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Gilbert Seldes

The Lively Arts

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The Lively Arts host Gilbert Seldes (Courtesy Annenberg School of Communication/Annenberg School of Communication)

Gilbert Seldes (1893-1970) was a well-known cultural critic and broadcaster.

Seldes was born in a farm in Alliance, N.J., without electricity or running water. During his college years he became the editor of the Harvard Monthly. Always a champion of the lively (or popular) arts, in 1924 he published an influential collection of essays, The Seven Lively Arts. In 1937 he became CBS's first Director of Programming. He later hosted a famously eclectic show on WNYC called The Lively Arts.

Gilbert Seldes appears in the following:

A 'Lively' Rant on Popular Film, McCarthyism, and Genre Fiction

Friday, February 22, 2013

The granddaddy media critics.

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Gilbert Seldes

Tuesday, January 01, 1957

Jazz on TV; Marian Anderson's tour of the Orient; Louis Armstrong on TV.

[Review of the play "The Living Room"]

Tuesday, December 07, 1954

This episode is from the WNYC archives. It may contain language which is no longer politically or socially appropriate.

Gilbert Seldes says it's interesting that "The Living Room" was produced at all in this country. It is fundamentally a religious play. Quotes a review in Time: "brings darkness to light ...

[Pope's view of television in Italy]

Monday, January 11, 1954

This episode is from the WNYC archives. It may contain language which is no longer politically or socially appropriate.

Seldes apologizes for an absence over the holidays. Arts in the news. A new television network for movies in Italy. Psychological difference among the audience between watching movies at home and ...

Does the Public Get What it Wants? Panel Discussion : [Museum of Modern Art Symposium]

Tuesday, April 25, 1950

Silent screen legend Mary Pickford says current movie stars are exploited by the system. She laments that the glamor of the past has disappeared.

No. 26 Grand finale

Sunday, May 07, 1939

The final program of the series is a short history of the United States, emphasizing collaboration among diverse groups of immigrants.

No. 25 An industrial city

Sunday, April 30, 1939

The story of Saint Paul, Minnesota: its settlement and growth via contributions from French, Swedish and German immigrants.

No. 24 A New England town

Sunday, April 23, 1939

Hatfield, Massachusetts, is profiled as a typical early American town that was changed by its immigrants beginning in the 17th Century.

No. 23 Social Progress

Sunday, April 16, 1939

Contributions from immigrants to American social change movements such as populism, labor unions, education, and universal suffrage. They begin with The Quakers.

No. 22 Contributions in arts and crafts

Sunday, April 09, 1939

Selected contributions by immigrants to literature, architecture, motion pictures, music, and industrial design. Edgar Allan Poe is included.

No. 21 Contributions in science

Sunday, April 02, 1939

A history of science in the United States highlighting contributions from foreign-born Americans. John James Audubon is among those profiled.

No. 20 Contributions in industry

Sunday, March 26, 1939

A history of American industry, highlighting the contributions of immigrants such as David Lubin and Eli Whitney

No. 18 Near Eastern peoples

Sunday, March 12, 1939

A dramatic look at what the Greeks, Turks, Armenians, Syrians and other peoples of the Near East have contributed to the United States beginning in the late 19th Century.

Episode 17 Italians in the United States

Sunday, March 05, 1939

Italians were the first to come as so-called discoverers and at the time of this broadcast, the last major group to arrive as immigrants. Their contributions to America are many.

Episode 16 Orientals in the United States

Sunday, February 26, 1939

This episode takes a look at how the Chinese and Japanese contributed to the building of the United States.

Episode 15 Slavs in the United States Part II

Sunday, February 19, 1939

The Slavs, Poles, Czechs, and Slovaks come to America after the Civil War to work in the nation's mills and mines.

Episode 14 Slavs in the United States Part I

Sunday, February 12, 1939

The eastern and southern Slavs and their contribution to America's development, beginning in 1747. This program is also dedicated to The Boy Scouts Of America, celebrating its twenty ninth year.

Episode 13 Jews in the United States

Sunday, February 05, 1939

How Jewish people co-operated with other groups at Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War and went on to contribute in many other ways to the development of the country.

Episode 12 Closing Frontiers

Sunday, January 29, 1939

The years between the Civil War and our immediate past are the focus of this episode.Cherokee land is opened to settlers and Immigrants from all countries follow.. Cattlemen become enemies of the homesteaders and the Industrial Revolution begins.

Episode 11 Scandinavians in the United States

Sunday, January 22, 1939

How the people from Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark contributed to the United States.

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