Paul Harvey Jr.

www.InsideRadio.com “ Personalities INSIDE RADIO ”Page 1 of 3Monday, June 12, 2006Superior StorytellerRarely Restsby Mike Kinosian, Personality EditorOne terribly harsh, grossly unfair potential downside forsomeone immensely proficient in their chosen profession isthey become virtually invisible as their work gets taken forgranted.A familiar retort is that it comes with the territory, but suchfeeble rationalization hardly satisfies the injustice.Without recourse, the artisan is left to professionally honehis or her craft – usually with anonymity as their greatestcompanion.Long before Howard Stern or Rush Limbaugh began gainingnational acclaim for their radio exploits, Paul Harvey was ahousehold name.The impact this ABC Radio superstar has had on radio andcountless individual broadcasters is a consummate matterof record.Finding a person unaware of his several catchphrases orfrequent, patented pregnant pauses perfectly punctuating hiswildly popular news and comment programs would be a rarity.For the past 30 years, loyalists by the millions stop andunplug so they can be completely enthralled with his “RestOf The Story.”Pacing and delivery are beyond flawless on a show carriedby an eye-popping 1,100 affiliates, including some of thecountry’s most familiar call letters.It’s a daily clinic brilliantly illustrating how one remarkablygifted radio talent connects with an audience.Our industry is indebted to Paul Harvey for creating, producingand writing what is said to be one of radio’s longest-runningseries ever - “The Rest Of The Story.”Paul Harvey Jr. – that is.Long-Running AccidentStations have aired the short-form feature for three decadesINSIDE RADIO Personality Interviews by MIKE KINOSIANSponsored bybut the history and legacy of those Harvey-uttered wordsextends far beyond 30 years. “‘Now you know … the rest ofthe story’ was the tagline my dad used to conclude his indepthradio feature stories,” remarks Paul Harvey (Aurandt)Jr. “That goes back to World War ll – if not before. My mother[Angel] has always been an active part in producing ‘PaulHarvey News’ and explored ways to express ‘The Rest OfThe Story’ as a separate feature. I [too] thought it would bea wonderful idea, but of course the concept hadn’tcrystallized. There would need to be a lot more work involved.”With father Paul fully-engaged in “News & Comment”responsibilities, his touring concert pianist son in late-1975/early-1976 offered to take time off to conceptualize, writeand produce a “Rest Of The Story” series. “The thought wasI’d get it started and go back. That was 30 years ago andI’ve been doing it ever since.”Conventional wisdom would indicate it was inevitable the sonof Paul & Angel Harvey would follow in what would becometheir eventual Radio Hall of Fame footsteps (1990 and 1997,respectively), but in some ways it really was quite accidental.“I’ve always loved literature,” he remarks. “My mother is quitea scholar and has more degrees than I can recall. Shepublished novels when she was 12 and built quite a literaryfoundation under me.”It’s his firm belief that music and literature are complementaryparts and to succeed in either, “One needs a very good ear.You need to know which vowel sounds evoke [specific]emotions. Going from musical stagecraft to literary stagecraftwasn’t as big a jump as some might think [but] it wasunexpected by me and practically everyone else.”Flip A CoinBoth Paul Harvey Senior and Lynne “Angel” Cooper workedin radio when they first met. “I think she was broadcastingmore than he was,” their son, a 2001 Radio Hall of Fameinductee, recounts. “I have recordings of my mother doingnational news and feature programs. I don’t know how manypeople know this, but there was a time when it [figuratively]came down to a coin flip as to [who] would be the on-airpersonality and who’d be the behind-the-scenes producer.In fact, my father once told my mother she had the strongeron-air talent and he wanted to manage her.”It’s not exactly clear how the final decision was made, butPaul Junior opines his mother felt there was something“indefinable and electric” about Paul Senior that would be a“remarkably singular thing” in the radio industry. “So I thinkshe was the one who ultimately decided he’d be the on-airfigure.”— Sponsored by ASCAP

www.InsideRadio.com Monday, June 12, 2006NEWSPage 2 of 3Great comedy writers tailor their material to the specificcomedian they’re working for and are keenly conscious ofthat person’s style and intonation.The same, of course, applies with the Aurandt father/sontandem. No one is more in-tune with the legendary ABC iconthan Paul Jr., who for the past three years has voiced at leastone “Rest Of The Story” script each week. Sometimes hegets to do the full week’s slate. “It’s quite a different discipline,”he comments. “In writing for my father, one hears his voice.You can’t write something unattached or nondescript and thenexpect an individual, especially a person so clearly definedas my dad, make it speak. All these years, I’ve written withhis voice in my mind. When I write stories for myself, I havemy own rhythm as the guiding force.”Jigsaw PuzzleFor the most part, “The Rest Of The Story” has come toreflect the younger Aurandt’s personal perspective on historyand current events. “I read the same material everyone elsedoes but certain aspects of it appeal to me or catch myeye,” he explains. “For some reason, most [other] peoplemiss it or don’t think it’s particularly significant.”That’s how the process begins for the feature that keepspeople guessing literally until the famous outro is voiced.The investigative routine from there is a widely variousexercise. “It can develop and mature very rapidly or never doso,” he notes. “Some stories have been in my files for years,waiting for the last puzzle piece to fall into place. A greatmany, of course, don’t pay off at all.”Producing, writing and being the feature’s voice at least 20%of the time is a consuming occupation, usually precludingChicago-based Aurandt Jr. from doing much travel. “That’ssomething I enjoyed, particularly when travel was safe andconvenient,” he remarks. “A typical day now is pretty muchwork. If nothing else comes along, I’m inclined to wake upand go to my desk. Amid interruptions now and then, I’llremain there until late in the evening. It’s not a great way tolive, but there are enough demands beyond the office. I getto broadcast [at least] once a week and that, along withexercising every other day, helps.”It’s also important he remains connected to music and thetheater. When that happens, he enthusiastically states, “Itgives me some variety in my life. Live Classical musicperformances and theater are terribly [vital] and are amongthe last ceremonial bonfires around which we can gather tohear the high priest again recite the saga of the tribe. Actual,physical community is so important. I hope we don’tcompletely delude ourselves by sitting alone meditating onsome other time and place or by going Online. Those are notactual human experiences.”Twin TreatsFeeling ideally suited to be a concert performer, Paul Jr.explains, “One is able to work alone in a focused way on acreation or a recreation of something really wonderful. I try tofind something unique in the subject matter, develop it andprepare to present it. You then go on stage and share thisexperience with others in a public way. You feel the presenceof other music lovers [before] retreating to the preparation ofthe next project. That rhythm is much closer to the way I’mbuilt; some people call it project-oriented. That’s really muchcloser to my ideal professional existence than being utterlyalone day in/day out; year in/year out; and now – decade in/decade out.”In addition to performing, Paul Jr. was also a composer. Theholder of Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in PianoPerformance from Chicago Musical College of RooseveltUniversity still occasionally performs now. “I wrote asubstantial opera in 1991 that’s never been produced,” hepoints out. “I also teach master piano classes to seriousstudents whenever I’m able to [so] I stay engaged in musicwhen and where I can.”Playwright Paul Jr. is occasionally involved in theater andrecently returned from Pittsburgh where the Open StageTheater produced one of his works. “I loved seeing and hearingit again and try staying involved in things that take me beyondthis very small desk in this very small office that I’ve occupiedfor so long.”This recipient of two (2000 and 2004) Radio-Television NewsDirectors Association-presented Edward R. Murrow writingawards created, produced, and starred in two, mid-1990shour-long ABC Radio entertainment specials. “It was a greatdeal of fun,” recalls Aurandt Jr. “Those were great exercises— Sponsored by ASCAP INSIDE RADIO Personality Interviews by MIKE KINOSIAN