Editor’s Note: I was certainly not on a first name basis with the subject of this article. I didn’t know him. However, there is only one person who this single word title could refer to.
I kind of assumed I wouldn’t get far in this project before coming to this topic. I’ll start off by stating directly that Huell Howser is a substantial inspiration for what I’m doing here. There is no way for me to consider doing a random collection of pieces loosely connected to California without recognizing the influence of watching countless hours of California’s Gold. I‘m a huge fan of the program and I likely ended up with a similar vision of the California reflected in it.
There are articles online and work in print that covers Huell’s biographical details so I won’t do that here. If you don’t already know that the collection of California’s Gold and the rest of his work is available online from Chapman University, here’s a link to it.
California’s Gold consists largely of very long duration takes shot by a cameraman with a handheld chasing Huell around somewhere obscure. And it all seems totally spontaneous. Huell had a talent for getting someone to respond as naturally as if the camera wasn’t there. Part of that was probably due to his enthusiasm for discovering something for the first time and being really interested in what his subjects were doing and saying. He was often a bit over the top – a friend of mine told me that if we had a game where we took a drink every time Huell said “That’s amazing!”, we wouldn’t be able to drive after the first evening and we’d be ready for detox in a week.
What really had (and still has) an effect on me, though, is the idea that viewed the right way there are fascinating and important stories everywhere. Everyone has at least one. And if you approach and present them honestly, people will be interested and will listen to and appreciate what you’re trying to do. Huell seemed to be comfortable in his own skin and knew he was doing the work that he was good at.
I only saw Huell in person once. Typically he was following someone around asking questions with a cameraman in tow. Even if I’d wanted to there’d be no way to stop him to talk. But if I had the opportunity to talk to him now, there’s no question what I’d say:
That was amazing.