Walter Cronkite hosted 1953's popular
You Are There! series of historical recreations. Long before the film
Forrest Gump inserted Tom Hanks into actual events, Cronkite appeared in the middle of historical events ranging over many topics through the course of centuries of American and World history.
Famous and soon-to-be-famous guest stars appeared in these recreations as legendary figures and the people they interacted with. James Dean appeared in one of the first few episodes as none other than Jessie James, and
Star Trek's DeForest Kelly ("Dr. McCoy") showed up time after time during this series in roles both major and minor. Other guest stars included E.G. Marshall, Denver Pyle, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, John Cassavetes, Robert Culp, Claude Akins, Rod Steiger, Lorne Greene, Patrick McGoohan, Louis Armstrong, Beatrice Straight, Ray Walston, Robert Vaughn, and Edward G. Robinson Jr.
Now you can look forward to 7 different DVD releases from this series, each running just $9.99 SRP for 50 minutes worth of show. All of these are planned to arrive on
November 2nd, and include these themes:
- You Are There: Abraham Lincoln's Greatest Moments
- You Are There: America Grows Up
- You Are There: The American Revolution Prepares
- You Are There: Ancient Greece
- You Are There: Discovery And Mutiny
- You Are There: Jefferson Makes A Difference
- You Are There: Washington Crosses The Delaware
There are no indication yet as to which episodes will appear on these, but hopefully that information will be available soon. Stay tuned, and we'll see if we can get further news for you about them.
UPDATE (10/1):
Additional DVD titles were revealed yesterday for this series:
- You Are There: Invasion
- You Are There: The Outlaws
- You Are There: Tragedy And Promise
- You Are There: Two Dramatic Flights
- You Are There: World War II Begins
That brings the total number of releases to 12 so far. The new ones are the same as the previous group: $9.99 SRP, 50 minute, due 11/02.
