Today, we look back at Johnny Lira: boxer, “man about town… suave, debonair, and character extraordinaire.” In 1993, Doug Sawyer and Ben Joravsky interviewed Lira at the gym at Fuller Park at 45th and Princeton for our show Chicago Slices. He died Saturday at the age of 61. Make sure to read the fascinating recollections of Bruce Elliott, co-owner of the Old Town Ale House. They don’t make guys like Johnny Lira anymore… Check out the full hour with Lira.
Dear Friend of Media Burn: We are writing because we know that you share our enthusiasm for preserving and distributing one of the most important collections of historical documentaries anywhere. Media Burn needs you to make a tax-deductible contribution now: http://www.mediaburn.org/donate Today we are announcing a new honor: Media Burn has been awarded an 18 month, $87,000 grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, a program of the National Archives. The grant is contingent upon our ability to […]
Harold Washington’s time in office was relatively brief, but he still continues to hold a memorable place in our political history, as the first African-American mayor of Chicago. Locals remember his thrilling potential as a reformer and the deadlock caused by the “Council Wars” as “the Eddies” (Vrdolyak and Burke) thwarted his every move in the city council. Washington died suddenly on November 25, 1987, shortly after beginning his second term in office. In the clip below, filmmaker Bill Stamets […]
Please take 60 seconds and watch our new video, part of an upcoming series of short videos that will explain who we are, what we do, and why what we do is important. Chicagoans: Tune in to WTTW/Channel 11 on Tuesday, December 11 at 10pm for the premiere of Baseball’s Been Very, Very Good To Me: The Minnie Minoso Story.
With Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas, Janet Leigh, and Sidney Poitier.
We’re excited to be part of this special event. Hope to see you there! The Chicago Television Project: Studs’ Place Pocket Guide to Hell presents Studs’ Place, a live performance of a NEW episode of the classic Studs Terkel television show, at the Hideout (1354 W Wabansia) on Sunday, November 11, 2012, at 7 PM. There is a $7-10 suggested donation. In honor of the yearlong Studs Terkel centennial, Pocket Guide to Hell is producing a new episode of the […]
This weekend marked the passing of the George McGovern, the former senator and 1972 candidate for president. A fiery and passionate champion of liberal causes, he was a formidable political presence even well into his 80s. Below, you’ll see him in 1971 talking about what it took to stand up against Vietnam in 1963.
October 25- TVTV: FOUR MORE YEARS Thursday, October 25, 6 p.m. | Gene Siskel Film Center | 164 N. State St. Allen Rucker and Tom Weinberg in person! Video collective TVTV defined the radical video documentary movement of the 1970s. Four More Years (1972) is an iconoclastic view of the American electoral process, captured through TVTV’s irreverent, candid coverage of Richard Nixon’s 1972 presidential campaign and the Republican Convention in Miami. While network cameras focused on the orchestrated re-nomination of Richard […]