60 MINUTES {MY TURN, GINA'S IN HIDING, HERB AND HIS AIRLINE} (TV)
Summary
One in this series of news magazine programs. In the first segment, "My Turn," Mike Wallace conducts an in-depth interview with former first lady Nancy Reagan. In his introduction, Wallace explains that many people believe that since President Ronald Reagan was so well liked, his wife Nancy became the "lightning rod" for all the criticism of his administration. Wallace opens the interview by asking her about her much publicized feud with White House chief of staff Donald Regan, who was asked to step down after he openly criticized the first lady's growing interest in astrology. Reagan denies that Regan left over the astrology comments, but she does acknowledge that she sought the advice of astrologist Joan Quigly about potential dates of key appointments for her and the President. Wallace also asks Reagan to comment on her clashes with other figures in her husband's administration, notably Edwin Meese. Wallace asks Reagan what her husband's role in the Iran-Contra scandals was, and she replies "nothing." "Come on!" Wallace scoffs. Reagan eventually elaborates, but her comments come down largely to a condemnation of Oliver North. Wallace asks Reagan to comment on charges that the Reagan administration's "family values" platform is hypocritical in the light of the fact that Reagan is completely estranged from her daughter Patti Davis. Wallace also asks Reagan whether her famous "Just Say No" campaign was conceived as an image-softening ploy, and footage of her dancing with Mr. T at an anti-drug rally is shown as she denies the charge. In the second segment, "Gina's In Hiding," Ed Bradley investigates the circumstances surrounding the racially motivated murder of Yusef Hawkins in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. The African-American Hawkins, Bradley explains, had been invited to attend the birthday party of his white friend "Gina," (who appears heavily disguised, and using an alias) in a neighborhood known for serious tensions between blacks and Italians. Gina's friends and neighbors pleaded with Gina to withdraw her invitation to Hawkins, viewers learn, knowing that the young men who lived in Gina's building had previously voiced their disapproval of her racially diverse group of friends. When Gina refused, the men saw her failure to cooperate as a challenge. Hawkins showed up at the party and was assaulted by a large group of men; he died immediately. Bradley solicits comments from a number of nearby residents, many of whom take the stance that Gina should have known better than to invite a young black man into their neighborhood. Bradley then explains that the media circus surrounding the murder has caused many people in the neighborhood to resent Gina. After she received death threats, she explains, she went into hiding. In the third segment, "Herb and His Airline," Steve Kroft examines the extremely unorthodox business practices of Southwest Airlines president and C.E.O. Herb Kelleher. Kroft discusses some of Southwest's unusual procedures, such as refusing to adhere to assigned seating, over archival clips of some of Southwest's more offbeat television commercials from years past. The company, Kroft explains, became known as the "love airline" sometime in the 1970s, and female flight attendants wore tight hot pants and sang songs into the planes' public-address systems. Kelleher's marketing gimmicks have paid off, Kroft explains: the company is known within the air travel industry as having the best labor relations of any company. In the final segment, Andy Rooney riffs on the preponderance of cereals on the market. He emphatically states his belief that the cereals called "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," "Fruity Yummy Mummy," and "Nintendo Cereal System," are simply "bad." Harry Reasoner concludes by reading mail from viewers concerning segments from past episodes.
Cataloging of this program has been made possible by the Bell Atlantic Foundation, 2000.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: October 15, 1989 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:54:34
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:64188
- GENRE: News magazine
- SUBJECT HEADING: Airlines; Murder; Presidents - United States - Wives; Race relations
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1968-
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - AT&T telephone services
- TV - Commercials - Amercian Dairy Association "Real Cheese"
- TV - Commercials - Dodge automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Dupont carpets
- TV - Commercials - Federal Express shipping service
- TV - Commercials - Healthy Choice frozen dinners
- TV - Commercials - Kellogg's Shredded Wheat cereal
- TV - Commercials - Lincoln Towncar automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Mrs. Dash food seasoning
- TV - Commercials - NY Life Insurance Company
- TV - Commercials - Nissan automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Pepperidge Farm cookies
- TV - Commercials - Sun Sweet prunes
- TV - Commercials - UPS shipping service
CREDITS
- Don Hewitt … Executive Producer, Writer
- Philip Scheffler … Senior Producer
- Richard Bonin … Producer, Writer, News Writer
- David Gelber … Producer, Writer, News Writer
- Gail Eisen … Producer, Writer, News Writer
- Merri Lieberthal … Producer
- Arthur Bloom … Director
- Allen Mack … Direction (Misc.), Associate Director
- Alicia Tanz Flaum … Direction (Misc.), Associate Director
- Mike Wallace … Reporter
- Ed Bradley … Reporter
- Harry Reasoner … Reporter
- Morley Safer … Reporter
- Steve Kroft … Reporter
- Andy Rooney … Reporter
- Patti Davis
- Yusef Hawkins
- Herb Kelleher
- Edwin Meese
- Mr. T
- Oliver North
- Nancy Reagan
- Ronald Reagan
- Donald Regan
- Joan Quigly