Huell Howser 1945-2013

Huell Howser was the host (as well as the creator, writer, producer, director) of the popular California public TV show California’s Gold, and other similar programs. Each episode was an emphatically enthusiastic celebration of curiosity and interest in  some place that he had heard about or happened upon, somewhere in California. Over 25 years, his shows featured hundreds of places, from obscure local businesses to well-known historic attractions. He was the modern-day California booster, who generally rooted for the local and small-scale. He once called to tell us our newsletter was “Amazing! How do you find out about all this stuff?” which was nice to hear. Once we visited him in the desert, a trip that turned into a crazy Huell-fueled tour of points of interest (and real estate) around Twentynine Palms, and Wonder Valley. Everywhere we went, it was like the TV show, full of unflappable and contagious positive energy. California is less golden without him. ♦