ON THE ROAD WITH CHARLES KURALT {BLENHEIM GINGER ALE; GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE; BICYCLES} (TV)

Summary

One in this series of television magazines, in which host Charles Kuralt presents clips from his twenty-five years of travel journalism through the back roads of America. In the first segment, Kuralt visits the Blenheim Ginger Ale plant in the woods of South Carolina and interviews its owner, Ed Dennis. Operating since 1904, the same year that Canada Dry began production on its competing product, the plant produces and bottles its drink using local spring water. Developed as a healthful drink, little has changed about it, including the machinery used to produce it and the lack of sophistication in advertising and marketing. Next, as a tribute to the fiftieth anniversary of the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge, Kuralt chats with three men who worked on its construction while showing footage of the construction process. They discuss the difficulty and danger of the work as offset by the need for employment during the Great Depression. The final segment profiles Jethro Mann, an elderly man in Belmont, North Carolina, who repairs and reconstructs old bicycles. As a result of a deprived childhood, Mann runs a "lending library of bicycles" to ensure that no child in his town is ever without one. In addition to providing vehicles of fun for the youngsters, Mann teaches politeness, responsibility, and helping others through his grass-roots program. Includes commercials with Karl Malden for American Express Travel Services, Inc. and Telly Savalas for the Ford Motor Company.

("On the Road with Charles Kuralt" consists of excerpts from Charles Kuralt's segments on the CBS Evening News, beginning in 1967. In the 1970s the show was aired in four special broadcasts, and in 1983 it was developed into a regular ten-week summer series. In addition, the series was reworked for and aired on The Travel Channel in 1993.)

Cataloging of this program was made possible by the CBS Foundation, 1998.

Details

• NETWORK: CBS
• DATE: June 26, 1983 8:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 0:28:26
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: T:01129_1
• GENRE: Magazine
• SUBJECT HEADING: Bicycles; Carbonated beverages; Journalism, travel; Soft drink industry; Television journalism; Travel
• SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1983
• COMMERCIALS:
  • TV - Commercials - American Express Travel Services, Inc.
  • TV - Commercials - Ford Motor Company
  • TV - Commercials - IBM Corporation
  • TV - Commercials - Shell gasoline

CREDITS

• Russ Bensley
• Bernard Birnbaum
• Elliot Bernstein
• Shareen Blair Brysac
• Mary Drayne
• Jane Bartels
• Cathy Lewis
• Ruth Streeter
• Peter Freundlich
• Ken Sable
• Charles Kuralt
• Karl Malden
• Telly Savalas
• Ed Dennis
• Jethro Mann