The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Catherine Viviano Gallery records, 1930-1990, bulk 1949-1978. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Telling lives : the art of biography / a proposal for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting/The Annenberg School of Communications Project from the Smithsonian Institution Office of Telecommunications, Nazaret Cherkezian, project director
Covers his early work in journalism and the television industry and career at New York University, WCBS-TV, National Educational Television, National Public Affairs Center for Television, and the Smithsonian, c. 1946-1986, including: his education; his...
The Smithsonian Institution Archives began its Oral History Program in 1973. The purpose of the program is to supplement the written documentation of the Archives'
record and manuscript collections with an Oral History Collection, focusing on the history of the Institution, research by its scholars, and contributions of its staff. Program
staff conduct interviews with current and retired Smithsonian staff and others who have made significant contributions to the Institution. There are also interviews conducted
by researchers or students on topics related to the history of the Smithsonian or the holdings of the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
Cherkezian was interviewed for the Oral History Collection because of his role as one of the pioneers of public television and his tenure as a Smithsonian administrator.
Descriptive Entry:
Cherkezian was interviewed in December of 1986 by John Peterson for a University of Maryland oral history seminar project. The interview covers his education and career
in public affairs and television at New York University; experiences as producer for WCBS-TV in New York; public relations and television production for public broadcasting
at National Educational Television; coverage of Watergate and Washington politics for the National Public Affairs Center for Television; and career as Director of the Office
of Telecommunications at the Smithsonian.
The collection consists of 1.5 hours of audiotape recordings and 35 pages of transcript.
Historical Note:
Nazaret "Chic" Cherkezian (1924-1996), was born in Queens, New York. He attended New York University (NYU) where he received a B.A. in Journalism and completed all
course work for an M.B.A. in Economic History.
Cherkezian began his career as a journalist in 1946 as a staff member of the New York Herald Tribune. In 1949, he entered the public relations field as Associate
Director and Senior Press Representative for the New York University Office of Information Services. While at NYU, he helped found the Office of Radio and Television, where
he was Associate Director and Producer from 1954 to 1957. During these years he helped to create the successful Sunrise Semester educational television series.
In 1957, Cherkezian began producing the weekly television series Eye on New York for WCBS-TV. He left commercial television in 1959 to become Director of Public
Information for National Educational Television (NET). He advanced to Executive Producer in 1965, a position which he held until 1972. He was awarded fellowships by The Ford
Foundation and National Association of Educational Broadcasters to continue development in this field.
Cherkezian came to Washington in 1973 to accept a post as Director of Programming for the National Public Affairs Center for Television (NPACT). His Smithsonian career
began in 1974 when he became Telecommunications Coordinator for the Office of Public Affairs. Cherkezian was named Director of the Office of Telecommunications upon its creation
in 1976, serving until his retirement in 1986. As Director of the Office of Telecommunications, Cherkezian was responsible for the Smithsonian's radio, television, and film
productions. His many credits include A Sense of Discovery, Here at the Smithsonian, Yorktown, and Peace Be Still.
Topic:
Television -- Production and direction Search this
Records less than 15 years old with sensitive materials. Restricted for 15 years to researchers with written permission from the Chief Information Officer. Contact reference staff for details
![view Covers his early work in journalism and the television industry and career at New York University, WCBS-TV, National Educational Television, National Public Affairs Center for Television, and the Smithsonian, c. 1946-1986, including: his education; his... digital asset: William Grayson was Special Coordinator of the Smithsonian's Office of Telecommunications in 1976, and later became Senior Telecommunications Specialist from 1977 to until his death on April 15, 1980. [Image no. 89-14120]](https://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?max=170&id=https://sirismm.si.edu/siris/electronicresource.gif "William Grayson was Special Coordinator of the Smithsonian's Office of Telecommunications in 1976, and later became Senior Telecommunications Specialist from 1977 to until his death on April 15, 1980. [Image no. 89-14120]")
![View Covers his early work in journalism and the television industry and career at New York University, WCBS-TV, National Educational Television, National Public Affairs Center for Television, and the Smithsonian, c. 1946-1986, including: his education; his... digital asset: William Grayson was Special Coordinator of the Smithsonian's Office of Telecommunications in 1976, and later became Senior Telecommunications Specialist from 1977 to until his death on April 15, 1980. [Image no. 89-14120]](https://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?max=120&id=https://sirismm.si.edu/siris/electronicresource.gif "William Grayson was Special Coordinator of the Smithsonian's Office of Telecommunications in 1976, and later became Senior Telecommunications Specialist from 1977 to until his death on April 15, 1980. [Image no. 89-14120]")
