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Revisiting the First Television Spectacular

As a child, classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz was delighted by the live broadcast of the Ford 50th Anniversary Show, which featured a lively--and unprecedented--duet between Mary Martin and Ethel Merman. The program has recently been released on video.

06:51
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Other segments from the episode on September 7, 1988

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, September 7, 1988: Interview with Paul Schrader; Review of the home video release of "The Ford 50th Anniversary"; Interview with Clarence Major; Commentary on Italian…
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27:22

Screenwriter Paul Schrader

Part 1 of Terry Gross's interview. Schrader's newest movie is Patty Hearst, about the magazine heiress's kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army. He recently collaborated with Martin Scorsese on the film The Last Temptation of Christ.

Interview
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09:38

Writing Other Voices

Clarence Major is an experimental, African American writer. His latest novel, Painted Turtle: Women with Guitar -- along with his last book, Such Was the Season -- uses more conventional narrative techniques. He joins Fresh Air to discuss language and storytelling in the black community.

Interview
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03:29

Learning Italian at the Movies

Language commentator recalls how he learned Italian by watching dubbed American movies while studying abroad, and considers why Italian filmgoers prefer dubbing over subtitles.

Commentary

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Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

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09:30

Sinister twin sisters wield all the power in the latest 'Dead Ringers' adaptation

David Cronenberg's 1988 movie Dead Ringers, like the book on which it was based, was all about birth, death, love and power — but mostly from the male point of view. This new six-episode Prime Video adaptation of Dead Ringers preserves all of that. But showrunner Alice Birch, who created this TV version, changes it, too, by giving its female characters all the power.

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52:30

Daughter of Warhol star looks back on a bohemian childhood in the Chelsea Hotel

Alexandra Auder's mother, Viva, was one of Andy Warhol's muses. Growing up in Warhol's orbit meant Auder's childhood was an unusual one. For several years, Viva, Auder and Auder's younger half-sister, Gaby Hoffmann, lived in the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan. It was was famous for having been home to Leonard Cohen, Dylan Thomas, Virgil Thomson, and Bob Dylan, among others.

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43:04

This fake 'Jury Duty' really put James Marsden's improv chops on trial

In the series Jury Duty, a solar contractor named Ronald Gladden has agreed to participate in what he believes is a documentary about the experience of being a juror--but what Ronald doesn't know is that the whole thing is fake.

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