New Horizons PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID OMAHA NE PERMIT NO. 389
A publication of the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging
December 2022 | Vol. 47 | No.12
Nebraska’s own, TV legend: Harry Friedman I By Leo Adam Biga Flatwater Free Press f one of the iconic game shows Harry Friedman brought to new heights used his own bio as a clue, it might read something like this: Over two decades executive producing both Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, this native Nebraskan won more Emmy Awards than anyone in television game show history. Decades of these shows were led by Friedman, an unassuming Omaha boy who became a game show icon. Friedman’s enhancements to both Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune – eye-popping sets, entertaining remotes, and capitalizing on champions’ social media buzz – re-energized the brands created by Merv Griffin and sent ratings and revenues soaring. Friedman produced thousands of episodes, won 14 Emmys, accepted a prestigious Peabody Award given to Jeopardy in 2012, and got his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame just before retiring. The two hosts he’s indelibly linked with explained his impact to Variety Magazine when Friedman finally hung it up in 2020. “I will miss his tremendous talent,
COURTESY PHOTO Harry Friedman, Omaha Central graduate, ascended to the top of the TV world, producing “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune” for decades and winning more Emmy Awards than anyone in television game show history. his unerring instincts, and his genuine kindness,” said famed Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak. “He is simply the best.” “Harry is the most creative producer I’ve ever worked with,” said Jeopardy host Alex Trebek months before his death. Friedman, 75, didn’t hail from a show biz family or study media
production. But growing up in the Golden Age of television sparked an intrigue he nurtured into a career. His Polish-Jewish immigrant parents, David and Rose, met in Omaha. They belonged to Beth Israel Synagogue. His Mr. Fix-It father owned Aksarben Furniture and Television Repair near downtown. Today, Harry enjoys the symmetry:
Dad a TV repairman; his son a TV content creator. Friedman’s father saw TV as a household fixture and an opportunity. The elder Friedman learned TV repair via how-to manuals ordered by mail. Summers, Harry helped in the store. He watched as passersby stood transfixed in front of the TV playing in the front window. “I suspect none of them had TV in their homes. I can picture those moments so clearly in my mind because I saw, then, the power of television.” That appreciation for the medium grew when radio comedy stars like Jack Benny and George Burns moved to television. “I loved those shows because they were sweet and funny and great escapism. It played well with me. I wanted to be a part of that.” As a kid, Friedman lived out a fantasy when Gregg Dunn, host of KMTV’s fright night show, Gregore, invited Harry behind the curtain. A 10-year-old Friedman called Dunn at the station and invited him to his Halloween party. Dunn declined, but welcomed the fan to come watch the show, which was broadcast live on Saturday nights. Friedman’s father drove him there. --Friedman continued on page 8.
Growing older with HIV By Andy Bradley Contributing Writer hen Jerry Meis learned in 1988 that he and his partner had HIV, he assumed and expected the worst. “When this all started, we had to grasp the fact that we were going to die, maybe in six months.” That was the typical scenario in the 1980s, when HIV and AIDS became a global epidemic. HIV, or Human Immunodeficiency Syndrome, is the vicious virus that attacks the immune system. Left untreated, it quickly progresses to Meis AIDS, which is the last stage of HIV. Medical professionals didn’t know how to treat it throughout much of the 1980s. Trial and error at best. The virus was discovered and named in 1983.
W Meals on Wheels program
The Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging’s Meals on Wheels program has filled the nutritional needs of the homebound by providing hot, noon meals, personally delivered by a team of volunteers and paid drivers for 45 years. Read more about the program on Page 16.
But AIDS would soon become the number one cause of death among persons under the age of 40. “No one understood what they were dealing with at the time,” said Brent Koster, the executive director of the Nebraska Aids Project (NAP). “Exactly like COVID in its infancy.” Early attempts to thwart the disease met with limited success, including the anti-viral drug know as AZT. “We took the AZT and waited to die,” said Meis, who was in his late 30s at the time. Today, he is 72. He attributes his longevity in the face of dire odds to a dizzying stream of progressive medical and pharmaceutical advances over the last 30-plus years. Those destined to die with the disease in their thirties are now living well into their 70s and older. So as Meis matured into middle and older age, so too did the --HIV continued on page 6.