Movie Stars & Rattlesnakes: The Heyday of Montana Live Television [Paperback]

Norma Beatty Ashby (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2004

This lighthearted, fast-paced memoir chronicles Norma's twenty-four years as the host and producer of KRTV's award-winning Today in Montana show, the longest running locally produced program in Montana television history.

This anecdotal history begins in 1962 in a Quonset hut and ends in a million-dollar building. Featuring nearly one hundred photographs, Movie Stars and Rattlesnakes takes the reader on a journey that starts with Norma's first frightening minutes in front of the camera and details her unique experiences, including a fire on the set, an interview in the old Montana State Prison, and an encounter with a twelve-foot python.

AWARDS: Bronze ADDY Award for Cover Design, 2004.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

During the infancy of Montana television, Norma Ashby developed into an institution. She hosted Today in Montana for twenty-four years and built a devoted statewide following a remarkable record! Movie Stars and Rattlesnakes is an even more remarkable story!
-Dave Walter, research historian, Montana Historical Society

Norma Ashby has probably met more citizens and interviewed more people than anyone in the history of Montana broadcasting. She has been one of the state's most effective promoters. Whenever someone does a poll about influential people in the Treasure State, Ashby rates among the top ten or fifteen and always is near the head of the list of most influential women.
-Great Falls Tribune, June 12, 1988

Norma Ashby's sparkle lit up every interview she ever did on ''Today in Montana,'' and now her television encounters gleam again in this jewel box of a book. Thanks to her skills in the tricky art of the on-air interview, Norma's is a chronicle of modern Montana like no other. ---Ivan Doig, author of ten books, including This House of Sky, English Creek, and, most recently, Prairie Nocturne

During the infancy of Montana television, Norma Ashby developed into an institution. She hosted Today in Montana for twenty-four years and built a devoted statewide following a remarkable record! Movie Stars and Rattlesnakes is an even more remarkable story! --Dave Walter, research historian, Montana Historical Society

Norma Ashby has probably met more citizens and interviewed more people than anyone in the history of Montana broadcasting. She has been one of the states most effective promoters. Whenever someone does a poll about influential people in the Treasure State, Ashby rates among the top ten or fifteen and always is near the head of the list of most influential women. --Great Falls Tribune, June 12, 1988

About the Author

Norma Beatty Ashby is a fourth-generation Montanan. She received her bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Montana in 1957. In 1962, she got a job as hostess and producer of KRTV's ''Today in Montana'' show. She held that job for the next 24 years. She wrote 21 television documentaries and has written several essays.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Farcountry Press (December 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560373660
• ISBN-13: 978-1560373667
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,794,688 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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