RIP Huell Howser

[craigster59]

Don't know if many Pelicans outside of California saw any of Huell Howser's "California's Gold", but it was a great show that featured a lot if interesting people and places. RIP Huell, thanks for the laughs, insight and education. You always stayed enthusiastic and it really came through.
Huell Howser - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[slodave]

Bummer. I enjoyed watching his show from time to time, though his voice was annoying.

[SeanPizzle]

that's AMAZING


RIP

[daepp]

He had a great charm, and those shows were so interesting.

After watching one of his shows, I took my young family to the Maritime Museum one Sunday afternoon. As we were leaving he walked up alone from the parking lot. After hanging out with us for a bit, he invited us to tour the old LA Fireboat nearby. Got the e-ticket tour from one of the best!

RIP HH!

[motion]

Cool guy. Loved his show.

[KaptKaos]

Aw man. Bummer.

What happened??

[slodave]

He died. Sorry, couldn't resist.

[KaptKaos]

Yeah, but he wasn't that old.

[slodave]

I think we will have to wait a bit longer to find out the details.

[sammyg2]

He did a show on the old diesel engines at the city of vernon powerplant a long time ago and I was part of the team that brought them out of mothballs and got them running.
He and I corresponded back and forth and disagreed strongly a few years ago when he did a show praising the great messiah who hadn't actually done anything.

[daepp]

Wow - any more info on the engines?

[Hugh R]

Guess I'll take SS as early as I can.

[Don Ro]

"Let's all gather 'round this plaque that commemorates the first miner's finding of gold in these California foothills.
Why don't you step in a little closer Beverly, right next to Ernest here, and I'll hold the microphone close to you while you read the words on this old plaque.
Here we all are. Isn't this amazing?"
.
A relaxing and informative presentation, always. Loved it & him.

RIP HH.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by daepp

Wow - any more info on the engines?

http://www.calgold.com/visiting/Default.asp?Series=500&Show=268

Used to be 5 of em, there was three when I worked on em, rumor is that there are two left and it's a museum now.

8 cylinders each, 3' bore and 2' stroke, double-acting pistons (fired above and below, twice per stroke). Each had a 50 hp electric motor running a squirrel cage fan as a supercharger. I think it was 50, might have been 150. it was a long time ago.

Pistons and rods were water-cooled and weighed about 7000# each.



view of the outboard heads


spare crank


broken crank


fully rivetted crane, like they used to build bridges before welding.

[Tobra]

Too bad, got a lot of good ideas from Mr Howser on places to go visit.

He was only 67, must have had a bum ticker or something.

[daepp]

He was a former Marine and had huge arms. He always looked very fit.

[Don Ro]

What broke that crank? Over-revving?

[sammyg2]

IIRC he donated all his shows and production company and stuff to some university not long ago so he must have known it was coming.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

What broke that crank? Over-revving?

That happened long after I left but I'm guessing metal fatigue. Stress riser started a crack and it propogated.

They just didn't have the metalurgy and capabilities to make really good forged steel back in the late 20's early 30's.

[sammyg2]

Broadcasting legend Huell Howser to donate “life’s work” to Chapman University
On September 29, 2011 ....

ORANGE, Calif. (September 29, 2011) — California TV icon Huell Howser, who will be presenting a free talk in Chapman University’s Memorial Hall on Thursday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m., has announced that he will donate all current, past and future episodes of California’s Gold and all his other public television shows – VISITING…with Huell Howser, Road Trip with Huell Howser, California’s Golden Parks, California’s Missions and an array of others — to Chapman so that they can be digitized, put on the web and made available free to a worldwide online audience.

Howser’s live public talk, “In Search of California’s Gold,” is open to all. The talk will cover many of Howser’s adventures as the host of the series, the fascinating people he has met along the way, and the wonders of California that he has seen. There will be an audience Q&A immediately following the talk. More information: 714-744-7677 or Page Not Found | Chapman University.

The university is currently organizing the massive digitization process, and will announce at a later time when the shows will be available online. Howser is also donating to Chapman between 250 to 300 boxes of material directly related to the series – papers, ephemera and memorabilia – as well as 1,800 books about California, all of which will be housed in the university’s Leatherby Libraries.

The Leatherby Libraries will display part of the Huell Howser collection in an exhibition that will open to the public on October 13 on the library’s second floor. Audience members are invited to view the collection before or after the talk (the library is open until 2 a.m.). The exhibition will remain on display through the rest of October.

“I’m so proud to have a permanent home for my life’s work at a university the caliber of Chapman, and I hope it will be used by students and the public to learn about and understand California even better,” said Howser. “The idea of getting all the shows posted on the web so that everyone – not just students – can always access them for free is very appealing to me.”

How did he make the initial contact with Chapman University? “Chapman President Jim Doti sent me a letter – at one point, he’d heard I’d been in Orange and was sorry he hadn’t been available, and invited me to visit Chapman whenever I was in the area,” said Howser. “That really impressed me – in this hectic world, to get a personal letter signed by the university president! That’s the kind of personal contact that resonates with me. It got me thinking about the legacy of my work and how I wanted it to become available to a wider audience. After visiting the university several times, Chapman just felt like a very comfortable place for me and my work – there’s nothing but positivity there, and there’s a great energy about learning and lots of plans for the future. Everyone seems excited to be there. It just felt like exactly where this collection should go.”

Howser plans to return to Chapman often in the coming months and years. “I’ll be coming back to speak to history and film classes, to the Town & Gown support group and others.” His first visit to Chapman classes will happen on Thursday, October 6.

Broadcasting legend Huell Howser to donate "life's work" to Chapman University - Press Room