In the last century, Pittsburgh spawned two Pulitzer-prize winning playwrights: George S. Kaufmann and August Wilson. Kaufmann’s greatest success came in the first half of the 1900s with the prize-winning musical Of Thee I Sing in 1931 and the drama You Can’t Take it With You in 1936, while Wilson won two Pulitzers during the last half of the century with Fences in 1987 and
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Maxine Bruhns is the director of the Nationality Rooms at the University of Pittsburgh–which is impressive in itself–but to have done so for 50 years and still be on top of her game at 91 is extraordinary. A small town girl from Grafton, West Virginia, Mrs. Bruhns has made herself at home in the world, visiting more than 80 countries and becoming conversant to varying
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“You’ve got to look like the solution, not the problem,” said Bill Strickland at a 2002 TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Conference in Monterey, California. For nearly 50 years, Pittsburgh native Bill Strickland has been applying his simple solution to help at-risk kids, single parents, and displaced workers visualize and achieve their dreams. According to Strickland: You solve problems by creating a world-class environment because people
Read the Full Article →Watching a Rick Sebak show is like visiting your grandparents’ attic with your kindly, cool uncle. As he dusts off and opens the boxes and trunks, he gives you a little history, unearths some long-forgotten treasures, tells some great stories, and stumbles across some surprises. And in the process, you also learn a bit about yourself. Described by some as a national treasure, a visionary
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Christopher Whitlach is most well known for his work at the Pittsburgh Foundation, where he serves as the nonprofit’s manager of Marketing and Communications. Recently, he has channeled his considerable knowledge and experience gained from working there and with numerous other nonprofits into a new venture: television host. In addition to his work at the Pittsburgh Foundation, Christopher is now the host of PCTV’s show
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Ben Ramsey, screenwriter and film director, has lived in Hollywood since 1996. He wrote The Big Hit, which starred Mark Wahlberg. He has also written Dragonball Evolution and the direct-to-video films Blood and Bone and Love and a Bullet. Before Ramsey “went Hollywood,” he cut his screenwriting and film directing teeth in Pittsburgh. Popular Pittsburgh was pleased when Ramsey recently took the time to tell
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If you’ve ever watched PCTV’s Paul Eugene Fitness Gospel Aerobics, you know that the host, Paul Eugene, is a bundle of positive energy. His show is not only a workout for your body, but also your mind and spirit. The program airs bi-weekly on the channel, and can also be accessed by live streaming on PCTV’s website. Paul Eugene reflected with us on his unique
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Marty Allen, Frank Gorshin, Dennis Miller: those are some of the funny guys the Pittsburgh area has produced over the years. The latest one to cause belly laughs is Pittsburgh native Billy Gardell. Billy Gardell, the “Mike half” of the CBS smash sitcom Mike & Molly, which also costars actress Melissa McCarthy, was born in Pittsburgh on August 20, 1969. The Swissvale native moved to
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Nearly 100 years after his death, Andrew Carnegie still provokes a spectrum of emotions, everything from admiration to disdain. Perhaps that is because he himself was a man of stark contrasts. His story is a fascinating one of rags to unfathomable riches, labor champion to union enemy, autocrat to delegator, ruthless competitor to the most magnanimous philanthropist in history. Andrew Carnegie was born on November
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Shakespeare wrote: “All the world’s a stage.” That may be so, but some make their entrance at precisely the right moment in history’s drama. Such is the case with legendary golfer Arnold Palmer. Counted among the greatest golfers of all time, Palmer made his debut during the rise of the television age, making him a household name, setting off a boom in golf, and establishing
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