IMAGE

label ::

broadcast: CBS
tele. show: an American Portrait
episode: Ray Kurzweil
host: Mel Tormei
year: 1985

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presented by

company: Paramount
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broadcast: CBS
web: home ~ channel
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about ::

The tele. show an American Portrait was a series of short, historical featurettes on the CBS television channel — from September 1984 to October 1986.

Each episode opened with the centennial intro: in celebration: 1886 — 1986. Followed by a one minute biography of a noteworthy person. Each episode was presented by a different celebrity host or hostess.

transcript ::

A breakthrough for the blind.

As a student at MIT, Ray Kurzweil began experimenting with combinations of optical scanning technology — and pattern recognition capabilities. A few years later, he found a practical application for his work.

Borrowing money from friends and relatives, he began to manufacture the Kurzweil Reading Machine. Hailed as the greatest aid to the blind since Braille. Less than 1% of our books are printed in Braille. But Ray Kurzweil’s Reading Machine with its computer synthesized voice reads any book in print. Opening the doors of America’s libraries to the blind.

This is Mel Torme with an American Portrait.

notes

tele. = television
CBS = Columbia Broadcasting System
MIT = the Massachusetts Institute of Technology