Person: Paul Harvey
Paul Harvey received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. Uploaded by thedryspot.files.wordpress.com.
What was it about Paul Harvey that catapulted him to the top of his profession? Was it the interesting mix of stories he chose, alternating between the serious and the quirky? Or was it his distinctive style and dramatic delivery, evident from his opening: “Hello, America, this is Paul Harvey. Stand by for news!
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His broadcasts ranged from the intimate (“Harold and Joan Pershing in Sausalito, California are 75 years on their way to forever together”) to the whimsical (“You say a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, let’s see about that. You give me a thousand words, and I’ll give you the Lord’s Prayer and the 23rd psalm, and the Hippocratic oath and a sonnet by Shakespeare and the preamble to the Constitution and Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, and I’ll still have just about enough words left for the Boy Scout oath.”).
Another of Paul Harvey’s signatures was his “The Rest of the Story” broadcast. He’d tell a remarkable story about someone famous, using a name we’re not as familiar with (for example “Tommy” might turn out to be Thomas Edison), and after revealing the identity of the subject, he’d conclude with, “And now you know…the…rest of the story.”
Paul called his wife “Angel”, both in person and on the air. The “rest of the story” about Angel was that she was very influential in her husband’s career. She produced his show, and indeed was the first producer inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. “The Rest of the Story” feature was her idea, and she was always Paul’s inspiration.
Paul Harvey was consistently listed in the Gallup Poll’s list of Most Admired Men. In 2005, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush.
Paul Harvey…Good day!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ccqgxrf3-8&hl=en&fs=1&]