Television personality Huell Howser will deliver the commencement address at this year’s graduation ceremony according to the Seaver Dean’s Office.
Howser is a legendary figure in California public television as host of 11 different series and numerous specials on California’s attractions and scenery on local station KCET a member of PBS. The most notable series are “California’s Gold” and “Visiting With Huell Howser which feature Howser traveling throughout California and visiting lesser-known attractions throughout the state.
While the media have certainly changed in the decades since Howser first broadcast, his style has remained relevant and refreshing in an age of media conglomeration and the downfall of local public television.
The lo-fi, almost vintage feel of California’s Gold now in its 17th year of production, has carved out an important space for itself in the history of public television. He still totes a single hand-held microphone that is the center of his spontaneous interviews with ordinary” people in “ordinary” places. But the result is anything but ordinary— it ultimately captures a sense of adventure and urges exploration of the vastness of the state.
In a Los Angeles Times feature published last year TV critic Robert Lloyd hailed Howser as an artist and “a kind of natural wonder.
“[Howser is] practically the last living representative of local television in Los Angeles and for all I know in America that species having largely been crushed under the weight of media conglomeration Lloyd wrote. As an ambassador: the man who takes TV to the people and puts the people — the sort of ordinary people TV ignores almost 100 percent of the time… on TV.”
On his Web site Howser explains that the inspiration for his shows stems from the desire to tell people’s stories.
“We operate on the premise that TV isn’t brain surgery Howser wrote. People’s stories are what it’s all about Howser wrote. If you have a good story it doesn’t have to be overproduced. I want our stories to reveal the wonders of the human spirit and the richness of life in California including its history people culture and natural wonders.”
A Tennessee native Howser speaks slowly in a thick Southern accent and always appears amazed by what is around him. A YouTube search of his name turns up classic moments like his slightly overboard fascination with an avocado-eating dog or Howser happily declaring he is breaking international law while placing his foot over the U.S.-Mexico border to the dismay of an onlooking U.S. border patrol agent.
However many students have expressed disappointment with the announcement of the speaker citing his relative obscurity.
“It’s unfortunate that Pepperdine chose him because many people from out of state don’t know who he is senior Zac Parsons said.
Senior John Staser echoed these concerns, but said he is keeping an open mind.
I had never heard of him until a couple days ago but I’m sure he’ll have some great things to say Staser said.
Senior Carina Yaghsezian, a California native, said she is excited by the announcement and wishes students knew more about Howser.
He’s just a really interesting man who’s explored California she said. I think he’ll make a great speaker because of his experiences and what he’s done for media. I think people should listen and not be so closed-minded about the fact that they don’t necessarily know who he is. I think he will be insightful.”