Famed Sportscaster Roy Firestone Unearths “Lost” Video Treasure Trove
by Maria Schriver
Although mostly known for his seven-time Emmy Award and seven-time CableAce award-winning career as a sports journalist and broadcaster of note, most would never guess that the jovial Roy Firestone is also a serious archivist, and preservationist of rare videos and audio files.
Never before unearthed audio and video recordings (some of them not in the best condition due to the ravages of time) that feature the likes of beloved Hollywood icons such as Jimmy Stewart and Jack Benny to the scandalous and disgraced, Richard M. Nixon are just a part of his impressive collection.
“I’ve decided to digitize these files to preserve them for posterity” said a calm and laid back Firestone, while taking in the sun by the impeccably manicured grotto of his stylish mansion tucked away in the celebrity-filled hills of Encino. “I felt it was finally time to share these incredibly rare collector’s items and put them up on the web for the world to see.”
Firestone screened these clips for me in his high-tech media room decked out with all the latest gear. In fact his entire home is a showplace filled to the rafters with his museum-worthy sports memorabilia collection.
The first piece he showed me was from a New Year’s Eve episode of The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson that sadly only exists in the form of an audio clip recorded off a TV. Johnny’s special guest is Jimmy Stewart who reads one of his beloved original poems. I am astonished with how prescient Stewart’s “pet peeves” turned out to be. Jimmy truly was a reniassance man. I knew them both well (I called them the two J’s) and dearly miss their class and style. Not many like them out there anymore.
The next clip really took me aback. Now, Aaron Sorkin is a good friend of mine. Our children go to the same school in The Vineyard. In fact, I think he may be the most brilliant screenwriter of our generation. The courtroom trial scene in his masterpice, “A Few Good Men” is possibly the most quoted in cinema history. However I must admit, that after watching this clip (whose video is rather badly damaged) I can see Firestone’s point that Sorkin may have been more than slightly influenced by it.
The clip also demonstrates how the classic, Jack Benny Program — without “working blue” — stands the test of time by making us laugh at the most controversial issues that still resonate today.
Being from a political family myself I can tell you that the final clip should be mandatory viewing for every politcal science student in the country. It is a remarkable never-heard-before audio recording from the National Archive’s collection of Nixon’s infamous, “White House Tapes.” It features a much rumored meeting between Nixon and Kissinger in the Oval Office during the most chaotic period of the Watergate scandal that would ultimately bring down his presidency. It also lays bare the truth of just how detached from reality Nixon was during this histoic time as well as confirmation of his abusive alcohol intake.
To make sure these delicate original elements were properly restored, Firestone enlisted the help of his good friend of more than fifty years, David Jablin. “Jablin has a brilliant technical mind. He’s a perfectionist and a computer whiz. A retired show-biz guy with way too much time on his hands. He was perfect for this!” quipped Firestone.
From my personal perspective I only wish we had secret tapes like these from Emperor Trump’s mob-style Oval Office. Perhaps this is something Roy Firestone may one day unearth for the good of the planet. He did say that Robert Mueller was a golfing buddy of his... Let’s hope he finds something before 2020!
Maria Schriver is a respected journalist who covers the intersection of popular culture and its influence on contempory society. She is often confused with Maria Shriver who was once married to Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Next: Roy Firestone: The Lost Interviews
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