When Gail Kerr, Nashville native and longtime columnist for the Tennessean, died on March 25, the city lost a great champion, and journalism lost a great advocate for truth and honesty. At NPT, we lost a great friend and supporter, and when it came to some of our productions, a vivid storyteller. She was most recently one of those interviewed for Volume 4 of our Nashville: 20th Century in Photographs documentary, which we’ll be re-broadcasting tonight, Friday, April 4 at 7:00 p.m. in her memory. It will be shown without membership drive breaks, in its entirety.
Producer Justin Harvey offered this remembrance.
When I started making my wish list of people to interview for this project, the first name that came to mind was Gail Kerr. She loved this city and expressed that love with great eloquence and passion. That was the spirit that I wanted to capture with this program. I actually met Gail a few years ago when I interviewed her for Memories of Opryland. Gail grew up in the Donelson area and did a fantastic job expressing the joy and love that so many had for that wonderful piece of Nashville’s past. She was always kind and generous and her husband, Les, has been a long-time, faithful volunteer here at the station, so her ties here were deep. The program, a testament to the growth of Nashville and the fortitude of those who love it and built it, now also stands as a tribute to this wonderful woman who has meant so much to so many.