TV Party Tonight
Of the actors you've seen on TV, who do you think will go down in TV history? Who will be the Lucille Ball, or Rod Serling of the future? Who's name could you drop 50 years from now and still get most people to go "Oh Yeah! That guy! I remember seeing this cool show he did..."?
Where do we find this person? Maybe in a good Drama; who won't remember James Gandolfini from Sopranos, or Jerry Orbach in Law & Order? Maybe in a children's show; who could forget Mr Rogers or Jim Henson's Sesame Street? Maybe this person was part of a long-running cultural touch stone; I imagine they are already clearing space in the Smithsonian for Seinfeld.
I don't wonder these things; I know the answer.
The answer is he's in all three.
I give you LeVar Burton
Surely no part of your TV watching brain has been left untouched by his work. In 1977 he was Kunta Kinte/Toby in the TV mini-series "Roots" where he gained much critical and public fame. Roots was the biggest TV event of the 70's and still holds records for the rating it garnered. As if this wasn't enough in 1983 he started hosting the PBS children's show "Reading Rainbow." A whole new generation was introduced to LeVar as he encouraged kids to read, and use books to learn and explore. Just to cap things off Mr. Burton for seven years was a major, reoccurring character on "Star Trek: The Next Generation." If anything gets one's career picked apart, written down, and logged in a thousand fan created databases, it's playing a lead on Star Trek.
Anyone of these would have assured a normal person's ascension into the highest levels of the TV Pantheon, but LeVar Burton has three jewels in his crown that anyone would envy. Surely LeVar will be remembered until the fall of civilization. I mean fucking ROOTS, Reading Rainbow,AND Star Trek! WTF!?!
Where do we find this person? Maybe in a good Drama; who won't remember James Gandolfini from Sopranos, or Jerry Orbach in Law & Order? Maybe in a children's show; who could forget Mr Rogers or Jim Henson's Sesame Street? Maybe this person was part of a long-running cultural touch stone; I imagine they are already clearing space in the Smithsonian for Seinfeld.
I don't wonder these things; I know the answer.
The answer is he's in all three.
I give you LeVar Burton
Surely no part of your TV watching brain has been left untouched by his work. In 1977 he was Kunta Kinte/Toby in the TV mini-series "Roots" where he gained much critical and public fame. Roots was the biggest TV event of the 70's and still holds records for the rating it garnered. As if this wasn't enough in 1983 he started hosting the PBS children's show "Reading Rainbow." A whole new generation was introduced to LeVar as he encouraged kids to read, and use books to learn and explore. Just to cap things off Mr. Burton for seven years was a major, reoccurring character on "Star Trek: The Next Generation." If anything gets one's career picked apart, written down, and logged in a thousand fan created databases, it's playing a lead on Star Trek.
Anyone of these would have assured a normal person's ascension into the highest levels of the TV Pantheon, but LeVar Burton has three jewels in his crown that anyone would envy. Surely LeVar will be remembered until the fall of civilization. I mean fucking ROOTS, Reading Rainbow,AND Star Trek! WTF!?!