On Thursday, December 9, HEC-TV’s new documentary film Dana Brown’s Life on Safari will premiere on the campus of Washington University. This event—co-sponsored by HEC-TV and Washington University Libraries—will take place in Steinberg Auditorium starting at 6:30 p.m. After the film showing, there will be a question-and-answer “Meet the Producer” segment and a reception. The event is free and open to the public. RSVP by calling HEC-TV at 314-531-4455.
Dana Brown grew up poor in West Virginia, and was always an adventurer. A natural promoter, he began his career selling door-to-door for the Fuller Brush Company. He settled in St. Louis, eventually founding Safari Coffee and becoming a multimillionaire. For decades, he made and appeared in his own commercials for his coffee brand, typically shooting footage when he was on safari in far-flung parts of the world. The commercials were essentially nature films, with Safari Brand Coffee mentioned at the end.
At the time of his death in 1994, Dana Brown left behind more than 400 canisters of film documenting his travels to the wilds of Asia and Africa from the 1960s through much of the 1980s. These films will be added to the Film & Media Archive at Washington University Libraries.
For more information on the upcoming premiere, visit: http://www.library.wustl.edu/units/spec/filmandmedia/news.html
To see a short video about Dana Brown, produced by KETC-Channel 9, go to: http://livingstlouis.wordpress.com/2005/10/05/living-st-louis-video-dana-brown/
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