Huell Howser

Popular PBS host Huell Howser has explored nearly every nook and cranny of the Golden State to pursue the kinds of stories network news shows wouldn't dare touch for fear of boring their crisis-addicted viewers. With only a small camera crew in tow and a microphone in hand, Howser takes his audience into little-known state parks, abandoned mines, historic cultural sites and obscure Los Angeles neighborhoods, conducting informal interviews with locals, tour guides, experts or whoever else wanders by.

A Tennessee native, Howser has spent most of his career smack-dab in front of the camera, starting with a human-interest series at Nashville's WSM-TV. Following a short stint in New York City as a host on a magazine-style series for WCBS-TV, he moved to LA to work as a reporter on KCBS-TV. In 1987, fed up with 90-second segments, he joined KCET, where he has hosted a number of different shows, including his signature series, California's Gold.

On a recent Saturday morning, we caught up with the affable host at one of his favorite LA haunts, downtown's Philippe's, the French dip mecca near Union Station. Before the interview got underway, Howser was approached by no fewer than 15 adoring fans asking for photos, proclaiming their allegiance to his show and suggesting stories for future episodes. Despite the constant interruptions to his ham-and-eggs breakfast, Howser was engaging with everyone, and his smile never slackened.

As part of the Wescom Speaker Series, Howser will discuss his career at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Westin Pasadena, 191 N. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena. Admission  is free, but reservations are required and can be made by calling (888) 493-7266.
--Allison Milionis

PW: You know this city inside out. What do you suggest to first-time visitors to LA?

Huell Howser: There are so many layers of Los Angeles and so many different experiences you could have. I tend to gravitate to places like Philippe's that give you the cross-section and a sense of the flavor of what LA really is. You don't get that with Disneyland or Universal CityWalk or Mann's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard, where you're just interacting with tourists.

In your travels throughout California, you must come across people who have a negative attitude toward Los Angeles. What do you say to people in other cities, like San Francisco, who look down their noses at our town?

What bothers me the most about the negative perception of LA is that those outside the city don't see the rich tapestry of people who live here. They see it as this big, monolithic place with smog and gangs and the Hollywood attitude. They see it during the Academy Awards, and they see it after earthquakes, but they never see the neighborhoods, the local restaurants - the daily life. You know, it's the context in which you think about things. I mean, come on - I don't like the traffic, either. I think a lot of us have a love/hate relationship with the city. There are days when we say, "I'm going to move out of this damn place. I'm not going to take this anymore." But the next day you have a quintessential, magical LA day, where you meet interesting people, go to some concert in an open-air theater, have a great meal, listen to great music, and you go, "Yeah, that's why I live here."

What neighborhood or part of LA best reflects who you are?

I usually go to places downtown, on the eastside, and in east Hollywood, where people tend to be less pretentious, less interested in how much money you make, what kind of car you are driving or the clothes you're wearing; [they're] more down to earth. The stories are more interesting there. I also think that immigrants or people who have lived here for just one to two generations tend to be more in love with the city and appreciative of what the city is, rather than complaining about it. I like to surround myself with the positive energy of people who are excited to be here and be a part of the life here. Even though I'm educated, have traveled the world and mingled with the president in the White House, I tend to be very comfortable at a place like Philippe's and not as comfortable at the Disney Concert Hall. It doesn't mean I don't like it, or classical music, or appreciate the architecture; it's just who I am. I'd rather have a bowl of chili than good caviar. I'd rather drink a good, cold beer than the finest wine someone could pour at $1,000 a bottle. I think that shows in my program and [is] why people relate to it.

Yeah, even though you're a well-known television personality, people seem to be very comfortable approaching you with their story ideas.

If you are really interested in a person and they know it, they will talk your head off. We are surrounded by people with all of these amazing stories and these amazing abilities and amazing insights, and yet we walk right by. I always say the checkout lady at your grocery store is much more interesting than the people you'll see on late-night television promoting their new movie or modeling contract. That's why, when people ask if I'm about to run out of stories, it's almost insulting, because the stories revolve around the people, and you're never going to run out of people. We look too hard. There are more people out there planning trips to Paris, London, or Rome who have never been to East LA or Monterey Park. We have the whole world here within a 30-mile radius of where we are sitting right now.

So your show is more about the people than the places you visit?

The places are metaphors for opening your heart or eyes to the world. If you approach life with the right attitude, then it doesn't matter whether you're eating at Spago or Philippe's, they're both going to be great experiences. It doesn't matter whether you live in a loft or suburb. Essentially, it doesn't make any difference what you are or who you are, because anyone can go through life being a receiver.

My show operates on the premise that TV ain't brain surgery. It's as simple as walking into a place with a microphone and camera and saying, "Hey, what's going on here?" And then listening to what they tell you. It doesn't have to be overproduced or overwritten. A good story doesn't need a lot of bells and whistles. A good story just needs a reporter who is willing to sit still long enough to listen instead of doing all the talking.

Is that why you transitioned from being a feature reporter to doing human-interest stories for public television?

That's what got me away from Channel 2. I was being given 90 seconds at the end of the 6 and 9 p.m. news for what the producers thought would be a little pep-me-up following an hour of gloom and doom. I don't want to make it sound like my show is more important than it is, but I think it adds something to the pot, it helps. At KCET, I get 30 minutes or an hour to make a rich, full story. We interview people and cover subjects that most people would not consider "worthy" or sexy or glamorous enough to be on television. But that way of thinking is the same mentality our political leaders have about who is important in the world. [Do you want to hear] just your big contributors, presidents of big companies and the unions, or your average citizens, the people who make the world go around?

You've been on KCET for 15 years. Do you ever plan to retire?

The empowerment I feel by being able to go out and do a program like this is immeasurable. It's the reason I don't think I could ever retire. It would drive me crazy. My fantasy is to say "Good night" and drop dead on camera. I've told my cameramen if I do, just keep the camera rolling and run the credits over my dead body so the people watching at home might say, "Well, I guess that was Huell's last show."