filmmaker
PROFILE
Stephen Kessler
Guest
FROM Stephen Kessler
The Business
Paul Williams and Stephen Kessler Paul Williams was perhaps the foremost songwriter of the 70's and 80's. He wrote or co-wrote hits like "The Rainbow Connection" and the Oscar-winning song "Evergreen," which was the theme to the Barbra Streisand film A Star is Born. He was also a fixture on The Tonight Show and The Merv Griffin Show and made guest appearances in prime time and on game shows. But in recent years Williams has been largely absent from Hollywood. Stephen Kessler sought out his childhood hero expecting to find someone worse off than when he was at his peak. Instead he found a grateful man with nearly two decades of sobriety who looked back on his life in the limelight with a mixture of shame and good humor. He documents it all in Paul Williams: Still Alive .
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Design and Architecture
Farewell LA freeways, Peter Shire is back Angelenos don't want more freeways but we seem not to want mass transit either. Metro has killed the 710 freeway extension, and bus and train ridership is down across the region. What's the future of getting around in LA? And, Peter Shire is having a comeback. What attracts a new generation to his playful ceramics and furniture?
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Gov. Jerry Brown: California and China will fight climate change together President Donald Trump reportedly wants the U.S. to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, and he’s expected to announce a decision soon. California Governor Jerry Brown heads to China to strengthen climate and clean energy ties.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Accusations of lying fly between James Comey and White House During his testimony Thursday, former FBI Director James Comey accused President Trump and other White House officials of lying when they said the FBI was in disarray and its staff had lost confidence in him. President Trump’s lawyer said Comey was wrong -- that the president never asked for his loyalty, and never asked him to back off the investigation into former NSA director Michael Flynn.