Bill Riley on the Air and at the Iowa State Fair by Riley Sr. Bill

Author:Riley Sr., Bill [Riley Sr., Bill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2016-07-04T04:00:00+00:00

11

BILL RILEY TALENT SEARCH

I am very proud of my association with Iowa Public Television through the years, and during the Iowa State Fair, we really had fun. Not only did we do special reports each day for the nightly fair coverage, but also the entire championship talent show has been carried live or on a delayed basis on the final day of each state fair.

Marion Lucas and Bill Riley at the Talent Search awards.

Bill Sr. and Bill Jr. at the Iowa State Fair.

This championship broadcast has been a tremendous event, not only for the young folks on the show, but also for the show itself. It takes the excitement of that final day of the fair to all Iowa and border state areas. What a wonderful thing this has been for the show. And it certainly has been responsible, in part, for encouraging county fairs and town celebrations from all around the state to sponsor local talent shows each year, with winners advancing to the state fair. But the greatest plus comes, I feel, in the incredible opportunity for young Iowa performers to display their talent on statewide Iowa Public Television. Just think, these young folks appear on TV with the potential of being seen in more than one million TV homes! Truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I won’t spend any more time visiting about the Talent Search because we covered the first forty-five years of the show in a book, On Stage: Bill Riley and Tales of the Talent Search , which was published for the 2004 state fair.

I cannot leave this section without thanking my son, Bill Riley Jr., and Terry Rich. They kept the show rolling when I retired from the master of ceremonies job. As a matter of fact, the show has grown dramatically since their infusion of talent and enthusiasm. And with Terry Rich moving to the zoo directorship, Bill Jr. has taken over the entire show in the past four years. How proud can a dad be?

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