Day at Night: Ray Bradbury

Host James Day speaks with Ray Bradbury about his career, the importance of fantasizing, his aspirations as a young child, his dislike of college for a writer, his idea of thinking compared to really living, and his love of the library.
CUNY TV is proud to re-broadcast newly digitized episodes of DAY AT NIGHT, the popular public television series hosted by the late James Day. Day was a true pioneer of public television: co-founder of KQED in San Francisco, president of WNET upon the merger of National Educational Television (NET) and television station WNDT/Channel 13, and most recently, Chairman of the CUNY TV Advisory Board. The series features fascinating interviews with notable cultural and political figures conducted in the mid 1970's.
Tape Date: 1/21/1974
Watch more at ‪www.tv.cuny.edu...

[@saintcruzin]

During this time period he came to our college and gave one of the BEST lectures ever. I was soo lucky and talked to him for a 1/2 hour with just one other student. He was inspirational!!

[@hectorrivero2173]

Luckyyy🎉

[@timmymeredith7499]

Can you imagine a world without Ray Bradbury no Martian Chronicles no dandelion wine no Something Wicked This Way Comes he is a gift from God

[@dougimmel]

Just finishing Dandelion Wine. Grew up on Martian Chronicles, Illustrated Man as a child in the 50's and 60's.

[@jasonjmarchi]

You are so right. And, I cannot imagine a world without having known and been close friends with Ray Bradbury, as I was so blessed with, during the last decade of Ray's life. That's me and Ray in the photo attached to this comment, circa 2002.

[@timmymeredith7499]

I envy you

[@MrBGB2012]

Now,I ask myself,after watching this show..."Why can't these other,so-called talk shows on the more popular networks,be as deep and insightful,as this thought-provoking old talk show from the '70's?" Food for thought!

[@kyle-style]

Because Bradbury was a thinker, a dreamer

[@phoebecatgirl9968]

Because there are no talk shows now interviewing people of any intellect.

[@Funz2022]

Because all you people read Harry Potter & not science fiction

[@RETROGEMS]

*Because there are no talk shows now interviewing people of any intellect.* Bingo! You said it.

[@tonywalton1052]

Cuz we are dumb, dumb and getting dumber. our technology has exceeded our human capability (hell, our humanity) a loooong time ago

[@gaozhi2007]

I could listen to him all day. I feel like my brain is exploding with wisdom after listening to this short segment.

[@THEC.O.VISIT.]

One of my great sorrows in life is that I never will get the opportunity to meet or at least see Ray Bradbury speak somewhere. All I can do now is watch these old interviews. His stories are unforgettable and irreplaceable.

[@patrickkihn]

Love this guy. Saw him speak once in person in the early 80s. I should have been listening to him from then for as long as he lived. His creative advice is pure gold.

[@Painedmusician9]

He’s a very intelligent and unique person he will be missed.

[@sebeller]

Thank you, Mr. Bradbury. You've been my inspiration as a writer. Raising a glass of Dandelion Wine to the heavens in your honor - may you rest in peace and your works endure for tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.

[@turtleanton6539]

🔥

[@helenamaria710]

No worries...............they will endure forever 💖

[@williamseigler3408]

Amen

[@octopibingo]

I saw this interview on tv when it aired, taping it with my cassette recorder with a White Front tape. I still have the tape and have played it endlessly for years. This interview and Ray's words changed the direction of my life. I met him in San Diego not long after this, and two more times over the years. Except for family, he has had the most impact in my life than anyone. His words are as timeless as his writing. If you want to be a writer, listen, listen, and then listen again.

[@ppeev3003]

Obviously, Bradbury was a very open and honest person. I read his books many years ago when my country Bulgaria was behind the iron curtain. He was inspirational to me. Now I learn that he was afraid of flying. Isaac Asimov was afraid of flying also. Nevertheless, Asimov and Bradbury are the writers that created the most amazing stories about space and the future. Let them rest in peace and let us continue their mission by trying to implement some of their sci-fi ideas in real life.

[@williamseigler3408]

I first discovered Ray Bradbury in my high school literature text. The story was “The Wilderness.” I loved it, but the rest of the class and Mrs. Wetblanket hated it. She said it was “sappy.” I had no better sense than to try to explain to them why it was so great. Not my best move. Many decades pass and I attend a Space Development conference, I think in Denver. Bradbury was there selling his books. I had the pleasure of telling him this story and having him autograph the first page of “The Wilderness” in a copy I found in a used bookstore. One of my favorite memories. He’s gone now, but not forgotten.

[@nativevirginian8344]

Bradbury was once told he was a poet. He also came from a generation of people who did not have their psyches scarred by the noise of the Matrix. Also it was a time when churches were full. It was the last generation of wholesomeness. You heard the poetry & wholesomeness, what that idiot teacher called “sappy”. You heard the Good, Beautiful & True. Don’t let morons take that ability away from you. People with talent like Bradbury need people like us out here to appreciate it. That’s what you call civilization.

[@jessesewell7922]

"You can only go with loves in this life." "Never went to College, I dont believe in College for writers. I think its very dangerous. Too many Professors are too snobbish and intellectual and the intellect is a great danger to creativity." "I have had a sign over my typewrite for 25 years now that say, 'Don't Think'." "The worst thing you do when you think is lie."

[@phoebecatgirl9968]

AMEN!

[@SuperBartles]

Ted Hughes had this serious problem in Uni (Cambridge) - he had these weird dreams telling him (so he thought) that studying English Literature was killing him as a writer. So he changed to Anthropology.

[@turtleanton6539]

❤❤❤

[@ramans5639]

My favourite Author. Still enjoy reading his books.. RIP sir.

[@mangalapalliv]

I run a reading club for children in the apartment complex I live. We read the following stories of Ray: The Fog Horn, The City, The Last Night of the World, Mexico Calling, The Smile, The Picasso Summer, The Scythe, The Night, The Fox and the Forest, The Long Rain, The Pedestrian, All Summer in a Day, Kaleidoscope, There Will Come Soft Rains, The Poems, A Season of Disbelief, Another Fine Mess, The One Who Waits, The Crowd, The Coffin, Marionettes Inc., Mars is Heaven, The Emissary, The Man Upstairs, The Small Assassin, Skleton, The Far-Away Guitar (Miss Bidwell), The Sea Shell, Hail and Farewell, The Wind, Bless Me, Father for I have Sinned, Zero Hour, The Rocket, A Sound of Thunder, The Veldt, The Golden Kite, The Silver Wind, The Flying Machine, A Story of Love, Fever Dream, Aqueduct, The Wilderness, The Earth Men, A Piece of Wood, The Visitor, The Other Foot, The Man................. Kids love his stories and they have a special place for him in their hearts......

[@kayashima3290]

his philosophy just validated my life

[@geniusmchaggis]

yuck.

[@ColorJoyLynnH]

I love him and his love of life. I don’t enjoy his writing or any other scifi/famtasy, but this man is in love with living. Look for later videos especially as an old man as keynote

[@ParanormalMetalMan]

I LOVE his books! what an inspiring person!

[@stacylarge5636]

I too am lifelong fan

[@tntramzy12]

Which one should I read first?

[@ParanormalMetalMan]

@@tntramzy12 the illustrated man is a good starting point or Fahrenheit 451

[@viveviveka2651]

Ray Bradbury was my favorite writer during a period of my life.

[@infiniteblueprint7285]

I read some of his writings when I was quite young. This is the first interview of Ray Bradbury that I have seen and it was sublime viewing. I concur with Bryan Briggs this is how talk shows can be. It is also a great reminder that we have the 'net for just this very thing. The archiving and sharing of wonderfull ideas, perspectives and inspiration. Thank you very much for the video

[@mikemohn3379]

What a great, great thinker and imaginer.

[@ks.tuor369]

Ray Bradbury makes me a storyteller not a writer too.Thank you Master and Rest in Peace. Love from London.

[@TheCrossroads533]

The man was a Nafud dust devil, an X-15 sonic boom, an anarchist's explosion in a crowded marketplace! He is gone now yet I still love him and am so proud to have corresponded with him just a bit as a teen. He was a stern taskmaster but he never ignored a fan. While I personally never wrote fiction (not yet anyhow), strangely, reading Bradbury opened locked doors for me to nonfiction and ideas buried deep within me. He is a treasure that will never be lost. And what a magnificent legacy he leaves behind (we, his readers, are his beneficiaries). And while many of his tales were cautionary, his brash optimism rubbed off; his work had a tonic effect, like an injection of a Disney like serum flooding the psyche, infusing the receptive patient with a strength to look past the vapid popular culture of the moment. He was a literary magician who built world's fair pavilions of the mind and myths about our pasts, our futures, and most importantly, our eternal nows.

[@parkeobrien7526]

You can tell you are a talented writer too!

[@turtleanton6539]

🔥🔥

[@udbhavseth799]

Try your hand at fiction, my good sir!

[@octopibingo]

This is a clinic on the good interview. Only one interruption from Day, but only to clarify a point Ray made. Of course it helps that Ray loved to talk.

[@5809AUJG]

I've had him on my mind whenever I work on a painting...and he's right. Let your love take you in its arms, let it warm you and show you the way...and it works. When I try to think my way through a painting, I end up breaking my dream, and the joy dries up and dies. This is not to say, "Don't think", ever. Because of the style I work in, I've had to learn anatomy and physiology and light and shadow and color and everything else. The world's in hellish, deadly trouble today, because too many people simply don't think, especially beyond the next five minutes. But what this wonderful and very beautiful and much-beloved genius said is, let it happen. Let it come to you, and you go with it, and make something from your heart with it, and it will be good. Let it be born of fire and love and deep passion and excitement, and it will be so. He has been my greatest teacher for many years. I wept when he died. He is irreplaceable, and I miss not having him in the world. But everything he was, and still is, remains with us, if we've got the good sense to listen for him, and let him come to us. I love to listen to the fantastic recording he made of his gorgeous "Christus Apollo", scored by the great Jerry Goldsmith, and read by the wonderful and amazing Sir Anthony Hopkins......and what I make, what I paint, as I listen, is very good. Mr. Bradbury, I love you. I always will.

[@derycktrahair8108]

You are right. It works in Music too. Technique is taken for granted. What you do with it = Art. So many show off, but we enjoy the ones who play with sincerity. Thanks for sharing your ideas, & all the best with your painting.

[@Ek70R]

Hey thank you for sharing your experience. I wish you the best with your art. I am so sad I discovered Bradbury just after he died. Ever since I have fallen in love with his teachings and his way of life. His skin exudes passion on his work, truly inspirational.

[@Scienceorc]

Rest in peace. See you at mars, my dear friend. You made my childhood.

[@wallacelovecraft8942]

I signed on to say that this is a MUST watch. Even if you have no idea who this man really is or read any of his books, like myself, this is one of the most interesting talks that I've heard. The interviewer seems like he knows radbury life in detail and asks great questions as well. An absolute fascinating interview to listen to. I will try to read one of his books someday.

[@LenHummelChannel]

These are truly GREAT interviews. thank you for uploading them for the world to view and relish.

[@anantmedepalli2139]

Oh what a lovely insightful interview . He says so much I deeply believe myself but couldn’t articulate so well. Go with feeling . It creates. And keeps you alive , he says. With such conviction and clarity . The intellect is covered in feeling and it emerges he says. And he is right. I do feel guilty about not writing or reading enough tho, haha when he said a life where you aren’t doing something you love isn’t worth living . And this comment is a feeling.

[@johnc.bojemski1757]

Two GENIUSES in conversation with each other. Brilliant! We need MORE videos like this one, even on PBS!

[@ibelieveintheone6869]

He is very inspirational.

[@LenHummelChannel]

This man knew how to conduct A REAL interview and inquire further into the person and their thought and art.

[@RayFromLUCKYSHADOW]

Great man. I've watched this twice now, and I'm sure I'll come back again.

[@RayFromLUCKYSHADOW]

+KeyBlades Thank you. What a great compliment.

[@k.mturgon9593]

Me either brou

[@fromthepeanutgallery1084]

Bradbury fell in love with architecture at eight. Always amazes me about people that never went to college, how they always put it down. I went to art school in my 20's and loved it. I'm in my 60's and doing a Masters and love it. We all find love in different places and times. Some at 8 others at 68.

[@lindsaydoke9308]

@From The Peanut Gallery, 'm sorry your missing his point. Instead of criticism why not accept everyone has alright to an opinion. You have yours and Ray had his .

[@evolvvartstudio]

I mentioned in another comment that Bradbury benefited from his wife’s college education. She studied English at UCLA and edited all his work. So, a bit hypocritical of him to be so harsh in judgment of higher education.

[@armeeuff1]

There are many really good points Ray makes in this interview, like on feeling vs. thinking, science vs. religion, and I value this segment more so than about anything I have heard before on the subjects. He is so sure of how he feels people should be it is awe inspiring(..' if you're not doing something you love, consider suicide') just takes my day to new levels listening to this. Remarkable speaker. 2 Earth and 3 Martian thumbs up!

[@Pimp-Master]

I heard his standard lecture to a general audience, (not a bunch of wannabee writers) in '73 and never forgot meeting him. He was a very warm guy with lots of animation. I was just a teen at the time and had read the anthology reissues available at that time. Good thing for him that he usually wrote about the human heart, not whatever techie fads were happening back in the fifties. This means that his stories will never go out of date.

[@Astroghouls]

This man gives me energy. One of the greatest.

[@raymondhummel5211]

Ray Bradley is so creative in his thinking transferred to print to his wonderful output of writings. Love the fact that he loves the library, and how it can reveal so many new subjects that can enrichen our lives.

[@jaimehudson7623]

Ray gave a lecture at my college. A later one near my home. Most inspiring speaker ever! Imagination does give one a 'Vision'. God, we need more like him and Carl Sagan today...

[@OdesaFilmStudio]

Respect Ray Bradbury!!!...

[@jamesbowers7531]

This man was amazing.

[@FlowerCarnival2021]

I am so sad I will never be able to meet Ray Bradbury in person and tell him how much his stories mean to me and helped me make so many new friends and get me out of a really dark place in my life and encouraged me to start writing again :

[@JeffersonDinedAlone]

For all of the serious stuff said about Bradbury, he was also just good fun.

[@megankyte4389]

I love this interview, brilliant American treasure

[@davidpalmer5966]

A great interview, and not just if you're a fan, and not just if you are a writer or want to be one, but for his attitude and wisdom.

[@Ek70R]

Bradbury is surely an inspiration, it is important to find your passion, as cliche as thay may be. No amount of self delusion will make you love something you hate or at least feel indiferent to.

[@welchburger]

thank you Ray Bradbury :)

[@pdyvl]

Happy Birthday, Mr. Bradbury!

[@StarWoors]

So inspirational.

[@phoebecatgirl9968]

Wonderful post! Really nice to hear Bradbury talk about his life/interests/work!

[@jimr4652]

What a brilliant man.

[@megansspark]

i love Bradbury... don't think, feel! great man

[@cyberacers]

Who you are What you want What you want to be Surprise yourself, find out who you really are and try not to lie, try to tell the truth, all time. And only way to do this is by being very active, and very emotional, and get it out of yourself Thinking is to be a corrective in our life, its not supposed to be the center of our lives. Living is supposed to be the center of our lives. BEING is supposed to be the center of our life

[@wiisalute]

THIS was the reason I started getting into the sci-fi genre. Ever since I read Fahrenheit I started liking dystopian stuff and got into Star Trek for the first time as well as read Asimov's foundation and currently on the second book in the trilogy

[@andrewcarr2938]

A remarkable interview. It made the inward eye sparkle. I feel edified.

[@Wizgoht]

R.I.P. Mr.Bradbury

[@LenHummelChannel]

Thank you for uploading these wonderful interviews. Some of the best and most insightful to be found anywhere.

[@octopibingo]

One point: Ray didn't have to ponder the questions because he had in essence practiced this talk for years in front of other groups. When you watch his hour long freestyle talk 'An Evening With...' He can do so because of an even longer time spent espousing his ideas. The three times I saw him he said basically the same things, with small additions and variations. It's the repetition of belief.

[@geniusmchaggis]

hes just used to repeating his bio and ideas..he was famous...he did many interviews... people wanted to know what he thought.. he was telling the story of his life and thoughts and experiences... those arent going to change a lot... its natural that he would repeat himself.

[@DavidBridwellMusic]

Great outlook! Intellectualizing does seem to take the fun out of things

[@octopibingo]

15:40 "Everything in art is an aside."

[@SuperBartles]

Bloody. Marvellous.

[@micaylab1]

The whole picture of Books is Incredible.

[@danmcdaid]

Close your eyes and it could be late era Norm Macdonald talking. Wonderful interview

[@NeoCoding]

Cool stuff! From Russia with love!

[@aerowashburns6004]

I'd love to hear his thoughts on just about anything. He's endlessly interesting.

[@sethflix]

WONDERFUL INTERVIEW! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING THIS!

[@herglowup.honestlyspeaking]

If the thrill is gone you'll never make it as an artist.. Well said. You can perhaps but you must wait on the feeling to give it your all.

[@raeealdwine9370]

Lovely!

[@BikiniDeathSquad]

a wonderful writer

[@geniusmchaggis]

Bradbury was SO self congratulatory...he knew NO bounds of greatness for which he personally did NOT qualify... to HIM.....he was the GREATEST human being that ever existed...what a MAN!

[@geniusmchaggis]

@Jake Stockton btw...ive just watched this interview again after 3yrs and for the life of me i cannot find any reason why i made the above comment...RB was great here...

[@williamseigler3408]

@@geniusmchaggis hi, don’t be so hard on yourself. He was someone who lived his life to the fullest. At first glance, a guy like that might come off as some of the things you wrote. Best of fortune to you pal.

[@geniusmchaggis]

@@williamseigler3408 why thank you WS!... trouble is it wasnt first glance i had idolized RB for 50 yrs before i wrote that! in retrospect i really wasnt insulting him.. i see self aggrandizement as a virtue when applicable. see Mel Brooks! just read MB's autobio... MB LOVES MB!... and EYE love him for that.

[@williamseigler3408]

@@geniusmchaggis hi, your point is well taken.

[@geniusmchaggis]

@@williamseigler3408 your response is bland to say the most. are you Spock?

[@wrexxy49]

Bradbury's library is my internet.

[@bluesnagg]

Ray Bradbury was fascinated with space travel, but he didn't like "Star Trek." He was offered a chance to write for Gene Roddenberry, but turned it all down.

[@insidesmusic]

incredibly insightful

[@cristians.3008]

Thank you

[@SanaOvaisKhan]

Thank you, Mr. Bradbury. Rest In Peace.

[@geoffjoffy]

Thanks

[@JohnAnthonyMiller1]

Just Great! -John Anthony Miller

[@dougimmel]

Funny that Kazantzakis (Saviors of God, Z ) died in 1957, the year of Sputnik. I was born in 1957, have always loved Bradbury (also grew up in Midwest) and love Kazantzakis. hmmm. This was FUN. Loved the counterbalance to 'thinking' (overthinking) as distinct from intellect (Bradbury clearly has a fine intellect, yet it is more typified or shines more brightly because of his visualization, rhythm, fantasy, etc. I appreciate the feeling balancing thought.

[@RWSCOTT]

11:26- absolutely right. Thinking about what you want to write is *not* writing, has *nothing to do* with the act of writing. You're either writing or you're not, and thinking about it while not doing it is a self-absorbed waste of time.

[@DANAMIONLINE]

Great insight

[@evolvvartstudio]

I love Ray Bradbury’s work. That said, for a man who looked down on college education, he sure benefited from his wife’s. She attended UCLA as an English major, spoke four languages, and edited all of his work (besides working an outside job to keep them afloat financially in the early years). He always seemed appreciative of her efforts, but there is a bit of hypocrisy in his harsh judgment of higher education.

[@kevinrymes7727]

To be fair, he seemed to specify he didn’t like college for writers specifically and not merely college in a general sense

[@siukong]

It's sad when you watch a wonderful interview, then find out the next day that its subject just died.

[@zyderman2050]

Oh man. I've only seen him in the video "A Night with Ray Bradbury" from 2001. I don't know why I'm surprised how he sounds different.

[@rachelthompson9324]

His life was much like mine. I'm a writer ,too.

[@avidian888]

Amazing!

[@charlespeterson3798]

My idea of an eternal life would be the ability to change dimensions and elements. Native American mythologies, turning into the wind for a period of time, sun light, moonlightorgasm.

[@Cholostallion]

BRADBURY RULES!

[@wiisalute]

He and Isaac Asimov were great

[@emmarose4234]

There’s a daylily named Ray Bradbury Memorial. ❤️

[@lise4369]

24:00 I always said this...I said I'd only get my license in my thirties because I'd be mature enough and responsible enough to drive as safely as I possibly could.

[@lise4369]

but I went skydiving in my mid twenties though...

[@TruthSurge]

@RuthSLHare He says that because of the old "nothing new under the sun" and if the plot is never new then you must find your enjoyment in the journey, rather than the destination. It's kind of true. Very hard to write a plot that people can't guess halfway thru. I mean, take the lord of the rings. 3 entire novels to basically say that bad guy gets destroyed by dropping a ring into lava. We kind of KNOW he's going to get it but he strings it out for 3 novels. hahah

[@corpsefoot758]

To be fair though, there are some narratives where we can’t really see the ending coming (I’d name some famous examples, but I don’t want to spoil any). Perhaps that unpredictability is a sign of the times, though, since most of the ones I remember are fairly recent; I’d say we can forgive Tolkien for some “cliche” story structure though, seeing as he wrote Lord of the Rings over 70 years ago :)

[@r.b.4611]

Think I can work out where all the murderous cars and speeds in Fahrenheit 451 came from now.

[@maxwelljacobs8830]

Alexa text jimmy hi its grandma and i love you. Please call me back today is my birthday and im so alone. Alexa send alexa stop thats all stop alexa stop send it alexa send hit end

[@coopernickerson7470]

Day at night.,,sounded like Ray wrote Something wicked this way come. Those two boys in the book.

[@JEBEmpires]

I want the theme song for this show!

[@turtleanton6539]

🔥

[@paulzendo6079]

Or Ray could have put it this way : ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE 👍

[@HenryCasillas]

☮️

[@timelessrealms]

👍👍

[@sneezepal]

RB was...is an American icon.

[@SoUtHMeMpHis]

I really love that intro music 🎶and I loved The Halloween Tree especially the cartoon version. I wish it was a tad more serious tho. I honestly thought as a kid , that the sick kid was going to die/disappear.

[@LightmasterChampion]

"A writer of fairy tales and modern myths about technology . . . ."

[@TruthSurge]

Not to sound gripey but cmon, Farenheit Four Five One? HAHAH The intro guy has never read the book or even Cliff's Notes. That number, 451 is a TEMPERATURE. Just wow. What an insult to the Bradster. Ray says it right at 16:35. Four Fifty One. Only thing about writing like he does is that it CAN adversely affect the consistency and plot. You can write yourself into a corner sometimes. But it's way more enjoyable doing it his way instead of mapping it out outline form. thx for the vid.

[@micaylab1]

Imagine if Ray Bradberry and Isaac Asimov were brothers.