Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Shoes (2009)

Synopsis: Garrison Keillor is truly an American treasure. There is no one else like him In the best tradition of Will Rogers and Mark Twain, Keillor mixes story-telling and humor to give us a light-hearted... Garrison Keillor is truly an American treasure. There is no one else like him In the best tradition of Will Rogers and Mark Twain, Keillor mixes story-telling and humor to give us a light-hearted but deeply felt reflection of ourselves. His take on America is both pungent and poignant and his down-home commentary and love of the authentically American have made him into an “everyman philosopher.” A prolific author with more than 20 books to his credit as well as a weekly column, he is best known for his weekly radio show, A Prairie Home Companion, an American institution since 1974. With more than 4 million listeners, he is credited with single-handedly reviving the virtually lost art of live radio entertainment in America.

As Keillor took his skits, jokes, music and monologues across the country in his traveling radio show, director Peter Rosen followed him for a year, creating an unusual portrait that cannot be defined by the standard terms of chronological biography. This free form, intimate look at the private man in the public spotlight goes behind the scenes of America's most popular radio show and inside the enigmatic imagination of the man who created it. While comparisons will inevitably be made between him and America's great humorists and essayist - from H. L. Mencken to Mark Twain, James Thurber, Robert Frost, and Will Rogers - Garrison Keillor is unique. In this untraditional biography, we begin to see how and why. [More]

Starring: Garrison Keillor

Starring: Garrison Keillor

Director: Peter Rosen

Director: Peter Rosen
Studio: PBS

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