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UNL Today Archive

Wed, Jan 26, 2005

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JANUARY 26, 2005


James B. Milliken
KIMBALL HALL, JAN. 27, 3:30PM
Installation Program to Conclude With Panel Discussion at UNL

As part of a number of events spanning two days, four cities, and 956 miles, James B. Milliken will conclude his installation program by moderating a panel discussion on the future of public higher education on January 27 at 3:30 pm in Kimball Hall.

Other participants will include: Molly Corbett Broad, president of The University of North Carolina; Peter Magrath, president of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges; Linda Pratt, professor and chair of English at UNL, and Graham Spanier, president of The Pennsylvania State University and former UNL chancellor. The panel will be followed by a public reception at the Van Brunt Visitors Center at 5 pm. Members of the public who wish to attend this or any other installation event are asked to RSVP.


RSVP | INSTALLATION SCHEDULE
 
now showing at the ross
MARY RIEPMA ROSS MEDIA ARTS CENTER
Opening this week at the Ross: The House Of Flying Daggers, Tarnation

UNL's Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center presents the newest film from acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou, The House Of Flying Daggers and Tarnation, a re-imagining of the documentary from young director Jonathan Caouette.

The House Of Flying Daggers takes place in 859 A.D., when the Tang Dynasty, one of the most enlightened empires in Chinese history at its height, is in decline. Unrest is spreading throughout the land, and many rebel armies are forming in protest. The largest, and most prestigious, is an underground alliance called the "House of Flying Daggers" and the movie follows their clashes with local deputies as the gap between rich and poor grows. Combining breathtaking cinematography, amazingly choreographed fight sequences, and a romantic plot that ties the whole piece together, The House Of Flying Daggers is a visual feast for fans of films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Yimou's earlier film Hero.

Tarnation begins in 2003 as Caouette learns of his mother's lithium overdose in his native Texas. Faced with the haunting remnants of his past, including a family legacy of mental illness, abuse, and neglect, Caouette returns home to aid in his mother's recovery. Slipping back into the archives of his youth, we watch Caouette grow up on camera, seeking escape from family trauma through musical theater, grade-B horror flicks and the forging of his identity through popular culture. Having documented his life since he was 8 years old, Caouette weaves together a psychedelic whirlwind of snapshots, Super-8 home movies, answering machine messages, video diaries, early short films, snippets of 80s pop culture and dramatic reenactments to create an epic portrait of an American family torn apart by dysfunction and reunited through the power of love.

More information is available at the Ross website.


MRRMAC | THE HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS | TARNATION
 


1925-2005
Entertainment Icon and UNL Alumnus Johnny Carson Dies at Age 79

Johnny Carson

Johnny Carson


University of Nebraska alumnus Johnny Carson, who became an American icon as host of NBC's "The Tonight Show" from 1962 until his retirement in 1992, died Sunday in Los Angeles of emphysema. He was 79.

In its Monday edition, the New York Times said, "During those three decades, he became the biggest, most popular star American television has known. Virtually every American with a television set saw and heard a Carson monologue at some point in those years. At his height, between 10 million and 15 million Americans slept better weeknights because of him."

Carson was born in Corning, Iowa, on Oct. 23, 1925, and grew up in Norfolk, Neb. He served in World War II in the Navy as an ensign, before enrolling at the University of Nebraska in 1947. Carson received his bachelor of arts degree in radio and speech (with a minor in physics) in 1949.

His 1949 senior thesis was titled "How to Write Comedy for Radio," which he recorded on a reel-to-reel tape. The 50-minute recording was a scholarly examination of the techniques and devices that radio comedy writers used to construct the jokes and gags in comedy radio shows. Using bits from several well-known comedians, such as Jack Benny and Bob Hope, Carson illustrated the various techniques used to write comedy, which he later effectively used in television through his "Tonight Show" monologues.

Carson also served as master of ceremonies for the male dramatic society Kosmet Klub shows on campus from 1947-1949, and he once dressed in drag to become the first man to ever emcee the female Co-Ed Follies Show in 1948.

Both Carson and his brother, Dick ('51), were members of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. John Carson starred in the Fiji's Kosmet Klub skits. The fraternity won first place in the 1947 Kosmet Klub fall revue for their skit, "She Was Only a Pharaoh's Daughter, But She Never Became a Mummy," which featured Carson as Cleopatra. His sister, Catherine ('45), was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.

While at the University of Nebraska, Carson performed locally at the American Legion, VFW and local clubs in Lincoln at night, practicing the skills he learned during the day in the Temple Building. Carson also wrote and did shows for KFAB radio, then broadcasting from Lincoln. Following his graduation from the university, he worked at WOW Television in Omaha. After leaving Nebraska, he worked for a Hollywood television station, where he hosted his own program, "Carson's Cellar."

He hosted the television shows "Earn Your Vacation" and "Who Do You Trust?" before filling in for Jack Paar on "The Tonight Show" in 1958. On Oct. 1, 1962, Carson became the Tonight Show's new host. When he retired on May 22, 1992, after more than 4,000 shows and more than a half century of comedy performance, Carson's final show was a national event.

Carson maintained a strong relationship with the university throughout his distinguished career.  He endowed a scholarship that to date has enabled 24 students to attend the university; he supported the construction of the Lied Center for Performing Arts in Lincoln, and just this past November he gave $5.3 million to expand and renovate the Temple Building on the city campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he studied and performed.

“Johnny Carson’s generosity will allow generations of Nebraskans to attend college, pursue their dreams in theatre and film, and enjoy the performing arts,” said University of Nebraska President James B. Milliken.  “He never forgot the impact of his studies at the University of Nebraska on his life and career. And Nebraska will never forget the lasting positive impact of one of her favorite sons.”

In recognition of his recent and past gifts, the University of Nebraska announced last fall that it will rename the Department of Theatre Arts, part of the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing, in Carson’s honor.


CARSON THEATRE ARTS GIFT PRESS RELEASE
 
Real Nebraska
REAL NEBRASKA WEB SITE
Voting on Fifth Round of Real Nebraska Videos Continues

Voting on the fifth round of the Fall 2004 Real Nebraska video contest continues today on the Real Nebraska website. Using the theme "There is No Place Like Nebraska," entries were taken from full time UNL students and/or teams of full time UNL students.

In addition to three monetary prizes, winners of the contest will be screened at a film festival that will take place in March at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center. All entries will be shown and the "Viewer's Choice" winners, as well as the Grand Prize winner, will be announced at this event. The festival will be open to the public and the campus.


REAL NEBRASKA
 
lecture circuit  
L.W. CHASE HALL, 3:30PM
UNL School of Natural Resources Research Seminar - 'Algal Toxins - Source to Tap'
Judy Westrick, Lake Superior State University

15 ANDERSON HALL, 4PM
Center for Materials Research & Analysis / North Central States Nanosystems Consortium Video Seminar - 'Formation of Aluminum Nanopowders and Their Application in Nanoenergetic Material'
Dr. Jan Puszynski, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

E103 BEADLE CENTER, 4PM
Biotechnology/Life Sciences Seminar - 'Farnesol and Fungal Dimorphism'
Dr. Ken Nickerson, UNL

 
huskers  
MEN'S BASKETBALL | 7:05PM
Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Texas A&M Aggies
DEVANEY CENTER