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"Grandpa" Al Lewis 1923-2006: Actor, Radio Host
and Lifelong Political Activist Dead at 82
Betty Friedan 1921-2006: Women's Rights Pioneer Helped Launch
Modern-Day Feminist Movement
"Grandpa" Al Lewis 1923-2006: Actor, Radio
Host and Lifelong Political Activist Dead at 82
Actor and activist Al Lewis died at the age of 82. In the
acting world, he was best known for playing Grandpa on the
Munsters. He was also a lifelong activist. He ran for New
York Governor on the Green Party ticket and was a longtime
radio host on Pacifica station WBAI. [includes rush
transcript]
Today we remember actor, radio host, and political activist
"Grandpa" Al Lewis. He died Friday after years of
failing health. There are conflicting reports over his age
at the time of his death. He was thought to be 95 years old,
but according to the Associated Press, his family now says
he was in fact 82. Lewis was best known for his roles on two
1960s comedy series - as "Grandpa" on the "The
Munsters" and Officer Leo Schauzer on "Car 54, Where
Are You." He was also a life-long political activist,
and an outspoken critic of US policy at home and abroad. In
1998, he ran for Governor of New York, as the Green Party
candidate against Governor George Pataki. He also took turns
as a basketball scout; a restaurant owner in Greenwich Village;
and a radio host on WBAI here in New York.
Grandpa Al's death was announced Saturday by WBAI program
director Bernard White, during the same time-slot he used
to host his weekly program. We're going to play an excerpt
now from an interview Bernard White and I conducted with Grandpa
Pal on Democracy Now!, on April 10, 1997. We pick up the interview
where Grandpa Al about his early involvement in political
activities. Here, he talks about the case of Ethel and Julius
Rosenberg - the married couple convicted and executed for
spying for the Soviet Union at the height of the McCarthy
era in the 1950s.
- "Grandpa" Al Lewis, interviewed April 10, 1997.
Listen
to full interview with Al Lewis (mp3)
Betty Friedan 1921-2006: Women's Rights Pioneer Helped
Launch Modern-Day Feminist Movement
Women's rights pioneer Betty Friedan has died at the age
of 85. Founder of the National Organization for Women and
author of the groundbreaking book "The Feminine Mystique"
- she helped launch the modern-day feminist movement. We speak
with Friedan's biographer, the first woman network news anchor
and a leading woman's health activist. [includes rush
transcript]
We look at the life and legacy of feminist pioneer Betty
Friedan. She died Saturday, on her 85th birthday. Friedan
was a founding member of the National Organization for Women
- NOW - which today has grown into the largest women's rights
group in the U.S. In 1966, she was NOW's first president,
a post she held for four years. She was also author of the
groundbreaking book "The Feminine Mystique." The
book is widely credited for helping to launch the feminist
movement and is viewed as one of the most important books
of the 20th century. Kim Gandy, NOW's current President, said:
"The Feminine Mystique... opened women's eyes. Betty
recognized a longing in the women of her generation, a longing
for something more - opportunity, recognition, fulfillment,
success, a chance to live their own dreams beyond the narrow
definition of "womanhood" that had limited their
lives."
In 1971, Friedan co-founded the National Women's Political
Caucus. This is an excerpt from her speech at the group's
founding meeting.
- Betty Friedan, speaking in 1971, excerpt from the 1971
television documentary, "The Hand That Rocks The Ballot
Box."
For more on Betty Friedan's life and legacy, we are joined
by three guests:
- Marlene Sanders, she has over thirty years of experience
as a correspondent, writer, and executive with ABC and CBS
News. In 1964, she became the first woman to anchor the
evening news, and 12 years later the first to become a network
news executive. She is currently an adjunct professor at
New York University's Department of Journalism where she
teaches television reporting. She is co-author of the book
"Waiting for Prime Time: The Women of Television News."
- Barbara Seaman, longtime women's health activist. She
is the author of many books, including "The Doctor's
Case Against the Pill" -- one of the first indictments
of the birth control pill, published in 1969. Her latest
book is "The Greatest Experiment Ever Performed on
Women: Exploding the Estrogen Myth." She is also the
co-founder of the National
Women's Health Network.
- Judith Hennessee, She is the author of the definitive
biography, "Betty Friedan: Her Life."
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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