
really were capturing

702
00:32:01,006 --> 00:32:02,224
the essence of the book.

703
00:32:04,183 --> 00:32:06,620
"So the
grass grew green

704
00:32:08,056 --> 00:32:09,753
and the cattle fat,

705
00:32:10,667 --> 00:32:11,799
and Ki-pat got a wife

706
00:32:13,105 --> 00:32:14,889
and a little Ki-pat,

707
00:32:16,282 --> 00:32:19,938
who tends the cows now
and shoots down the rain

708
00:32:21,287 --> 00:32:25,073
when black clouds
shadow Kapiti Plain."

709
00:32:31,253 --> 00:32:33,125
Once a book was chosen,

710
00:32:33,125 --> 00:32:35,214
this incredible
process happened.

711
00:32:35,214 --> 00:32:36,824
All of us,

712
00:32:36,824 --> 00:32:39,653
whether it was producers
assigned to that show,

713
00:32:39,653 --> 00:32:42,525
the other directors, all
the associate producers,

714
00:32:42,525 --> 00:32:45,398
we would all just throw ideas in

715
00:32:45,398 --> 00:32:47,574
without worrying about
how dumb they were

716
00:32:47,574 --> 00:32:50,098
or how difficult to
achieve they were.

717
00:32:50,098 --> 00:32:52,883
That's how we came up with
the ideas for the shows.

718
00:32:54,363 --> 00:32:55,756
This place is open all night,

719
00:32:55,756 --> 00:32:57,758
which comes in pretty handy

720
00:32:57,758 --> 00:33:00,979
when you get your lunch
break at 3:00 in the morning,

721
00:33:00,979 --> 00:33:02,806
like a lot of these people do.

722
00:33:02,806 --> 00:33:05,157
And I happen to know about
another little night spot

723
00:33:05,157 --> 00:33:07,028
that gets cooking at this hour.

724
00:33:07,028 --> 00:33:10,118
It's in this book
called "Animal Cafe."

725
00:33:12,468 --> 00:33:14,253
"Animal Cafe."
- When you're reading,

726
00:33:14,253 --> 00:33:16,777
your mind fills in all
the blanks and the gaps.

727
00:33:16,777 --> 00:33:18,648
I mean, you're seeing pictures

728
00:33:18,648 --> 00:33:20,781
and you're reading the words,
or it's being read to you,

729
00:33:20,781 --> 00:33:24,741
but your mind builds on this
and you put yourself there.

730
00:33:24,741 --> 00:33:26,787
"'Sweet dreams!'

731
00:33:26,787 --> 00:33:28,354
Maxwell whispered

732
00:33:28,354 --> 00:33:29,920
as he left the shop.

733
00:33:33,750 --> 00:33:37,145
In a flash, Sedgwick and
Casey were up and about.

734
00:33:38,712 --> 00:33:40,888
'All clear!' Sedgwick
called from the doorway."

735
00:33:42,455 --> 00:33:45,284
Well, we had to put
ourselves in those places too

736
00:33:45,284 --> 00:33:46,328
with the cameras.

737
00:33:47,286 --> 00:33:48,809
And we had to make it

738
00:33:48,809 --> 00:33:51,551
as interesting and
fascinating as possible

739
00:33:51,551 --> 00:33:54,771
so that we could match
the intensity of the book.

740
00:33:54,771 --> 00:33:56,338
Of course, Casey and Sedgwick

741
00:33:56,338 --> 00:33:58,906
aren't the only animals
that come out at night.

742
00:33:58,906 --> 00:34:01,517
In fact, 60% of the
earth's creatures

743
00:34:01,517 --> 00:34:04,825
live their lives at night
and sleep during the day.

744
00:34:04,825 --> 00:34:09,177
That includes owls,
porcupines, raccoons, frogs,

745
00:34:09,177 --> 00:34:13,094
and, of course, the masters
of night flight, bats.

746
00:34:16,315 --> 00:34:18,230
I'd just come
out of film school.

747
00:34:18,230 --> 00:34:20,884
All of my friends who went to
NYU are all starting to work.

748
00:34:20,884 --> 00:34:23,017
I was starting to shoot
a lot of rock and roll,

749
00:34:23,017 --> 00:34:25,193
low-budget documentaries,

750
00:34:25,193 --> 00:34:26,803
and "Reading Rainbow."

751
00:34:26,803 --> 00:34:30,416
We're about to enter
Bracken Cave in Texas.

752
00:34:30,416 --> 00:34:32,505
Nobody wanted to shoot this.

753
00:34:32,505 --> 00:34:35,856
The bat cave was in
this huge cavern,

754
00:34:35,856 --> 00:34:38,554
but you had to climb down
to get to the bottom,

755
00:34:38,554 --> 00:34:42,123
and it was filled with, I
don't know, 60 million bats,

756
00:34:42,123 --> 00:34:44,691
and they covered every
inch of ceiling and floor.

757
00:34:44,691 --> 00:34:46,562
The walls were going like this.

758
00:34:49,043 --> 00:34:51,219
Bats carry rabies,
so the crew had to get,

759
00:34:51,219 --> 00:34:52,351
Rabies shots.

760
00:34:52,351 --> 00:34:53,526
Wasn't interested in that.

761
00:34:53,526 --> 00:34:55,180
They had to put spacesuits on.

762
00:34:57,617 --> 00:35:00,272
You have to wear
an entire set of coveralls

763
00:35:00,272 --> 00:35:01,447
and rubber boots

764
00:35:01,447 --> 00:35:03,971
because living in the bat guano

765
00:35:03,971 --> 00:35:05,842
that covers the
bottom of the cave

766
00:35:05,842 --> 00:35:07,540
are carnivorous worms

767
00:35:07,540 --> 00:35:09,846
that eat a bat down to a
skeleton in five minutes.

768
00:35:11,196 --> 00:35:12,893
For young
bats learning to fly,

769
00:35:12,893 --> 00:35:15,809
the floor of this cave is
a very dangerous place.

770
00:35:15,809 --> 00:35:18,290
Any bat that lands on this floor

771
00:35:18,290 --> 00:35:21,989
and doesn't get airborne
again within a few seconds

772
00:35:21,989 --> 00:35:24,165
will become a
skeleton like this.

773
00:35:24,165 --> 00:35:26,515
We found somebody who'd
never done sound before

774
00:35:26,515 --> 00:35:27,473
to do sound.

775
00:35:29,170 --> 00:35:31,390
And I'm shooting a bat,
I remember, getting eaten

776
00:35:31,390 --> 00:35:33,870
by the carnivorous
worms on the floor.

777
00:35:33,870 --> 00:35:35,829
He's holding his boom,

778
00:35:35,829 --> 00:35:39,441
and he's really nervous
about stepping off this rock,

779
00:35:39,441 --> 00:35:40,747
and we're screaming at him,

780
00:35:40,747 --> 00:35:41,835
"Get down here, get down here!"

781
00:35:41,835 --> 00:35:43,793
And he takes a step,

782
00:35:43,793 --> 00:35:45,317
and we watch him trip.

783
00:35:45,317 --> 00:35:48,581
We can see his face going like,

784
00:35:48,581 --> 00:35:52,324
as he falls headfirst into
the bat guano and disappears.

785
00:35:52,324 --> 00:35:53,629
'Cause it's very loose.

786
00:35:53,629 --> 00:35:55,370
You sink into it
about this deep.

787
00:35:55,370 --> 00:35:58,504
And then comes bursting
out of it covered in worms

788
00:35:58,504 --> 00:36:00,680
and starts trying to
run out of the cave.

789
00:36:00,680 --> 00:36:02,856
And we watch him and
he gets about 30 feet

790
00:36:02,856 --> 00:36:04,118
and just collapses.

791
00:36:05,511 --> 00:36:07,469
That was it, he never
went in the cave again.

792
00:36:11,821 --> 00:36:14,737
I often thought that what
we were doing was crazy,

793
00:36:14,737 --> 00:36:16,435
but I never thought

794
00:36:16,435 --> 00:36:19,481
that it was crazy because
it was for a kids show.

795
00:36:19,481 --> 00:36:21,266
I thought it was just crazy.

796
00:36:26,053 --> 00:36:27,576
Anybody that worked
with us and said,

797
00:36:27,576 --> 00:36:29,926
"Aw, it's just a kids show,"

798
00:36:29,926 --> 00:36:31,450
never worked with us again.

799
00:36:31,450 --> 00:36:33,930
- Take two.
- Everybody knows.

800
00:36:33,930 --> 00:36:37,282
It took a few seasons for
us to really catch on.

801
00:36:37,282 --> 00:36:38,848
Ow!

802
00:36:38,848 --> 00:36:40,546
Every season felt like
it might be our last

803
00:36:40,546 --> 00:36:43,418
because nobody was
beating the door down

804
00:36:43,418 --> 00:36:45,333
to hand us money
to make the show.

805
00:36:46,552 --> 00:36:47,814
This is a public
television show.

806
00:36:47,814 --> 00:36:49,119
It has no money.

807
00:36:49,119 --> 00:36:50,643
We just loved it.

808
00:36:50,643 --> 00:36:52,819
Now get me some more
coffee or I'm quitting.

809
00:36:52,819 --> 00:36:54,342
Everybody
on that crew,

810
00:36:54,342 --> 00:36:56,518
all the writers,
producers, PAs, assistants,

811
00:36:56,518 --> 00:37:01,219
everyone believed in
what we were doing.

812
00:37:02,785 --> 00:37:04,526
A lot of the people
who worked on the show

813
00:37:04,526 --> 00:37:07,137
had a background in teaching.

814
00:37:07,137 --> 00:37:08,704
It was a rare opportunity

815
00:37:08,704 --> 00:37:11,272
to make the kind of TV
that we wanted to make.

816
00:37:12,839 --> 00:37:14,232
When I came to
"Reading Rainbow,"

817
00:37:14,232 --> 00:37:15,755
I was a kid.

818
00:37:15,755 --> 00:37:18,236
I grew through
"Reading Rainbow."

819
00:37:18,236 --> 00:37:21,587
And like the same way we
were hoping for the kids,

820
00:37:21,587 --> 00:37:23,153
you know, we wanted them

821
00:37:23,153 --> 00:37:25,504
to learn about the
world and be fascinated,

822
00:37:25,504 --> 00:37:27,201
that was happening for me.

823
00:37:30,248 --> 00:37:33,599
We were having all of
these incredible adventures,

824
00:37:33,599 --> 00:37:35,296
and you're seeing it as a child

825
00:37:35,296 --> 00:37:37,690
because you're trying to
tell a story for children.

826
00:37:37,690 --> 00:37:38,995
But we were like little kids.

827
00:37:38,995 --> 00:37:40,910
We used to whistle the theme

828
00:37:40,910 --> 00:37:42,303
from the "Raiders
of the Lost Ark"

829
00:37:42,303 --> 00:37:44,610
when things were
getting really insane.

830
00:37:48,091 --> 00:37:50,703
Every time we stepped
out into an amazing place,

831
00:37:50,703 --> 00:37:53,053
we gotta print this for kids

832
00:37:53,053 --> 00:37:55,969
so that this becomes
part of their memory.

833
00:37:57,318 --> 00:38:00,147
And if a book went
to an extreme place,

834
00:38:00,147 --> 00:38:01,627
then why shouldn't we?

835
00:38:05,457 --> 00:38:08,155
We chose "Hill of
Fire" because it's a true story,

836
00:38:08,155 --> 00:38:09,635
and it's really interesting.

837
00:38:09,635 --> 00:38:11,724
It's about a man in
Mexico, a farmer,

838
00:38:11,724 --> 00:38:14,944
who one morning goes out
and his field is growing

839
00:38:14,944 --> 00:38:17,251
and growing and
growing, a mountain,

840
00:38:17,251 --> 00:38:19,384
and then it erupts
into a volcano.

841
00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:26,652
We took the kids to
a real live volcano.

842
00:38:27,870 --> 00:38:29,829
It's unbelievable
how much lava

843
00:38:29,829 --> 00:38:32,092
can gush from one volcano.

844
00:38:32,092 --> 00:38:33,485
And look at this.

845
00:38:33,485 --> 00:38:36,314
It's only just one little spill.

846
00:38:37,924 --> 00:38:41,188
We went to shoot
the Kilauea volcano,

847
00:38:41,188 --> 00:38:44,191
and the reason why it
was so perfect for us

848
00:38:44,191 --> 00:38:47,803
was because it
erupted on a schedule.

849
00:38:47,803 --> 00:38:49,718
We get to Hawaii,

850
00:38:49,718 --> 00:38:52,982
and Kilauea was not erupting.

851
00:38:54,375 --> 00:38:56,986
We shot the lava,
we shot the mountain.

852
00:38:56,986 --> 00:38:58,945
We shot the ocean.

853
00:38:58,945 --> 00:39:00,338
No eruption.

854
00:39:00,338 --> 00:39:01,861
We wrapped up.

855
00:39:01,861 --> 00:39:03,819
The next morning at 5:00 AM,

856
00:39:03,819 --> 00:39:06,518
the director of the national
park called me and said,

857
00:39:06,518 --> 00:39:07,475
"Buckle up.

858
00:39:08,911 --> 00:39:09,825
It's erupting."

859
00:39:11,653 --> 00:39:13,046
We got in the van

860
00:39:13,046 --> 00:39:14,395
and we were driving
up the mountain

861
00:39:14,395 --> 00:39:16,266
as everybody else
was coming down.

862
00:39:17,616 --> 00:39:21,184
There were rocks
flying at our Winnebago,

863
00:39:21,184 --> 00:39:23,099
and there was smoke in the air.

864
00:39:25,537 --> 00:39:28,148
This is a
2,000-foot lava flow

865
00:39:28,148 --> 00:39:30,150
going up into the air.
- Up in the air.

866
00:39:30,150 --> 00:39:32,065
2,000 feet away.
- 2,000 feet away.

867
00:39:32,065 --> 00:39:34,589
I am standing near
the top of Kilauea,

868
00:39:34,589 --> 00:39:36,765
the world's most active volcano,

869
00:39:36,765 --> 00:39:40,378
and as you can see behind
me, she is really erupting.

870
00:39:40,378 --> 00:39:41,901
It was extraordinary

871
00:39:41,901 --> 00:39:45,426
to feel that raw earth power.

872
00:39:46,862 --> 00:39:49,082
We took the
kids right there,

873
00:39:49,952 --> 00:39:51,084
where it's happening.

874
00:39:55,262 --> 00:39:56,829
The more shows we
did, the more episodes,

875
00:39:56,829 --> 00:39:57,960
the more seasons we were on,

876
00:39:57,960 --> 00:39:59,658
the more research came back

877
00:39:59,658 --> 00:40:01,964
showing that there was a
connection with the audience

878
00:40:01,964 --> 00:40:06,447
and that it had meaning
and importance for them.

879
00:40:08,754 --> 00:40:10,364
- How are you?
- Good to see you.

880
00:40:10,364 --> 00:40:14,150
People began to know who
we were and what we did.

881
00:40:21,244 --> 00:40:23,508
Early on I laid
down the dictum

882
00:40:23,508 --> 00:40:26,772
that we were going to
represent all kids.

883
00:40:26,772 --> 00:40:29,470
Now, in 1980, that was
not necessarily something

884
00:40:29,470 --> 00:40:30,993
people thought about.

885
00:40:30,993 --> 00:40:34,127
But I did and LeVar did.

886
00:40:34,127 --> 00:40:36,434
Telling clever tales
like "Borreguita"

887
00:40:36,434 --> 00:40:38,174
is a local tradition,

888
00:40:38,174 --> 00:40:40,350
and so are murals,
like this one.

889
00:40:42,657 --> 00:40:44,180
This instrument
is called an axatse.

890
00:40:44,180 --> 00:40:45,747
- An axatse.
- Right, it comes from Ghana.

891
00:40:49,185 --> 00:40:51,013
One of the
most enjoyable parts

892
00:40:51,013 --> 00:40:52,232
of Japanese culture

893
00:40:52,232 --> 00:40:53,712
is the food.

894
00:40:53,712 --> 00:40:56,323
In Japan, lunch is
not only delicious,

895
00:40:56,323 --> 00:40:57,890
it's beautiful.

896
00:41:01,850 --> 00:41:02,982
I came through the back door

897
00:41:02,982 --> 00:41:04,200
in terms of the writing thing

898
00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:05,985
and how it all happened for me.

899
00:41:05,985 --> 00:41:07,813
The honest answer
is 'cause I realized

900
00:41:07,813 --> 00:41:08,901
I couldn't be Michael Jordan.

901
00:41:08,901 --> 00:41:10,293
You know what I mean?

902
00:41:10,293 --> 00:41:11,947
And then you had
to pivot, you know,

903
00:41:11,947 --> 00:41:13,601
and it's like, all right,
what am I gonna do?

904
00:41:13,601 --> 00:41:16,343
I think I found literature
through rap music.

905
00:41:16,343 --> 00:41:19,477
I was reading rap lyrics
as a kid, liner notes.

906
00:41:19,477 --> 00:41:21,087
And you realize really quickly

907
00:41:21,087 --> 00:41:22,828
that rappers are writing poetry.

908
00:41:24,177 --> 00:41:25,657
No one ever told us
that, by the way.

909
00:41:25,657 --> 00:41:28,355
So let's catch our
first story by Run DMC,

910
00:41:28,355 --> 00:41:30,531
a rap group from
Queens, New York.

911
00:41:30,531 --> 00:41:33,795
In rap, rhythm and
rhyme are everything.

912
00:41:33,795 --> 00:41:35,928
It's a kind of street poetry.

913
00:41:35,928 --> 00:41:39,018
I remember we first
contacted a girl group.

914
00:41:39,018 --> 00:41:40,367
Salt-N-Pepper.

915
00:41:40,367 --> 00:41:41,847
Salt-N-Pepa.

916
00:41:41,847 --> 00:41:43,457
Pepa.

917
00:41:43,457 --> 00:41:45,111
♪ Salt-N-Pepa's here
and we're in effect ♪

918
00:41:45,111 --> 00:41:46,112
I wanted them.

919
00:41:46,112 --> 00:41:47,461
I wanted girls rapping.

920
00:41:47,461 --> 00:41:48,462
I thought it was great.

921
00:41:48,462 --> 00:41:50,159
They were really hot.

922
00:41:50,159 --> 00:41:51,334
♪ Now wait a minute, y'all

923
00:41:51,334 --> 00:41:53,467
And they didn't want to do it.

924
00:41:53,467 --> 00:41:55,164
And then we said,

925
00:41:55,164 --> 00:41:57,515
"Okay, Run DMC, let's
give it a shot."

926
00:41:59,038 --> 00:42:02,128
♪ Now we're Run DMC
and we like to rap ♪

927
00:42:02,128 --> 00:42:04,913
♪ And the reason that we
do it is to make you clap ♪

928
00:42:04,913 --> 00:42:06,088
♪ I'm the king of rock

929
00:42:06,088 --> 00:42:07,612
♪ There is none higher

930
00:42:07,612 --> 00:42:09,135
It was so weird.

931
00:42:09,135 --> 00:42:11,050
I mean, now they're
like old-school rap,

932
00:42:11,050 --> 00:42:13,966
but back then they were
the hottest thing around,

933
00:42:13,966 --> 00:42:15,054
and they were new.

934
00:42:16,490 --> 00:42:17,578
But they loved reading.

935
00:42:19,885 --> 00:42:23,932
Here's Run DMC telling you
their story set to music.

936
00:42:25,194 --> 00:42:27,457
We wanted them
to write a song,

937
00:42:27,457 --> 00:42:31,244
and to the day we shot, we
weren't sure they did it.

938
00:42:32,898 --> 00:42:35,465
Jam Master Jay handed me a
cassette with a song on it.

939
00:42:35,465 --> 00:42:37,380
We had to put it on a boombox.

940
00:42:38,294 --> 00:42:40,122
And they were amazing.

941
00:42:40,122 --> 00:42:41,863
♪ Oh, yes indeed, I like to
read cause reading's fun ♪

942
00:42:41,863 --> 00:42:44,387
♪ Not only me, I'm
DMC but also Run ♪

943
00:42:44,387 --> 00:42:46,955
♪ From the front to the
back as pages turn ♪

944
00:42:46,955 --> 00:42:49,001
♪ Reading is a very
fresh way to learn ♪

945
00:42:49,001 --> 00:42:51,307
♪ And if you look into a
book, you might just say ♪

946
00:42:51,307 --> 00:42:52,613
♪ I had fun just like Run

947
00:42:52,613 --> 00:42:54,006
♪ DMC and Jay

948
00:42:54,006 --> 00:42:56,138
♪ Uh

949
00:42:58,880 --> 00:43:01,927
♪ Teamwork

950
00:43:01,927 --> 00:43:03,058
All right, hold it,
hold it, everybody.

951
00:43:03,058 --> 00:43:04,146
Hold it, hold it, hold it.

952
00:43:05,321 --> 00:43:07,193
Listen, LeVar, for that to work,

953
00:43:07,193 --> 00:43:08,368
you gotta delay two counts.

954
00:43:08,368 --> 00:43:09,891
You're two counts early.

955
00:43:09,891 --> 00:43:11,414
If you delay two counts,
the flip will work

956
00:43:11,414 --> 00:43:12,546
and we'll get into
"Teamwork," okay?

957
00:43:12,546 --> 00:43:13,895
Sorry, Sam.

958
00:43:13,895 --> 00:43:15,636
Oh hi, I'll be with
you in a second.

959
00:43:15,636 --> 00:43:16,985
All right, let's
set up from the pyramid.

960
00:43:16,985 --> 00:43:18,465
LeVar, he was really good

961
00:43:18,465 --> 00:43:20,467
at most of the things he tried.

962
00:43:20,467 --> 00:43:22,251
He would do anything,

963
00:43:22,251 --> 00:43:24,079
except go in the bat cave.

964
00:43:24,079 --> 00:43:25,646
Okay, LeVar, why don't
you put on your seat belt

965
00:43:25,646 --> 00:43:27,039
and your shoulder harness?

966
00:43:32,348 --> 00:43:34,524
I did everything they asked.

967
00:43:35,787 --> 00:43:39,834
I mean,
everything they asked.

968
00:43:39,834 --> 00:43:41,793
And I was game.

969
00:43:41,793 --> 00:43:44,796
♪ Teamwork

970
00:43:44,796 --> 00:43:46,275
♪ T-E-A-M

971
00:43:46,275 --> 00:43:50,105
♪ Teamwork, teamwork

972
00:43:50,105 --> 00:43:51,672
♪ You have a dream

973
00:43:51,672 --> 00:43:54,588
♪ You want to make it
real, you need a team ♪

974
00:43:54,588 --> 00:43:57,765
♪ Working up steam to
make your dream work ♪

975
00:43:57,765 --> 00:43:59,114
♪ Teamwork

976
00:43:59,114 --> 00:44:00,594
♪ Working it through

977
00:44:00,594 --> 00:44:03,597
♪ Working together
whatever we do ♪

978
00:44:03,597 --> 00:44:06,644
♪ Doing it better as a team

979
00:44:12,301 --> 00:44:15,435
♪ Haven't got a moment

980
00:44:15,435 --> 00:44:18,090
♪ There's just too much to do

981
00:44:18,090 --> 00:44:21,223
♪ My feet are really tired

982
00:44:21,223 --> 00:44:24,226
♪ And my back is aching too

983
00:44:24,226 --> 00:44:29,362
♪ But when I look
around me, I see ♪

984
00:44:30,580 --> 00:44:32,278
♪ Friends working
along with me ♪

985
00:44:32,278 --> 00:44:35,063
♪ I get energy 'cause I know

986
00:44:35,063 --> 00:44:38,023
♪ We've got teamwork, teamwork

987
00:44:38,023 --> 00:44:39,633
♪ You have a dream

988
00:44:39,633 --> 00:44:42,549
♪ You want to make it
real, you need a team ♪

989
00:44:42,549 --> 00:44:45,726
♪ Working up steam to
make your dream work ♪

990
00:44:45,726 --> 00:44:47,032
♪ Teamwork

991
00:44:47,032 --> 00:44:48,511
♪ Working it through

992
00:44:48,511 --> 00:44:51,514
♪ Working together
whatever we do ♪

993
00:44:51,514 --> 00:44:54,735
♪ Doing it better

994
00:44:54,735 --> 00:44:55,997
♪ As a team

995
00:44:57,825 --> 00:44:59,653
Well, you know, I
interview a lot of people

996
00:44:59,653 --> 00:45:01,220
on "Reading Rainbow,"

997
00:45:01,220 --> 00:45:02,482
and now I guess this is
a perfect opportunity

998
00:45:02,482 --> 00:45:05,659
for me to interview myself.

999
00:45:06,747 --> 00:45:08,270
Now, tell me, do
you really think

1000
00:45:08,270 --> 00:45:09,968
you could be the host
of "Reading Rainbow"?

1001
00:45:09,968 --> 00:45:11,012
No problem.

1002
00:45:11,012 --> 00:45:12,579
Nothing to it.

1003
00:45:12,579 --> 00:45:14,668
But you don't have to
take my word for it.

1004
00:45:15,974 --> 00:45:17,976
I think that LeVar...

1005
00:45:17,976 --> 00:45:19,542
I don't know why I
looked at camera,

1006
00:45:19,542 --> 00:45:21,893
because I was thinking
of him doing that.

1007
00:45:21,893 --> 00:45:22,894
Let me start over.

1008
00:45:25,723 --> 00:45:28,116
I think that LeVar is really
good at connecting with kids.

1009
00:45:28,116 --> 00:45:30,728
I'm sure there have been
times when you felt left out

1010
00:45:30,728 --> 00:45:32,555
or scared or disappointed.

1011
00:45:33,774 --> 00:45:34,862
But even when things
don't work out

1012
00:45:34,862 --> 00:45:36,777
just the way you want them to,

1013
00:45:36,777 --> 00:45:38,953
sometimes they turn
out okay anyway.

1014
00:45:38,953 --> 00:45:40,128
When he would start talking,

1015
00:45:40,128 --> 00:45:42,087
we would be shooting.

1016
00:45:42,087 --> 00:45:43,784
We'd be shooting LeVar, and
when he'd start talking,

1017
00:45:43,784 --> 00:45:45,394
we all kind of go like this,

1018
00:45:46,134 --> 00:45:48,310
"Ohh, yeah."

1019
00:45:48,310 --> 00:45:50,051
Everybody gets
scared sometime.

1020
00:45:51,618 --> 00:45:54,752
When was the last time you
had to be really brave?

1021
00:45:55,970 --> 00:45:59,234
He knew how to
look down the lens

1022
00:46:00,583 --> 00:46:03,456
and make you feel
what he was saying.

1023
00:46:04,805 --> 00:46:07,503
It hurts when
someone you love dies.

1024
00:46:07,503 --> 00:46:09,070
I know.

1025
00:46:09,070 --> 00:46:10,245
I've been through it.

1026
00:46:11,072 --> 00:46:12,726
It hurts so bad, you,

1027
00:46:12,726 --> 00:46:14,772
you feel you'll
never get over it.

1028
00:46:15,860 --> 00:46:17,992
I guess in some ways, you don't.

1029
00:46:17,992 --> 00:46:20,299
But what helped
me most was time.

1030
00:46:20,299 --> 00:46:22,170
Lots of time,

1031
00:46:22,170 --> 00:46:25,521
and some good friends who let
me talk about my feelings.

1032
00:46:25,521 --> 00:46:28,002
He wasn't talking down to you.

1033
00:46:28,002 --> 00:46:30,788
He was talking as like,
"Let's have this conversation.

1034
00:46:30,788 --> 00:46:32,137
Let me show you
some of these things

1035
00:46:32,137 --> 00:46:33,660
that might interest you."

1036
00:46:33,660 --> 00:46:35,793
There's our
boat, the Daunty V.

1037
00:46:35,793 --> 00:46:37,490
She's taking us out

1038
00:46:37,490 --> 00:46:40,710
in search of one of nature's
most spectacular sights,

1039
00:46:40,710 --> 00:46:42,016
humpback whales.

1040
00:46:43,191 --> 00:46:44,932
Kids think they're with him.

1041
00:46:46,281 --> 00:46:47,935
When he'd go on location,

1042
00:46:47,935 --> 00:46:49,719
and we'd ask kids,
"Well, what did you see?"

1043
00:46:49,719 --> 00:46:52,157
"Well, I went with
LeVar to do the whales."

1044
00:46:52,157 --> 00:46:54,507
I mean, they were
there, with him.

1045
00:46:55,508 --> 00:46:57,162
Whoa! Look at that.

1046
00:46:58,990 --> 00:47:00,469
If you watch
carefully, probably
in a few seconds,

1047
00:47:00,469 --> 00:47:02,384
the mouth will come
right through there.

1048
00:47:02,384 --> 00:47:04,560
Right there!
- Ooh whoa!

1049
00:47:04,560 --> 00:47:06,475
You can even
see the mouth is open.

1050
00:47:06,475 --> 00:47:07,912
That's amazing!

1051
00:47:09,261 --> 00:47:12,830
LeVar had all of
the finest qualities

1052
00:47:12,830 --> 00:47:14,788
of a five or six-year-old

1053
00:47:14,788 --> 00:47:18,096
who was just dazzled by
everything in the world.

1054
00:47:18,096 --> 00:47:21,316
And I think that we tend
to lose that as adults.

1055
00:47:21,316 --> 00:47:22,274
Whoa!

1056
00:47:24,015 --> 00:47:26,887
I've never seen anything
like this before.

1057
00:47:28,454 --> 00:47:31,326
Even at this age, I believe
that I have the ability

1058
00:47:31,326 --> 00:47:35,635
to experience the
wonderment of life.

1059
00:47:37,855 --> 00:47:39,900
It's LeVar, but it's
a version of LeVar

1060
00:47:39,900 --> 00:47:41,902
that appeals to
an eight-year-old.

1061
00:47:41,902 --> 00:47:44,731
It's the eight-year-old
me.

1062
00:47:46,080 --> 00:47:50,911
This is my
high school yearbook.

1063
00:47:51,869 --> 00:47:52,782
Hmm.

1064
00:47:54,697 --> 00:47:57,613
Let's see, where is my picture?

1065
00:47:59,528 --> 00:48:02,096
There it is.

1066
00:48:03,358 --> 00:48:05,491
I can't believe this is me.

1067
00:48:07,362 --> 00:48:09,060
You know, it's
interesting, right.

1068
00:48:09,060 --> 00:48:12,585
Because I do remember
watching "Reading Rainbow,"

1069
00:48:12,585 --> 00:48:14,413
but what I remember most

1070
00:48:14,413 --> 00:48:17,198
is what LeVar
Burton looked like.

1071
00:48:22,203 --> 00:48:25,859
There were three men in
my life on television

1072
00:48:25,859 --> 00:48:27,556
that felt larger than life,

1073
00:48:27,556 --> 00:48:29,994
and they all had
gold hoop earrings.

1074
00:48:29,994 --> 00:48:32,431
Michael Jordan, Ed Bradley,

1075
00:48:33,432 --> 00:48:34,912
and the last was LeVar Burton.

1076
00:48:34,912 --> 00:48:36,739
So when I think back to like

1077
00:48:36,739 --> 00:48:38,567
what I remember about the
"Reading Rainbow," it's...

1078
00:48:38,567 --> 00:48:40,091
I remember him

1079
00:48:40,091 --> 00:48:42,484
and what that meant
for a little Black boy,

1080
00:48:42,484 --> 00:48:45,748
seeing LeVar Burton on
TV with a hoop earring,

1081
00:48:45,748 --> 00:48:48,403
meaning he was on TV as himself.

1082
00:48:48,403 --> 00:48:49,665
Right, that's a very
different thing.

1083
00:48:49,665 --> 00:48:50,623
That's power.

1084
00:48:52,059 --> 00:48:52,973
Wow.

1085
00:48:56,281 --> 00:48:57,760
I think that at some point

1086
00:48:58,718 --> 00:49:00,241
their decision to hire me

1087
00:49:00,241 --> 00:49:02,461
might have, you know,
bitten Larry and Cecily

1088
00:49:02,461 --> 00:49:04,028
in the ass a little bit

1089
00:49:04,028 --> 00:49:06,030
because I became very adamant

1090
00:49:06,030 --> 00:49:10,077
that since they had hired me,
then what they got was me.

1091
00:49:10,077 --> 00:49:11,687
Hi, LeVar.
Hi.

1092
00:49:11,687 --> 00:49:13,080
- Hi, everybody.
- Come on in, have a seat.

1093
00:49:13,080 --> 00:49:14,777
We produced the pilot,

1094
00:49:14,777 --> 00:49:17,258
and LeVar did not
have any facial hair.

1095
00:49:18,346 --> 00:49:20,609
The first season came around,

1096
00:49:20,609 --> 00:49:22,524
and I think it was Jill
who called and she said,

1097
00:49:22,524 --> 00:49:26,006
"Okay, LeVar's got a mustache."

1098
00:49:26,006 --> 00:49:27,965
I said, "Well, tell
him to shave it."

1099
00:49:29,227 --> 00:49:30,968
And she said, "Okay."

1100
00:49:31,969 --> 00:49:33,622
Ding ding ding ding ding.

1101
00:49:33,622 --> 00:49:35,929
"Hello, LeVar doesn't want
to shave the mustache."

1102
00:49:36,756 --> 00:49:38,410
Hi.

1103
00:49:38,410 --> 00:49:40,760
Every season he would
come with a different look.

1104
00:49:42,109 --> 00:49:46,244
Cecily really wanted
him to look the same.

1105
00:49:48,115 --> 00:49:50,857
That's not the same guy who
was in the season last time.

1106
00:49:50,857 --> 00:49:52,119
We're talking about children.

1107
00:49:52,119 --> 00:49:53,512
He's a host.

1108
00:49:53,512 --> 00:49:55,514
I just, it makes
me crazy thinking,

1109
00:49:55,514 --> 00:49:58,473
we have three seasons and you
look different in each one.

1110
00:50:00,127 --> 00:50:01,302
Those were tense
conversations.

1111
00:50:01,302 --> 00:50:02,564
They were very tense.

1112
00:50:02,564 --> 00:50:04,175
They were not inconsequential.

1113
00:50:05,002 --> 00:50:06,655
And I was young,

1114
00:50:06,655 --> 00:50:09,615
and I was going through,
you know, different fads.

1115
00:50:09,615 --> 00:50:11,138
I had this earring.

1116
00:50:11,138 --> 00:50:12,792
I had fallen in love
with this woman,

1117
00:50:12,792 --> 00:50:15,795
and she talked me into
getting my ear pierced.

1118
00:50:17,318 --> 00:50:19,233
At the time, it was
problematic to Larry and Cecily

1119
00:50:19,233 --> 00:50:21,409
because they saw the changes

1120
00:50:21,409 --> 00:50:22,889
that I was going
through physically

1121
00:50:22,889 --> 00:50:24,238
and the choices
that I was making

1122
00:50:24,238 --> 00:50:25,979
as an impediment
to the continuity,

1123
00:50:25,979 --> 00:50:29,069
and I was more interested
in my authenticity.

1124
00:50:29,069 --> 00:50:33,204
I didn't care, you know, how
anybody else perceived it.

1125
00:50:36,250 --> 00:50:39,775
I was very, very insistent

1126
00:50:39,775 --> 00:50:43,605
upon all the outward
manifestations of myself

1127
00:50:43,605 --> 00:50:45,085
being okay.

1128
00:50:46,347 --> 00:50:48,393
I'd been told my
whole life by society

1129
00:50:48,393 --> 00:50:52,266
that there was something
intrinsically wrong with me

1130
00:50:52,266 --> 00:50:55,356
or undeserving of me

1131
00:50:55,356 --> 00:50:57,619
because of the color of my skin.

1132
00:50:57,619 --> 00:51:02,711
And I think that made me
especially recalcitrant

1133
00:51:05,366 --> 00:51:06,324
to give in.

1134
00:51:08,413 --> 00:51:09,849
Throughout your life,

1135
00:51:09,849 --> 00:51:11,329
you'll discover your own dreams,

1136
00:51:11,329 --> 00:51:12,852
and as you reach for them,

1137
00:51:12,852 --> 00:51:15,376
some people may try
to discourage you,

1138
00:51:15,376 --> 00:51:18,205
but don't you let them.

1139
00:51:18,205 --> 00:51:20,642
You need to listen
to the right people,

1140
00:51:20,642 --> 00:51:23,950
the ones who understand
and care about you.

1141
00:51:23,950 --> 00:51:26,561
With their help,
you'll be able to hear

1142
00:51:26,561 --> 00:51:29,695
that all-important voice,

1143
00:51:29,695 --> 00:51:30,870
the one inside you.

1144
00:51:36,484 --> 00:51:37,398
He was right.

1145
00:51:39,487 --> 00:51:41,576
LeVar knew better than I did

1146
00:51:42,403 --> 00:51:44,579
that that would be okay.

1147
00:51:46,886 --> 00:51:48,801
It felt like, yo,
this is a dude I know.

1148
00:51:48,801 --> 00:51:50,498
This is a dude that's familiar.

1149
00:51:50,498 --> 00:51:52,196
That's why it's positive, right?

1150
00:51:52,196 --> 00:51:55,895
Him reading is awesome,
but a lot of us read.

1151
00:51:57,288 --> 00:51:58,811
So for me turning him
into a positive figure

1152
00:51:58,811 --> 00:52:00,291
simply because he was
promoting reading,

1153
00:52:00,291 --> 00:52:02,162
I think is dangerous
because it assumes

1154
00:52:02,162 --> 00:52:03,685
that there weren't
a lot of us reading

1155
00:52:03,685 --> 00:52:04,904
or there weren't a
lot of Black teachers

1156
00:52:04,904 --> 00:52:06,297
who were doing the same things,

1157
00:52:06,297 --> 00:52:07,820
Black librarians
doing the same things,

1158
00:52:07,820 --> 00:52:09,517
Black parents, Black scholars,

1159
00:52:09,517 --> 00:52:11,302
Black coaches and counselors.

1160
00:52:11,302 --> 00:52:13,173
That all existed.

1161
00:52:13,173 --> 00:52:14,566
Really what he was
doing was saying,

1162
00:52:14,566 --> 00:52:16,089
"Yeah, yeah, yeah,
we're him too.

1163
00:52:17,221 --> 00:52:18,135
So now what?"

1164
00:52:20,833 --> 00:52:21,790
Cameo!

1165
00:52:23,009 --> 00:52:24,402
Don't even think about it!

1166
00:52:25,620 --> 00:52:27,927
"Reading Rainbow"
in the late '80s

1167
00:52:27,927 --> 00:52:30,930
had become a really
important part of my life,

1168
00:52:30,930 --> 00:52:33,759
and I knew that there were
absolutely other things

1169
00:52:33,759 --> 00:52:35,413
that I wanted to pursue.

1170
00:52:35,413 --> 00:52:37,589
♪ Oh

1171
00:52:39,330 --> 00:52:41,549
I love it when people
discover "Word Up"

1172
00:52:41,549 --> 00:52:42,550
for the first time.

1173
00:52:42,550 --> 00:52:44,117
♪ Word up

1174
00:52:44,117 --> 00:52:45,684
Inevitably they'll tweet,

1175
00:52:45,684 --> 00:52:48,687
"I was this many years
old when I discovered

1176
00:52:48,687 --> 00:52:50,993
that LeVar Burton was
in the 'Word Up' video.

1177
00:52:50,993 --> 00:52:52,038
Mind blown."

1178
00:52:53,953 --> 00:52:55,041
Hello.

1179
00:52:55,041 --> 00:52:56,390
- Mrs. Fletcher?
- Yes.

1180
00:52:56,390 --> 00:52:58,218
Yeah, my name
is David Robinson.

1181
00:52:58,218 --> 00:53:00,220
I'm a sports writer for the
"Boston Evening Tribune."

1182
00:53:00,220 --> 00:53:01,787
Manager.

1183
00:53:01,787 --> 00:53:03,354
I was still
seeking acting gigs

1184
00:53:03,354 --> 00:53:05,530
and auditioning for acting jobs.

1185
00:53:05,530 --> 00:53:07,967
I don't believe that
you're the killer type.

1186
00:53:10,230 --> 00:53:12,319
I stepped
into a business

1187
00:53:12,319 --> 00:53:14,626
where there still weren't
all that many opportunities

1188
00:53:14,626 --> 00:53:15,931
for people of color.

1189
00:53:17,411 --> 00:53:20,022
Are Black men and women
getting proper roles?

1190
00:53:20,022 --> 00:53:21,459
Are they getting enough roles,

1191
00:53:21,459 --> 00:53:23,112
or is there still that tendency

1192
00:53:23,112 --> 00:53:25,202
that if you and I
were cast in a movie

1193
00:53:25,202 --> 00:53:26,986
and one of us had
to be an ex-con

1194
00:53:26,986 --> 00:53:28,379
and the other one the attorney,

1195
00:53:28,379 --> 00:53:30,250
inevitably, you'll be the ex-con

1196
00:53:30,250 --> 00:53:31,773
and I'll be the attorney?

1197
00:53:31,773 --> 00:53:33,601
That tendency still
does exist, yeah.

1198
00:53:33,601 --> 00:53:34,776
Yes, it does.

1199
00:53:34,776 --> 00:53:36,256
It is the truth, it's a reality.

1200
00:53:36,256 --> 00:53:39,172
There's no sense in
saying there isn't.

1201
00:53:39,172 --> 00:53:40,695
Is it changing at all, LeVar?

1202
00:53:40,695 --> 00:53:42,262
Slowly.

1203
00:53:42,262 --> 00:53:45,047
I am beginning to see it
change in my own career.

1204
00:53:45,047 --> 00:53:46,266
- Okay.
- Yeah, I am.

1205
00:53:46,266 --> 00:53:47,963
It's a slow process,

1206
00:53:47,963 --> 00:53:50,879
but I'm here to tell ya,
I'm here for the duration.

1207
00:53:53,055 --> 00:53:56,233
Space, the final frontier.

1208
00:53:57,451 --> 00:54:00,193
Gene Roddenberry
was at Paramount

1209
00:54:00,193 --> 00:54:02,761
working on "Star Trek:
the Next Generation."

1210
00:54:04,284 --> 00:54:06,155
They had decided to
make this character,

1211
00:54:06,155 --> 00:54:08,723
Geordi La Forge,
the blind engineer.

1212
00:54:08,723 --> 00:54:12,031
They had had it in mind
to cast a Black man.

1213
00:54:13,598 --> 00:54:15,164
I read a lot of science
fiction books when I was a kid.

1214
00:54:15,164 --> 00:54:17,645
It's my favorite genre
to read for pleasure.

1215
00:54:17,645 --> 00:54:19,821
And I was challenged
growing up to find heroes

1216
00:54:19,821 --> 00:54:22,389
in the pages of those
books who looked like me.

1217
00:54:23,825 --> 00:54:26,524
"Star Trek" was obvious

1218
00:54:26,524 --> 00:54:30,876
in the different approach
they took to diversity.

1219
00:54:30,876 --> 00:54:32,834
Leave any bigotry
in your quarters.

1220
00:54:32,834 --> 00:54:34,793
There's no room for
it on the bridge.

1221
00:54:36,011 --> 00:54:39,363
Prior to "Star Trek,"

1222
00:54:39,363 --> 00:54:41,756
there were no Black
people in space.

1223
00:54:41,756 --> 00:54:44,193
Not seeing any representation

1224
00:54:44,193 --> 00:54:46,195
means we didn't make it.

1225
00:54:47,371 --> 00:54:48,459
Black people in
the future, man.

1226
00:54:48,459 --> 00:54:50,330
Black people in the future!

1227
00:54:50,330 --> 00:54:53,246
Which sounds so silly
to so many people,

1228
00:54:53,246 --> 00:54:54,813
unless you're Black.

1229
00:54:56,336 --> 00:54:58,338
Uh, I guess I am
a little nervous.

1230
00:54:58,338 --> 00:55:00,253
It's...

1231
00:55:00,253 --> 00:55:02,647
It's not every day a man comes
face to face with his dream.

1232
00:55:03,865 --> 00:55:05,693
It was the first
time in a long time

1233
00:55:05,693 --> 00:55:08,783
that I had wanted something
as much as I had wanted Kunta.

1234
00:55:08,783 --> 00:55:10,611
I knew I couldn't pass
up the opportunity.

1235
00:55:12,178 --> 00:55:14,180
Prepare to initiate
separation sequence.

1236
00:55:14,180 --> 00:55:15,921
All decks report ready.

1237
00:55:15,921 --> 00:55:17,705
On my mark.

1238
00:55:20,317 --> 00:55:21,100
Now.

1239
00:55:23,842 --> 00:55:26,758
The immediate
thought for us was,

1240
00:55:26,758 --> 00:55:29,369
"Oh, no, what are we gonna do?"

1241
00:55:29,369 --> 00:55:30,892
This is the end of
"Reading Rainbow."

1242
00:55:30,892 --> 00:55:32,459
How can we compete with that?

1243
00:55:34,156 --> 00:55:37,508
So we started
auditioning other actors.

1244
00:55:38,944 --> 00:55:41,250
I thought the show that we did

1245
00:55:41,250 --> 00:55:42,948
based on the book
"My Little Island"

1246
00:55:42,948 --> 00:55:44,602
was my last episode
of "Reading Rainbow."

1247
00:55:44,602 --> 00:55:46,821
I had had that conversation
with the producers,

1248
00:55:46,821 --> 00:55:50,651
and I remember being on
the beach at Montserrat

1249
00:55:50,651 --> 00:55:53,393
and doing the closing rap

1250
00:55:53,393 --> 00:55:56,527
and feeling very much
like this is my goodbye.

1251
00:55:58,093 --> 00:56:00,052
Well, that sounds
like the perfect note

1252
00:56:00,052 --> 00:56:01,270
to say goodbye on.

1253
00:56:02,446 --> 00:56:03,621
See you next time.

1254
00:56:07,451 --> 00:56:10,584
He had a perfect
excuse to go do the "Star Trek"

1255
00:56:10,584 --> 00:56:12,151
and go, "Bye."

1256
00:56:16,851 --> 00:56:18,244
I didn't want to leave.

1257
00:56:19,985 --> 00:56:23,423
I felt that there was
still work for us to do,

1258
00:56:23,423 --> 00:56:26,165
that we hadn't accomplished
all that we could have.

1259
00:56:27,340 --> 00:56:28,863
In the end,

1260
00:56:28,863 --> 00:56:31,997
there wasn't anybody who
could do what he did.

1261
00:56:31,997 --> 00:56:34,129
We knew it, he knew it.

1262
00:56:35,827 --> 00:56:37,219
We made it work.

1263
00:56:39,613 --> 00:56:43,051
Then we thought,
LeVar, "Star Trek."

1264
00:56:43,051 --> 00:56:46,228
Everybody wants to be on
the Starship Enterprise.

1265
00:56:46,228 --> 00:56:47,752
This is a great opportunity.

1266
00:56:51,973 --> 00:56:55,281
Hi, welcome to the
Starship Enterprise,

1267
00:56:55,281 --> 00:56:56,630
from the television show

1268
00:56:56,630 --> 00:56:58,719
"Star Trek: The
Next Generation."

1269
00:56:58,719 --> 00:57:00,721
Now, you might have
seen me here before,

1270
00:57:00,721 --> 00:57:03,550
on the bridge as
Lieutenant Geordi La Forge,

1271
00:57:03,550 --> 00:57:05,247
the ship's navigator.

1272
00:57:05,247 --> 00:57:07,075
But now let me
show you something

1273
00:57:07,075 --> 00:57:09,469
I'll bet you
haven't seen before.

1274
00:57:11,950 --> 00:57:14,343
The Bionic Bunny Show
continues to be, I think,

1275
00:57:14,343 --> 00:57:16,476
the one episode
out of all of them

1276
00:57:16,476 --> 00:57:20,959
more people call out as
having been a moment for them.

1277
00:57:22,569 --> 00:57:24,310
Their minds were blown.

1278
00:57:26,007 --> 00:57:27,618
Now, one of the effects that
everybody loves in "Star Trek"

1279
00:57:27,618 --> 00:57:30,011
is the transporter effect,
beaming in and out.

1280
00:57:30,011 --> 00:57:31,709
How do you do that?

1281
00:57:31,709 --> 00:57:33,319
Then simply
take regular sparkles

1282
00:57:33,319 --> 00:57:35,495
and dump them in a water
tank and then stir it up

1283
00:57:35,495 --> 00:57:37,845
and then start filming it
after you've stirred it up.

1284
00:57:39,456 --> 00:57:40,805
Look at that.

1285
00:57:40,805 --> 00:57:42,241
You can actually
see those sparkles

1286
00:57:42,241 --> 00:57:43,764
in the beam-up effect.

1287
00:57:48,595 --> 00:57:51,250
He really worked hard
with us and with Paramount

1288
00:57:51,250 --> 00:57:54,558
to make sure that he
could keep doing "Rainbow"

1289
00:57:54,558 --> 00:57:56,385
and do "Star Trek."

1290
00:57:56,385 --> 00:57:58,126
You know, there's
something else

1291
00:57:58,126 --> 00:58:00,346
that can help you
explore the universe.

1292
00:58:00,346 --> 00:58:01,869
Books.

1293
00:58:01,869 --> 00:58:03,828
But you don't have to
take my word for it.

1294
00:58:05,525 --> 00:58:07,440
You know, as producers,
you're doing this every day,

1295
00:58:07,440 --> 00:58:10,530
and you don't understand
how wide you're reaching.

1296
00:58:10,530 --> 00:58:12,097
And
the Emmy goes to...

1297
00:58:12,097 --> 00:58:15,927
"Reading Rainbow."

1298
00:58:17,624 --> 00:58:20,322
And it just
became a big, big thing.

1299
00:58:21,323 --> 00:58:24,326
Remember, libraries and TV.

1300
00:58:24,326 --> 00:58:27,895
You know, just brought
together a lot of broadcasters

1301
00:58:27,895 --> 00:58:30,202
that said, "You know
what, this is working."

1302
00:58:30,202 --> 00:58:31,725
We've been doing this
show for eight years now,

1303
00:58:31,725 --> 00:58:33,292
and we truly believe

1304
00:58:33,292 --> 00:58:35,207
that there is no more
important endeavor

1305
00:58:35,207 --> 00:58:37,644
than to support and nurture

1306
00:58:37,644 --> 00:58:40,778
the minds and souls
and hearts of children.

1307
00:58:42,170 --> 00:58:45,696
Sales of children's
books went up 800%

1308
00:58:45,696 --> 00:58:47,567
because of "Reading Rainbow."

1309
00:58:47,567 --> 00:58:48,916
It was wonderful.

1310
00:58:50,004 --> 00:58:51,528
Writers were proud

1311
00:58:51,528 --> 00:58:53,704
to have their works
featured on the show.

1312
00:58:53,704 --> 00:58:56,184
Publishers were so
eager to work with us.

1313
00:58:56,184 --> 00:58:58,012
They inundated us with books.

1314
00:58:58,012 --> 00:59:00,406
We would get boxes and bo-

1315
00:59:00,406 --> 00:59:02,364
The conference room
would be stacked up

1316
00:59:02,364 --> 00:59:04,715
with boxes of books
publishers had sent to us

1317
00:59:04,715 --> 00:59:06,804
hoping we'd pick some of those.

1318
00:59:08,283 --> 00:59:09,720
"Reading Rainbow"

1319
00:59:09,720 --> 00:59:12,244
was the most used
television resource

1320
00:59:12,244 --> 00:59:14,159
in our nation's classrooms.

1321
00:59:14,159 --> 00:59:15,726
We had become partners

1322
00:59:15,726 --> 00:59:19,077
along with teachers in
the trenches every day.

1323
00:59:20,600 --> 00:59:22,036
Once the
teachers latched on to it,

1324
00:59:22,036 --> 00:59:23,472
that made us golden.

1325
00:59:24,865 --> 00:59:27,564
So we began to feel
that we had a pulpit.

1326
00:59:28,956 --> 00:59:31,045
It's against the law
to live in public places

1327
00:59:31,045 --> 00:59:32,873
like parks and bus stations.

1328
00:59:32,873 --> 00:59:35,441
So homeless people spend a
lot of their time and energy

1329
00:59:35,441 --> 00:59:37,356
trying not to get caught.

1330
00:59:37,356 --> 00:59:39,010
One way is to keep moving

1331
00:59:39,010 --> 00:59:41,621
and always look like
you're going somewhere.

1332
00:59:41,621 --> 00:59:45,233
That's what a boy and his
father do in this book,

1333
00:59:45,233 --> 00:59:46,495
"Fly Away Home."

1334
00:59:48,454 --> 00:59:51,370
By the '90s, there
were very few things

1335
00:59:51,370 --> 00:59:53,633
that were off the table.

1336
00:59:53,633 --> 00:59:57,071
We did episodes that I'm
really, really proud of.

1337
00:59:57,071 --> 01:00:00,945
We did an episode on the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

1338
01:00:00,945 --> 01:00:02,816
We did a show on slavery.

1339
01:00:02,816 --> 01:00:04,688
We did a show on
incarcerated parents,

1340
01:00:04,688 --> 01:00:06,690
parents behind bars.

1341
01:00:06,690 --> 01:00:10,563
We talked in an age-appropriate
manner with our audience

1342
01:00:10,563 --> 01:00:15,655
about things that really
take place in the real world.

1343
01:00:17,004 --> 01:00:18,658
So let's talk about
gangs for a second.

1344
01:00:18,658 --> 01:00:20,312
What are some of the
bad things about gangs?

1345
01:00:20,312 --> 01:00:22,662
What are some of the
things that the gangs do

1346
01:00:22,662 --> 01:00:24,011
that are really negative
in the community?

1347
01:00:24,011 --> 01:00:25,447
Marquise?

1348
01:00:25,447 --> 01:00:26,492
Try to get the
kids to do some drugs

1349
01:00:26,492 --> 01:00:28,015
like they been doing.

1350
01:00:28,015 --> 01:00:29,930
They try to get the kids
to do 'em, sell 'em,

1351
01:00:29,930 --> 01:00:31,497
and stuff like that.

1352
01:00:31,497 --> 01:00:33,717
Right, so gangs
aren't the only thing

1353
01:00:33,717 --> 01:00:35,196
that this community
should be known for,

1354
01:00:35,196 --> 01:00:36,633
are they?
No.

1355
01:00:36,633 --> 01:00:38,678
You have to trust yourself.

1356
01:00:38,678 --> 01:00:40,288
Don't, like, if
they talk to you,

1357
01:00:40,288 --> 01:00:43,814
"Come on, let's go, you
want to join our gang?",

1358
01:00:43,814 --> 01:00:47,426
you have to believe in yourself.

1359
01:00:47,426 --> 01:00:49,254
It meant everything to viewers

1360
01:00:49,254 --> 01:00:51,691
that these kids were
the same age as them

1361
01:00:51,691 --> 01:00:54,346
and that they could have
a sense of connection

1362
01:00:54,346 --> 01:00:56,653
and either relate to them

1363
01:00:56,653 --> 01:00:58,916
or have some degree
of empathy with them.

1364
01:01:01,527 --> 01:01:03,311
The day you are born

1365
01:01:03,311 --> 01:01:06,488
is a time to celebrate with
presents and picture taking,

1366
01:01:06,488 --> 01:01:08,186
hugs and kisses.

1367
01:01:08,186 --> 01:01:11,537
Here's a story about how
the whole world celebrates

1368
01:01:11,537 --> 01:01:14,148
every time a new baby is born.

1369
01:01:14,148 --> 01:01:18,849
It's called "On the
Day You Were Born."

1370
01:01:20,502 --> 01:01:23,070
"On the
Day You Were Born."

1371
01:01:25,072 --> 01:01:26,595
By Debra Frasier.

1372
01:01:27,771 --> 01:01:29,468
You're gonna do
a show on what?

1373
01:01:32,732 --> 01:01:34,691
A family
is expecting a baby

1374
01:01:34,691 --> 01:01:36,605
they can hardly wait to meet.

1375
01:01:36,605 --> 01:01:38,259
I'm Kay Estes.

1376
01:01:38,259 --> 01:01:40,653
My husband Tom and I
have three girls already,

1377
01:01:40,653 --> 01:01:43,961
and I'm getting ready to
have my fourth little girl.

1378
01:01:45,310 --> 01:01:46,224
The idea
from the beginning

1379
01:01:46,224 --> 01:01:48,748
was to join a family

1380
01:01:48,748 --> 01:01:51,446
who was anticipating
the birth of a baby

1381
01:01:51,446 --> 01:01:53,274
and then see the actual birth.

1382
01:01:55,755 --> 01:01:57,539
We found a woman
who was pregnant,

1383
01:01:57,539 --> 01:02:00,978
who was due to deliver
relatively soon.

1384
01:02:00,978 --> 01:02:02,980
- Good morning.
- Morning.

1385
01:02:02,980 --> 01:02:04,590
How you guys doing today?
Good.

1386
01:02:04,590 --> 01:02:05,939
- So far, so good, yep.
- Everything good?

1387
01:02:05,939 --> 01:02:07,462
How do you feel?

1388
01:02:07,462 --> 01:02:08,986
Good, I just had
a good one, yeah.

1389
01:02:08,986 --> 01:02:11,075
She went into a
relatively normal labor.

1390
01:02:11,075 --> 01:02:12,772
It was amazing,

1391
01:02:12,772 --> 01:02:15,340
and the director of
photography, Kevin Lombard,

1392
01:02:15,340 --> 01:02:17,037
he managed to shoot

1393
01:02:17,037 --> 01:02:20,214
the only vagina-free labor

1394
01:02:20,214 --> 01:02:21,912
I have ever seen.

1395
01:02:21,912 --> 01:02:24,915
Nice job, beautiful.

1396
01:02:24,915 --> 01:02:25,872
All right.

1397
01:02:27,047 --> 01:02:28,962
Here comes Jessica,

1398
01:02:28,962 --> 01:02:31,748
with a little bit of blood
on her head from the journey,

1399
01:02:31,748 --> 01:02:34,359
which will wash right off.

1400
01:02:34,359 --> 01:02:35,752
Oh my God.

1401
01:02:35,752 --> 01:02:36,753
Look
at that big baby.

1402
01:02:36,753 --> 01:02:38,058
Beautiful, oh!

1403
01:02:38,058 --> 01:02:40,147
- Beautiful.
- Jessica Thompson.

1404
01:02:40,147 --> 01:02:41,975
Jessica
is a pretty baby.

1405
01:02:41,975 --> 01:02:45,805
We tested that with kids
to see if they were upset

1406
01:02:45,805 --> 01:02:49,330
or got scared or
any of those things.

1407
01:02:49,330 --> 01:02:51,158
No.

1408
01:02:51,158 --> 01:02:54,205
What we did get though was
one southern state decided

1409
01:02:54,205 --> 01:02:56,294
that that just
wasn't appropriate,

1410
01:02:56,294 --> 01:02:58,818
and they refused the show.

1411
01:02:58,818 --> 01:03:01,081
I always found that
really disconcerting

1412
01:03:01,081 --> 01:03:03,997
and ridiculous, really.

1413
01:03:03,997 --> 01:03:06,608
I mean, we're talking
bringing life into the world,

1414
01:03:06,608 --> 01:03:07,566
aren't we?

1415
01:03:10,351 --> 01:03:11,526
The new
Republican majority

1416
01:03:11,526 --> 01:03:13,093
sweeps into Congress next week,

1417
01:03:13,093 --> 01:03:15,226
and one change
could spell the end

1418
01:03:15,226 --> 01:03:17,663
of taxpayer funding for
public broadcasting.

1419
01:03:17,663 --> 01:03:19,491
One of the things we're
gonna do this year, I hope,

1420
01:03:19,491 --> 01:03:22,842
is to zero out the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting.

1421
01:03:22,842 --> 01:03:26,803
This is the most serious
threat to public broadcasting

1422
01:03:26,803 --> 01:03:29,370
that we've had in
the 25-year history

1423
01:03:29,370 --> 01:03:31,503
of public radio and
public television.

1424
01:03:32,721 --> 01:03:34,375
We were always
battling something,

1425
01:03:34,375 --> 01:03:36,900
mostly funding issues.

1426
01:03:37,901 --> 01:03:40,338
There seemed to be in Congress

1427
01:03:40,338 --> 01:03:43,210
a way of thinking
that went like this.

1428
01:03:43,210 --> 01:03:45,865
"We spend an awful lot of money

1429
01:03:45,865 --> 01:03:47,345
on a lot of different things,

1430
01:03:47,345 --> 01:03:50,435
and here we have
identified a place

1431
01:03:50,435 --> 01:03:54,308
where we have been frivolous."

1432
01:03:54,308 --> 01:03:56,006
Now we exposed case after case

1433
01:03:56,006 --> 01:03:58,747
of biased, one-sided
propagandistic programming

1434
01:03:58,747 --> 01:04:00,619
funded with federal tax dollars.

1435
01:04:00,619 --> 01:04:05,667
There's so much anti-family
propaganda on NPR and PBS.

1436
01:04:06,973 --> 01:04:08,453
It was a terrible
time for public TV.

1437
01:04:08,453 --> 01:04:10,977
We really felt under attack.

1438
01:04:10,977 --> 01:04:13,240
My children have
seen "Reading Rainbow."

1439
01:04:13,240 --> 01:04:15,764
You wouldn't mistake
it for education.

1440
01:04:15,764 --> 01:04:18,680
I think that's another myth
that has to be punctured.

1441
01:04:18,680 --> 01:04:21,031
LeVar went and spoke
in front of Congress,

1442
01:04:21,031 --> 01:04:23,555
not specifically for
"Reading Rainbow,"

1443
01:04:23,555 --> 01:04:25,644
but for the value of
public television,

1444
01:04:25,644 --> 01:04:28,386
for the value of public
broadcasting in general.

1445
01:04:28,386 --> 01:04:30,562
We're delighted to
welcome you, Mr. Burton.

1446
01:04:30,562 --> 01:04:33,260
Please proceed.
- Thank you, Mr. Chairman

1447
01:04:33,260 --> 01:04:34,871
and distinguished
members of the committee.

1448
01:04:34,871 --> 01:04:37,264
Ladies and gentlemen,
my name is LeVar Burton,

1449
01:04:37,264 --> 01:04:39,223
and I am here today as the host

1450
01:04:39,223 --> 01:04:41,051
and the co-executive producer
of "Reading Rainbow,"

1451
01:04:41,051 --> 01:04:43,705
a children's series
currently airing nationwide

1452
01:04:43,705 --> 01:04:45,403
on the Public
Broadcasting Service,

1453
01:04:45,403 --> 01:04:48,319
but more importantly and
probably more to the point,

1454
01:04:48,319 --> 01:04:49,842
I'm here today as a parent

1455
01:04:49,842 --> 01:04:52,932
of 14-year-old Eian
and Michaela Jean,

1456
01:04:52,932 --> 01:04:56,022
who was just six
months a day or so ago.

1457
01:04:57,545 --> 01:04:59,069
The stakes were high.

1458
01:04:59,069 --> 01:05:00,940
The stakes were
really, really high.

1459
01:05:00,940 --> 01:05:02,811
Congress was really considering

1460
01:05:02,811 --> 01:05:05,031
this harebrained idea.

1461
01:05:05,031 --> 01:05:06,032
Well, let me think about it.

1462
01:05:06,032 --> 01:05:07,468
Should public television

1463
01:05:07,468 --> 01:05:09,122
continue to receive
federal funding?

1464
01:05:09,122 --> 01:05:10,819
When I ask the question,

1465
01:05:10,819 --> 01:05:12,343
when I hear it in my
mind, it sounds ludicrous.

1466
01:05:12,343 --> 01:05:14,823
It's almost silly to
even ask the question.

1467
01:05:14,823 --> 01:05:17,739
Public television doesn't try
and sell our kids anything.

1468
01:05:17,739 --> 01:05:19,698
So you see, the only
thing we're selling on PBS

1469
01:05:19,698 --> 01:05:22,614
to our children, Mr.
Chairman, is inspiration.

1470
01:05:22,614 --> 01:05:27,445
Let's not make a decision that
would come back to haunt us.

1471
01:05:27,445 --> 01:05:29,490
I thank you for your
time and your attention,

1472
01:05:29,490 --> 01:05:31,492
and I'll go back
to California now

1473
01:05:31,492 --> 01:05:33,059
and hang out with my
six-month-old daughter

1474
01:05:33,059 --> 01:05:34,931
and hope like
hell, Mr. Chairman,

1475
01:05:34,931 --> 01:05:36,280
that in a year or two,

1476
01:05:36,280 --> 01:05:37,803
when she's ready
for "Sesame Street,"

1477
01:05:37,803 --> 01:05:39,326
that "Sesame Street"
is there for her

1478
01:05:39,326 --> 01:05:43,896
in this commercial-free
sanctuary of PBS.

1479
01:05:45,202 --> 01:05:46,899
Thank you, Mr. Burton.

1480
01:05:46,899 --> 01:05:48,248
The hearing is adjourned.

1481
01:05:53,297 --> 01:05:56,387
That seemed to
quiet them down for a while.

1482
01:05:56,387 --> 01:05:59,956
But by that time, kids
television was changing.

1483
01:06:01,609 --> 01:06:05,222
We had a whole new list
of pressures to deal with.

1484
01:06:05,222 --> 01:06:07,441
A computer in the home
is becoming a way of life.

1485
01:06:07,441 --> 01:06:10,705
Home PCs are now rivaling
the TV for attention.

1486
01:06:10,705 --> 01:06:12,881
Computers
make natural learning tools

1487
01:06:12,881 --> 01:06:15,232
because kids take
to them so well,

1488
01:06:15,232 --> 01:06:17,016
often better than
their teachers.

1489
01:06:18,713 --> 01:06:20,977
When I came on to
"Reading Rainbow" full-time,

1490
01:06:20,977 --> 01:06:23,022
it was around 1999,

1491
01:06:23,022 --> 01:06:25,024
and I was thinking to myself,

1492
01:06:25,024 --> 01:06:27,374
how do you continue
to speak to kids?

1493
01:06:28,723 --> 01:06:31,422
Especially as kids'
tastes are changing

1494
01:06:31,422 --> 01:06:33,119
and as television is changing

1495
01:06:33,119 --> 01:06:34,991
because that's
what was happening.

1496
01:06:36,470 --> 01:06:39,212
A six to eight-year-old
in 1981 or '2 or '3

1497
01:06:39,212 --> 01:06:41,171
is very different than
a six to eight-year-old

1498
01:06:41,171 --> 01:06:44,696
in 1997 or 2000.

1499
01:06:44,696 --> 01:06:46,524
Just different kids.

1500
01:06:48,091 --> 01:06:49,918
And although it was evolving
and changing and working

1501
01:06:49,918 --> 01:06:51,616
and growing with its audience,

1502
01:06:51,616 --> 01:06:54,184
it wasn't fresh
and it wasn't new

1503
01:06:54,184 --> 01:06:56,055
compared to the
fresh and new shows.

1504
01:06:58,840 --> 01:07:01,626
"Rainbow" was
struggling on PBS.

1505
01:07:01,626 --> 01:07:03,106
We didn't have anything to lose

1506
01:07:03,106 --> 01:07:05,456
so we sort of threw
it all out there.

1507
01:07:07,023 --> 01:07:09,895
Telling stories in the
documentary style for kids

1508
01:07:09,895 --> 01:07:12,115
is not something
that is very common.

1509
01:07:12,115 --> 01:07:15,640
Showing real kids to real kids

1510
01:07:15,640 --> 01:07:18,121
is incredibly powerful.

1511
01:07:18,121 --> 01:07:20,253
That's what "Reading
Rainbow" was about.

1512
01:07:21,950 --> 01:07:24,866
It's a beautiful morning
in downtown New York City.

1513
01:07:24,866 --> 01:07:27,739
From the way things
look, it's a typical day

1514
01:07:27,739 --> 01:07:29,175
in a typical neighborhood.

1515
01:07:30,568 --> 01:07:32,918
But this neighborhood
isn't typical at all

1516
01:07:32,918 --> 01:07:36,835
because right behind me is
what they called Ground Zero.

1517
01:07:36,835 --> 01:07:39,620
It was here that on
September 11th, 2001,

1518
01:07:39,620 --> 01:07:41,448
a terrible tragedy happened.

1519
01:07:41,448 --> 01:07:44,103
Two planes crashed into
the World Trade towers

1520
01:07:44,103 --> 01:07:46,888
that used to be right there.

1521
01:07:50,849 --> 01:07:52,633
9/11 was devastating.

1522
01:07:52,633 --> 01:07:54,940
It was a devastating
time for all of us,

1523
01:07:54,940 --> 01:07:57,029
and we were acutely aware

1524
01:07:57,029 --> 01:07:59,249
that everything that was
happening in the media

1525
01:07:59,249 --> 01:08:01,033
was being spoken to adults,

1526
01:08:01,033 --> 01:08:03,079
and nobody was
speaking to the kids.

1527
01:08:04,080 --> 01:08:05,690
We're "Reading Rainbow."

1528
01:08:05,690 --> 01:08:07,779
We're the honest, sincere,
trustworthy voice.

1529
01:08:07,779 --> 01:08:09,433
Not only do we have
to talk about it,

1530
01:08:09,433 --> 01:08:11,304
we have to let
kids talk about it.

1531
01:08:13,524 --> 01:08:15,917
The idea was
to go into the school

1532
01:08:15,917 --> 01:08:18,964
that was closest to Ground Zero,

1533
01:08:18,964 --> 01:08:23,664
as that community of children,
teachers, and parents

1534
01:08:23,664 --> 01:08:25,275
tried to pick up the pieces.

1535
01:08:26,841 --> 01:08:28,147
Many of them had
to leave their homes

1536
01:08:28,147 --> 01:08:29,148
and live with relatives

1537
01:08:29,148 --> 01:08:31,324
or move away altogether.

1538
01:08:31,324 --> 01:08:33,196
I mean, some of them lost,

1539
01:08:34,066 --> 01:08:36,242
lost friends and family.

1540
01:08:36,242 --> 01:08:38,244
So they were finally
being welcomed back

1541
01:08:38,244 --> 01:08:40,333
to their original school.

1542
01:08:42,074 --> 01:08:45,208
I wanted to talk
a little bit about

1543
01:08:45,208 --> 01:08:46,818
what happened on September 11th.

1544
01:08:46,818 --> 01:08:48,036
Is that all right with you guys?

1545
01:08:48,036 --> 01:08:49,864
Yes.
- Yeah.

1546
01:08:49,864 --> 01:08:54,608
Right out the window there,
you could see the towers.

1547
01:08:56,001 --> 01:08:57,785
What was it like for
you guys on that day?

1548
01:08:57,785 --> 01:09:00,701
My friend's dad all of a
sudden came running, saying,

1549
01:09:00,701 --> 01:09:03,269
"Oh my God, there's something
happened really scary,

1550
01:09:03,269 --> 01:09:06,185
and there's this plane that
crashed into the Twin Towers."

1551
01:09:06,185 --> 01:09:08,753
It was just scary
'cause I saw like

1552
01:09:08,753 --> 01:09:11,756
lots of debris coming
out and I saw the fire.

1553
01:09:11,756 --> 01:09:14,715
I kept saying to myself
that it's gonna fall down,

1554
01:09:14,715 --> 01:09:16,108
it's gonna fall down,

1555
01:09:16,108 --> 01:09:17,675
and he kept saying,
"No, it's not,"

1556
01:09:17,675 --> 01:09:19,764
and then like a
few seconds later,

1557
01:09:19,764 --> 01:09:21,287
it just fell right down,

1558
01:09:21,287 --> 01:09:23,463
and I was stuck in a
whole crowd of people.

1559
01:09:26,031 --> 01:09:27,772
The book we selected

1560
01:09:27,772 --> 01:09:29,904
was a book called
"The Tin Forest,"

1561
01:09:29,904 --> 01:09:32,211
which is about taking something

1562
01:09:32,211 --> 01:09:35,214
that feels like it's
broken and in disrepair

1563
01:09:35,214 --> 01:09:37,782
and bringing new life to it.

1564
01:09:37,782 --> 01:09:41,089
For us, that was the
story we wanted to tell.

1565
01:09:42,569 --> 01:09:43,918
It's a message of hope,

1566
01:09:44,919 --> 01:09:48,140
which I'm big on.

1567
01:09:48,140 --> 01:09:51,665
The time that we spent
with that community

1568
01:09:51,665 --> 01:09:54,146
was really, really powerful.

1569
01:09:54,146 --> 01:09:57,062
Because everyone in
America was feeling

1570
01:09:57,062 --> 01:09:59,586
and processing the impact.

1571
01:09:59,586 --> 01:10:02,241
A lot of my friends
tried to comfort me,

1572
01:10:02,241 --> 01:10:05,462
and I changed a little bit.

1573
01:10:05,462 --> 01:10:06,985
Now, when people

1574
01:10:08,639 --> 01:10:11,250
are like sad or
something happens,

1575
01:10:12,686 --> 01:10:14,427
I try to help them even
more than I did before.

1576
01:10:14,427 --> 01:10:15,820
I feel proud of that.

1577
01:10:15,820 --> 01:10:17,517
- Can we have a picture?
- Oh, sure.

1578
01:10:17,517 --> 01:10:21,739
To see that sense of
resilience coming from kids,

1579
01:10:24,220 --> 01:10:26,744
it seemed to me that they
were so much stronger than,

1580
01:10:26,744 --> 01:10:29,050
and dealing with
it so much better

1581
01:10:29,050 --> 01:10:32,228
than so many adults
around them were.

1582
01:10:33,838 --> 01:10:35,318
And they were still in pain.

1583
01:10:37,233 --> 01:10:40,236
So tell me about what it's
like being back here now.

1584
01:10:40,236 --> 01:10:43,587
Feels like good to
be back in our school.

1585
01:10:43,587 --> 01:10:46,503
Made me realize how
much I took for granted

1586
01:10:46,503 --> 01:10:49,157
for all the good things
that we had in PS 234.

1587
01:10:49,157 --> 01:10:53,814
And because of just so many
people trying to help us,

1588
01:10:53,814 --> 01:10:56,774
we're okay and now we're even
better than we were before.

1589
01:10:58,079 --> 01:11:00,212
The producers of the series

1590
01:11:00,212 --> 01:11:01,692
thought it would be really great

1591
01:11:01,692 --> 01:11:04,172
if the kids could
write a song about

1592
01:11:05,391 --> 01:11:07,175
what it feels like to be back,

1593
01:11:07,175 --> 01:11:10,483
and so they asked me to
do that with the kids.

1594
01:11:11,484 --> 01:11:14,705
♪ We are really thankful

1595
01:11:14,705 --> 01:11:16,272
We could say we're okay.

1596
01:11:16,272 --> 01:11:17,925
We never really knew

1597
01:11:17,925 --> 01:11:20,276
we were this strong
to pull through it.

1598
01:11:20,276 --> 01:11:23,975
We're really happy
we're back where we belong.

1599
01:11:23,975 --> 01:11:27,674
♪ We're back where we belong

1600
01:11:27,674 --> 01:11:29,937
They really were
expressing their feelings.

1601
01:11:29,937 --> 01:11:32,200
Their enthusiasm was like,

1602
01:11:32,200 --> 01:11:35,595
was really inspiring.

1603
01:11:37,031 --> 01:11:40,470
♪ Our hearts are
feeling free now ♪

1604
01:11:40,470 --> 01:11:44,038
♪ And with our smiles we show

1605
01:11:44,038 --> 01:11:47,477
♪ We're back where we belong

1606
01:11:57,313 --> 01:12:00,751
What we transmitted
in those shows

1607
01:12:00,751 --> 01:12:03,928
was an awful lot of emotion,

1608
01:12:03,928 --> 01:12:06,278
an awful lot of
information about

1609
01:12:06,278 --> 01:12:09,890
what it means to
be a good person,

1610
01:12:09,890 --> 01:12:12,371
what it means to
be a human being

1611
01:12:12,371 --> 01:12:14,852
in this modern world.

1612
01:12:16,549 --> 01:12:19,335
Every actor dreams of
being in the spotlight,

1613
01:12:19,335 --> 01:12:20,858
but one young actor discovered

1614
01:12:20,858 --> 01:12:23,339
that it takes more than
talent to get here.

1615
01:12:23,339 --> 01:12:26,124
Her story is in this book,

1616
01:12:26,124 --> 01:12:27,995
"Amazing Grace."

1617
01:12:29,475 --> 01:12:30,998
"One day,
Grace's teacher said

1618
01:12:30,998 --> 01:12:32,957
they would do the
play 'Peter Pan.'

1619
01:12:32,957 --> 01:12:35,263
Grace knew who she wanted to be.

1620
01:12:35,263 --> 01:12:36,526
When she raised her hand,

1621
01:12:36,526 --> 01:12:38,963
Raj said, 'You can't be Peter.

1622
01:12:38,963 --> 01:12:40,660
That's a boy's name.'

1623
01:12:40,660 --> 01:12:42,445
But Grace kept her hand up."

1624
01:12:44,751 --> 01:12:47,101
"When Grace got
home, she seemed sad.

1625
01:12:47,101 --> 01:12:49,060
'What's the matter?' asked Ma.

1626
01:12:49,060 --> 01:12:53,151
'Raj said I couldn't be Peter
Pan because I'm a girl.'

1627
01:12:53,151 --> 01:12:55,675
'That just shows what
Raj knows,' said Ma.

1628
01:12:55,675 --> 01:12:58,461
'A girl can be Peter
Pan if she wants to.'"

1629
01:13:00,811 --> 01:13:02,247
Oh, I love this.

1630
01:13:08,035 --> 01:13:11,648
And I have a long list of
really pretty sexist things

1631
01:13:11,648 --> 01:13:13,737
that I've endured in my life.

1632
01:13:13,737 --> 01:13:15,434
Was told I couldn't
be a principal

1633
01:13:15,434 --> 01:13:18,611
because women leave, they
leave school too soon

1634
01:13:18,611 --> 01:13:20,004
'cause they have to run home

1635
01:13:20,004 --> 01:13:22,615
and make a meal
for their family."

1636
01:13:25,401 --> 01:13:28,229
Well, I don't have kids,
so how does that matter?

1637
01:13:28,229 --> 01:13:31,885
"Well, I don't know,"
said the superintendent.

1638
01:13:31,885 --> 01:13:33,974
"I don't want another
woman principal."

1639
01:13:33,974 --> 01:13:36,934
Said this to my face.

1640
01:13:43,027 --> 01:13:44,855
The principle behind the
No Child Left Behind Act

1641
01:13:44,855 --> 01:13:47,379
is to set high standards,
believe every child can learn,

1642
01:13:47,379 --> 01:13:49,686
and measure to see if
we're getting results.

1643
01:13:50,556 --> 01:13:52,645
No child left behind.

1644
01:13:52,645 --> 01:13:54,342
Every child's left behind

1645
01:13:54,342 --> 01:13:56,780
when you're making testing
the be-all, end-all.

1646
01:13:58,172 --> 01:14:00,740
That was the beginning
of the end, yeah.

1647
01:14:00,740 --> 01:14:03,743
It was almost like my
school all over again.

1648
01:14:03,743 --> 01:14:07,312
"No, you're not
teaching the right way."

1649
01:14:07,312 --> 01:14:08,269
I can show you.

1650
01:14:08,269 --> 01:14:09,749
We have data to show

1651
01:14:09,749 --> 01:14:11,795
that comprehension
skills have improved

1652
01:14:11,795 --> 01:14:14,014
along with the love of reading.

1653
01:14:14,014 --> 01:14:15,799
And they go, "Well, that's it.

1654
01:14:15,799 --> 01:14:18,149
Love of reading,
that's not measurable."

1655
01:14:19,716 --> 01:14:21,500
We lost our PBS funding

1656
01:14:21,500 --> 01:14:25,591
because we were not seen as,
quote, "back to the basics."

1657
01:14:26,940 --> 01:14:28,899
The other reason I
think it became hard

1658
01:14:28,899 --> 01:14:30,901
to raise money for this show

1659
01:14:30,901 --> 01:14:34,078
is because there was
nothing for us to sell.

1660
01:14:35,471 --> 01:14:37,864
"Sesame Street" made
millions every year

1661
01:14:37,864 --> 01:14:39,518
from the merchandise.

1662
01:14:39,518 --> 01:14:42,434
But it was very
tough for "Rainbow."

1663
01:14:42,434 --> 01:14:46,177
We raised 42 million
over the 26 years.

1664
01:14:46,177 --> 01:14:49,006
But 2006, when we went off-air,

1665
01:14:49,006 --> 01:14:52,488
was the beginning of that
really bad economic period.

1666
01:14:53,445 --> 01:14:55,142
Finally ran out of funders.

1667
01:14:57,754 --> 01:14:59,364
To have
the rug pulled out

1668
01:14:59,364 --> 01:15:00,539
from underneath all of us

1669
01:15:00,539 --> 01:15:02,933
was really devastating.

1670
01:15:05,457 --> 01:15:08,895
I had a very hard time
saying goodbye to people.

1671
01:15:08,895 --> 01:15:10,549
In fact, there are people today

1672
01:15:10,549 --> 01:15:12,725
that I still have
not said goodbye to.

1673
01:15:15,162 --> 01:15:19,558
I feel like if I could go
back and change anything,

1674
01:15:19,558 --> 01:15:21,995
I would change that.

1675
01:15:21,995 --> 01:15:23,388
I would want to tell them

1676
01:15:24,258 --> 01:15:26,870
how meaningful it was

1677
01:15:27,871 --> 01:15:29,786
to work with them

1678
01:15:30,830 --> 01:15:33,093
and learn from them

1679
01:15:33,093 --> 01:15:35,182
and create with them.

1680
01:15:37,141 --> 01:15:39,578
It was hard to leave.

1681
01:15:39,578 --> 01:15:40,666
It was hard.

1682
01:15:44,452 --> 01:15:45,541
Did you feel that way?

1683
01:15:45,541 --> 01:15:47,543
I did, of course I did.

1684
01:15:50,676 --> 01:15:52,156
When it ended,
I got depressed.

1685
01:15:52,156 --> 01:15:53,984
I really did.

1686
01:15:53,984 --> 01:15:54,941
Yep.

1687
01:15:56,160 --> 01:15:57,727
Don't know if I
can talk about it.

1688
01:16:09,477 --> 01:16:11,610
People will tell you
when they get depressed,

1689
01:16:11,610 --> 01:16:13,960
they kind of don't
know it in a way.

1690
01:16:13,960 --> 01:16:16,920
You know, you don't want to
do anything or go anywhere.

1691
01:16:18,661 --> 01:16:21,577
And it took me a little while
to figure out I needed help.

1692
01:16:21,577 --> 01:16:23,404
I went to a really
good counselor.

1693
01:16:24,231 --> 01:16:27,321
And she was wonderful.

1694
01:16:27,321 --> 01:16:30,411
She also loved "Reading
Rainbow," which
was good.

1695
01:16:30,411 --> 01:16:34,285
And she so empathized
with my grief.

1696
01:16:34,285 --> 01:16:35,547
'Cause I was grieving.

1697
01:16:37,157 --> 01:16:41,466
She helped me see that, you
know, life was not over,

1698
01:16:41,466 --> 01:16:43,424
and I did have at that point

1699
01:16:43,424 --> 01:16:48,212
the opportunity to teach at
Marymount Manhattan College,

1700
01:16:48,212 --> 01:16:49,735
and that was a saving grace.

1701
01:16:49,735 --> 01:16:53,217
I mean, it allowed
me to go to my roots,

1702
01:16:53,217 --> 01:16:54,610
which was teaching.

1703
01:16:59,702 --> 01:17:01,442
The show's legacy is really,

1704
01:17:01,442 --> 01:17:03,967
it's left a whole
generation of kids

1705
01:17:03,967 --> 01:17:06,273
with a better
understanding of the world.

1706
01:17:08,145 --> 01:17:11,539
We learn best through stories.

1707
01:17:11,539 --> 01:17:12,802
Beginning, middle, and end,

1708
01:17:12,802 --> 01:17:15,631
during the arc of life,

1709
01:17:15,631 --> 01:17:17,850
we process information
differently

1710
01:17:17,850 --> 01:17:19,765
when it's touching our heart.

1711
01:17:19,765 --> 01:17:22,638
And books have a way of
doing that when you're a kid

1712
01:17:22,638 --> 01:17:24,248
that other things can't do.

1713
01:17:25,771 --> 01:17:27,860
"Reading Rainbow" came
around at a time of my life

1714
01:17:27,860 --> 01:17:30,384
where it was,

1715
01:17:30,384 --> 01:17:33,431
it was helpful to be part
of something like that.

1716
01:17:33,431 --> 01:17:37,348
As an adult, I'm a member
of the LGBTQ community.

1717
01:17:37,348 --> 01:17:38,828
Didn't know that
at nine years old,

1718
01:17:38,828 --> 01:17:42,701
but my peers did.

1719
01:17:42,701 --> 01:17:46,052
"Reading Rainbow" was
very clearly all about

1720
01:17:46,052 --> 01:17:49,186
making people feel
warm and accepted

1721
01:17:49,186 --> 01:17:52,668
at a time when I personally
didn't feel that way.

1722
01:17:54,017 --> 01:17:56,019
I think it was
about being yourself.

1723
01:17:57,411 --> 01:17:59,109
Reading does help you
discover yourself,

1724
01:17:59,109 --> 01:18:01,502
your hobbies, your interests.

1725
01:18:01,502 --> 01:18:04,723
Take it from me, sports
fans, this is a dandy book,

1726
01:18:04,723 --> 01:18:08,335
and you can find it
at your own library.

1727
01:18:08,335 --> 01:18:10,468
For me, now I'm in radio news,

1728
01:18:10,468 --> 01:18:14,602
and I'm telling the world
what's going on in Buffalo.

1729
01:18:16,909 --> 01:18:21,740
I started acting
professionally around
seven years old.

1730
01:18:21,740 --> 01:18:24,221
Being a part of
children's programming,

1731
01:18:24,221 --> 01:18:25,875
I can share this with my child.

1732
01:18:25,875 --> 01:18:28,007
I can share this with
nieces and nephews,

1733
01:18:28,007 --> 01:18:31,010
and that's what I
love about what I do.

1734
01:18:32,577 --> 01:18:36,102
It led to me being a
professional child actor,

1735
01:18:36,102 --> 01:18:38,583
moving to L.A., and being
in the film industry

1736
01:18:38,583 --> 01:18:41,542
and becoming a director
and a producer.

1737
01:18:41,542 --> 01:18:44,371
I think "Reading Rainbow"
just did such a great job

1738
01:18:44,371 --> 01:18:48,288
of being safe for kids,

1739
01:18:48,288 --> 01:18:50,464
while also empowering
those kids.

1740
01:18:51,814 --> 01:18:54,164
Beyond it being
a great adventure,

1741
01:18:54,164 --> 01:18:56,383
it was good for people.

1742
01:18:57,210 --> 01:18:58,864
I have a resume

1743
01:18:58,864 --> 01:19:00,910
filled with all these
movies and television shows,

1744
01:19:00,910 --> 01:19:04,000
and at the bottom it
says "Reading Rainbow,"

1745
01:19:04,000 --> 01:19:05,871
and that's the first
question I get.

1746
01:19:05,871 --> 01:19:07,917
"You did 'Reading Rainbow'?"

1747
01:19:07,917 --> 01:19:10,180
Oh, it's one of the
things I'm proudest of.

1748
01:19:11,616 --> 01:19:13,574
When I started working
on "Reading Rainbow,"

1749
01:19:13,574 --> 01:19:15,576
I was a production intern.

1750
01:19:15,576 --> 01:19:17,230
Today I'm the chief
creative officer

1751
01:19:17,230 --> 01:19:18,841
at Fred Rogers Productions.

1752
01:19:19,842 --> 01:19:21,147
This work that we do,

1753
01:19:21,147 --> 01:19:22,758
the intention that
we put into it,

1754
01:19:22,758 --> 01:19:24,281
the thought we put into it

1755
01:19:24,281 --> 01:19:27,023
has real dividends for viewers.

1756
01:19:29,808 --> 01:19:31,810
I am the current
National Ambassador

1757
01:19:31,810 --> 01:19:32,942
for Young People's Literature,

1758
01:19:32,942 --> 01:19:34,813
which for those who don't know

1759
01:19:34,813 --> 01:19:36,728
is basically the laureate
of children's literature.

1760
01:19:36,728 --> 01:19:38,034
Like there's so much excitement

1761
01:19:38,034 --> 01:19:39,949
and galvanization around reading

1762
01:19:39,949 --> 01:19:43,343
that it's almost
like a groundswell.

1763
01:19:43,343 --> 01:19:44,780
So the question is,

1764
01:19:44,780 --> 01:19:45,693
do we need a "Reading
Rainbow" today?

1765
01:19:45,693 --> 01:19:46,694
Of course.

1766
01:19:49,349 --> 01:19:52,526
Well, I think to get
kids to love reading today

1767
01:19:52,526 --> 01:19:55,355
redounds back to us as adults,

1768
01:19:55,355 --> 01:19:57,227
parents, teachers,

1769
01:19:57,227 --> 01:19:59,707
aunts, uncles, grandparents.

1770
01:19:59,707 --> 01:20:03,624
You know, you can adopt the
"Reading Rainbow" approach.

1771
01:20:03,624 --> 01:20:05,583
Watch something together.

1772
01:20:05,583 --> 01:20:09,848
Find a movie or a show
that is based on a book,

1773
01:20:09,848 --> 01:20:11,763
and then go get that book.

1774
01:20:11,763 --> 01:20:13,983
And then do stuff
that interests you

1775
01:20:13,983 --> 01:20:15,114
about the book.

1776
01:20:16,420 --> 01:20:19,075
It just is a way of exploring

1777
01:20:19,075 --> 01:20:22,992
more in your life that
relates to literacy.

1778
01:20:25,255 --> 01:20:27,474
The reading and the
books is wonderful,

1779
01:20:27,474 --> 01:20:31,174
but I think the
impact that LeVar had

1780
01:20:32,218 --> 01:20:34,177
on the audience

1781
01:20:34,177 --> 01:20:36,135
over years of being there

1782
01:20:36,135 --> 01:20:38,572
and being who he was,

1783
01:20:38,572 --> 01:20:40,748
these are his children.

1784
01:20:41,749 --> 01:20:43,708
There are wonderful things

1785
01:20:43,708 --> 01:20:46,929
about growing up with
people who care about you.

1786
01:20:46,929 --> 01:20:48,887
- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
- Aren't there?

1787
01:20:48,887 --> 01:20:51,194
And you have shown so much care

1788
01:20:51,194 --> 01:20:53,196
to so many people in this life.

1789
01:20:53,196 --> 01:20:54,893
Thank you, Fred, thank you.

1790
01:20:54,893 --> 01:20:58,418
And I am grateful to be
able to call you my friend.

1791
01:20:58,418 --> 01:21:00,464
Good things work both ways.

1792
01:21:00,464 --> 01:21:02,292
When people of color

1793
01:21:02,292 --> 01:21:05,599
say that LeVar was
like Mister Rogers,

1794
01:21:05,599 --> 01:21:08,864
what we're really saying is
that we knew LeVar loved us.

1795
01:21:10,735 --> 01:21:11,649
We knew.

1796
01:21:13,042 --> 01:21:15,740
We knew by hearing his
voice, seeing his face,

1797
01:21:16,567 --> 01:21:17,698
that LeVar loved us.

1798
01:21:20,310 --> 01:21:23,879
I've heard countless
numbers of times from people

1799
01:21:23,879 --> 01:21:25,619
that I was the first

1800
01:21:25,619 --> 01:21:27,404
and, for a while,
the only Black person

1801
01:21:27,404 --> 01:21:29,972
they ever encountered
in their lives.

1802
01:21:29,972 --> 01:21:34,150
So I think that part of
the legacy is normalizing

1803
01:21:34,150 --> 01:21:36,848
the presence, the
non-threatening presence

1804
01:21:36,848 --> 01:21:39,242
of a real Black man on TV.

1805
01:21:39,242 --> 01:21:40,373
Please welcome back

1806
01:21:40,373 --> 01:21:42,158
to the show LeVar Burton!

1807
01:21:43,420 --> 01:21:44,943
Man, what a life you've lived.

1808
01:21:44,943 --> 01:21:46,858
Your journey keeps on moving.

1809
01:21:46,858 --> 01:21:49,295
Your story keeps on
being almost rewritten.

1810
01:21:49,295 --> 01:21:52,168
A special honor
today for a Sacramento native.

1811
01:21:52,168 --> 01:21:54,213
The city will be
declaring officially

1812
01:21:54,213 --> 01:21:56,912
LeVar Burton Day today, June 11,

1813
01:21:56,912 --> 01:21:59,088
and they're even naming
a park after him.

1814
01:21:59,088 --> 01:22:00,828
So this is "The Rhino
Who Swallowed a Storm,"

1815
01:22:00,828 --> 01:22:02,787
by one of my favorite
authors, LeVar Burton.

1816
01:22:04,310 --> 01:22:06,008
It turns out there
are a lot of adults

1817
01:22:06,008 --> 01:22:07,966
who want LeVar Burton
to read to them.

1818
01:22:07,966 --> 01:22:12,275
I'm LeVar Burton, and this
is "LeVar Burton Reads."

1819
01:22:13,972 --> 01:22:15,408
But more than anything,

1820
01:22:15,408 --> 01:22:19,064
it's the love of reading

1821
01:22:19,064 --> 01:22:23,068
and how we encouraged
the relationship

1822
01:22:23,068 --> 01:22:26,245
between kids and
the written word

1823
01:22:26,245 --> 01:22:28,595
that is our ultimate legacy,

1824
01:22:28,595 --> 01:22:31,685
that we turned kids who could
read into readers for life,

1825
01:22:31,685 --> 01:22:35,167
and, [sighs] what's
better than that?

1826
01:22:42,696 --> 01:22:44,046
I always get nervous
playing in front of people.

1827
01:22:44,046 --> 01:22:45,961
Isn't that funny
after all these years?

1828
01:22:48,137 --> 01:22:50,226
♪ Butterfly in the sky

1829
01:22:50,226 --> 01:22:52,750
♪ I can fly twice as high
♪ I can go twice as high

1830
01:22:52,750 --> 01:22:54,186
♪ Take a look
♪ Take a look

1831
01:22:54,186 --> 01:22:55,753
♪ In a book
♪ It's in a book

1832
01:22:55,753 --> 01:22:58,408
I'm not gonna sing,
forget it.

1833
01:22:58,408 --> 01:23:00,018
♪ Take a look
♪ Take a look

1834
01:23:00,018 --> 01:23:01,672
♪ It's in a book
♪ It's in a book

1835
01:23:01,672 --> 01:23:03,500
♪ A reading rainbow
♪ A reading rainbow

1836
01:23:03,500 --> 01:23:08,461
♪ I can go anywhere
♪ I can go anywhere

1837
01:23:08,461 --> 01:23:11,116
♪ Friends to know
and ways to grow ♪

1838
01:23:11,116 --> 01:23:13,684
♪ A reading rainbow
♪ A reading rainbow

1839
01:23:13,684 --> 01:23:15,164
Oh, I'm not gonna
try the high note.

1840
01:23:15,164 --> 01:23:19,081
♪ I can be
♪ I can do anything

1841
01:23:19,081 --> 01:23:20,343
I think it's be anything.

1842
01:23:20,343 --> 01:23:21,735
Yeah.

1843
01:23:21,735 --> 01:23:23,346
- Isn't it?
- "I can be anything."

1844
01:23:23,346 --> 01:23:24,956
♪ Take a look
♪ Take a look

1845
01:23:24,956 --> 01:23:26,001
♪ It's in a book
♪ It's in a book

1846
01:23:26,001 --> 01:23:28,177
♪ A reading rainbow

1847
01:23:28,177 --> 01:23:29,874
And then it goes,

1848
01:23:29,874 --> 01:23:30,831
♪ It's Reading Rainbow
♪ It's Reading Rainbow

1849
01:23:30,831 --> 01:23:32,137
But it also goes,

1850
01:23:32,137 --> 01:23:34,009
♪ It's Reading Rainbow

1851
01:23:34,009 --> 01:23:36,489
Right? Ah, it's
great, it's classic.

1852
01:23:36,489 --> 01:23:39,623
♪ A reading rainbow

1853
01:23:39,623 --> 01:23:41,581
♪ I can

1854
01:23:41,581 --> 01:23:43,235
There are stories
everywhere you look,

1855
01:23:43,235 --> 01:23:45,368
if you look in the right way.

1856
01:23:45,368 --> 01:23:47,761
♪ Take a look, it's in a book

1857
01:23:47,761 --> 01:23:50,329
A good book can send
your imagination soaring.

1858
01:23:51,200 --> 01:23:54,116
♪ A reading rainbow
- Come on now give me my book.

1859
01:23:54,116 --> 01:23:57,510
♪ A reading rainbow

1860
01:23:57,510 --> 01:23:58,990
I'll see you next time.

1861
01:24:11,089 --> 01:24:13,961
♪ Teamwork

1862
01:24:13,961 --> 01:24:15,398
♪ T-E-A-M

1863
01:24:15,398 --> 01:24:18,923
♪ Teamwork, teamwork

1864
01:24:18,923 --> 01:24:23,058
I get a call from
Jimmy Fallon's producer.

1865
01:24:23,058 --> 01:24:26,191
"We'd like to license the
'Reading Rainbow' theme song.

1866
01:24:26,191 --> 01:24:28,367
Jimmy's gonna do this
thing where he...

1867
01:24:29,760 --> 01:24:32,719
He's gonna be Jim
Morrison of the Doors."

1868
01:24:32,719 --> 01:24:35,244
Right, and I'm going, "Okay..."

1869
01:24:35,244 --> 01:24:39,248
♪ Butterfly in the sky

1870
01:24:39,248 --> 01:24:42,164
♪ I can go twice as high

1871
01:24:42,164 --> 01:24:44,296
I love the version

1872
01:24:44,296 --> 01:24:47,604
of Jimmy Fallon doing
it as Jim Morrison.

1873
01:24:47,604 --> 01:24:49,954
♪ Reading Rainbow

1874
01:24:49,954 --> 01:24:51,608
♪ Yeah