They say you can never go home again, and in the notoriously fickle world of television broadcasting, that old maxim often holds true. In the quest for higher ratings and an always-bigger market share, people never look back as they move on, determined to grab hold of that next big opportunity. But luckily for Boston audiences, long-time TV journalist Barry Nolan refused to believe that he couldn’t come back to his adopted hometown. And he was right. After a high-profile career that took him from Boston to Los Angeles to New York, Nolan returned to Boston last year to produce and host CN8’s “Nitebeat” and “Backstage with Barry Nolan.” And with the increasing popularity of both his shows, it’s clear that Boston TV viewers, glad to finally have him back, have once again warmly embraced the amiable Nolan.
It’s easy to understand Nolan’s attachment to Boston, once you realize his history with local TV audiences. As co-host of WBZ-TV’s long-running, enormously popular “Evening Magazine,” Nolan was a fixture on Boston-area TV screens throughout the 1980’s. When Nolan joined “Evening Magazine” in 1982, he was an immediate hit. And the feeling was mutual. “When I walked into the audition, I just felt at home,” says Nolan, a native Virginian. “I loved Boston then and I still love Boston.”
Even today, the mention of Nolan’s name stirs up a kind of instant recognition and collective memory for many of us of sitting in front of the TV weeknights after dinner watching Nolan and co-hosts Robin Young (see IMAGINE cover story Junea 2000) and Sara Edwards entertain us with their segments on exotic faraway places; thrill-seeking sports adventures; or local human interest stories. “Evening Magazine” was unlike anything most people had ever seen on TV and it worked. Worked so well in fact, that it all but dominated the coveted early primetime time slot throughout the Boston television market for years. By the time Nolan left “Evening Magazine” in 1991, not only had he won several Emmys and a Gabriel Award for his work on the show; he had also become a bona fide star.
Not surprisingly, after Nolan left “Evening Magazine,” his career took off on a national level. He hosted the primetime shows “Over the Edge” on ABC, and “Beyond Tomorrow” for Fox. Next up was seven years as an anchor with nationally syndicated highly rated “Hard Copy,” followed by several more years with “Extra!” one of the country’s most popular newsmagazine shows. Over time, Nolan became such a recognizable face and voice in the industry that producers in Hollywood started asking for “a Barry Nolan type” when it came time to cast a reporter in a sitcom or feature film. Nolan’s agent contacted the producers and suggested the obvious: “Why not simply hire Barry Nolan?” As a result of his manager’s clever suggestion, Nolan has since found himself appearing in any number of Hollywood films and sitcoms, The low-key Nolan takes it all in stride. “I’ve been told that it’s actually quite hard for actors to duplicate the speech patterns that TV anchors use. They can’t quite get the rhythm of it down. It’s simply easier, and more practical to hire an actual anchorperson.”
Unlike many aspiring TV stars today, Barry Nolan never deliberately set out to conquer the world of broadcasting. As a young student at the University of Tennessee, Nolan was far more interested in learning the inner workings of the mind with studies in psychology and neurophysiology. Fate intervened, however, in the form of theater professor Robert Allen and a newly-formed theatre group he established. Allen, best known as the creative force behind the Broadway musical blockbuster, “Sugar Babies,” became a mentor of sorts for Nolan. “He was a brilliant, brilliant guy,” Nolan says simply. It was a good thing too, since Nolan soon realized that he simply didn’t have the heart to conduct the animal shock experiments necessary to pursuing his scientific degree. “I began feeling so bad about it that I couldn’t bear to go to the lab unless I had a bottle of wine with me.”
After having an opportunity to be a be a part of Allen’s theater group, Nolan found himself re-focused and determined to now make it as an actor. And as with so many aspiring serious young actors, Nolan soon found himself in New York, intent on making his mark in the legitimate theatre. He was lucky enough to find steady work, including a stint as an understudy to actor Roddy MacDowell in the Broadway play,“Charley’s Aunt.” It was a heady time for Nolan, as he found himself working alongside such notable actors as Vincent Price, Annie Potts, and Joanna Gleason. Nolan was also a featured player in “The Passion of Dracula” a long-running off-Broadway show. But the glory of appearing on the New York stage came at a price; with his paychecks averaging about $165 a week, Nolan couldn’t pay his bills, and eventually found himself auditioning for commercials and soap operas. As it turned out, Nolan was a natural for television. With his boyish good looks and a natural ease in front of the camera, Nolan had little trouble finding steady work. He’s been at it ever since.
In spring 2003, Nolan got a call from his agent that cable company Comcast was going to be starting its own channel in Boston as part of the company’s ever-growing cable network. Launched last year as a way to deliver quality programming to its subscribers, the CN8 channel has since evolved into one of the country’s largest regional cable networks. Comcast executives were interested in talking to Nolan about hosting his own show. Nolan was curious about the offer and excited about the possibility of being back in New England. “I wanted the job so badly, that I thought I blew the audition,” recalls Nolan.
Not surprisingly, Nolan aced the audition and ended up with not one, but two shows that he executive produces and hosts on CN8; “Nitebeat,” his signature nightly news and public affairs show, and “Backstage with Barry Nolan,” a weekly show focused on arts and entertainment. “It’s really turned out to be the perfect job for me,” says Nolan. “But those early days were daunting, “The first day I came to work, it was a Monday, May 5th, and they were still hooking up the phones, and here I was thinking, ‘we’re supposed to be on the air with a live show in a week!’ It was daunting, to say the least.” But the uncertainties of those first few days have disappeared as Nolan and his staff have turned “Nitebeat” and “Backstage with Barry Nolan” into two well-produced, highly informative, and entertaining shows.
In his making the move back to Boston, there was not only a quality of life issue involved for Nolan, there was a professional concern as well. “I had hoped to come back for the last decade,” he says. “It’s simply a great market and it’s a great place to live. Boston is a place where people take news seriously. In this town, politics and the state of the earth still matter to people. In the entertainment news industry, some of the time you’re living in a truly “absurdist” world. I mean, with all that’s going on in the world around us, you’ll have producers calling up to say, ‘I’ll trade you two good Travolta bites for a Timberlake.’ Coming back to Boston to produce “Nitebeat” meant I had the freedom to cover more meaningful topics than who Britney Spears happens to be dating at the moment. That’s important to me.”
Nolan particularly enjoys the format of “Nitebeat” which allows him and his staff to put together an in-depth 60-minute show four nights a week that features debates and roundtable discussions as well as one on one interviews with guests from the world of business, politics and entertainment. It gives one a sense of how truly eclectic “Nitebeat” is when you learn that Nolan’s favorite guests on the show include not only John Sunnunu, former governor of New Hampshire and former White House Chief-of-Staff for President Bust 41, but also Penn Gillette, half of the comedy duo, Penn and Teller. Nolan says what makes for a memorable guest is that person’s willingness to have a real, spontaneous approach to the on-air discussion. “They surprise you with their outlook or some experience they’ve had,” says Nolan. “It’s great when they don’t have a canned answer or response - when they tell you something unexpected and completely new.”
One of the best things about being back in Boston for Nolan has been the opportunity to work once again with Sara Edwards, his former co-host from “Evening Magazine.” Edwards, a star entertainment reporter in Boston for many years, ended up as a producer and host on “Backstage with Barry Nolan” after longtime employer, WHDH-TV, decided to dissolve the station’s entertainment department.
Nolan is effusive in his praise of Edwards, “In a business where often the easiest way to be successful is to be snide and salacious, Sara has consistently chose another path. She treats people with humor, honesty, and respect. She treats people like human beings, instead of a commodity. She’s a good role model for people in the business.” As Edwards notes, “In a small community like Boston, viewers are very loyal. They remember Barry and me from all those years on “Evening Magazine.” They’re happy to see us back on the air together again. Barry is a great friend and one of the funniest human beings I know, so it’s been great to be reunited.”
Nolan’s been able to garner an impressive group of guests for CN8, not only on “Nitebeat” but on his “Backstage with Barry Nolan” as well. He’s fortunate that both he and Edwards have built an impressive array of contacts due to their years of covering the entertainment industry. Nolan points out that their success in getting celebrities interested in appearing on a new show like “Backstage” is largely due to the amount of goodwill that both he, and especially Edwards, he says, have built up with celebrities and the Hollywood press over the years,
A great thing for New England area filmmakers is both Nolan’s and Edwards’ commitment to using “Backstage” to promoting independent film and filmmakers. “We want to give coverage to those filmmakers who don’t make it onto shows like “Extra!” says Nolan. “These are the films that come more from the heart of the filmmaker. And with the local network affiliates in Boston no longer featuring entertainment reporting, it’s important that we promote those stories and events to the viewing public. We like it, and more importantly, we think it makes for good TV.”
And in wonderfully romantic twist of fate, Nolan married former WBZ colleague and Boston University professor Garland Waller (see story IMAGINE, February 2004), in June. For Nolan, the marriage represents the true culmination of his having come full circle back to Boston. Waller, herself an accomplished writer and producer, as well as a fellow Virginian, describes husband Nolan this way: “He’s just one of the smartest people I’ve ever met - that’s a part most people don’t know about him. To be executive producer and host of his own show and be able to talk intelligently about any topic in the world - that takes a special kind of talent. And he’s not only smart; he’s also funny, and truly kind. As my mother would say, ‘He’s good people.’” And with the growing success of “Nitebeat” and “Backstage with Barry Nolan,” Boston audiences heartily agree.
CN8’s “Nitebeat” airs 7-8pm, Monday through Thursday. “Backstage with Barry Nolan” airs Friday nights at 8pm. Check your local Comcast guides and the CN8 website for more information at www.cn8.tv