On Sunday, November 22, the Emerson Center will focus on a 5-decade
voyage through the world of television sports as seen
through the eyes of Doug Wilson, the producer/director of the
break-through television series, ABC’s Wide World of Sports.
Wilson's
recollections include personal details gleaned from working alongside athlete/celebrities, including Muhammad Ali, Evel Knievel, Howard Cosell, Jim McKay, Peggy Fleming, Nadia Comaneci, Frank Gifford, Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano, along with special memories of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and the Special Olympics telecast of 1979. Audiences may hear him touch on the Munich Olympics, which sadly changed the course of history by the first major act of terrorism in our times.
His stories are supported by video clips that were seen by the
millions of Wide World of Sports and Olympic Games viewers.
With a bit of prompting, audiences may even enjoy hearing Wilson sing a song he premiered on Memorial Day, 2002 - a song
inspired by the 9/11 tragedy.
 Wilson will speak on Sunday, November 22 for two shows and discussions at
 the VIP Cocktail Reception. He will share interesting and informative stories and video clips with his audiences at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. shows. The VIP Cocktail Reception will be held at 5:30 p.m. The presentation is sponsored in part by RBC Bank with partial proceeds to benefit The Indian River County Salvation Army’s Season of Giving to the Needy of Indian River County
Background:
Doug Wilson is a
graduate of Colgate University and got his first job in television as
an NBC page with ambitions of becoming a singer. In 1958, he joined
ABC first as a production assistant, then in numerous
 associate
directing and directing jobs until ABC’s Wide World of Sports had him
spanning the globe to bring audiences the constant variety of 50
different sports over five continents as a Producer/Director. From Olympic
arenas to backroom pool halls; from the Grand Prix of Monaco and
figure skating in Beijing to wrist-wrestling in Petaluma; from
gymnastics in Bulgaria and Brazil to historic Chinese ping-pong
diplomacy in Detroit; Doug Wilson saw it all. Doug retired on October 15, 2008, fifty years
from the date that he began working at ABC.
Doug
is the winner of 17 Emmys and countless other awards and honors. In addition to his work in television production, Doug is a singer. In fact,
he had always dreamed of being a performer and a singer. During the 1950s, Doug was a contestant on the CBS game show “Name That Tune,” had a cameo on “The Jack Paar Show” and appeared on the NBC variety show “Sunday Schedule.” At one time, Doug was a production assistant on a variety show headed by Dick Clark, a fraternity brother. On December 8, 1959, on the 624th show of American Bandstand, under the pseudonym of Dean Douglas, Doug sang his song, “Have Love Will Travel.” The flip side was entitled, “It’s a Kind of a Party.” He also wrote and performed a sports song in 1971 for the 10th anniversary show of Wide World of Sports.
Details:
The Emerson Center is conveniently located at 1590 27th Avenue, on the SE corner of 16th Street and 27th Avenue in Vero Beach. Showtimes are 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. and tickets are $30 ($40 at the door). One show plus the 5:30 p.m. VIP Cocktail Reception is $50 per ticket. Students will be charged $15 per ticket if they arrive with their parent(s) or with a student ID. Tickets for open seating are now on sale. Call (772) 778-5249. |
