A Dog's Life (CBSW)

Anthony ("Tony") Schwartz (1923 – 2008) was an American sound archivist, sound designer, pioneering media theorist, and advertising creator. Tony is perhaps best known for creating a controversial television ad for the 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson campaign, which depicted a girl picking the petals off of daisies and counting. The counting becomes a countdown, followed by a nuclear explosion. The ad was considered an important factor in Johnson's victory over Goldwater.

In this soundscape by Tony, we have a much lighter subject. Tony's ever-present portable tape recorder accompanies him as he decides to adopt a dog. He quickly discovers that not only is owning a dog more complicated that it would first appear, but he is surrounded by a plethora of conflicting opinions on how a dog should be trained, groomed, etc.

I recall reading somewhere that Tony had a phobia that largely kept him holed up in his apartment. He taught at least one college class remotely, a relatively unheard of thing in that time.

CBS Radio Workshop #61
A Dog's Life
31 Mar 1957
19570331(061)_CBSW_ADogsLife.mp3
Tony Schwartz, Ralph Bell (narrator), Dick Noel (announcer)