Bill Friday’s People
2011-04-15 - by
Some 500+ of Bill Friday’s closest personal friends attended a luncheon in Chapel Hill honoring him for 40 years of hosting “North Carolina People.”
(Warning: Shameless self-promotion ahead! I’m on his show tonight and Sunday, talking about my Jim Hunt biography.)
Friday has conducted these gentle, relaxed interviews with probably 2,000 North Carolinians over the years – governors, politicians, artists, writers, athletes, musicians, preachers, race car drivers. It’s been a great showcase for the state – and for Friday.
Friday seems as much a part of the university as the Old Well, so it’s hard to believe he stepped down as president 25 years ago. Every president since has toiled in his shadow.
Yesterday, he departed from his genial, self-deprecating remarks long enough to make a blistering denunciation of the House’s proposed budget, warning that the cuts would severely damage UNC-TV, Chapel Hill and the whole system. He still has the power to move people, and he urged everyone there to fight the cuts.
But, as he noted, “time passes.” He recalled going not long ago to get a parking sticker. The young lady behind the desk politely asked him: “And what do you do around here, sir?”
“I’m retired,” he said.
Not hardly.
Bill Friday’s People
2011-04-15/
Some 500+ of Bill Friday’s closest personal friends attended a luncheon in Chapel Hill honoring him for 40 years of hosting “North Carolina People.”
(Warning: Shameless self-promotion ahead! I’m on his show tonight and Sunday, talking about my Jim Hunt biography.)
Friday has conducted these gentle, relaxed interviews with probably 2,000 North Carolinians over the years – governors, politicians, artists, writers, athletes, musicians, preachers, race car drivers. It’s been a great showcase for the state – and for Friday.
Friday seems as much a part of the university as the Old Well, so it’s hard to believe he stepped down as president 25 years ago. Every president since has toiled in his shadow.
Yesterday, he departed from his genial, self-deprecating remarks long enough to make a blistering denunciation of the House’s proposed budget, warning that the cuts would severely damage UNC-TV, Chapel Hill and the whole system. He still has the power to move people, and he urged everyone there to fight the cuts.
But, as he noted, “time passes.” He recalled going not long ago to get a parking sticker. The young lady behind the desk politely asked him: “And what do you do around here, sir?”
“I’m retired,” he said.
Not hardly.