THEY ALL LAUGHED
"Laughter” debuts to positive reviews for its look at humor and healing
STORY BY STEPHEN
VRATTOS
One would have to go back
several years to trace the
origins of “NST Live on
Tape.” The fledgling original programming
initiative debuted last
month on the North Shore Towers
in-house (Channel 995) with
“Laughter.” It was nearly 10 years
ago, 2009 to be precise, when this
examination of the healing powers
of humor’s progenitor, Shirley Wershba,
made North Shore Towers her
home with fellow television news
pioneer and husband Joe.
To call Joe Wershba “a legend
of the industry” would not be
high-handed. As a professional
journalist, he joined the CBS News
team in 1944 and worked with Fred
Friendly and Edward R. Murrow on
“See It Now,” reporting on the activities
of Senator Joe McCarthy and
the House Un-American Activities
Committee (HUAC). From 1958 to
1964, he worked as a reporter and
columnist at the New York Post,
at which he was nominated for a
Pulitzer Prize for his investigative
report on President Kennedy assassin
Lee Harvey Oswald’s early years
in New York. He was also one of
the six original producers of “60
Minutes,” a post he held for two
decades from 1968-1988. Wershba’s
illustrious career included many
other distinctions and awards for
his work in journalism, including
two Emmys, the Hillman Prize and
Peabody Award.
For her part, Shirley is certainly
no slouch when it comes to
making a mark in television news,
though she modestly describes her
career simply as “from mailroom to
producer.” Soon after graduating
Brooklyn College, she landed a job
at the New York Daily News as a
copy “boy” when the title was still
relegated to the male of the species.
During the second world war, she
assisted legendary publisher Alfred
Harvey in producing instruction
manuals for the army. Harvey,
who would later create such iconic
characters as Caspar, the Friendly
Ghost, and Richie Rich—published
through his eponymous comic book
company—discovered servicemen
retained more when information
was delivered in comics form
and accompanied with jokes. It
was Wershba’s job to write the
material for these books, perhaps
subconsciously planting the seed of
humor as more than just something
to laugh at.
At CBS, for the radio division,
Wershba developed one of the
first shows to focus on women’s
issues, “Dimension of a Woman’s
World.” For many years, she served
as a producer on the “CBS Morning
News” and later “60 Minutes,” and
the august PBS news program, “The
MacNeil/Lehrer Report.”
With the unfortunate passing of
her beloved Joe in 2011, it was only
natural Shirley return to producing
in some capacity at NST. Her
founding of the University Club in
2012 is reflective of that. It began as
an innocuous get-together of fellow
Brooklyn College alumni, before
growing to embrace all CUNY
alumni and formerly calling itself
“The CUNY Club;” then expanding
further to include any-and-all
university alumni and changing
its name in response. Today, the
University Club is one of, if not
the, largest social club at North
Shore Towers, boasting more than
300 members.
Still, as someone with such an
impressive resume in television
journalism, now making her home
in a community with its own video
productions team and dedicated
television channel, it’s should come
as no surprise the idea of producing
custom programming for the NST
in-house station has ever been percolating
in the back of Wershba’s
mind. That idea came to the fore in
the VIP Room one day during what
would become a historic lunch
with fellow NST resident Susan
Bartelstone.
A nationally-respected Domestic
Violence Advocacy Consultant
and Crime Prevention Specialist,
Bartelstone is the former host of the
award-winning radio show “Crime
Prevention 101” and journalist,
whose tips and articles have been
featured in such prominent media as
“Time Out New York” and the “Today
Show.” The pair’s shared media history
and concern with informing the
public on issues naturally turned the
discussion to continuing their passion
via an outlet figuratively at their fingertips,
i.e. channel 995.
Intro from the “60 Minutes” story which inspired “Laughter”
Fox news? With words by Charles O’Flynn & Jack Meskill and music by
Max Rich, the jaunty tune, “Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!” was introduced by
“Foxy” in the black-and-white 1931 Merrie Melodies cartoon of the
same name
George Clooney between Joe and
Shirley Wershba
12 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ March 2018