Fall 2013/Winter 2014 - Sharing the Vision
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Transcript of Fall 2013/Winter 2014 - Sharing the Vision
f o r f r i e n d s a n d s u p p o r t e r s o f w g b h
i n t h i s i s s u e
• tackling the big stories
• Maximum impact
• new overseers
• a trip to remember
30 years
fa l l 2 0 1 3 / w i n t e r 2 0 1 4
the PresidentView from
T his season, the phrase WGBH: The Power of Public Media rings truer than ever as we celebrate anniversaries of two of PBS’s most acclaimed series: Frontline and
American Experience, both produced right here at our Guest Street studios. On October 1, the Frontline team headed to New York for the News and Documentary Emmy Awards, where they picked up seven Emmys, for a career total of 65. At that same ceremony, Frontline founder and executive producer David Fanning was honored with the Academy’s 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award. One week later, Frontline launched its 30th season with League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis, an investigative tour de force that examines how the league has worked to refute scientific evidence that the violent collisions at the heart of the game are linked to a disturbing incidence of early-onset dementia, catastrophic brain injury, and even death. The film is stirring a national debate about America’s favorite sport, and breaking Frontline records in viewership, digital traffic, social media buzz, and critical acclaim. Our award-winning series American Experience marks its 25th year with fresh takes on our shared past, starting with its latest presidential portrait, JFK, on the 50th anniver-sary of President Kennedy’s assassination. The film mines an abundance of new schol-arship, including recently released medical records and collections of his letters, to push past the myths and sensationalism surrounding our 35th president. None of this would be possible without significant individual philanthropy. In this issue, we’ll introduce you to some of WGBH’s most generous and visionary friends. You’ll meet Millicent Bell, a passionate supporter of independent investigative journalism. And Gloria and Burton Rose, who believe in the power of personal stories to bring history to life. You’ll also learn more about Overseer Susan Luo, who embraces public media’s role in breaking down stereotypes. And don’t miss RLS Director Vanya Tulenko’s diary on Masterpiece supporters’ extraordinary trip to the real Downton Abbey this past May. We’re grateful to them and to all of you for helping create exceptional editorial content in the public’s interest, every single day.
J o n a t h a n C . a b b o t t P r e s i d e n t a n d C e o
ESPN journalist Mark Fainaru-Wada, Frontline producer Michael Kirk, and NFL Hall of Famer Harry Carson at our September preview and discussion of League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis.
Ensuring Frontline’s Future
WGBH’s Frontline premiered its 30th season
on PBS with League of Denial: The NFL’s
Concussion Crisis, a two-hour investigation
into the hidden story of the NFL and
brain injuries.
This gripping, game-changing docu-
mentary demonstrated what Frontline does
best: telling deeply reported, important
stories in a compelling way. More than a
year in the making, it also showed what
long-form investigative journalism needs
to flourish: time. Time to cultivate sources
and follow uncertain leads. Time to get the
stories that matter.
Frontline’s supporters, through
contributions to the Frontline Journalism
and Endowment
funds, afford the
series this valuable
resource. “Frontline
enjoys a privileged
space within the
media landscape,”
says deputy
executive producer
raney aronson-rath . “We’re able to
report stories outside the hectic 24-hour
news cycle that offer rich context and a
nuanced, below-the-surface understanding
of issues here and abroad.”
To help ensure that Frontline thrives for
the next 30 years, an anonymous benefactor
recently bequeathed $125,000 to the series
through the WGBH Endowment. In addi-
tion to this gift, Frontline has received six
bequest intentions since 2012.
“We’re tremendously grateful for and
humbled by the generosity of those who
include a gift to Frontline as part of their
will or estate plan,” Aronson-Rath says.
“Their commitment to supporting in-depth
investigative journalism—programs like
League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion
Crisis—is crucial.”
For more information on making a bequest, call Ericka Webb, Director of Gift Planning, at 800.220.7122, or visit wgbh.org/giftplanning.
Tackling the Big Stories M ill icent bell is a former journalist, a professor Emerita of English at
Boston University, an American literature scholar, and an author whose titles include works on Henry James, Edith Wharton, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Her late husband eugene bell , a longtime MIT professor, is widely regarded as the “father of tissue engineering.” His seminal research, and the two companies he founded after retiring from MIT, helped pave the way for clinical breakthroughs in wound healing and tissue repair. And those companies, says Millicent, also set the stage for her recent five-year gift in support of two WGBH productions—Frontline and Nova— that “tackle important, complex stories.” “The provocation to action comes with the availability of funding,” says Millicent, who notes that she and her husband have been fans of WGBH for many years. “Public television has a large moral end,” she says. “It isn’t just that it’s nice to know things. We want to help the process of keeping Americans informed and responsible so that collectively we make the right decisions.” In the case of Frontline, Millicent is passionate about the series’ in-depth investigative reports on subjects that otherwise would never see the light of day—programs like Post Mortem, which examines our nation’s minimally regulated, dysfunctional death investigation system. “That was an absolutely remarkable documentary,” she says of Frontline’s collaborative investigation with NPR, ProPublica, and the University of California, Berkeley’s Investigative Reporting Program. “I didn’t know that coroners were such an unqualified population of public servants. Some are competent. Some have absolutely no qualifications at all. You and I, in our ordinary experience, would never know this.” She is equally excited to support Nova’s television and Web efforts. “Nova makes complex scientific knowledge not only comprehensible, but thrilling,” she says. “Making Stuff, for instance, is a superb demonstration of the way—properly dramatized, lucidly and simply explained—materials science is relevant to us all. My husband was a scientist and biologist, and we both felt strongly that Nova fills an important gap in translating science into the common tongue.” What does she hope her support of Frontline and Nova will achieve? “Our hopes are to be assistants to such invaluable services as WGBH performs, including its discovery of vital issues that we need to think more accurately and fruitfully about.”
P A G E 3S H A R I N G T H E V I S I O N N E W S L E T T E R • F A L L 2 0 1 3 / W I N T E R 2 0 1 4
Gloria and Burton Rose Aim for Maximum Impact WGBH knows how to make great content,” says WGBH Overseer and Ralph
Lowell Society Committee member gloria rose . “It reaches people, and it changes them.” WGBH’s impact is important to Gloria and her husband burton , a nephrologist, clinical professor of medicine at Harvard, and textbook author. He’s also the founder of UpToDate, Inc., an online evidence-based, clinical decision support service for healthcare providers worldwide designed to improve the practice of medicine, and patient outcomes. It is the power of WGBH’s award-winning history series American Experience not only to shed light on our past, but to change the way people think about the present that inspired the Roses’ major support of The Abolitionists. “American Experience tells stories through the experiences and eyes of real people,” says Gloria. “When I watched The Abolitionists, I wondered: would I have the courage to do the things they did? I see these films as exemplars of ways to change situations.” In 2013 the couple, who are founding members of the RLS Chairman’s Circle, expanded their support for WGBH’s history programming by funding an ambitious WGBH partnership with the Boston Public School system (see sidebar). The project includes in-studio documentary screenings and discussions complemented by classroom lesson plans. The Roses were at WGBH earlier this year to see the project kick off with more than 150 Boston high school students and teachers viewing and discussing The Abolitionists. WGBH is maximizing the project’s impact through WGBH-produced professional development video modules and resources accessible to teachers nationwide via PBS LearningMedia, WGBH’s online learning initiative with PBS that now has more than one million educators registered nationwide. “When I was in high school, my class was bussed across Brooklyn to a perfor-mance of Julius Caesar,” recalls Gloria. “I had never seen it. I had never read it. That opened a whole new world for me. How do children have access to these things? You have to take them, or to bring the medium to them. WGBH does both.” American Experience “exemplifies programming that is educational, inspiring, and entertaining, too,” Gloria concludes. “The documentaries and related resources are deeply personal. They ask us to question the depths of our own courage and compassion. That kind of impact is important to us.”
Local Partnership, National Reach
Two years ago, WGBH piloted a new
partnership with the Boston Public Schools.
“Our goals were both simple and ambitious,”
says WGBH’s Denise Blumenthal, director of
Education. “We wanted to expose students
to WGBH through in-studio screenings and
discussions of our history documentaries; to
develop follow-up classroom resources and
activities in support of curriculum standards;
and if successful, to share the model with
teachers nationwide via PBS LearningMediaTM,
WGBH’s online learning initiative with PBS.”
In April 2012, 150 sophomores and their
teachers from five Boston public high schools
visited WGBH to watch and discuss American
Experience’s Jesse Owens. The documentary
tells the story of the African American track
and field champi-
on who toppled
Hitler’s plans to
showcase the
Aryan ideal at the
1936 Olympics.
After the screen-
ing, students
broke into small
groups to discuss
how the film changed their understanding of
Owens’ story and impact—and those discus-
sions continued and were videotaped by
WGBH back in their classrooms.
“The project was a huge success,”
Blumenthal says. “We wanted to create a
template that could be replicated, and we did.
But our efforts would have withered on the
vine if Gloria and Bud Rose hadn’t stepped
up to generously fund three more screening
projects, starting with American Experience’s
The Abolitionists in early 2013.”
Today, teachers nationwide can access
WGBH’s robust Abolitionists media resources,
lesson plans, and best practices to support
teaching and learning via PBS LearningMedia.
“With two more screenings and discussions
in the works this winter and spring,” says
Blumenthal, “we’re bringing history to life
here in Boston…and in classrooms across
the country!”
“
P A G E 4
pianist anton nel (left) and violinist anne akiko meyers (second from right) with event hosts neil and jane pappalardo
News from the Ralph Lowell Society
nfl hall of fame linebacker harry carson with wgbh trustee lynn dayton
espn journalists mark fainaru-wada (left) and steve fainaru (far right) flank frontline executive producer david fanning, nfl hall of famer harry carson, wgbh president jon abbott, frontline producer michael kirk, and frontline deputy executive producer raney aronson-rath
jon abbott (second from right) with (from left) rls president’s circle member william poorvu, wgbh overseers advisory board member woody ives, and overseers vice chair will thorndike
wgbh friend and frontline fan priscilla rojas
Celebrating 30 Years of FrontlineRLS members and Frontline supporters gathered in September for a preview and discussion of
League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis in celebration of the series’ 30th anniversary.
kevin whately with his wife madelaine newton (left) and overseer and masterpiece trust supporter michelle karol
rls chair and masterpiece trust supporter melinda rabb (left) with overseer pamela remis
Inspector Lewis Up Close and PersonalMasterpiece executive producer Rebecca Eaton welcomed RLS members and Masterpiece Trust
supporters to a screening of Inspector Lewis, Series 6, with series’ star Kevin Whately.
from left: wgbh overseer cynthia strauss, wgbh director of classical services ben roe, wgbh pres-ident jon abbott, and rls sponsor claire morse
New RLS Season
M y sincere thanks to each of you for
keeping WGBH strong through
your significant annual support during
the past year. Together we broke records,
adding 100 new members (we are now at
1,000+) and surpassing our fundraising
goal by 15%.
The momentum continued this fall
and winter. More than 200 RLS members
attended our
September preview
and discussion of
Frontline’s League
of Denial: The
NFL’s Concussion
Crisis. Frontline
deputy executive
producer Raney
Aronson-Rath moderated a panel featuring
Frontline producer Michael Kirk, journalists
Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru of
ESPN (which dropped out of this investi-
gative partnership just weeks before the
film’s debut), and NFL Hall of Famer
Harry Carson. Having the opportunity
to hear firsthand from WGBH’s talented
producers, reporters, and interviewees is
one of the benefits of RLS membership I
value most.
In October, we joined Rebecca Eaton,
Masterpiece executive producer, for a talk
and book-signing celebrating the publica-
tion her memoirs, Making Masterpiece.
Rebecca reminded us that Downton Abbey’s
new season is close at hand (January 5)
and promised to bring several cast
members to our RLS Downton Abbey
Season 4 party on Saturday, December 14.
Not an RLS member? There never has
been a better time to join and secure a
ticket to this event.
Finally, we are launching our first
RLS survey. We want to make your RLS
experience even better, but we need your
feedback. It’s 100% confidential, so be on
the lookout for it in the days ahead.
With thanks again for all that you do to
promote excellence at WGBH,
melinda a. rabbchair , ralph lowell society
An Evening of Classical Music RLS Chairman’s Circle members Neil and Jane Pappalardo welcomed RLS members to their home
in June for a performance by renowned violinist Anne Akiko Meyers and pianist Anton Nel.
S H A R I N G T H E V I S I O N N E W S L E T T E R • F A L L 2 0 1 3 / W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 P A G E 5
WGBH: Her Opportunity to ServeA s senior vice president and head of analytics business development at State
Street Global Exchange, susan luo makes decisions informed by thorough analysis. So when she was searching for a local nonprofit to support, she did her due diligence. “I feel a strong sense of responsibility to serve my community, and WGBH stood out as an excellent opportunity,” Susan says. “I was impressed with both its high-quality leadership and its public media mission.” She grew up in Southern China and moved to the United States in 1998 to pursue an MBA at the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia. A recently appointed WGBH Overseer and Ralph Lowell Society Committee member, Susan and her husband cyrus mozayeni , MD—vice president, business development and alliance management at bluebird bio (Cambridge, MA)—live in Weston with their two sons. “We’re very excited to be a part of the WGBH community,” she says.
what are your wgbh/public broadcasting favorites? susan: Curious George is our sons’ favorite. I enjoy Masterpiece, Nova, and Antiques Roadshow. 99.5 WCRB is my station of choice in the car. I have a busy job, and listening to classical music relaxes me. I love the change of pace. Cyrus: Downton Abbey, obviously, is a big one. I grew up in the era of Mr. Rogers, and his show was influential in my early childhood.
what do you enjoy most about your rls membership? susan: Events like the Downton Abbey screening are so much fun and a great networking opportunity. Cyrus: It’s personally rewarding to meet other WGBH supporters who are so accomplished in realms very different from our own.
as a wgbh overseer, susan, are there particular issues you want to focus on? susan: Women’s leadership is a cause that is dear to my heart. I recently co-hosted an event for a group of female executives from State Street, during which we visited WGBH and met with actress Geena Davis. She talked about the gender portrayal of women and girls in film and on television and how it impacts the growth and future career development of young girls. That’s really important, and I think that WGBH has a unique opportunity to address it.
ralph lowell society membership levelsfriend • $ 1 ,500fellow • $2 ,500sponsor • $5 ,000benefactor • $ 10 ,000president’s c ircle • $25 ,000chairman’s c ircle • $50,000innovator’s c ircle • $ 100,000
For a complete list of the benefits and privileges at each membership level, please call the Ralph Lowell Society Hotline at 617-300-3900, visit wgbh.org/ralphlowell, or email [email protected]. We welcome your questions and value your support.
Meet the Ralph Lowell Society Staff
Let us help you make the most of your
Ralph Lowell Society membership!
Contact us any time:
Vanya tulenkoDirector
617.300.3806, [email protected]
charlotte PorterDeVeloPment officer
617.300.3867, [email protected]
Jeanmarie robertssenior eVents manager
617.300.4202, [email protected]
christopher reillysenior DeVeloPment associate
617.300.3603, [email protected]
Victoria crnovichassistant
617.300.3875, [email protected]
ralph lowell society staffers (from left): vanya, chris, victoria, charlotte, and jeanmarie
P A G E 6
Dave Denis Named 2013 Becton Fellow
dave denis has a clear goal for WGBH:
“We need to be everywhere,” says the senior
director of product and operations for
WGBH Digital, “and always available,
wherever our audience is.”
He and his team are working to make
WGBH “mobile ready,” using cutting-edge
design techniques
to build websites
for WGBH’s
national series
that seamlessly
adapt across
platforms. In other
words, pbs.org/
masterpiece is now
easy to navigate (and looks great) on your
laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
“In days gone by, we knew our audience
was in front of the TV with the clicker,”
Denis says. “Now, they can be anywhere in
the world. It’s a huge opportunity for us to
deliver our content.”
Denis is the 2013 WGBH Becton Fellow.
The fellowship, which is supported by
the Becton Fund and named in honor of
WGBH’s former president and current
vice chair, Henry Becton, Jr., recognizes
promising WGBH producers and content
creators whose work is emblematic of
WGBH’s mission.
Before coming to WGBH, Denis led
the technical team that launched
BostonGlobe.com, a site touted as an
online model for newspapers. He now
oversees the production of websites and
other online products, including PBS Kids
educational games, for WGBH.
“People are spending more and more
time engaged with digital content on the
Web, and WGBH understands how vitally
important it is to thrive in this space,”
Denis says. “Digital is now central to
everything WGBH does.”
WGBH Overseers Board Chair Bob Gallery (third from left) and Vice Chair Will Thorndike, (second from right) with some of our newest Overseers: (from left) Pamela Remis, Steven J.S. Glick, Laura Johnson, Timothy Phillips, Gloria Rose, and Cynthia Strauss
aaron bates of Boston is Director of Bernstein Global Wealth Management, as well as a member of Chatham House and the Board of Directors for Shelter Legal Services. He previously served on WGBH’s Community Advisory Board.
paul bernon of Wellesley is a Principal at Rubicon Real Estate, LLC and a co-founder of Burn Later Productions, which produces and finances films, television series, and Web content.
jeffrey dover, md , of Newton is a dermatologist and co-director of SkinCare Physicians. He also holds professorial appoint- ments at Yale, Dartmouth, and Brown.
steven j.s. glick of Brookline is Executive Vice President and a member of the Middle Market group at Sankaty Advisors, the fixed- income investment affiliate of Bain Capital.
allison johnson of Boston is a designer and founder of Allison Johnson Design, which specializes in hospitality and commercial interior design and art consultancy.
laura johnson of Concord was the President of Mass Audubon from 1999 to 2012, and previously the Division Vice President (Northeast Division) of the Nature Conservancy.
karen kaufman of Boston and New York City is a former marketing executive, specializing in integrated strategy and
change management for American Express, Ogilvey & Mather, Mercedes Benz NA, and J.P. Morgan Chase Bank’s Retail Bank and Home Equity businesses.
susan luo of Weston is Senior Vice President at State Street Global Exchange, and was previously a management consultant with A.T. Kearney and a foreign government loan advisor with China Resources Corporation.
timothy phill ips of Boston is Founding Co-Chair of Beyond Conflict and Co-Founder of Energia Interational Global, Ltd. He has served as a consultant to governmental and non-governmental organizations in the US and abroad.
pamela remis of Weston has served on the boards of The Friends of Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Friends 10 of Dana Farber (founding member), the Council of the MFA, the Weston Council on Aging, and Temple Beth Elohim (Trustee). She is the former Director of Advertising and Public Relations for Shreve, Crump, and Low.
gloria rose of Weston is a retired social worker, active community volunteer, and a Board member of From the Top.
cynthia strauss of Wellesley Hills is Director of Research for the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, and a member of the senior management team of Fidelity Charitable Services.
Newest OverseersT he new class is dynamic and diverse,” says Overseers Board Chair Bob Gallery.
“Seven women and five men join the board with backgrounds that range from finance to filmmaking.” WGBH Overseers play a critical volunteer leadership role, contributing their time, ideas, and resources.
“
P A G E 7S H A R I N G T H E V I S I O N N E W S L E T T E R • F A L L 2 0 1 3 / W I N T E R 2 0 1 4
This Trip Was a MasterpieceBy Vanya tulenko
Ralph Lowell Society members at
the Benefactor level and members
of the Masterpiece Trust experienced
the trip of a lifetime this past May
with a Masterpiece Tour inspired
by Downton Abbey that included
stops at Highclere Castle, the town
of Bampton, Weston Park, and Ealing
Studios, London. RLS Director
Vanya Tulenko accompanied the
Masterpiece travelers and shares
excerpts from her travel diary.
Highclere, The “Real” Downton AbbeyWho takes a taxi to Highclere? That’s how I arrived at the castle in
preparation for our long-awaited evening. The blustery rain and
heavy clouds cleared as if on cue from Masterpiece executive
producer Rebecca Eaton, and at last the glory of Highclere was
revealed. The lawn was a perfect green swath, the magnificent trees
appeared like theatrical cut-outs in the razor-sharp light, and
Highclere was a toasty golden color. Our travelers came soon after,
iPhones and cameras going like mad, before passing through those
iconic doors for cocktails with the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon,
a house tour, and a candlelight dinner under the huge van Dyck
painting of King Charles I. After dinner, traveler Edye Baker had a
special request: Could we see the Egyptian collection? Down a steep
staircase into the cellar, the Earl and Countess guided us through
rooms of Egyptian coffins, masks, and jewels and jars—treasures
discovered by the 5th Earl of Carnarvon in the tomb of Tutankhamun.
The evening ended with the Earl and Countess saying goodnight as
we walked through the towering atrium and out those splendid doors.
Bampton: Lights, Camera, ActionWe set off for Bampton, a miniature 12th-century village familiar
to Downton Abbey fans as the site of the Cottage Hospital and the
church where Edith was jilted and Mary got married. Filming for
Season 4 was underway! We passed tiny, monochromatic stone
houses, and were welcomed through production barricades by
people with walkie-talkies. Turning into the village square, we
stepped back in time. Men and women strolled in brown tweeds
and leather lace-up boots. There was a boy on an antique bicycle
and a vicar in long black robes. I recognized Mrs. Crawley’s house
and spotted Mrs. Crawley herself, dressed head to toe in black, her
posture unrepentant. We leaned against a hundreds-of-years-old
stone wall, enjoying our front-row perch, as people with headsets
repeatedly cued a scene (“Action, car!”) that involved an antique car
starting its engine, Mrs. Crawley walking across the green, and the
boy on the bicycle. The experience of Highclere followed by Bampton
prompted traveler Tom Hanrahan to exclaim, “It’s like a fireworks
show that keeps getting better and better.”
Weston Park WeekendWhat can I say about Weston Park, a 17th-century house (“sleeps 53”)
that belonged to the Earl of Bradford, whose guests have included
Disraeli, a G-8 Summit, and the daughter of King George V? Our
English tour historian, Matthew Sturgis, promised us a true English
(from left) tom and karen hanrahan, darlene shiley, edye baker, and marilyn keane listen to lady carnarvon in the library at highclere
bill pounds (left) and tom schwartz at the entrance to highclere castle
our masterpiece tour group in front of highclere castle
masterpiece executive producer rebecca eaton and vanya tulenko
P A G E 8
country weekend, with the threat of authentic English plumbing and
the promise of Downton-like house staff. Approaching the Palladian
brick house poised on 1,000 acres of Capability Brown park, we saw
two flags flying—one British, one American: the ultimate welcome!
Over the weekend, we toured the house’s mind-boggling art—van
Dycks, George Stubbs, Holbeins—took rambling garden walks, and
enjoyed lunch in the Orangery and dinners at the table that seats 46.
After-dinner surprises included Gilbert and Sullivan singers and
Rebecca Eaton sharing passages from her book, Making Masterpiece.
There were Jane Austen-style, horse-drawn carriage rides and even
a visit by the Albrighton Hunt Club. The weekend flew by; the
plumbing worked. And though I spent hours in hallways on rushed
searches for lost items—a frog pin, an evening pump, an iPad—with
the help of traveler Jeffrey Marshall, all items were accounted for as
we boarded our coach for London.
London SurprisesOur bus drove past London’s white stone palaces, teeny mews, and
Belgravia doggy day cares, before pulling up to The Halkin. There
were things to do in London, even if it wasn’t all Downton stuff:
the Chelsea Flower Show’s 100 acres of extravagant displays; our tour
of the Victoria and Albert’s jewelry, led by an expert curator who
dazzled us with diamond tiaras and Fabergé cigarette cases and at
each gallery turn would holler, “Downton Abbey people over here!”;
lunch at Selfridges and an impromptu talk by Selfridges’ owner, Galen
Weston, who—no surprise—is a fan of Masterpiece’s Mr. Selfridge. We
even stopped at royal jewelers Wartski, where we were within inches
of Queen Victoria’s tiara. During our walk through Chelsea to visit
Whistler’s house, travelers Sue Dahlie and Mary Gale Woodman took
off on their own, and had the remarkable good fortune to see the
Queen in her state car. Saturday night at Annabel’s with Elizabeth
McGovern (Cora, Countess of Grantham) and her film-producer
husband Simon Curtis, was thrilling. We danced until 1am, then piled
into classic British taxis waiting to carry us home.
Ealing StudiosEaling Studios is housed in a big, white 1940s-style lodge. We entered
through a tangle of power cords, lights, and a jumble of technical
equipment, and took a quick turn into the hallowed “downstairs” of
Downton Abbey. It was all there, a whole continuous grey and brown
world of the things we recognize: the room bells, servants’ dining
table, Ms. Pattmore’s kitchen (complete with real eggs), actual antique
produce receipts and cookbooks, Mrs. Hughes’s room, exactly as she’d
left it. A production designer fielded a million questions and then,
unbelievably, we were free to wander. It was room after room of
period Downton, totally uninterrupted by even one item from our
century—letters ready for post addressed in fountain pen-period
handwriting…Mr. Carson’s study with a magnifying glass and leather
bound ledger. We explored it all before winding our way back through
the power cords and a jungle gym of intersections, past swinging glass
doors marked “Makeup” and “Hair,” and out, abruptly back to the
21st century.
Join us for future tours! For information about RLS Benefactor tours, including our April
2014 trip to Winterthur Museum’s “Costumes of Downton Abbey”
exhibit, please contact Vanya Tulenko at [email protected]
or 617.300.3806.
our brilliant english historian matthew sturgis (left) with tour organizer anthony worcester of patron travel
carriage rides at weston park
dinner at weston park the bells in downton abbey’s servant quarters, ealing studios
a visit to the servants’ dining room, ealing studios
gabriella beranek takes a seat at carson’s desk at ealing studios
nancy putnam and the hounds during the albright hunt club’s stop at weston park
P A G E 9S H A R I N G T H E V I S I O N N E W S L E T T E R • F A L L 2 0 1 3 / W I N T E R 2 0 1 4
Sharing the Vision is a publication of WGBH
EditorialSusan ReedMatthew Roy
DesignDanielle Pierce
for general information, please contact
Winifred LenihanVice President for Development
WGBH One Guest StreetBoston, MA 02135
617-300-3804 [email protected]
Publication CoordinationElizabeth Willard ThamesMargaret Quackenbush
ProductionLenore Lanier Gibson
Director, Constituent CommunicationsCynthia Broner
Associate DirectorSusan Reed
photo Credits • COVER (FROM TOP, LEFT TO RIGHT): ©ISTOCk.COM/TONYBAGGETT; ©ISTOCk.COM/
BLAkESANDIFUR; © WGBH. PHOTO BY JOHN SCHAEFER; © WGBH EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION (2);
©ISTOCk.COM/RICHVINTAGE; ©ISTOCk.COM/MYHRCAT; ©ISTOCk.COM/OSHEPkOV; © WGBH
EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION; ©ISTOCk.COM/STU99; OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BY PETE SOUzA •
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