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KCPT Media Release
Contact: Alex Greenwood   816-756-3580 ext. 4270

November 28, 2007

Kansas City Public Library Offers Encore of Popular Event;

Pendergast, Kemper Exchange to be Filmed by KCPT

(Kansas City, Missouri)—Dr. Bill Worley will reprise his role as Tom Pendergast in an interview with Kansas City Public Library Chief Executive Crosby Kemper III on Thursday, December 13, at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St. The public is invited to attend the taping, but limited seating is available.

The event will be filmed for broadcast on KCPT as a pilot for a potential new series, Meet the Past: Kansas City Lives. The original exchange between Kemper and Worley in October was one of the most successful events ever staged at the Central Library. The audience reaction to that event prompted the request by KCPT to recreate the evening to be filmed as the pilot for the new television series.

"KCPT is excited to be partnering with yet another community institution, The Kansas City Library, to bring a new, interesting and exciting television program to our community,"said Victor Hogstrom, KCPT President and CEO. "MEET THE PAST fits well within our mission of educating and celebrating the people of our great region.  It is a program that will engage the viewers while allowing KCPT to further its mission as the voice and platform for Kansas City."

Kemper will interview Worley about the political and social climate in Kansas City during the 1920s and '30s. Audience members will be encouraged to ask their own questions.

More than 60 years after his death, Pendergast remains a measuring stick of sorts for Kansas City politics. Issues are often seen as marking either a return to or a departure from the way Pendergast did business.

Worley, a longtime Kansas City historian, is the author of J.C. Nichols and the Shaping of Kansas City.  His current writing/research project is a history of the traditional Keetoowah Cherokee Indians of northeast Oklahoma.

A student of Kansas City history since the 1970s, Worley is an adjunct professor of history for UMKC and portrays a variety of historic characters. He has delved deeply into the 20th century doings in the city and the metropolitan area.

A 6 p.m.reception will precede the event. Admission is free, but reservations are recommended. Call 816.701.3407 to secure a seat.

 

--KCPT--