Tony Kahn is an American broadcaster, published author, scholar and son of the

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

screenwriter

Gordon Kahn Gordon Kahn (1902–1962) was an American writer and screenwriter who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era; he is the father of broadcaster and author Tony Kahn.and physician Jim Kahn. Background Gordon Jacques Kahn was born on May 11 ...

Life

Kahn grew up in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, the son of Hollywood screenwriter Gordon Kahn and Barbara Brodie Kahn. He joined his family in Cuernavaca,

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, where his father had fled in the 1950s during the

Red Scare A Red Scare is a form of moral panic provoked by fear of the rise of left-wing ideologies in a society, especially communism and socialism. Historically, red scares have led to mass political persecution, scapegoating, and the ousting of thos ...

, when he was five years old. Ultimately, the family returned to the United States and Kahn graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, where he was also

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

. Kahn also holds a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in Slavic studies from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Work

Kahn has produced work in various media but is best known for his work in

public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

, and is a regular panelist on the public radio quiz show ''

Says You! ''Says You!'' is a word game Game show, quiz show that airs weekly in the United States on public radio stations. Richard Sher (producer), Richard Sher created the show in 1996 with the guiding philosophy: "It's not important to KNOW the answe ...

'' He produced and directed the WGBH program ''Morning Stories'' and hosted its

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

version., public radio's first. He was the original host of PRI's ''The World'', and a contributor to

Minnesota Public Radio Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, KNOW-FM, News & Information, KSJN, YourClassical MPR and KCMP, The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper ...

's ''Savvy Traveler''. From 1982 to 1985, Kahn hosted a regular social commentary segment on

WCVB-TV WCVB-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on TV Place (off Gould Street near the I-95/ MA 128/Highland Avenue in ...

's nightly newsmagazine ''

Chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

''. Kahn produced, wrote, and narrated ''Blacklisted'', a six-part public radio series about his childhood as the son of a blacklisted screenwriter, starring

Ron Leibman Ron Leibman (; October 11, 1937 – December 6, 2019) was an American actor. He won both the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play in 1993 for his performance as Roy Cohn in ''Angels in Ame ...

and

Carroll O'Connor John Carroll O'Connor (August2, 1924– June21, 2001) was an American actor whose television career spanned over four decades. He found widespread fame as Archie Bunker (for which he won four Emmy Awards), the main character in the CBS televis ...

and featuring

Stockard Channing Stockard Channing (born Susan Antonia Williams Stockard; February 13, 1944) is an American actress. List of awards and nominations received by Stockard Channing, Her accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a nomination for an Acade ...

Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach ( ; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. Known for his character actor roles, his entertainment career spanned over six decades. He received a British Aca ...

Julie Harris Julia Ann Harris (December 2, 1925August 24, 2013) was an American actress. Renowned for her classical and contemporary roles, she earned numerous accolades including five Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Play, three Emmy Awards, and a Grammy ...

Jerry Stiller Gerald Isaac Stiller (June 8, 1927 – May 11, 2020) was an American comedian and actor. He spent many years as part of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara with his wife, Anne Meara, to whom he was married for over 60 years until her death in 20 ...

Spalding Gray Spalding Gray (June 5, 1941 – ) was an American actor, novelist, playwright, screenwriter and performance artist. He is best known for the autobiographical monologues that he wrote and performed for the theater in the 1980s and 1990s, as well ...

Scott Simon Scott Simon (born March 16, 1952) is an American journalist and the host of '' Weekend Edition Saturday'' on NPR. Early life Simon was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of comedian Ernie Simon and actress Patricia Lyons.

Susan Stamberg Susan Stamberg (born September 7, 1938) is an American radio journalist. Stamberg was co-host of NPR's flagship program ''All Things Considered'' from 1972 to 1986. In that role Stamberg was the first female host of a national news broadcast. She ...

, and

Daniel Schorr Daniel Louis Schorr (August 31, 1916 – July 23, 2010) was an American journalist who covered world news for more than 60 years. He was most recently a Senior News Analyst for National Public Radio (NPR). Schorr won three Emmy Awards for his te ...

. He has won numerous broadcasting awards including twelve New England Emmys, six Gold Medals of the New York International Festival, the Ace Award, three Gabriel Awards, the

Edward R. Murrow Edward Roscoe Murrow (born Egbert Roscoe Murrow; April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965) was an American Broadcast journalism, broadcast journalist and war correspondent. He first gained prominence during World War II with a series of live radio broa ...

Award for Feature Reporting. Kahn is also the author and illustrator of two graphic memoirs, "Fugitive: My Boyhood Under the Hollywood Blacklist" and "Walloped: A Story of Father and Sons," and a play, "Hound and Fox: A Cold War Affair."

Translation

*''The Day is Born of Darkness'' by Mikhail Dyomin, , 1976 *''Stolen Apples'', by Yevgeny Yevtushenko. *''From Desire to Desire'', by Yevgeny Yevtushenko. *''Legends from Invalid Street'', by Efraim Sevela.

Audio

*''Blacklisted'', six-part public radio series, 1995

Video

*''Mother's Little Network'', producer, writer, and performer, 1974 *''Media Probes. Soundaround'', as writer and host, 1982 *''The Day the Cold War Came Home'', as producer, writer and narrator, 1987 *''Here in My Arms'', producer, writer and narrator, 1990 *''Learning to Drive'', producer, writer and narrator, 1991 *''Fathers: A Family Album'', 1992 *''Nova'', 14 programs, narrator *''Frontline'', 2 programs, narrator *''

'', host of closing social commentary segment (1982–1985)

References

External links

Official website of ''The World''Official website of WGBH BostonOfficial website of ''Morning Stories''Official website of Tony KahnInterview with Tony Kahn, on Beyond the Margins

The New York Public Library catalogThe Library of Congress
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kahn, Tony Radio personalities from Los Angeles American radio producers Harvard University alumni NPR personalities Public Radio International personalities Living people Writers from Los Angeles Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni People from Cuernavaca Year of birth missing (living people)