Leta Powell Drake (March 10, 1938 – September 15, 2021) was an American broadcaster, television producer, screenwriter and television personality on local stations in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

. Drake hosted ''Live & Learn'', a program for seniors on 5 City TV in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

, and has been inducted into the Nebraska Broadcasters Hall of Fame and the Nebraska Press Women's Hall of Fame. Drake acted in more than 100 plays, and two movies. She was a member of the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE). She was also one of the creators of the Star City Holiday Parade. A member of the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

, Drake served on the boards of the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

College of Fine and Performing Arts; UNL Alumni Association; Osher Life Long Learning Institute at UNL; Lincoln General Hospital Auxiliary; Mayor's Film Commission; Muscular Dystrophy Association; Lincoln Advertising Federation; Lincoln Community Playhouse; Theatre Arts for Youth; YMCA;

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

; 99's (Women pilots); Nebraskans for Public Television; and Nebraska Public Radio.

Career

Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Drake began her broadcasting career at KDAL-TV (now

KDLH-TV KDLH (channel 3) is a television station in Duluth, Minnesota, United States, affiliated with The CW Plus. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Superior, Wisconsin–licensed dual NBC/CBS affiliate KBJR-TV, channel 6 (and its Chisholm, Minn ...

) there. In 1956, the VFW sponsored the "Voice of Democracy" essay contest for high school students. Leta's voice was recorded for the first time, and she won the city championship. The TV station offered her a part-time job. She began as talent on commercials and was on a live Bingo program.

KOLN-TV

Drake served as program director at

KOLN-TV Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...

for 28 years, where she purchased and scheduled programs, and she served as a writer, program producer, and on-air host as well as the public affairs director, and director of children's programming, talent development and sales. She hosted and produced the 10/11 Morning Show for 25 years. She interviewed more than 1,000 movie and TV celebrities, humanitarians and two presidents. In 1967, Drake created the character of Kalamity Kate on ''Cartoon Corral''.

Nebraska Public Television (NPT)

Drake served as the assistant network program manager for Nebraska Public Television for 13 years. She also programmed the nine station state network and cable system there, as well. Drake became the spokesperson for Nebraska Public Media through their fund drives and auctions.

Contemporary accolades

In 2020, Drake found herself becoming an internet sensation when her numerous interviews of older celebrities started to go viral. A twitter user named John Frankensteiner posted a compilation clip with the description reading "Currently obsessed with Leta Powell Drake, the greatest interviewer of all time." Many have noted that Drake's style of interviewing tended to be very matter-of-fact and blunt. Notable examples being telling Tim Curry that he "looks evil in many ways", prefacing

Lee Remick Lee Ann Remick (December 14, 1935 – July 2, 1991) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film ''Days of Wine and Roses (film), Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), and for the 1966 ...

with "You got to work with Richard Burton in ''The Tempest'', and now he's dead" and telling

Gene Hackman Eugene Allen Hackman (born January 30, 1930) is an American retired actor and former novelist. In a career that has spanned more than six decades, Hackman has won two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award, two BAFTAs ...

, "You've done some brilliant pictures, you've done some stinkers" with a bemused Hackman responding "Really?" Drake believed that the reason her interviews were popular was because she interviewed older celebrities. When she realized that it was because of her approach to interviewing, she stated "I'm not matter-of-fact; I do my homework... If I'm going to do an interview, I come in and look like I know what I'm talking about... And maybe that was it. Confidence will take you a long way, you know, it really will."

Death

She died on September 15, 2021.

Awards and recognitions

* Friend of Nebraska Award, Seward Chamber of Commerce: grand marshal in Fourth of July parade, 1978 * Admiral in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska * Golden Grid Award from Trac Media for largest increase in ratings of any PBS station in country over a three-year period, 1997 * PBS Development Award First Place for raising the greatest dollar percentage increase during year long pledge drives than any PBS station in the system, 1997 * Mayor's Arts Award Sam Davidson Award in Theatre, May, 2001 * Lady Vestey Gracious Lady Award, Superior, Nebraska, May 2001 * Abe Lincoln Award Southern Baptist Radio and Television Commission for Service to the Community, presented by Bob Hope * Who's Who in American Women * Salvation Army's Bonnet Award of distinction for service to others * Television Bureau of Advertising: First Place Award for best locally produced TV commercial in the US * Lincoln Advertising Federation: First Place Award for best locally produced TV commercial * Best Actress award five times at University of Nebraska Theatre * Elsie Award, Outstanding Performance Award six times at the Lincoln Community Playhouse * Aldo Award Men's Fashion Association of America: First place seven times for the best local television coverage of men's fashions in the country * All Women's Transcontinental Air Race Powder Puff Derby: Placed twice in the top ten and piloted a single engine aircraft across the US four times * Life Membership Award Lincoln General Hospital Auxiliary, October, 2002 * Nebraska Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame, August 2010 * She was inducted into the NPW Marian Andersen Women Journalists Hall of Fame in 2014.
Drake was presented with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters during the undergraduate ceremony at Pinnacle Bank Arena on August 14, 2021
''Lincoln Journal Star''

References

External links

Cartoon Corral Postcard image
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Leta Powell 1938 births 2021 deaths American television personalities American women television personalities American broadcasters American women television producers People from Duluth, Minnesota Television producers from Minnesota 21st-century American women