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VOICE ONE:
I’m Sarah Long.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Doug Johnson with People in America in VOA SpecialEnglish. Today we tell about five special Americans who died duringthe past year. We start with a former United States senator from NewYork State.
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VOICE ONE:
Daniel Patrick Moynihan spent morethan half his life in politics at the time of his death last Marchat age seventy-six. During those years, he earned the love andrespect of Democratic and Republican members of Congress. Theyremember him as a leader in public policy and an excellent speaker.
Democrat Pat Moynihan served in the Senate fromnineteen-seventy-seven to two-thousand-one. Before that he served inthe administration of four presidents, including John F. Kennedy andRichard Nixon. He was ambassador to India and later to the UnitedNations. He was also a professor at Harvard University in Cambridge,Massachusetts. And he wrote eighteen books.
VOICE TWO:
Pat Moynihan said what he thought and sometimes got into troublefor it. For example, there was a serious dispute over a paper hewrote in nineteen-sixty-five. The Labor Department report dealt withthe situation of black people in the United States. Among otherthings, Mister Moynihan wrote that government assistance programswere destroying black families. Black leaders condemned the reportas racist.
However, many political experts say Mister Moynihan’s paper wasmisunderstood. Its main point was that civil rights laws did notguarantee equal treatment. Mister Moynihan wrote that slavery haddestroyed black families. He said government had to establisheducation and employment programs to help repair the damage.
Experts say Senator Moynihan’s place in American history issecure. Newsweek magazine wrote that his influence could be found inevery major social policy of the last fifty years. The Almanac ofAmerican Politics wrote that Pat Moynihan was the best thinker amongpoliticians since President Abraham Lincoln and the best politicianamong thinkers since President Thomas Jefferson.
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VOICE ONE:
Jazz composer, saxophonist andbandleader Benny Carter died in Los Angeles, California in July. Hewas ninety-five. He was most famous for the saxophone, but he couldalso play the piano and other instruments.
He was born in New York City in nineteen-oh-seven. His mother andmusic teachers who lived nearby taught him to play the piano andtrumpet. He started the saxophone as a teenager.
In nineteen-thirty-five he moved to London, England. There, heformed a musical group that had members of different races andnationalities. This was quite unusual at the time. Benny Carterreturned to the United States in nineteen-forty-two. He beganwriting music for movies. He also produced a major collection ofjazz albums, including recordings by other artists.
VOICE TWO:
Benny Carter is considered the main developer of the big bandswing style of jazz. He was presented with a Grammy award forlifetime achievement in nineteen-eighty-seven. He won two moreGrammies later. And in two-thousand, President Bill Clinton awardedhim the National Medal of Arts.
Musicians of his time called Benny Carter “The King.” When hedied, music producer Quincy Jones said, “A big, big person walkedout of the room.” Here is Benny Carter with “Blues in My Heart.”
(“BLUES IN MY HEART”)
VOICE ONE:
America also lost a famous athletethis year. Althea Gibson broke “the color barrier” in tennis andgolf. In nineteen-fifty, Gibson became the first black player tocompete in the United States tennis championships. A year later shedid the same at Wimbledon. Althea Gibson won both thosechampionships, and many others, a few years later.The athlete wasborn in South Carolina. She was the first of five children. Herparents worked on a farm owned by white people. Althea’s familymoved to the Harlem area of New York City. They were poor. Herfather was violent. Althea missed many days of school. In time, shewas placed in the care of the state government.
VOICE TWO:
Althea started playing competitive tennis through one of thecity’s assistance organizations. Before long, many tennis fanslearned about her ability. Two of these fans became Gibson’s mainsource of financial support. This permitted her to finish highschool and graduate from college.
The Associated Press named Althea Gibson Woman Athlete of theYear in nineteen-fifty-eight and fifty-nine. She was the first blackperson to win the award.
Gibson called herself a born athlete. She played basketball incollege. And, she was a good golfer. Althea Gibson was the firstblack athlete to compete in the Ladies Professional Golf Associationseries. She never won a major competition but she played in almosttwo-hundred.
Althea Gibson never became wealthy. She had serious financial andhealth problems. She died at age seventy-six. Female tennis starshonored Althea Gibson for the example she provided for women insports. They called her a great champion and a great person.
(“MISTER ROGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD”)
VOICE ONE:
Children young and old were saddened in February with the news ofthe death of Fred Rogers. He was the host and creator of “MisterRogers’ Neighborhood.” This popular children’s program was ontelevision for more than thirty years. The show included songs thatMister Rogers wrote and characters he developed. There were alsomany fun learning activities.
Mister Rogers also explored difficult issues like death, angerand fear. He spoke to children with a gentle understanding. MisterRogers said his goal was to present as much love as possible to thechildren watching his show.
VOICE TWO:
“Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” was first shown on local televisionin Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in nineteen-sixty-eight. Fred Rogers wasborn in a nearby town forty years earlier. He learned to play thepiano as a child and earned a music degree in college. Later, healso studied child development and became a Christian clergyman.
Mister Rogers won many television awards. And, last year, FredRogers was presented with the nation’s highest civilian honor, thePresidential Medal of Freedom. However, Fred Rogers said that prizeswere not so important. He said the important things are knowing thatwe can be trusted, that we never have to fear the truth and thatsomebody loves us.
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VOICE ONE:
Hollywood lost many members of themovie industry in two-thousand-three. One of its greatest stars wasamong them. Katharine Hepburn was in the movie business for morethan sixty years. She made more than fifty movies. She held therecord for winning the most Best Actress Oscars from the Academy ofMotion Picture Arts and Sciences. Mizz Hepburn won four of them andwas nominated eight other times.
Katharine Hepburn was sometimes called the First Lady of Cinema.However, she was a stage actress first. Mizz Hepburn performed inmore than ten Broadway plays. She was nominated for two Tony awards.
VOICE TWO:
But, Katharine Hepburn said she liked movie work immediately. Hervery first movie, “Bill of Divorcement,” was a hit. She won herfirst Oscar for her third movie, “Morning Glory”. Other popularKatharine Hepburn movies include “The Philadelphia Story” and “TheAfrican Queen.”
The actress was born in Connecticut in nineteen-oh-seven. Herfather was a doctor and her mother was a women’s voting rightsactivist . Mizz Hepburn said her parents taught her freedom fromfear.
Mizz Hepburn had a relationship with actor Spencer Tracy thatlasted almost thirty years until his death. They also starred innine movies together. Mister Tracy was married to another womanthroughout the relationship.
Katharine Hepburn died at age ninety-six. Another famousHollywood actress, Elizabeth Taylor, released a statement the nextday. She said every actress in the world hoped to be like KatharineHepburn.
(“YOU ARE”)
VOICE ONE:
This program was written and produced by Caty Weaver. You can downloadall of our program script text and audio files from WWW.VOA-STORY.COM. I’m Sarah Long.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Doug Johnson. Join us again next week for another Peoplein America program in VOA Special English.