The Center for Ray Bradbury Studies at Indiana University would like help tracking down a video tape for one of Ray Bradbury's most illusive television appearances. On New Year's Eve 1984 (presumably December 31, 1983), Ray Bradbury taped a television show in Los Angeles (possibly CBS) with Orson Welles reading passages from Something Wicked This Way Comes (Welles had read for the film narration about a year earlier). RB provided commentary, and also read a message about the New Year and his belief that George Orwell's 1984 would never arrive. It was a message of hope and a great hour of television, but RB discovered that the show was not taped by the network studio. Neither Donn Albright nor Jon Eller have been able to locate any private recordings of this show, but Mr. Bradbury has asked them to find a recording if at all possible. If any of the discussion group participants have a home-made recording of the 1984 Bradbury-Welles New Years show, or perhaps know of someone who does have a recording, please let us know at the Bradbury Center so that a copy of this show can be archived. Thanks very much.
You can reach us at akbarret@iupui.edu, jeller@iupui.edu, or wtouponc@iupui.edu.
Thank You! Amanda Barrett, Jon Eller, William F. Touponce
Posts: 1 | Location: Indianapolis | Registered: 11 April 2007
I am surprised that this production was not recorded in some fashion, particularly by the television studio, when it had Orson Welles as one of the principles.
Posts: 1397 | Location: Sunrise, FL, USA | Registered: 28 June 2004
Thanks for letting us know there is a Center for Ray Bradbury studies! May we submit copies of our Bradbury-related tapes, photos, videos, and papers there?
Posts: 4190 | Location: Dayton, Washington, USA | Registered: 03 December 2001
dandelion, your attention must have been elsewhere at crucial moments, as I have posted about the Center before. Why, even my employer's website knows about it: click here!
Wow! Apparently I missed out on that info as well. I'm from Indiana and have visited friends who attend Indiana University many times without having the faintest idea of the Center's existence. And now I live in Boston. I feel so cheated!
Posts: 166 | Location: Boston, MA | Registered: 04 December 2003
Yestermorrow, I'm an adviser to the Center. I haven't visited there yet, but I gather that it's a rather modest affair. There is a photo on their website showing their collection of Bradbury materials, and it's not some huge archive, just a few shelves.
The Center is working on a database of Bradbury correspondence, and is soon to start publishing a journal (early 2008). These are the important things about the center - it's not a dedicated building or shrine, it's a catalyst for academic study.
Oh, and it only became official in 2007, so no one should feel bad or not having heard of it before now!
Amanda ... I have a tape (audio) of Joe Mugnaini interviewing Ray Bradbury. They talk about Ray's stories, his inspirations for the books, as well as the illustrations in the books. Do you have anything like this?
Carolinagirl41, dandelion and anyone else who has anything that they think might be unique or rare, I would recommend that you email Amanda Barrett directly, giving as much detail as possible.
The Center is closely linked with Ray's official bibliographer, Donn Albright, and so has access to everything in the Albright Collection. However, there is no public catalogue of that collection, so who knows what might or might not be in it (except Donn himself!).
I brought the search for the Bradbury/Welles tape to the attention of the webmaster of Wellesnet. In response, he has posted a page about Bradbury and Welles, including some interview material I hadn't seen before. There is a direct link here.
