Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Thursday 25 July 2019

Looking back at Mike Wallace, who made ‘em squirm

By JOCELYN NOVECK Belkin shows in his absorb- ing a bout of depression,
Associated Press ing new documentary, he once swallowed pills in
Vladimir Putin, Ayatollah “Mike Wallace Is Here.” a suicide attempt.
Ruhollah Khomeini, Ku Klux Belkin had crucial access A quick look at Wallace’s
Klan leader Eldon Edwards. to CBS archives, including early life begins in Brook-
Bette Davis, Barbra Strei- those of “60 Minutes,” the line, Massachusetts, where
sand, Shirley MacLaine, El- show that made Wallace as an adolescent he was
eanor Roosevelt. famous. And watching all so ashamed of his pock-
If they were famous — or this footage, the undercur- marked face that he
infamous — they likely sat rent is unspoken but obvi- yearned for gray days, not
across from newsman Mike ous: How would Wallace, sunny ones.
Wallace at some point dur- with his famous take-no- In his early TV years, he was
ing his seven-decade ca- prisoners style, handle Presi- a pitchman, for everything
reer. And he made ‘em dent Donald Trump? from cigarettes to shorten-
all squirm, as filmmaker Avi Alas, Wallace died in 2012, ing (“Man, that’s some ap-
ple pie.”)
This image released by Magnolia Pictures shows Mike Wallace In his first interview show,
in a scene from the documentary “Mike Wallace Is Here.” “Night Beat,” which pre-
Associated Press miered in 1956, he sat close
so we must make do with earn a recent tweet from to his subjects, smoke bil-
a brief few moments of the the president: “I like Mike lowing from his ubiqui-
newsman with Trump in his Wallace better.”) tous cigarette. Here was
late 30s, a brash young ty- Also included are some launched his confronta-
coon who suggests — sur- prickly conversations be- tional style: he asks Eleanor
prise! — that he’d be better tween Wallace and his “60 Roosevelt why people hate
at negotiating arms control Minutes” colleagues, as he her and her husband.
agreements than diplo- approached retirement. The show moved to ABC,
mats in Washington. One gets the sense Wal- then was canceled in 1958.
“There’s a new billionaire lace wasn’t thrilled about A few years later in 1962,
in town — Trump’s the having the tables turned he experienced tragedy:
name,” Wallace begins. He with questions about his his older son, Peter, died in
asks the young magnate own life. a mountain-climbing acci-
what he plans to do with That’s probably why the dent in Greece. He arrived
the next 40 years. “There film focuses almost exclu- at CBS, where he was seen
are so many things to do,” sively on Wallace’s work, by some as an overly slick
Trump says. “Politics?” asks not his personal life, includ- interloper. Success came,
Wallace. ing his multiple marriages though, with “60 Minutes,”
“No, not politics,” Trump or his struggles with depres- which premiered in 1968
replies. (It’s worth noting sion. It’s also why it’s shock- and became an unexpect-
that Wallace’s son Chris, ing when he tells colleague ed hit, launching a dynasty
of the Fox News Channel, Morley Safer what he has and a new genre, the TV
has irked Trump enough to until then denied: that dur- newsmagazine.q

Calexico and
Iron & Wine, a

reunion worth

the wait

By RAGAN CLARK
Associated Press
Calexico and Iron & Wine,
“Years to Burn” (Sub Pop)
Reuniting on “Years to
Burn,” their first full-length
project since 2005, Calexi-
co and Iron & Wine remind
audiences why they ini- In this July 24, 2007, file photo, U.S. musician Joey Burns and
tially collaborated. Strong band Calexico perform on stage during the Blue Balls Festival in
alone, the two bands are Lucerne, Switzerland.
stronger together. Associated Press
Sam Beam, better known jazz. Together, the two are and depth with their musi-
by his stage name Iron & perfectly complementary. cal composition. Differen-
Wine, has been something Beam brings his own tal- tiating itself from the “In
of a sensation in the indie ents to the table — a raspy the Reins” EP, on which the
world since the early 2000s. whisper of a voice, telling two acts first collaborated,
Calexico, with main mem- stories and pouring out lyr- “Years to Burn” feels more
bers Joey Burns and John ics wrought with meaning. self-assured, like a group
Convertino, is a Southwest- These talents are only fur- of musicians comfortable
ern rock band with influ- ther enhanced by those of playing together and not
ences from mariachi to Calexico, adding texture afraid to experiment. q