Typewriter Artist
Paul Smith, the Typewriter artist. Originally aired March-April of 1976 on KOIN-TV in Portland Oregon.
At-Large Reporter Ray Summers wrote and narrated. I shot, edited and selected the music. Ray learned about Paul from a newspaper feature in the Roseburg, Oregon newspaper. Ray and I roamed Southern Oregon for a week in February and dropped by the Roseburg nursing home one wintry morn. We were in and out in 90 minutes, but what we captured was an amazing story on many levels.
I shot the story with a single system Frezzolini 16mm film camera. I shot daylight Ektachrome with dichroic filters on my lights since so much daylight was coming in the windows. I put an ECM-50 microphone inside Paul’s typewriter to capture the sound. I got the music from my personal library.
A week or two later, Assignment Editor Norm Gunning gave me a whole day to cut this piece. I synched 4 reels of film and sound and pretaped to 2 inch tape. By the reaction of the crew we knew we had a special piece.
I submitted the piece to the National Press Photographer Association’s 2nd quarter clip contest in 1976. It won 1st place nationally as the best television news story.
It had been lost on 3/4″ Beta tape in my hot attic for years. I just bought an used 3/4″ deck off EBay and recorded this story to my computer. It suffers a bit from generation loss. I count 3 generations: film, 2 inch tape, 3/4″ tape. Enjoy.
Mark Gardner is a regular contributor to WhackyNation.com.
Duration : 0:3:37
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No, he passed away …
No, he passed away in 2007
genius
genius
Is the Typewriter …
Is the Typewriter artist sill alive as of 2010
nive
nive
This is one of the …
This is one of the best videos yet. Such a totally beautiful person. He is awesome and an inspiration for all. Thank you for sharing. They are masterpieces.
that “dusty old …
that “dusty old type-writer” in your basement may not be so useless after all, as this truly inspirational man has tought us.
“Paul smith has a …
“Paul smith has a nervous disorder” listen next time
Man that is truely …
Man that is truely phenomenal!!
Such an inspiration!
the guys good. …
the guys good. I’m impressed. keep up the good work Paul.
Wow!
Wow!
WOW! He is amazing! …
WOW! He is amazing! Good for him!!!
I just love the …
I just love the spirit of this guy – awesome!!!
Wow. A true artist …
Wow. A true artist
wow he is good! but …
wow he is good! but it took him 32 years to learn how to walk and 16 years to learn how to talk? weird
‘..and he learned …
‘..and he learned to paint..slowly..’ That seems so douchey for him to say..
Amazing! and …
Amazing! and inspirational!
What an astonishing …
What an astonishing medium in art! I’m very glad he found a way to get his vision of art out with the cerebral palsy(?)!!
I love how excitedly happy he looks in this video, too! ^_^
Wow, great story. I …
Wow, great story. I wish we could have seen more close-ups of his work. They are amazing.
He died in 2007. …
He died in 2007. What a mind he had to plan these pieces out like that, and what a gifted artist he was.
inspiring…to say …
inspiring…to say the least!
wow, that’s amazing …
wow, that’s amazing…
i can’t believe be …
i can’t believe be it truly amazing
He has the patience …
He has the patience of the Gods but amazing, amazing foresight!
I remember this …
I remember this being on..whatever show Mike Wallace to used to be on (60 minutes?) and the guy doing a picture of President Reagan.
At least, I think that’s right. I miss Ray Summer and Grant McOmie, two Portland main-stays.
Simply amazing. …
Simply amazing. This is a golden slice of television. Worth of all the awards it won, and then some.