Huell Howser quietly retires from public TV's 'California's Gold'

[Zorro]

He was so good at talking to people on TV that "The Simpsons" gently mocked his folksy, aw-shucks demeanor. But now it looks as if Huell Howser intends to fade away without comment.

Howser, the white-maned public TV host with the Southern accent who's famed for blurting out "That's amazing!" during interviews, has retired from making original episodes of his program "California's Gold," which travels around the state tracking down interesting people and places. The shows air on numerous statewide public TV stations, including KCET-TV Channel 28.

Speculation that the 67-year-old Howser is seriously ill has been circulating among local TV industry veterans in recent weeks, and insiders reported that he has not been seen for months at his Los Angeles office. On Tuesday the Sacramento Bee reported that Howser was retiring but added that he doesn't wish to make an official announcement.

"Huell is retiring from filming new shows or making appearances (or interviews) but the show will continue to air in reruns for awhile," Ryan Morris, Howser's assistant, wrote in an email to The Times. "We have been gradually winding down all year but Huell has decided to stop, come December 31st."

More at: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-1128-huell-howser-20121128,0,6710999.story

This story is probably meaningless to those outside of California, but Huell Howser has been a PBS institution for the past 25 years here.

[Tikki]

1. He does see our amazing State through the eyes of an curiosity seeker...

Kinda like a kid in a candy shoppe....
He has one, maybe two shirts that he wears on camera. Kinda makes him a dude, for sure.


Hope he finds time to just enjoy each day nearer to whatever he calls home.

The Tikkis

[Lars39]

2. I used to watch him on WSMV in Nashville before he went to California.

He was fun.

[Lint Head]

3. Huell Howser lived in Nashville and worked at WSM as a reporter for quite a while.

He is a wonderful guy. I met him and saw him around Nashville often. I think he felt smothered here. He made the right move. His career just bloomed after that. I do have my suspicions as to what's is going on with him but that all it is.

[JI7]

4. i hope he is ok , i would like the show to continue on

but they need to get the right type of person. someone with serious interest in it which Howser seemed to be. rather than just someone looking to get attention themselves .

[Brother Buzz]

5. The right person would have to be someone who thinks like a fourth grader

California Gold was originally scripted for school children and was partly underwritten by California School Teachers Association and California Librarians Association; California history is taught in fourth grade.

[Raine]

6. I LOVE California's Gold and I LOVE Huell Howser. I sure hope he's not

not seriously ill.

[spanone]

7. he got his early start here in nashville, he was always very personable

[Go Vols]

8. yep,remember him well on WSM

Huell at 5:50 in this vid