American television personality (1945?2013)
"Huell" redirects here. For the
Breaking Bad
character, see
Huell Babineaux
.
Huell Howser
|
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Huell_Howser_Nisei_Week_Grand_Parade_2007.jpg/220px-Huell_Howser_Nisei_Week_Grand_Parade_2007.jpg) |
Born
| Huell Burnley Howser
(
1945-10-18
)
October 18, 1945
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Died
| January 7, 2013
(2013-01-07)
(aged 67)
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Resting place
| Ashes scattered off the coast of
Los Angeles County, California
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Alma mater
| University of Tennessee
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Occupation(s)
| Television personality, actor, producer, writer, singer, voice artist
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Years active
| 1985?2012
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|
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/90/Huell_Howser_signature.jpg/150px-Huell_Howser_signature.jpg) |
Huell Burnley Howser
(October 18, 1945 ? January 7, 2013) was an American television personality, actor, producer, writer, singer, and voice artist, best known for hosting, producing, and writing
California's Gold
and his human interest show
Visiting... with Huell Howser
, produced by
KCET
in
Los Angeles
for
California
PBS
stations. The archive of his video chronicles offers an enhanced understanding of the history, culture, and people of California. He also voiced the Backson in
Winnie the Pooh
(2011).
Early life
[
edit
]
Howser was born in
Gallatin, Tennessee
, on October 18, 1945, to Harold Chamberlain and Jewell Havens (Burnley) Howser.
[1]
Howser's first name is a
portmanteau
of his parents' given names, Harold and Jewell, as Howser explained in the
California's Gold
episode "Smartsville."
Howser graduated from the
University School of Nashville
in 1963, then studied
history
and
political science
at the
University of Tennessee
, where he served as student body president.
[2]
Career
[
edit
]
After serving in the
U.S. Marine Corps Reserve
and on the staff of U.S. Senator
Howard Baker
, Howser began his television career at
WSMV-TV
in
Nashville, Tennessee
, where he produced shows focused on
human interest stories
, such as
Happy Features
[3]
and
The Happy World of Huell Howser
.
[4]
Howser was also a television personality working for the University of Tennessee.
[5]
After working in
New York City
as the host of
WCBS-TV
's
Real Life
show,
[6]
Howser moved to
Los Angeles
,
California
, in 1981 to work as a reporter for
KCBS-TV
. During 1982 and 1983, he served as weekend host and correspondent for
Entertainment Tonight
. In 1983, he joined
KCET
(then a
PBS
affiliate) as host and producer of
Videolog
, a series of brief human-interest segments running less than 10 minutes each, that aired in between the station's shorter programs to fill up air time. "Videolog" eventually became one of the more popular programs on KCET, and in 1990, the show was expanded to half hour-long episodes.
[7]
Included in Videolog was
lint
artist Slater Barron
[8]
among other topics relevant to Los Angeles and adjacent communities.
California's Gold
[
edit
]
In 1991, after spending his vacation driving across the Golden State and visiting with all 13 PBS stations in California,
California's Gold
premiered in April of that year.
[9]
California's Gold
highlights small towns, landmarks, events, or places of interest throughout California that are not well known to the general public. Howser conducted informal, often impromptu, interviews with locals involved with the sites he visited. He also produced
California's Communities
,
California's Golden Fairs
,
Downtown
,
California's Water
,
California's Green
,
California's Golden Coast
,
California's Golden Parks
,
Road Trip
,
Visiting... with Huell Howser
,
California Missions
,
Palm Springs
,
Our Neighborhoods
,
The Bench
, and various specials.
Visiting... with Huell Howser
[
edit
]
Visiting... with Huell Howser
was a weekly PBS series hosted by Howser that originally aired from 1991 until his retirement in 2012 that focused on "the diverse people, places, and events that make southern California such a unique community." As of 2020
[update]
, KCET, and other Southern California PBS continue to rerun this popular series. Episodes can be viewed on demand on the Chapman University, and PBS affiliates' websites.
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
Other work
[
edit
]
Howser riding in a tandem
INDYCAR
race car at the 2009
Long Beach Grand Prix
Articles written by Howser appeared in
Westways
, the magazine of the
Automobile Club of Southern California
.
[14]
In 1997, he featured prominently as himself alongside
Tracey Ullman
in character as
Ruby Romaine
in the
Tracey Takes On...
episode "Hollywood."
[
citation needed
]
Howser spearheaded an unsuccessful effort to stop the demolition of buildings designed by
Paul Williams
at the
Long Beach Naval Shipyard
.
[15]
He appeared in
Who Killed the Electric Car?
(2006) in his capacity as a reporter, witnessing the demolition and shredding of a
Honda EV Plus
.
[16]
In 2011, Howser voiced the Backson in the
post-credits scene
of
Walt Disney Animation Studios
' feature film
Winnie the Pooh
.
[17]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Howser lived in the historic
El Royale
apartments in
Los Angeles
,
California
, in an apartment which had previously been home to character actor
William Frawley
.
[18]
Howser also had homes in
Palm Springs
and
Twentynine Palms
.
[19]
On June 29, 2015, Howser's Twentynine Palms home became available for rentals and weddings.
[20]
Howser mentioned that he was a
Methodist
during his episode covering the Nevada County Fair on
California's Golden Fairs
.
Volcano House
[
edit
]
In 2003, Howser purchased the 1,800-square-foot (170 m
2
) Volcano House, situated on a volcanic
cinder cone
just outside
Barstow
in
Newberry Springs
, along with 60 acres (24 ha) of desert and a man-made lake.
[21]
In 2010, Howser put the unusual residence on the market for $650,000.
[22]
In June 2012,
The Panther
, a student-run newspaper for
Chapman University
, announced that Howser had donated the Volcano House to the school.
[23]
On September 3, 2015, Chapman University sold the Volcano House for $750,000.
[24]
Retirement and death
[
edit
]
On November 27, 2012,
The Sacramento Bee
reported that Howser was retiring from making new shows, amid speculation in the television community that he was seriously ill.
[25]
On January 7, 2013, Howser died at his
Palm Springs
home, at the age of 67. He had been battling cancer for several years and his death certificate listed metastatic
prostate cancer
as the cause. Howser's body was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea off the coast of Los Angeles County.
[26]
On January 15, 2013, a memorial was held for Howser, who said before his death that he did not want a funeral as he did not want attention.
[27]
Legacy
[
edit
]
Howser's image on a Broguiere's
Montebello
Dairy bottle
[28]
Howser donated his videotaped collection of
California's Gold
episodes, as well as those of his other series, to
Chapman University
in 2011. He also donated his personal papers, and a large collection of books on
California
history to the university.
[29]
The school established the Huell Howser Archives, which, when completed, will offer the public free access to the entire digitized collection of his life's work. The archives can be accessed at Chapman University as well as on the internet. He also gave his extensive art collection, which consists mostly of "found-object" art collected during his travels, to the university, and endowed the California's Gold Scholarship Fund. Upon his death he bequeathed his remaining two homes to the university, the proceeds from the sale of which will be added to the scholarship fund.
[30]
Testimonials to Howser's unique contribution to the celebration of California history and culture were acknowledged in numerous media sources upon word of his death.
Gustavo Arellano
, then-editor of the
OC Weekly
, called Howser "the greatest Californian since
Hiram Johnson
,"
[31]
noting that for Howser, "California was the ultimate temple of the American dream."
[32]
This reflects the high regard in which many Californians hold Howser's unabashedly enthusiastic promotion of their state's heritage.
In 2015, a Golden Palm Star on the
Palm Springs, California
,
Walk of Stars
was dedicated to him.
[33]
In popular culture
[
edit
]
Howser's enthusiastic style as host of his various travel shows led to him being impersonated and lampooned by comedians and radio personalities, such as
Adam Carolla
,
[34]
Dana Gould
,
Ralph Garman
, and
James Adomian
.
[35]
Matt Groening
has stated he is a fan of Howser
[36]
and featured him in two episodes of
The Simpsons
: "
There's Something About Marrying
," in which a character named Howell Huser (voiced by
Dan Castellaneta
) falls off a turnip truck, and "
O Brother, Where Bart Thou?
," in which the real Howser presents a program similar to
Marc Summers
'
Unwrapped
television program titled
Under the Wrapper
. Howser received a voice credit for the episode. The
Simpsons
episode "
A Test Before Trying
" commemorated his death with a quick cartoon memorial shot at the end of the episode, stating: "In Memory of Huell Howser, Friend of the Simpsons and a friend of California."
Filmography
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Braxton, Greg (January 7, 2013).
"Huell Howser dies at 67; TV host profiled California people and places"
.
Los Angeles Times
.
- ^
Khatchatourian, Maane (December 2, 2014).
"Huell Howser Documentary: 12 Things We Learned"
.
KCET
.
- ^
Dorman, Lee (2009).
Images of America: Nashville Broadcasting
. Arcadia Publishing. p. 113.
ISBN
978-0-7385-6829-4
.
- ^
William-Ross, Lindsay (15 January 2013).
"Vintage Video: 1973's 'The Happy World of Huell Howser'
"
.
LAist.com
. LAist. Archived from
the original
on 12 October 2016
. Retrieved
9 April
2013
.
Episode aired February 23, 1973
- ^
FILMS, VFL (27 April 2015).
"THE TENNESSEE VAULTS: ALOHA, TENNESSEE"
. Retrieved
18 June
2018
– via Vimeo.
- ^
Hevesi, Dennis (11 January 2013).
"Huell Howser, Folksy Public TV Host, Is Dead at 67"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
11 January
2013
.
- ^
Trinidad, Elson (10 September 2014).
"October 1983 - Huell Howser's 'Videolog' Debuts"
.
kcet.org
. Retrieved
26 November
2018
.
- ^
Sources:
- ^
Trinidad, Elson (10 September 2014).
"October 1983 - Huell Howser's 'Videolog' Debuts"
.
kcet.org
. Retrieved
26 November
2018
.
- ^
"Visiting... with Huell Howser"
.
IMDb
.
- ^
"Visiting with Huell Howser"
.
KOCE-TV
.
- ^
"Visiting with Huell Howser"
.
KCET
.
- ^
"Visiting ? Huell Howser"
.
Chapman University
. 10 November 2017.
- ^
Road Trip with Huell Howser articles
Archived
2005-03-17 at the
Wayback Machine
in
Westways Magazine
(outside Southern California: enter zip code 90210 to access articles)
- ^
Williams, Amy (July 7, 1998).
"Long Beach Naval Station Falls: Court throws-out celebrity appeal"
.
DailyRepublican.com
. The Daily Republican
. Retrieved
January 10,
2013
.
- ^
Chris Paine
(2006). "
Who Killed the Electric Car?
". Plinyminor /
Sony Pictures Classics
.
- ^
"Disney.com
Winnie the Pooh
"
.
Disney Movies
. Retrieved
5 October
2014
.
- ^
Purdum, Todd S. (14 August 2001).
"An Everyman in Search of the Extraordinary (That is to Say, the Everyday)"
.
The New York Times
.
- ^
Sources:
- ^
Barrgan, Bianca (29 June 2015).
"Huell Howser's Desert Dream Home is Now Available for Rentals and Weddings"
. Curbed Los Angeles
. Retrieved
22 October
2016
.
- ^
McNatt, C. (November 9, 2013). "Out of this world".
Orange County Register
. pp. Home & Garden 1, 3.
- ^
"The Volcano House ? 50451 Silver Valley Rd., Newberry Springs, CA 92365 ? Listing # 09-401249"
. 2010-04-01. Archived from
the original
on 3 February 2016
. Retrieved
2011-12-20
.
- ^
Oliver, Elizabeth (May 7, 2012).
"The Panther ? Huell Howser donates volcano house to Chapman"
.
ThePantherOnline.com
. The Panther
. Retrieved
2012-07-14
.
- ^
Kudler, Adrian Glick (September 3, 2015).
"Huell Howser's Volcano-Top Saucer House in the Mojave Desert is For Sale and It's Mindblowingly Amazing"
.
Curbed
.
- ^
Sources:
- ^
Sources:
- Goolsby, Denise.
"TV host Huell Howser spent final days at Palm Springs refuge"
. The Desert Sun
. Retrieved
11 January
2013
.
- Rokos, Brian; Johnson, Nikie (January 17, 2013).
"HUELL HOWSER: Prostate cancer was cause of death"
.
pe.com
. The Press-Enterprise. Archived from
the original
on January 20, 2013
. Retrieved
January 15,
2013
.
- Braxton, Greg (January 7, 2013).
"Huell Howser dies at 67; TV host profiled California people and places"
.
Los Angeles Times
.
- "Howser Didn't Want Memorial, Died of Cancer"
. 8 January 2013
. Retrieved
9 January
2013
.
- Romero, Dennis.
"Huell Howser Dead"
. LA Weekly
. Retrieved
9 January
2013
.
- Mackie, Drew (7 January 2013).
"Remembering Huell"
. KCET
. Retrieved
21 October
2016
.
- ^
Mackie, Drew (January 15, 2013).
"Los Angeles Bids Farewell to Huell Howser at Griffith Observatory"
.
KCET.org
.
KCET
. Retrieved
2014-10-21
.
- ^
"Learn More ? Broguiere's Farm Fresh Dairy"
.
- ^
Day, Patrick Kevin (January 7, 2013).
"Huell Howser: Highlights from 'California's Gold' online"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
January 10,
2013
.
- ^
Sources:
- ^
Arellano, Gustavo (January 7, 2013),
Remembering Huell Howser, Fan of OC Weekly, Lover of OC, Antagonist of OC Republicans
, OCWeekly.com, archived from
the original
on October 21, 2014
, retrieved
January 10,
2013
- ^
"Remembering Huell, California's great adventurer"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
January 8,
2013
.
NOTE: quotation is from embedded video at 3m 40s.
- ^
"Huell Howser honored on Palm Springs Walk of Stars"
.
KESQ-TV
. October 19, 2015
. Retrieved
April 16,
2022
.
- ^
"April 2, 2008 - Mark Walberg and Artie Lange call into the studio; Dana Gould is in the studio"
.
Adam Carolla
. April 2, 2008. Archived from
the original
on July 22, 2011
. Retrieved
2008-05-08
.
- ^
"California's Lost Gold with HUELL HOWSER: Ep. 1 Whittier Backyard Farms"
on
YouTube
- ^
Lloyd, Robert (26 July 2009).
"The wonder and awe that make up Huell Howser"
.
Los Angeles Times
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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National
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Artists
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People
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Other
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