Fans remember Huell Howser and ?California?s Gold?

Amidst the bursts of rain on Friday, hundreds of people, bundled against the cold, shifted through the grounds of Chapman University. They packed into Memorial Hall to celebrate the memory of journalist Huell Howser and his legacy, the television series ?California?s Gold? and the California?s Gold Scholarship.

Once inside, visitors were ushered into the 937-seat auditorium. Some began to occupy the space near the walls as even the balcony filled up.

With the auditorium almost full, a low murmur rose from those who found seats and reminisced on episodes seen or information recently learned from a slide show featuring clips of Howser?s work. The show also included various quotes from those who worked with or met Howser, like Matt Groening, creator of ?The Simpsons.?

The murmur of the audience died as the lights dimmed and a booming voice announced that the program was to begin. The slide show disappeared, replaced by a clip show featuring more of his filmed career.

?The whole concept of our features has been that each person has a story to tell, a story worth listening to,? a young Huell Howser said, wrapping up the film, ?... operating on the idea that it is much more important to listen to what people have to say than what we have to say about them. We are not proposing news stories done by news men. What we are talking about are the people themselves starring in their own television show.?

That was the pitch in 1977 that began the California?s Gold series.

James Doti, president of Chapman University, took his place behind the podium and a landscape of Howser kneeling in a vast meadow, surrounded by California poppies with a kind smile on his face, appeared on the screen.

?Today we come to celebrate, not Huell Howser ? though we all want to do that, but believe me that is the last thing [Huell] would have wanted,? Doti said. ?What we are celebrating is the ?California?s Gold? show and its impact on our society.?

Doti shared a quote from Howser describing the show as a good story, not overly produced or over thought, that shares the history, people, culture and natural wonders of California.

Stars from Howser?s show, like Slater Barron ?The Lint Lady? and Carole Anne Kaufman ?The Whistling Champion? among others, attended the presentation. They sneaked out soon after the presentation to prepare their booths for the torrent of people to come.

The finale of the presentation was the introduction of the California?s Gold Scholarship and its first recipient, Mayra Gonzalez, a junior from Garden Grove. The audience was released into the university to view Howser?s collections of art and a few of his personal possessions, and to meet, eat and drink with the stars of ?California?s Gold.?

A triangle of display cases in the Chapman University Library was all that remained by Saturday.

Within the cases sat a few items of Howser?s collection, including two of the cameras used to film the show and a volume of video cassettes and books.

Source: http://www.daily49er.com/diversions/fans-remember-huell-howser-and-california-s-gold-1.2809282

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