When I was growing up in Canada one of the public broadcasters, TVOntario, would play classic films on Saturday Nights.  

 

What differentiated this show was that for decades its host, a Canadian teacher named Elwy Yost had been travelling to Hollywood to record oral history interviews with people who had worked on these films.  

 

Due to a legislative requirement all programming on TVO had to have an educational component.

 

This is where the oral history comes into play.

Decades before the advent of DVD and its ubiquitous special features, these broadcast would be followed by a package of interviews where directors, producers, cinematographers, screenwriters, costume designers and actors would explain the filmmaking process and give stories about the making of the film we had just watched.  

Sadly Elwy Yost died in 2011 and Saturday Night at the Movies is no longer produced due to budget cutbacks, but it left of legacy of inspiring Canadians to be be curious about filmmakers, creatives, and media history.

During the pandemic I started reaching out to some of the creatives who worked on Star Trek the Original Series to thank them for being part of something that meant so much to me.  

I found many of them were receptive to being contacted, and a few even agreed to be interviewed.  

And with that I will be launching a new oral history podcast called "You Did What?".  We will be starting with actors from Star Trek, and branching off into other interesting people as availability and resources permit.

Episodes can be found at www.youdidwhat.ca

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