Garner, Joe

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GARNER, Joe

PERSONAL:

Male.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Garner Creative Concepts, 3301 Barham Blvd., #401, Los Angeles, CA 90068.

CAREER:

Writer and media executive. Worked as a page for Columbia Broadcasting System; executive for Westwood One, 1986-97; Garner Creative Concepts (entertainment production), Los Angeles, CA, founder and president.

WRITINGS:

We Interrupt This Broadcast: Relive the Events That Stopped Our Lives: From the Hindenburg to the Death of Princess Diana (includes two CDs), Sourcebooks (Naperville, IL), 1998, third edition published as We Interrupt This Broadcast: Relive the Events That Stopped Our Lives: From the Hindenburg Explosion to the Attacks of September 11, 2002.

And the Crowd Goes Wild: Relive the Most Celebrated Sporting Events Ever Broadcast (includes two CDs narrated by Bob Costas), foreword by Walter Cronkite, Sourcebooks (Naperville, IL), 1999.

And the Fans Roared: The Sports Broadcasts That Kept Us on the Edge of Our Seats (includes two CDs narrated by Bob Costas), foreword by George Foreman, Sourcebooks (Naperville, IL), 2000.

Echoes of Notre Dame Football: Great and Memorable Moments of the Fighting Irish (includes two CDs narrated by Regis Philbin), Sourcebooks (Naperville, IL), 2001.

Stay Tuned: Television's Unforgettable Moments (includes one DVD and two CDs hosted by Dick Van Dyke, Walter Cronkite, and Bob Costas), Andrews McMeel Publishing (Kansas City, MO), 2002.

Now Showing: Unforgettable Moments from the Movies (includes DVD hosted by Dustin Hoffman), Andrews McMeel Publishing (Kansas City, MO), 2003.

Made You Laugh!: The Funniest Moments in Comedy, Andrews McMeel Publishing (Kansas City, MO), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS:

Joe Garner has been involved in the entertainment business since his early days working as a page for Dick Clark. He went on to found his own production company and to write a number of books, including We Interrupt This Broadcast: Relive the Events That Stopped Our Lives: From the Hindenburg to the Death of Princess Diana. The volume is accompanied by two CDs, narrated by journalist Bill Kurtis, that include announcer Herb Morrison's anguished reporting of the Hindenburg disaster, Franklin D. Roosevelt's "day that will live in infamy" speech following the attack on Pearl Harbor, and Neil Armstrong's "one small step for mankind" speech from the Moon. Other events that have interrupted broadcasts are the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., President John F. Kennedy, and Robert Kennedy. Library Journal reviewer Richard P. Hedlund said that "the book's strongest feature is the accompanying photography." Joe Collins wrote in Booklist that "in the words of Walter Cronkite, who supplies the foreword, 'You are there.'"

The third edition of the volume includes the vote counting controversy of the 2000 presidential election and the attacks of September 11, 2001. In reviewing this edition, a Publishers Weekly reviewer wrote that "this moving book is 'a tribute of sorts' to the events that defined eras, the journalists who reported on them, and the media—television, radio—that made us all witnesses."

Announcer Bob Costas narrates the CDs that accompany And the Crowd Goes Wild: Relive the Most Celebrated Sporting Events Ever Broadcast, and Cronkite provides the foreword. Library Journal reviewer John M. Maxymuk called the combination of book and CDs "an excellent concept." Forty-seven moments in sports history are covered, from individual accomplishments like those of Babe Ruth and Mark McGwire, to team moments, including the 1999 World Cup win by the U.S. women's soccer team and the U.S. hockey team triumph over the Soviet Union during the 1980 Winter Olympics. Sports Illustrated contributor Ron Fimrite called the book an "attractive tome." A Publishers Weekly writer felt that "the best selections combine passionate announcing … with an improbable outcome … to create a familiar tingle down the spine."

Costas narrates the CDs that accompany And the Fans Roared: The Sports Broadcasts That Kept Us on the Edge of Our Seats, and George Foreman provides the foreword. The sports moments are arranged chronologically, and end with Tiger Woods winning the U.S. Open in June of 2000. Maxymuk considered this book to be even better than its predecessor because it includes "more great events with climactic moments: the key to a compelling broadcast is a thrilling climax." A Publishers Weekly contributor said each experience is "as fresh and hair-raising as it was originally.…All readers have to do is sit back and reminisce."

Two CDs are included with Echoes of Notre Dame Football: Great and Memorable Moments of the Fighting Irish, and a reading of Grant Riceland's 1924 "Four Horsemen" story by actor Martin Sheen is featured. This is the first book in which Garner has concentrated on one subject. Chicago Tribune writer Ed Sherman said that "Garner's secret is that his books are more than books. Like his previous works … he marries a coffee-table book, rich with vintage Irish photos and collectibles, and two CDs that have many of the original calls from the biggest plays in Notre Dame's history."

Garner's Stay Tuned: Television's Unforgettable Moments, with its accompanying DVD and two CDs, is another of his "media fusion" titles. The segments that are captured include famous news events, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the September 11 terrorist attacks, and moments in sports history, including Tiger Woods's win at the 1997 Masters. Segments that are pure entertainment feature Lucille Ball in her well-known Vitameatavegamin skit and Elvis Presley's television debut. In addition to the archival footage, Garner provides information and anecdotes gleaned from original interviews. School Library Journal critic Jane S. Drabkin called the package "an entertaining overview of television and its effect on the second half of the century."

Garner's selections for the twenty-five films showcased in Now Showing: Unforgettable Moments from the Movies include The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, On the Waterfront, Five Easy Pieces, Rocky, Thelma and Louise, and Lord of the Rings. The accompanying DVD is hosted by actor Dustin Hoffman.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 15, 1998, Joe Collins, review of We Interrupt This Broadcast: Relive the Events That Stopped Our Lives: From the Hindenburg to the Death of Princess Diana, p. 551.

Chicago Tribune, October 19, 2001, Ed Sherman, review of Echoes of Notre Dame Football: Great and Memorable Moments of the Fighting Irish, p. 11.

Hollywood Reporter, November 7, 2003, Paul Bond, "Word Play: Books, DVDs Unite: Author Goes Digital to Give Tomes Added Dimension," p. 64.

Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 1998, review of We Interrupt This Broadcast, p. 1522.

Library Journal, November 1, 1998, Richard P. Hedlund, review of We Interrupt This Broadcast, p. 97; November 15, 1999, John M. Maxymuk, review of And the Crowd Goes Wild: Relive the Most Celebrated Sporting Events Ever Broadcast, p. 75; November 1, 2000, John M. Maxymuk, review of And the Fans Roared: The Sports Broadcasts That Kept Us on the Edge of Our Seats, p. 87; February 1, 2004, Kim Holston, review of Now Showing: Unforgettable Moments from the Movies, p. 88.

Publishers Weekly, November 29, 1999, review of And the Crowd Goes Wild, p. 61; October 30, 2000, review of And the Fans Roared, p. 65; June 3, 2002, review of We Interrupt This Broadcast, p. 83; September 23, 2002, Mark Rotella and others, review of Stay Tuned: Television's Unforgettable Moments, p. 64.

Rapport, June, 1999, review of We Interrupt This Broadcast, p. 38.

Reference & Research Book News, May, 1999, review of We Interrupt This Broadcast, p. 177.

School Library Journal, July, 2003, Jane S. Drabkin, review of Stay Tuned, p. 153.

Sports Illustrated, December 20, 1999, Ron Fimrite, review of And the Crowd Goes Wild, p. 101.