Talk about the show on http://www.bobedwards.info/

I’m not going to “review” the interview; Bob Edwards is unquestionably the best interviewer we have today, and Norman Corwin is probably one of the most elequent people I’ve ever heard, so the combination results in nothing less than an hour of exceptional radio (even more, if you include the +10-minute “preview” that aired on yesterday’s show). I want to briefly touch on a few things that may not be obvious…

First off, there was a point where I couldn’t help but become teary-eyed; one of the “drop-ins” used by the producer (Andy Danyo) taken from, “On a Note of Triumph,” just happened to be my late friend Harry Bartell saying, “If you don’t mind, there are some things we guys would like to ask…”; I wasn’t expecting to hear his voice (although I of course know of his credit there, it just didn’t occur to me that I might hear him speak during the interview - I never mentioned to Andy that I knew anyone on the show), and couldn’t help but become a bit misty…had nothing to do with the strength of Corwin’s production, it was just the sense of loss I sometimes get when I hear one of his performances. It’s a selfish thing; I don’t miss the radio actor nearly as much as I miss the friend who used to send me the dryest yet funniest comments on anything that struck his fancy.

I was also terribly impressed with the way the producer wove into the production the pieces of his works. I heard most of them over the past few weeks (even the pieces she got directly from Corwin or Loadstone are here) and many more, since I didn’t forward everything I have to her. Yet even having heard the shows over the last few weeks, they took on a different context when listening to the interweaving of the old and the new. Now I understand how important a good producer is to “making” the show - Edwards alone is excellent, but with this staff of talented people behind him, he becomes extrordinary. (I wonder if it has sunk in yet that she produced and directed Norman Corwin. I mean, no matter what else she does in her life, she’ll always be able to say she produced and directed the greatest radio producer/director ever.)

I was thrilled to hear Corwin talk about, “My Client Curley,” one of my favorite Corwin pieces. I’ve heard the original broadcasts many times over the years, and seen the program “re-created” by OTR actors more than once, and the darned thing still always cracks me up with its oddball combination of whimsy and satire. If you’ve never heard it, seek it out…it’s well worth the effort.

Poor Bob…he kept trying to redirect Corwin whenever Norman complimented the interviewer. Seriously, guy, screw it; if someone as prestigious as Norman Corwin tells you you are one of the four greatest voices ever behind the microphone, in a group including Orson Welles, you are more than welcomed to become completely insufferable for a few moments…my lord, man, talk about an amazing compliment!

Speaking of compliments, I’ve gotten a lot of email today about being mentioned at the end of the show, something that was quite unexpected and frankly a little unnerving when I first heard it this morning (thank heavens I wasn’t driving!). I’ve been asked by more than one person to comment (and teased mercilessly by a few). So lessee…a radio legend like Bob Edwards mentions my name within a program dedicated to Norman Corwin, one of the greatest radio writers/producers/directors radio has ever seen. If one is known by the company one keeps, I want someone to write this one down…it’s unlikely to get much better. And my great thanks go to the thousands of subscribers to the Internet OTR Digest, who make it worth getting up in the morning.