TMC host bring film insight to Schaumburg
Robert Osborne has attained fame from his familiar role as the prime time host of Turner Classic Movies.
He is just as familiar to film stars, who know him as the lead columnist in their trade publication, the Hollywood Reporter, and as the official greeter on the red carpet at the Academy Awards.
Osborne is making a rare appearance at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Prairie Center for the Arts in Schaumburg, where he is expected to talk about his life and the film industry.
His visit comes in conjunction with Saturday's Screen Test Student Fest, and in fact every ticket purchased for Osborne's show comes with a free ticket to the film festival.
In a phone interview from his home in New York, Osborne reflected on how he came to make a living off his hobby: writing and talking about old films.
"This was something I always wanted to do, but it didn't exist when I was growing up," Osborne says. "Movies didn't come back. Once you saw them in the theater, that was it, except for an occasional blockbuster, like "Gone With The Wind," or "Lawrence of Arabia.
"But now with the birth of Turner Classic Movies," he adds, "it has given these films a new life span."
He points to Lucille Ball as one of the biggest influences in his life. It was she who suggested he give up acting and concentrate on writing. He plans to tell Sunday's audience more about their relationship and what it was like to work with Ball at the height of her career.
The Prairie Center's production supervisor, Rob Pileckis, will moderate Osborne's appearance, in an interview format, while featuring some video clips in the background. He also will take questions, which Osborne suspects will focus on his most recent gig as greeter at the Oscars.
Osborne says it never fails to amaze him how much movie fans want to know about the industry's legends - about his first hand experiences with actors like Bette Davis, Judy Garland and Henry Fonda.
"Audiences are more fascinated now than ever," Osborne says. "These stars have become icons in the business."
He fills his introductions to TCM movies with background and insider information, as well as their history of awards at the Oscars.
Osborne says he tapes the two-minute introductions - and concluding segments - in the living room set of Studio C at the Turner Broadcasting headquarters in Atlanta.
One week each month, he shoots 150 segments for the upcoming movies, typically two months out.
The rest of the month, he says, he writes material back in New York, as well as his weekly column for the Hollywood Reporter. He's also preparing for appearances, such as this one, which allows him to do what he loves best: talking about the movies.