Where is Louis Rukeyser when we need him?

[Chuckanut]

Am I the only one that misses Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser?

It did not matter whether we were overwhelmed by the screams of the doom and gloom crowd, or bombarded by people predicting the market will go on forever to new highs - This time it's different! Louis and most of his guests always had a level headed approach to investing in the stock market.

I most admire his interviews with the late John Templeton who had a depth of experience and a long-term view that mere 30 and 40 somethings could never duplicate. Another great guest was Peter Lynch who was always level headed and never prone to jumping on one band wagon or another.

 

[Nemo2]

I used to enjoy his shows too.

 

[Bikerdude]

I just love opportunities to post this.

After the Crash - Part 1 - Wall Street Week Oct. 23, 1987 - YouTube

 

[Dawg52]

I really miss him and his show. Now days I tune into CNBC for my fix, but there is so much crap to cut through it's hard to watch. I like the Nightly Business Report on PBS though.

 

[unclemick]

I really miss him and his show. Now days I tune into CNBC for my fix, but there is so much crap to cut through it's hard to watch. I like the Nightly Business Report on PBS though.

Ditto. Yes and yes. And then and then there were the doughnuts at the now defunct New Orleans chapter AAII when I had more deck chairs on the Titanic.

heh heh heh - being a Boglehead index/lifecycle fund cat can be really really boring.

And the Saints are not doing well either.

 

[braumeister]

Me, too.
That was the best financial show ever to appear on television, IMHO.

 

[Midpack]

I used to watch it, but as a fund guy I doubt it would interest me at all any more. And the kind of information they shared is so widely available these days, I'm not sure most of the content would be of value. Though the might have evolved...

From its ratings peak in the early 1980s, WSW suffered a long steady decline in viewers due to competition from shows such as the Nightly Business Report, cable programs like Moneyline, and cable networks such as CNBC.[citation needed] By 2001 viewership was down to 1,500,000 households and demographics showed that the average WSW viewer was 65 years old (about the same age as Rukeyser). MPT began to discuss the possibility of updating the format in an effort to reverse these trends. On March 21, 2002, MPT announced that beginning in June the program would be renamed Wall Street Week with Fortune, would be a collaboration between MPT and Fortune magazine, and would feature two new cohosts. Rukeyser was invited to remain with the program in a reduced role as a senior correspondent, but he turned down the offer.

The following evening, Rukeyser opened the telecast by announcing "A funny thing happened to me on the way to the studio this week—I got ambushed." He criticized MPT's decision to change the show format, announced that he was developing a new business program for PBS, and concluded his commentary by asking viewers to write to their local PBS station and request it carry his new show. After the broadcast MPT dismissed Rukeyser and executive producer Rich Dubroff. Over the next three months Marshall Loeb and Ray Brady served as guest hosts while the new format was put in place.

Despite "ambushing" Rukeyser, the show's trend of losing viewers continued as the show floundered on without Rukeyser's trusted presence and was terminated in early 2005. Rukeyser died 11 months after the show ended.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_Week

 

[mathjak107]

My kids used to think he looked like george washington

 

[CoolChange]

Me, too.
That was the best financial show ever to appear on television, IMHO.

+1

I started watching the show long before I was old enough to drink but watched many of the final episodes with a glass of red wine in hand as my Friday wound down.

Good memories; good information; great perspective for a young un.

 

[pb4uski]

WSW was a classic - miss him.

 

[MooreBonds]

Am I the only one that misses Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser?

MANY fond memories as a child, sitting in front of the TV, on a Friday night, anxiously waiting for 8:00pm to roll around so I could watch what I wanted...right after Wall Street Week was done!

I did watch it, although didn't truly appreciate it like I would now. But did start to take a more serious interest in high school...

 

[WestLake]

I think his sly smile and when/how it was employed is the thing I miss most.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

My lasting impression: Well, Mr. Market has thrown a curve ball today. Let's go sit down on the couch and talk this through, shall we? No need to panic. We've seen this before.

 

[grasshopper]

I lived in Owings Mills MD where the show was shot on Maryland Public TV, it wasn't unusual to see Louis at BWI airport on a Friday afternoon. I was always in front of the tube on Friday nights, learning along with the rest of America.

 

[T-bird]

A real staple in my household. I feel like I cut my investing teeth listening to his commentary and that of his guests.

T-bird

 

[Bikerdude]

My lasting impression: Well, Mr. Market has thrown a curve ball today. Let's go sit down on the couch and talk this through, shall we? No need to panic. We've seen this before.

Exactly! Lou was the "Mister Rogers" for the working stiff investor.

 

[MBAustin]

A real staple in my household. I feel like I cut my investing teeth listening to his commentary and that of his guests.

T-bird

+1
Watched it with my Dad nearly every Friday except during HS football season when I was in the marching band. Later on, it was the main reason why he bought a video recorder (first a Betamax, then VHS) so that he could go out for dinner on Friday nights (also made my Mom happy!). Rukeyser (actually both Jr. and Sr.) must be turning over in their graves at the state of business TV today.

 

[David1961]

I loved when he winked at the end of the show. Always made me smile!

 

[nvestysly]

No doubt about it - we (DW and I) miss Wall Street Week. I knew I was a geek/nerd/old fuddy-duddy when I started planning Friday evenings around WSW.

I get my fix now with Nightly Business Report and WealthTrack but there's no substitute for Louis. It was disappointing when the show ended and the end of an era when Louis died.

 

[Texas Proud]

I rarely watched him... but prefer him to the current lot of people... his show was more calming...

Today they talk in a hurried tone... everything is fast and now... with a back and forth that does not make sense... and all that scrolling across the screeen is horrible....

I don't watch a lot of sports now because of all the constant scrolling of info and stats of all the games etc.... I want to watch THIS game...


Again, do not watch that much, but the person I would watch now is Charlie Rose... a lot more in depth interviews....