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Rick Sebak | |
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 Sebak in 2019 | |
| Born | June 5, 1953 |
| Occupation(s) | Public television producer and host |
| Known for | Documentaries |
Richard "Rick" Sebak [1] (born June 5, 1953) is an American public broadcasting television producer, writer and narrator who lives and works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the United States.
Richard Sebak was born on June 5, 1953, in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.[ citation needed ] He attended Bethel Park High School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate.[ citation needed ]
Sebak's first foray in the nostalgia documentary is the 1984 documentary Shag for South Carolina ETV, about a dance popular in the region. Four years later at WQED, Sebak produced The Mon, The Al & The O, about the Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio rivers, which meet to form at Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle; and Kennywood Memories, about Kennywood, a historic local amusement park.
As of March 2006, 313,227 copies of Sebak's films had been sold or given away as pledge gifts by public television stations nationwide, which WQED credits with largely helping it become financially solvent. [2] Sebak's scrapbook documentary format has been copied by other stations, many of whom see record pledge drive numbers when their documentaries air at pledge time. [3]
For his 25th year at the station, WQED produced a program called What Makes Rick Tick. [4] Special photos of Sebak to celebrate this 25th anniversary were added to Yinztagram. [5] The City of Pittsburgh declared the 1st week of December "Rick Sebak Week." [6]
Starting in 2018 the Rick Sebak specials for WQED have been shortened to 30 minutes and put under the umbrella title "Nebby: Rick Sebak's Tales of Greater Pittsburgh". Nebby is a Pittsburghese term meaning "nosy." Sebak fell and seriously injured his leg in 2018, and his special "Nebby: My Seven Weeks in Magee" showed his recovery and the support (and food) he received from many Pittsburghers. [7] Due to Sebak's injury, 3 of the 8 episodes re-used 20 year old footage from older, out of circulation, documentaries with updates.
Sebak is the creator of the "scrapbook documentary" genre, [8] many of which he has created for WQED and PBS. [3] This scrapbook style incorporates many old films, home movies, postcards, old photos and memorabilia of all sorts. Sebak does not appear on-camera in these programs, but audiences have learned to recognize his voice and distinctive narrative style.
His work is supported by the Buhl Foundation. [9]
NEBBY: RICK SEBAK'S TALES OF GREATER PITTSBURGH: This series of public TV programs are stand alone documentaries. While the word "nebby" means "nosey" or "inquisitive" to most native Pittsburghers, many of whom have known a "nebby neighbor" for years, the series is an unpredictable mix of topic. They are available on WQED's website for streaming. https://www.wqed.org/watch/nebby-rick-sebaks-tales-greater-pittsburgh
Fred McFeely Rogers, better known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, which ran from 1968 to 2001.
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is an American half-hour educational children's television series that ran from 1968 to 2001, and was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. The series Misterogers debuted in Canada on October 15, 1962, on CBC Television. In 1966, Rogers moved back to the United States creating Misterogers' Neighborhood, later called Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, on the regional Eastern Educational Television Network. The US national debut of the show occurred on February 19, 1968. It aired on NET and its successor, PBS, until August 31, 2001.
WQED is a PBS member television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Owned by WQED Multimedia, it is sister to public radio station WQED-FM (89.3). The two outlets share studios on Fifth Avenue near the Carnegie Mellon University campus and transmitter facilities near the campus of the University of Pittsburgh, both in the city's Oakland section.
Shore Things is a 1996 PBS television documentary by Rick Sebak of WQED Pittsburgh. The show profiles American beaches, the things they are known for, and other notable facts.
Sandwiches That You Will Like is a 2002 PBS documentary by Rick Sebak of WQED. The unique sandwich offerings of cities across the United States are shown, from those that are often found outside of their city of origin to the virtually unknown.
The Fort Duquesne Bridge is a steel bowstring arch bridge that spans the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was colloquially referred to as "The Bridge to Nowhere".
Essie's Original Hot Dog Shop was a restaurant in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
Jack Rabbit is a wooden roller coaster located at Kennywood Park near Pittsburgh in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. Designed and built by John A. Miller and Harry C. Baker, Jack Rabbit opened in 1920, making it one of the oldest roller coasters in the world still in operation. The ride's three trains were manufactured by Edward Vettel, Sr. in 1951 and contain three cars of six seats each. The aging cars are considered a part of the ride's nostalgic experience but also lead to some young children being disallowed to enter the ride, due to the use of a small lap bar to hold in riders. A popular early feature of the ride was a tunnel which covered the turnaround section after the first drop, but this was removed in 1947 when the new cars were ordered. In 1991, the tunnel was restored, at a slightly shorter length.
Great Old Amusement Parks is a 1999 PBS television documentary VHS DVD produced by Rick Sebak of WQED Pittsburgh. It aired on PBS on July 21, 1999.
WQED Multimedia is an American nonprofit corporation based in Pittsburgh that owns and operates three public broadcasting stations:
Speedy Delivery is a 2008 documentary film directed and produced by Paul B. Germain. The film follows the life story of David Newell, better known as Mr. McFeely from the children's television show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. This was released two months after the series' 40th anniversary. Speedy Delivery is the first film about Mister Rogers.
Pittsburgh A To Z is a 2001 documentary created by Rick Sebak about 26 things about the City of Pittsburgh for every letter of the alphabet. Sebak included a larger area than just the city. In addition to the city, they include Somerset County, Fayette County, and Lawrence County. They had no rules about what to include. However, double usage of any letter gave it an added attraction. They skipped the letter H because the historic spelling of Pittsburgh did not include an H during a period of 20 years.
Pennsylvania Diners & Other Roadside Restaurants is a 1993 documentary created by Rick Sebak. The program originated in a 1992 item in The Pennsylvania Road Show about Lee's Diner. It was to be called "Pennsylvania Diners" but added "Other Roadside Restaurants" to cover other establishments than diners. When it was released on DVD in 2006, additional stories not seen nationally were included.
Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood is a Flash animated musical television series aimed at preschool children ages 2 to 4. It was produced by Fred Rogers Productions, 9 Story Media Group and 9 Story USA. It debuted on September 3, 2012 on PBS Kids, eleven years after the end of production for Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and nine years after Fred Rogers' death. The program is based on the Neighborhood of Make-Believe from Mister Rogers, the long-running family-oriented television series created and hosted by Fred Rogers that aired from 1968 to 2001. In 2019, the series was renewed for a fifth season, which premiered on August 17, 2020 with Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood: Won't You Sing Along with Me?, a musical special that deals with the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 20, 2021, the series was renewed for a sixth season, which premiered on September 5, 2022. A one-hour television movie titled Daniel Visits a New Neighborhood aired on June 20, 2022.
The Homewood Branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is an historic library which is located in the city of in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was built at 7101 Hamilton Avenue in the Homewood South neighborhood, and opened on March 10, 1910.
Yinztagram is a free photography mobile app for iOS that allows users to superimpose images of Pittsburgh landmarks in photos. The name "Yinztagram" is a portmanteau of yinz, a term from Pittsburghese, and Instagram, a popular photo application. The most recent version 1.2 was released on September 15, 2012.
"Return To Downtown Pittsburgh" is a 2016 documentary by Rick Sebak about present downtown Pittsburgh. This is a sequel to the 1992 program Downtown Pittsburgh.Return To Downtown Pittsburgh includes stories about PNC Tower, Banner Coin Exchange, Blue Bird Kitchen, The Union Trust Building, Light Up Night, The Fountain at the Point, Mellon Square, and many more.
Gus and Yiayia's is a food cart located in Allegheny Commons Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Established in 1934, it is best known for serving ice balls for kids during summer.
Thomas Skinner is an American television and film executive. Skinner has received four Emmy Awards, three Peabody Awards, and a Dupont/Columbia award. He is known for his work in public television as Executive Producer of National Geographic Specials and other programming for PBS and WQED in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the Free to Choose Network.
The Gabby Hayes Show was the name given to two early children's television series. Both series were broadcast on NBC, and both were sponsored by the Quaker Oats Company.
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