How long was levar burton on reading rainbow

I could not stand being the cat who sat by the phone waiting for it to ring in order for me to work. My decision making is guided by my heart: So doing Reading Rainbow was not a calculated decision about whether or not I was going to stay relevant in show business. It was, to me, an appropriate use of my time, effort, and energy, and I went with that. How did you get into that and how did it help your career evolve?

I entertained becoming a director on Star Trek because having that daily exposure to the process helped demystify the job to me. I was really afraid of directing; I found it impenetrable, practically. But being in the midst of it every day made me comfortable, and then when Jonathan Frakes crossed over [into directing], I was right behind him.

Little did I know that it was like discovering a lost limb. It was so exciting, terrifying, and fulfilling—all at the same time. I have a reputation as a director of which I am proud.

How do you feel about institutions like education being weakened because people are, in a sense, burying their heads in the sand and choosing the most palatable reality for themselves? Reading and comprehension are still essential skills for us to master as human beings. What we have really lacked recently is the ability to discern truth from fiction; fact from fantasy. Just thrown it out the window. I find it difficult to understand how we got here. How did we get here? I think there are several factors.

However, I think it should help you distinguish well-considered, fact-based arguments—even if you disagree with them—from straight-up nonsense. I mean, it was believed, at one time—and an idea promoted very heavily—by the melanin-challenged in our society that Black people were genetically and intellectually inferior. We used to believe that the world was flat. You would think, with all the evidence to the contrary that exists today, that we would have gotten over that notion.

Human beings are pretty stubborn, as it turns out. We have an amazing capacity for self-delusion. Human beings are the only ones who can rationalize irrational thought, feeling, or behavior. So back to Reading Rainbow —and I know, what a segue, right?

I got very used to seeing you everywhere on television during a certain period of my life. Do you look at your podcast and book club as adaptations of what began there? It is clear to me that at least part of my purpose in life is to bring stories to the people. It is also really clear to me that through my work in the business as an actor, director, producer, podcaster, whatever, I am really lucky to be able to make a living as a storyteller in all these different modalities.

And that they all speak to this deep belief I have that the answers to the questions are contained in the stories we tell. My passion for sharing that truth penetrates everything that I do. Because technology allows me to, and, at one time, when we thought of literature in popular culture, all we had was books or oral tradition.

Now, we have so many other engines to go to. This platform for the book club, Fable, is about communal reading, and the efficacy of it was proven during the lockdown. What could be better for a storyteller than being able to gather and interact with fans around the books I choose? Voice is so important to storytelling.

You have a very rhythmic voice. When did you learn how important it was to you as a storyteller? My storyteller voice was largely developed during the time of Reading Rainbow. When I really, really drilled down on focusing on how to communicate through the camera lens and talk to one person: My son, Ward, who is How you say things definitely matters when it comes to communicating with children. Considering that Reading Rainbow has given you this sense of ubiquity with a special impact on at least two generations, permanently hosting Jeopardy!

One of the things that excites me about it is that it requires such a different skill set—and Alex made it look easy. It was like breathing for him. So the challenge of mastering that job of being behind the podium is exciting to me. I relish the challenge. What, specifically, is exciting about doing the job for you? Because as the host, you control the information. Knowledge and information, as shared daily in a public forum.

That half-hour of television, every evening, is a cultural touchstone in America. And for a Black man to be at that podium—more specifically, for me to be at that podium—it makes a whole lot of sense.

Throughout my life, Jeopardy! Everyone wants to feel some satisfaction with their ability or aptitude. To test ourselves against the best in the country. And we choose our champions based on all kinds of different factors. Hosting game shows requires a variety of skills. Then you have to guide people through everything. I imagine that requires so many different parts of your brain and so much patience. I agree. You have to respond in the moment. You really have to be fully-engaged at all times, and it moves so fast.

So you always have to be on point. And the whole purpose of the host is to create the most ideal competitive environment and experience for the players as possible. So you really need to be able to take a step back and just be part of the mechanism—the delivery system for the experience the players have. Contestants take it seriously and the host has to be able to facilitate all of that.

Episode guide. See more at IMDbPro. Episodes Browse episodes. Top Top-rated. Photos Top cast Edit. Jennifer Betit Yen Self as Self. Arnold Stang Self as Self. Fred Newman Self as Self …. Vincent Gardenia Self as Self. Stephen Horelick Self as Self. Doug Parvin Camper as Camper …. Ruby Dee Self as Self. Laura Haymann Self as Self. Maya Angelou Self as Self. Harry Blackstone Jr. Self as Self. Harrod Blank Self as Self. Ruth Buzzi Self as Self.

More like this. Storyline Edit. LeVar Burton introduces an appropriate subject for each episode to go with the featured children's book that is read in its entirety. This is followed by suggestions of other books for further reading. Opening books, opening minds. Add content advisory. Did you know Edit. In , Burton decided to do a Kickstarter fundraising campaign to establish Reading Rainbow as an Android app and a class reading supplement resource for underfunded schools.

Alternate versions Recent airings have re-edited older episodes to include new footage of Levar Burton running around with kids to a new Reading Rainbow theme song at the beginning and end.

Connections Edited into Doggiewoggiez! User reviews 28 Review. Top review.