A new season of Warner Free Lectures kicks off in Volunteers Hall Friday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. with award-winning arts and entertainment writer Joyce Kulhawik. That description does not do justice to Kulhawik who, in a recent phone conversation, talked about the many and diverse jobs she’s had over the years, her varied talents, and her myriad interests. In a brief period of time it was clear how lively and interesting her program will be and how very funny.
Kulhawik will describe the intriguing and serendipitous way in which she found her way into her first job on TV and the long career that followed at CBS-Boston WBZ-TV. She will also talk about her experiences as a multiple cancer survivor. “They’re connected,” she said, of her personal and professional lives. She’ll show a short video with clips of various people she has interviewed, and then she’ll answer questions. “Nothing’s off limits,” she said. “People can ask me anything—from my favorite movie to who does my hair.”
Joyce Kulhawik.(Courtesy photo)
She was always interested in the arts; “It’s how I saw the world.” Kulhawik grew up in Bridgeport and Milford, Connecticut, and from the time she was 11 or 12, she took the train into New York City to see performances. “It’s what we did then,” she added. By the age of 11, she played the piano and sang and danced. And she loved speaking and expressing an opinion. Her mom told her often that she “spoke early and very clearly.” She wrote, and she wanted to be an actress. She loved all the arts and couldn’t decide which she wanted to pursue—she didn’t want to do just any one thing. She kept “widening the net.”
At Simmons College, Kulhawik majored in English and minored in music, and at the University of Vermont she got another English degree and a minor in education. She never wanted to major in journalism or communications. Of the latter, she advised that nobody should major only in communications but instead have a double major. You have to have something to communicate about, some subject matter that shapes your view of the world. “Communication comes from doing.”
She found herself doing something she never intended, teaching English at Brookline High School, one of the best schools in the state. “I hated teaching,” she stated categorically. There were plenty of reasons: she was only a few years older than some of her students; it was too intense; she didn’t like all the papers; and she’s a night owl. She said she “knew there was a difference between me and the other teachers.”
A way to alleviate her misery came one night while she was watching TV. There were two women talking about their jobs delivering singing telegrams. Here was something different! Kulhawik called into the show to express her interest and was invited to go talk to the women. She did, and right away she became a teacher by day and a singer of telegrams by night. She wore an outfit like those one sees in old ’30s and ’40s movies. Several of her talents went to work at once—singing, tap dancing, and playing the kazoo. One memorable delivery was to a well-known baseball player, and she frequently went into office buildings, sometimes to sing a marriage proposal.
She’s done every kind of job, she said, including one working for an elderly woman trimming her bird’s beak. None of the jobs went to waste, she said; they’re all connected to her. “There are so many things I like to do,” Kulhawik said.
“I like to tell the story about real things and to give opinions.” She also likes to tell an interesting story about a person. And she has “a billion stories.” At one point at WBZ she was covering both the news and the arts. She’d report the news, then go off to a play or symphony and dash back to review that in the arts and entertainment slot. She was offered the job of news anchor, but she chose to be a reporter on what she loves, the events and people in the arts.
She called today the golden age of documentaries and said there are also some good detective programs that have interesting information. There’s a lot of showing off of technology “just because we can,” like endless car chases and smashups. She had nothing good to say about the summer’s movie selections but said fall is the time for the best movies, and she predicts some serious films during the upcoming season.
Kulhawik said she loves Harvard. She knows a longtime resident who was a colleague of hers at WBZ. “He was my best editor,” she said. “He had a feel for what we were trying to tell, that a ballet was not a car crash.”
The doors will open at 6:30 p.m., Sept. 12. No reservations are needed, but go to warnerfreelecture.org to let the organizers know you’re coming or to add your name to the mailing list.
