11.18.2003

Good Marx
Morning Edition's series Present at the Creation is extremely well done. Each episode is supplemented with a slew of bells and whistles, which take the form of archival segments and video clips and Web links, all of which relate -- more or less -- to the topic at hand.

I was particularly impressed with the Night at the Opera show. The story itself is done quite well and includes comments from Groucho's son, Arthur. The bells and whistles are great: An archival NPR story from 1975 celebrating Groucho's 85th birthday, which includes an interview with Groucho's pal Goodman Ace. Dick Cavett's introductory comments at Groucho's Carnegie Hall performance. A 2002 interview with Kitty Carlisle Hart, who was in A Night at the Opera. Kitty Carlisle Hart is still alive, by the way -- she's 93. She mentions in the interview that George Gershwin asked her to marry him. She declined for some reason, and he died soon afterward. She's a walking time capsule.