Programs A-Z

Meet the Past
With Crosby Kemper III

Thursdays at 8:30 pm

It's a toasty Tuesday night in July and the Central Library in downtown Kansas City is buzzing with anticipation. A crowd of nearly four hundred has turned out to hear what the artist Thomas Hart Benton has on his mind.

Sounds like the start of a news report from the 1930s or 40s, but the event in question actually occurred in 2009. And similar scenes have taken place over the last few months with the likes of Harry Truman, Amelia Earhart, Langston Hughes, Jesse James and Walt Disney!

These historic figures and others with connections to our town have "come back to life" in the KCPT series Meet the Past with Crosby Kemper III. The show's format is deceptively simple. Kemper, the library director, sits down for a chat with costumed "re-enactors" in an unscripted, off the cuff exchange that unfolds before a live audience.
As a way to reveal local lore, it's refreshing and effective.

Sometimes, as when William Allen White reminisces about his daughter's death, it's quietly moving. As the host, Kemper's portfolio is always well-stocked with facts, rumors and anecdotes that keep the conversation lively and the crowd engaged. (And one branch or another of his illustrious family tree is often woven into the tale!)

KCPT's cameras capture all the verbal sparring and spontaneous exchanges. Eventually, the final, edited program distills the night into a fun and informative half-hour unlike any other on TV.

The pilot for Meet the Past, which featured Bill Worley as political boss Tom Pendergast, was nominated for a regional Emmy in 2008. Don't be surprised if one (or more) of the 12 new episodes that begin airing on KCPT October 8 "meet" with more awards as well.

Meet the Past with Crosby Kemper III

 

Episodes

October 8

Harry S. Truman

Crosby chats with President Harry S. Truman—the boy from Lamar, Missouri whose occupations range from soldier and haberdasher to senator and, ultimately, our nation’s chief executive.

October 15

Walt Disney

Crosby gets animated with Walt Disney—the man from Marceline, Missouri who created feature-length cartoons, live-action family films, and loads of fun-filled memories at the house of Mickey.

October 22

Amelia Earhart

Crosby takes off with Amelia Earhart—the Atchison, Kansas aviatrix and author who took airplanes to new heights, breaking records, crossing the Atlantic, and soaring into our imaginations.

October 29

Arthur Stilwell

Crosby chats with Arthur Stilwell—founder of the Kansas City Southern Railway, and builder of over 2,300 miles of railroad across the country, founding more than 40 cities along the way.

November 5

William Allen White

Crosby shares the byline with William Allen White—the Emporia, Kansas news editor whose straightforward writing and progressive politics won him two Pulitzer Prizes, leaving an indelible journalistic legacy.

November 12

Langston Hughes

Crosby riffs with poet and playwright Langston Hughes—Born in Joplin, Missouri, Hughes gained worldwide renown for integrating poetry with the cadence of jazz during the Harlem Renaissance.

November 19

Jesse James

Crosby holes up with Jesse James, the legendary Liberty, Missouri outlaw whose daring daylight bank robberies, alongside his brother Frank, became the stuff of local and national lore.

December 17

Tom Pendergast

 Crosby's subject is Tom Pendergast (portrayed by UMKC Professor William Worley.) "Boss Tom" was the dominant force in Kansas City politics during the early 20th Century. His ability to influence elections was legendary ("vote early and often"). But don't call it a "machine" he chides Kemper, adding "you've been talking to the boys down at the Kansas City Star, haven't you?"

January 7

Annie Chambers

 Crosby cozies up with Annie Chambers, KC’s most famous madame—born Leanna Loveall, Chambers’ City Market brothel catered to the city’s burgeoning population at the turn of the century.

January 14

Thomas Hart Benton

 Crosby paints the town with Thomas Hart Benton—Kansas City’s most charismatic painter and muralist. His regionalist style brought the everyday life of Americans to the canvas.

January 21

Charlie Parker

 Crosby harmonizes with Charlie “Bird” Parker, the Kansas City native known as the architect of bebop, and an uncompromising artist who changed the sound of jazz forever.

January 28

John Brown

 Crosby chats with John Brown—the sword-wielding, Bible-quoting abolitionist, some would say ‘terrorist,’ who brought his holy war against slavery to Kansas, and to the nation.