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Chicago Tribune
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Dick Carter, producer and director of WTTW arts programming, dies
Dick Carter was a prolific producer and director for WTTW-Ch. 11 who from the 1960s through the '90s oversaw the making of dozens of music and arts programs, some of which aired nationally. Carter's best-known production was 'Soundstage,' which showcased major musical acts over its 11-year run in the 1970s and '80s. Carter also was an expert at directing dance programs, and he directed and produced telecasts of numerous ballets created by the late Chicago ballerina and choreographer Ruth Page. 'He could work in dance and music and opera and 'Soundstage,' but he could even make a talking-head show like 'Chicago Tonight' or 'Chicago Week in Review' exciting,' said longtime WTTW producer Jamie Ceaser. Carter, 85, died of complications from prostate cancer April 11 at his home in Palm Springs, California, said his husband, John MacMillan. He moved to Palm Springs in 2000. Born in Flint, Michigan, Carter grew up in nearby East Lansing. He played the organ and initially considered being a music major at Michigan State University before receiving a degree in broadcasting. Carter worked first for PBS station KTCA-TV in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he directed dance and opera programs. He joined WTTW in 1967 where early on, he directed station fundraising programs such as 'Stars for Eleven.' Carter also oversaw Channel 11-produced programs that were nationally distributed. One of his earliest WTTW productions was directing 'Kukla, Fran and Ollie,' the puppet-and-adult show produced in Chicago from 1947 until 1957 on two local network stations. In the late 1960s, WTTW revived the show, which was popular with children and adults, and distributed it nationally under the direction of Carter, who had started watching the show at age 11. Carter was executive producer of WTTW's 'Chicago Festival,' an award-winning series in the late 1960s and early 1970s that provided a local showcase for all segments of the arts. Carter also directed segments of 'Chicago Festival,' including dance programs. In 1968, WTTW won its first National Educational Television award for its 'Chicago Festival' broadcast of the comic ballet 'Coppelia,' by the Illinois Ballet Company. Carter won an award for directing that telecast. In a 1971 Tribune interview, Carter acknowledged the innate challenges of directing dance on TV. 'Ballet is always choreographed for the stage,' Carter said. 'Shots would be so wide that people wouldn't see what's going on. We change a good deal of the choreography, having the dancers move diagonally back and forth in the camera instead of across the stage.' In 1978, Carter produced and directed an opera version of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale 'Hansel and Gretel,' and a telecast of Page's ballet 'Frankie and Johnny.' In 1982, Carter produced and directed a one-hour production of Page's ballet of 'The Merry Widow.' The program cost WTTW $275,000 to hire a cast and build scenery, and the production, which aired in 1984, won a national Peabody award. Carter also directed a TV version of Page's 1961 work, 'Die Fledermaus,' for WTTW in 1986. Carter's work for the station extended beyond dance programs. In 1974, Channel 11 gained the rights to four silent films starring Greta Garbo. Carter scored the films with musical soundtracks that he composed. Carter's participation in the nationally distributed 'Soundstage' program began toward the end of its first season, in 1975. Carter ultimately directed more than 60 episodes of 'Soundstage,' by his own count, according to a 2000 Tribune article about his career, and he was part of the program until its sign-off in 1985. One of Carter's most memorable 'Soundstage' episodes was a 1979 salute to jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald. In a 1985 Tribune interview, Carter called the episode 'a high point of my career,' and added that jazz pianist and bandleader Count Basie, who had appeared in the broadcast as well, came into the control room during the show and would tap Carter's shoulder with glee in time to Fitzgerald's singing. 'Even in the '70s, we never lip synched,' Carter told the Tribune. 'We had lots of time for each act. So we let performers do what they did best. And we made it real.' 'Despite low budgets, Carter gave the program a clean and professional look, with quick switching reverse angle and crowd reaction shots,' the Tribune wrote in 1985. Versatile, Carter could direct any kind of broadcast. He directed some episodes of the WTTW-founded national movie review show 'Sneak Previews,' and he also directed the news and public affairs programs 'Chicago Tonight' and 'Chicago Week in Review.' Carter also directed 'As We See It,' a 1979 series on school desegregation, and he produced and directed a show about the Hubbard Street Dance Company in 1981. Later, WTTW produced some original drama programming, and station bosses tapped Carter to direct a drama show, 'Jesse and the Bandit Queen,' a televised adaptation of a David Freeman play that was taped in 1986 and aired in 1988. And in 1987, he directed 'Remembering Bing,' a documentary about entertainer Bing Crosby. 'He was great at what he did, and he could get totally frustrated when things didn't go right,' recalled producer Tom Weinberg, who created WTTW's 'Image Union' program. 'He knew what he was doing in a major way. Nobody was as involved as he was.' Carter continued directing pledge drives for WTTW, including a notable one filmed at the Chicago Theatre in 1988 titled 'A Grand Night,' which featured Shirley Jones, the Hubbard Street Dance Company and many other acts. He directed the station's 1989 broadcast of the Ollie Awards, which honored quality children's programs across the nation. In 1991, Carter co-produced and co-directed a WTTW program about blues singer Koko Taylor, titled 'Queen of the Blues.' And in 1994, he directed 'Remembering Chicago,' an historic look at Chicago featuring Irv Kupcinet, Studs Terkel, Bill Gleason and Chuck Schaden. Carter directed episodes of a short-lived 'Soundstage' reboot called 'Center Stage,' a live concert television series that aired from 1993 until 1994 and that was an unprecedented co-production agreement between WTTW and cable's VH-1. Until his final years at WTTW, Carter produced and directed telecasts of the Golden Apple Foundation's Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching. Carter retired from WTTW at the start of 2000 and moved to California. He also is survived by a brother, John. There were no services.
Chicago Tribune
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Appreciations of both our city's lakefront and the talented Liza Minnelli, now on WTTW
The lake, ancient and alluring, is the latest target for the active curiosity of that boosterish purveyor of history and civic pride known as Geoffrey Baer. Of Lake Michigan's 1,638 miles of shoreline, only 26 of those are in the city, but they are the most lively, glamorous, crowded and disturbing miles of all, coming at us with Baer and his colleagues (primarily producer/writer Michael West) in 'Touring Chicago's Lakefront,' premiering at 7 p.m. April 14 on WTTW-Ch. 11, with all manner of web-extra embellishments. The familiar is, well, familiar, and so most viewers will recognize and know at least something about such people as the fur trading first resident Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, who already has his own urban byway, and George Streeter, better known as 'Cap,' and his wife, Maria, better known as 'Ma,' who claimed a slice of the city's lakefront near Superior Street and fought for it with shotgun in one hand and, usually, a bottle of whiskey in the other. Characters abound, even those of a feathered type, as Baer reminds us of the 'descendants' of Monty and Rose, that pair of endangered piping plovers who stopped on the lakefront near Montrose and to much media hoopla. Baer goes about his guiding chores with typical enthusiasm, solid research and necessary speed. Given the opportunity, he eagerly becomes a participant in some segments, such as donning scuba gear to visit a reef and the site of a sunken ship off 47th Street; fishing for lake trout; eating all manner of lake denizens at Calumet Fisheries; and hiking Northerly Island and the Garden of the Phoenix in Jackson Park. It is a jam-packed hour, artfully edited by Joe Winston and filled with so many facts that you might be wise to watch with a pen and paper handy to take notes. Some of the segments deserve (and in some cases have already had) individual hours dedicated to them, and though basically a sunny journey, we are told of such horrific historical happenings as the 1919 race riots that exploded when a Black teenager was killed at the 31st Street Beach. But we also learn of African American rodeo athletes who currently ride and rope and wrestle at the South Shore Cultural Center. But, really, who needs a 'celebration' of the NASCAR nonsense? The purpose of these frequent Baer journeys is, I suppose, not merely to entertain but to get people out of their apartments or houses. As he says, 'I hope this show will remind people how critically important the lake is and inspire them to explore on their own.' Nice idea. It's getting warmer and thus a fine time to remind ourselves that the lake has ever defined our place on this planet and has always been a powerful magnet. For most of us, Lake Michigan is a glorious and important part of our world. And for all the acrobats, joggers, bathing beauties, bodybuilders and triathletes expressing and exposing themselves at the lakefront, there are thousands content with simpler things: a small square of sand and a breath of cool air off the water. Spotlight on Liza A new and enlighteningly spectacular 'American Masters' edition, 'Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story,' aired on WTTW-Ch. 11 not long ago. You should, no matter your taste in music, watch it, for it is about not only music but fame, family, addiction, love and resilience. Liza is, of course, Liza Minnelli, the daughter of Judy Garland and film director of Vincente Minnelli, star of 'Cabaret' (on stage and screen), ferocious song and dance performer, tabloid darling, loyal friend … flat out charmer. Such friends as Mia Farrow, Joel Grey, Chita Rivera, George Hamilton, Michael Feinstein and others speak fondly of her. Ample archival footage shows you her stunning EGOT talents and lively personality. She is on contemporary camera too, still compelling even though beset by health troubles in her years approaching her 80th. This glittering crowd does not include Chicago's Dennis DeYoung, that child of Roseland and leading force/principal songwriter/vocalist of the rock group Styx. He met Minnelli in 1986 when she came here in advance of a week of shows at the Chicago Theatre to work with DeYoung on her new album. 'She put herself totally in my hands, vocally,' he told me then. 'She's done things she's never done before. She showed incredible stamina, incredible professionalism. I couldn't ever have imagined that someone of her stature could be so open to new ideas. I've never met anybody in rock and roll who would even think of listening to another person's ideas.' The two met at the suggestion of Gene Simmons, formerly of KISS and a highly regarded producer. DeYoung agreed to produce some tracks for a new Minnelli album. That work was done here and he told me, 'She is already the master of her own medium — the sort of Broadway show tunes that were America's popular music before there was rock and roll — but without ego conflicts of any kind, she allowed me to lead her into new vocal territories.' Minnelli recorded at Pumpkin Studios in Oak Lawn, spending eight or nine hours a day on separate visits putting together the new songs. 'She stayed at our house the second time she was here,' DeYoung told me. 'My kids love her. My wife too.' Those kids are grown now. He and his wife, Suzanne, still live happily in the southern suburbs. He has not seen the program but he plans to and so should you.
Chicago Tribune
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Thomas Hardy, Tribune political columnist who went to work for Gov. Edgar, U. of I., dies at 72
Thomas Hardy was a writer and editor for the Tribune, including 10 years as the paper's top political reporter and a Sunday columnist, before leaving journalism to work as a press secretary for then-Gov. Jim Edgar and then spending 18 years overseeing public affairs for the University of Illinois System. 'He was the epitome of what you would hope a political writer would be,' said Edgar, who hired Hardy from the Tribune in 1997. 'He wasn't cynical but he was not fooled by anyone.' Hardy, 72, died after a brief illness on March 27 at Hinsdale Hospital, said his fiancee, Suzanne Schoij. He was a resident of Hinsdale. Hardy grew up in the South Side Beverly neighborhood, where his father was a banker who at one time worked for Beverly Bank & Trust. Hardy graduated from Brother Rice High School and received a bachelor's degree in 1974 from Ripon University, where he played soccer. Among his classmates at Ripon was future Chicago Sun-Times Editor-in-Chief Don Hayner, who early in his career was a reporter and columnist for the Suburban Trib and who credited Hardy with helping him get his start in journalism. 'Tom opened the door for my career, and I'm very thankful for it,' Hayner said. 'He was always very helpful to me, and he was a smart guy and a very good writer, too. I looked up to him.' After picking up a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Hardy was hired by the Tribune in 1977 as a copy clerk. He worked as a metro reporter from 1982 until 1983 and then moved to behind-the-scenes editing work in the mid-1980s. In 1987, Hardy was tapped to be the Tribune's lead political reporter as well as a columnist. He built a reputation as a fair-minded writer who understood and could clearly explain the nuances of local, state and national politics. He covered three presidential campaigns and made frequent appearances on public affairs shows on WGN-Ch. 9 and WTTW-Ch. 11. While with the Tribune, Hardy covered three Chicago mayors, two governors and three U.S. presidents. In a 1996 column, he bemoaned campaign behavior by two local politicians — one a Democrat, one a Republican — who made statements contradicting prior positions while using that revisionism to attack their rivals. 'Why do candidates … behave this way, perpetuating the public's distrust and disdain for politicians?' Hardy wrote. 'Because running for office is a high-stakes, expensive proposition, and candidates with political vulnerabilities often bet that the electorate has a short memory or will fail to hold them accountable.' Hardy wrote about former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun and her complicated relationship with then-Mayor Richard M. Daley. He was unsparing in his criticism of Moseley Braun during her 1992 U.S. Senate campaign, when she went after journalists' who were questioning her activities as Cook County recorder of deeds and as a member of the General Assembly, likening it to being 'raped by you guys.' 'As the candidate credited with launching the 'Year of the Woman,' a season of heightened political awareness about issues important to women and families, Braun's haughty invocation of the rape analogy showed an insensitivity to victims of what is one of the most heinous crimes imaginable,' Hardy wrote in October 1992. In January 1997, Hardy left the Tribune to join Edgar's administration as press secretary, replacing Mike Lawrence. 'It was just a good time to do something like this,' Hardy told the Tribune in an article about his career move. 'I still have, I hope, some relative youth and vitality to take on a different kind of opportunity to see government and politics from the other side of the coin than I've been looking at.' Edgar said 'I almost didn't want to hire him because I'd miss him as a reporter.' Gary Mack, who also was a press secretary to Edgar, remembered that 'for years, I can remember in staff meetings, people talking about Tom's column and we would look forward to his column on Sundays and what he was going to write.' 'The truth of the matter is, he treated Jim Edgar pretty well. He liked Edgar and thought he was a good governor and wanted to be part of the administration,' Mack said. 'He had this wry chuckle about him that was kind of contagious, and he worked hard at his job. He will be remembered as one of the good ones, who had good advice.' After Edgar decided not to seek reelection in 1998, Hardy took a job as a managing director of public affairs for Burson-Marsteller public relations. In 2002, he was named executive director of the office of university relations for the University of Illinois System. 'When he was interviewing for the U. of I. job, I told him if I can help any, let me know,' Edgar said. 'I told the university's president, 'You're not going to find a better person in the media space than Hardy.' Hardy functioned as the chief spokesperson for the university's president and also provided public affairs and marketing assistance to university-wide offices and coordinated activities and responses with public affairs offices on the U. of I.'s three campuses. 'Tom was one of the very first people I met when I was named president in 2015 and, for the five and a half years that followed, he was one of my most trusted advisors and friends,' U. of I. President Tim Killeen told the Tribune in a statement. 'He had a deep well of knowledge about the University of Illinois System and the state of Illinois, and a degree of wisdom and judgment that made all of us who worked with him better at our jobs.' Hardy retired from the U. of I. in 2020. Outside of work, Hardy enjoyed athletic pursuits including soccer, racquetball, golf and snow skiing. 'My fondest memories of the guy are going to be on the golf course, because we golfed in a lot of political golf outings both before he took the job with Jim Edgar and after as well,' Mack said. 'We continued our golfing relationships.' A marriage ended in divorce. In addition to his fiancee, Hardy is survived by two sons, Kevin and Brian; two sisters, Christine Ann Hardy and Cathlyn Kroml; two brothers, Steven and Brian; and two granddaughters. A visitation will take place from 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, April 1, at Hallowell & James Funeral Home, 1025 W. 55th St., Countryside. A funeral service will take place at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 2, at Hallowell & James.
