On Demand
Robert S. McNamara
The Leonard Lopate Show
Robert S. McNamara served as the eighth United States Secretary of Defense from 1961 to 1968 and was the architect of the ill-fated escalation of American forces during the Vietnam War. He died recently at the age of 93. And you can hear his interview with Leonard Lopate about the tragedy and lessons of that war, from March 1996.
Karl Malden
The Leonard Lopate Show
Karl Malden was one classy character actor. Known for his portrayals of the rough-hewn Everyman, the Academy Award-winning actor once said he was determined "to be No. 1 in the No. 2 parts I was destined to get." He died recently at the age of 97, and you can listen to his 1997 conversation with Leonard Lopate.
Ali Akbar Khan
New Sounds
June 19, 2009
The late great classical Indian sarod master Ali Akbar Khan came to the U.S.A. in the 1950's, influenced a generation of musicians and had a huge impact on the sound of rock and jazz in the 1960's. He was also the brother-in-law of Ravi Shankar.
David Caradine
The Leonard Lopate Show
David Carradine was best known for his role in the television series, "Kung Fu," but he came from a family of actors and appeared in more than 100 films, working with directors like Martin Scorsese and Ingmar Bergman. He died last week at the age of 72, and you can listen to the first part of Leonard Lopate’s 1991 interview with him.
Jack Kemp
The Leonard Lopate Show
Jack Kemp, the former football star, became a crusader for lower taxes, and a keen Republican. He was secretary of housing and urban development under the first President George Bush, and the Republican vice-presidential nominee in 1996. He just died of cancer at the age of 73. But you can hear his interview with Leonard from April 25, 2007, when he discussed his mentor, Jeane Kirkpatrick.
Bea Arthur Remembers Maude
The Leonard Lopate Show
Bea Arthur's name will always be linked with that of "Maude" - the outspoken television character she made famous with her salt-and-pepper hair and husky voice. In the course of her career, she received 11 Emmy Award nominations, winning twice for both "Maude" and "The Golden Girls." She also won a Tony for "Mame." She was always cagey about her age, but we think she was 86 when she died. And you can hear her interview with Leonard Lopate from March 19, 2007, when she discussed creating her iconic character.
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Helen Levitt
The Leonard Lopate Show
Helen Levitt was a poet, with a camera. Over her long career, she is especially known for capturing random moments of children at play in the streets of New York -- moments that always seemed to be the perfect moments.
Slideshow: Helen Levitt
Important Legacies
The Leonard Lopate Show
John Hope Franklin literally wrote the book on African-American history. When “From Slavery to Freedom: A History of Negro Americans” was published in 1947, it gave African-Americans their place in American history. He was also an activist, breaking many barriers in his own life and working with Thurgood Marshall to craft his case in Brown v. Board of Education. The Duke historian died earlier this week at the age of 94. You can listen to Leonard Lopate’s interview with John Hope Franklin from 1995.
Natasha Richardson
The Leonard Lopate Show
The daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director Tony Richardson, Natasha Richardson may have been born into one of acting’s great families, but she quickly made a name for herself on both stage and screen. Critics praised her performances in a wide range of her roles, and she won the Tony Award in 1998 for her performance as Sally Bowles in “Cabaret.” She died from a head injury after a skiing accident at the age of 45. You can listen to Leonard Lopate’s interview with Natasha Richardson from January 21, 1993, when she was starring in a revival of Eugene O’Neill’s play “Anna Christie.”
Schulyer Chapin
The Leonard Lopate Show
Schuyler Chapin was New York’s de facto champion of the arts – having served as general manager of the Metropolitan Opera (where he brought in Beverly Sills for her debut) and as New York’s cultural affairs commissioner. He died at the age of 86. And you can hear not one, but two interviews Leonard Lopate did with him, from 1992, and 1995.
