David Hart: L.A. Public Access TV Legend
David Nkrumah Liebe Hart is a local legend. A former actor in the 70’s (and who wasn’t) since 1988, as the mastermind and puppeteer behind the Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson Show, a weekly L.A.-based public access show, David has promoted Christian Science doctrine with a special aim at our young people. With puppets and song and puppets singing songs. No doubt most of you have surfed across one of the over 12,000 shows he has produced on the odd lazy Saturday morning. Perhaps it was Chip The Black Boy (his primary puppet and star of the show) that grabbed your attention. Or maybe it was the psychedelic shifting greenscreen backgrounds that did it. Better yet, maybe it was the message contained in the Bible readings that hooked you. The luckier among you might have had an audience with David in person, while he’s working a puppet and a boom box, performing songs from the show for donations outside the Hollywood Bowl. The luckiest among you might have even been on the set of JCSBLS and taken the guest office chair amidst the plastic trees and puppets and aided David on his mission to spread Christian Science one half-hour at a time. And to keep kids off drugs. Crack, heroin, cocaine, speed, psychotropics, the weed.
Losanjealous’ own Ryan was a recent guest of David’s. Below he describes how his life is better for it.
Q: So how did you meet David Hart? What were the circumstances that led to your appearance on the JCSBLS?
A: I’d seen Dave Hart for years outside the bowl. When I discovered that a movie titled ’Public Access Hollywood’ featured the maestro himself and was playing at the Valley Film Festival, I knew I had to see it. I met Dave right after the screening. I bought one of his CDs and he promptly told me he needed me to host his show the following Thursday. He then began to explain that UFOs were entwined in official church business. I wasn’t too sure what to make of that, but as for the hosting request I really couldn’t turn him down. It genuinely seemed to come from a higher source. It could not have been coincidence.
Q: Were you nervous going in? I mean, besides his legend, David preaches a mean gospel. Did you feel up to the task of being his co-pilot? What is your understanding of Christian Science?
A: I have nerves of steel, my friend. I was ready for this. From what I understand, Christian Scientists don’t take drugs. At all. And if there’s one recurring theme of Dave Hart’s show (UFOs aside), it’s the anti-drug bit that’s hammered religiously every week. “Crack, heroin, Marijuana, Pills, Cocaine, Uppers, Downers, all of that…Stay off it.” You hear the same words every episode. That confuses me, because if he preached true Christian Scientist philosophy I might expect him to tell kids to say no to Children’s Chewable Aspirin(TM)… Dimetapp… Triaminic (do they still make that or am I dating myself?)…Flintstone Vitamins… then again, that’s just my understanding. I could be way off base.
I did read someplace that Dave had his arm twisted by the Christian Science church to change the name of his show, in order to not (misleadingly) appear to be directly affiliated with the church. Thusly you get the lengthy show title you have today.
Q: Did you get a sense of the preparation that David puts into each half-hour? And what is with the huge sheet of paper with the readings that is passed around the set? Doesn’t he have access to a photocopier? Small things like that reveal a lot about a person, I think. What do you think?
A: In my case, the huge sheet of paper that housed my script was a wall calendar. Nothing could better illustrate the auteur process at work. The man gets inspired for an upcoming segment…BAM! Out of the blue. Such is his inspiration that he can’t hold it in. He grabs a pen and grasps the nearest writable object to put down those words, those infinite words that might otherwise float out of reach, up to the puppet-laden stratosphere. If that nearest object be a grease-splotched calendar on the Comcast studio wall, who am I to tell him no? Dave, tear that calendar down. By all means use it to write the words that I will soon utter on tape to be preserved for all of eternity. The right words are captured, collected and furiously scribbled on a grease-stained wall calendar, and that’s the bottom line. That to me says inspiration. That to me says auteur.
Beyond the script, the shows are taped live so the majority of the preparation is done in the studio during the twenty minutes preceding the taping. There comes a time in every job where a plateau is reached and the work you crank out becomes a punch in a timecard. The job becomes clockwork. Dave is an industrious man and is definitely at the point where his show has become clockwork not only for himself, but also for all of the employees of the various public access studios he utilizes. They know the drill. He walks in, unloads the puppets, hands the studio engineers various cassettes and CDs, directs the order for that week’s songs, tells them the music credits that should be keyed in for the songs, tells them the name(s) of that week’s hosts (often woefully inaccurately) and then basically gives them free reign to unleash all manner of crazy on the green screen backgrounds, so long as they incorporate multiple cross-fades and regularly display UFOs and crop circles. Here’s something you might not know, though: Dave doesn’t drive. I would go so far as to say that the considerable preparation time invested in plotting the bus lines to and from the studios should count as immense pre-production work on a show-by-show basis. As for post-production work, it’s 5% burn-to-DVD and local cable broadcast time requests, and 95% ride requests. Dave’s industrious side usually kicks into full throttle after the taping. If he’s lucky, he’ll find a bus-free ride with one of the hosts in exchange for lunch.
Q: Obviously, we must talk about the puppets. Jim Henson is a known influence on David. What was your insight into the whole puppet use? Does David use them in an effort to connect to the children? To hide his own face from the camera?
A: The puppets are an odd lot, to say the least. On occasion certain puppets sit there, lifeless and unused, for the duration of the entire episode. I can only attribute the inner workings of an auteur to this logic.
Generally speaking the puppets are filthy. This might not be the right forum for this, but I’d like to voice that I’m starting a fund to either buy David some new puppets for Christmas or, at the least, get the ones he currently uses industrially washed and dried. The public access cameras have no problems picking up the dirty, filmy grime on those things. At some point the innocent child has to ask, “If a filthy giraffe is prompting me to say no to drugs and say yes to UFOs, should I believe him?” This to me is a fixable problem. If Dave truly wants the child to say yes to UFOs, and no to drugs, it must begin with clean puppets.
Beyond that, David does hold genuine talent in the realm of puppetry. I don’t know if it’s formal training, or something that’s ingrained in him.
Q: Like all geniuses, David surely must skirt close to the edge of sanity as a cost for his brilliance. Did you feel any unique mental energy radiating from him?
A: Oh, definitely. It’s tough to put into words, but spend some time with the man and you begin to tap into it almost immediately. One thing you instantly recognize with David is his affinity for women – any women – and his apparent enjoyment in telling everyone how long it’s been since he last had sex. This is pure tip-of-the-iceberg stuff. Let’s regroup offline and I can give you his contact information for follow-ups.
Q: This one might be tough for you to answer, but do you think that David ever stops to survey the “real world” and see where his art might fit in it the larger picture? Does he do it for himself or does he genuinely feel that he is connecting to people? The more cynical among us could well view his efforts as simply too bizarre and, thus, ultimately in vain. What’s your take on that?
A: It’s tough to determine whether David truly feels he’s making a difference or if he’s just going through the motions for lack of knowing what else to do at this point in his career. Certainly his art finds its followers. I’m not convinced that children watching his show grasp the King James passages, the UFO references or, frankly, any of it, but it can’t be any less wholesome than most of the programs children watch these days. Plus, you’re guaranteed that at some point an adult will look right at the camera and tell children to say no to drugs. That can’t be a bad thing. Granted the show comes off as bizarre to some – ok, perhaps all – but in Dave’s defense, he never portrays violence to my knowledge and he tells children to say no to drugs at least once an episode.
Q: Finally, I must ask: How are you changed for having gone through the JCBLS experience? Can you talk about what it has meant to you on various levels (personal, creative, spiritual, etc.)?
A: I spent the majority of a full day with David Hart and it was an incredibly unique experience that I wouldn’t trade for gold. From finding the studio in Inglewood which was quite literally hidden behind a carpet store facade (bad neighborhood), to driving cross-town through Koreatown (my stomping grounds) and ultimately seeing the finished product on videocassette, to agreeing to give the auteur one final free car ride to a church in Hollywood so he could hawk music, I came away from the day feeling drained physically but charged mentally. For one day I shared the city’s experiences with a different person. For one day I saw things through a different lens. For one day I split a 12-inch subway sandwich with a complete stranger in a part of town I have never been to in my life, and damn it, it felt good. Better than good. Damn it, it felt great. I said it.
Creatively I felt no difference whatsoever, but that’s just me. Dirty puppets aren’t my thing, Dad: I’m a musician.
LINKS:
ChipTheBlackBoy.com
Chip The Black Boy on the IMDB
“Public Access Hollywood” documentary on DVD
[…] Bowl this 2010 season. The Bowl’s summer ‘10 season is slated to begin June 18, with David Hart reprising his role of Doug the Dog outside the gates free of charge (donations […]
[…] C’est David Liebe Hart qui depuis plus 20 ans anime une émission pour enfants baptisée The Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson […]
This guy is a devotee of the brand of religion usually limited to schizophrenic vagrants.
dlh is a legend….at being nutty as hell…
abducted by aliens my ass, this guy is tarded up bigtime, but I love his act and watch him all the time on TIM AND ERICS AWESOME SHOW GREAT FUCKING JOB!
peace out
[…] area you already know Dave, even if you don’t think that you do. He’s a puppet master who sings songs about […]
I fart a lot every day.
[…] David Liebe Hart (pictured, right, with puppets “Chip The Black Boy” and “Doug The Dog”) springs to place within the top 11 listings […]
[…] Aziz), Hall and Oates, Fleet Foxes, The Mars Volta, Foo Fighters, Beachwood Sparks, Jay Z, Prince, David Liebe Hart, Mayor Villaraigosa, Sigur Ros and about 500 other concerts in our annual Best Concert poll. Get […]
[…] for it…AZIZ) (also on the ballot)!? Finally, let us not be so quick to discount David Liebe Hart @ Hollywood Bowl, pulling a respectable 44 votes at press […]
mudflap eats bones for breakfast and soup for super salome saturday situations submitted solely soon… but not terrific tuesdays totally tangible too tantalizingly titanium tantrums. long live DNLH!!! “..and i love her alot”
Check it out, Chip the Black Boy has his own MySpace:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=15098460
SALOME’
wanted to call david, so i did and i love her to bit i want to kiss her on the lips. sherry is real… sorry it was too late to call.
i dug a puppet for doug and named him dog
then felt him up
I named my dog puppet after his Doug the Dog
i love her to bits
i want to kiss her on the lips
Chip the Black Boy was on Tim and Eric today, check it out:
http://www.adultswim.com/video/?episodeID=8a25c39216f700df0116f8ae17e300aa
Do you think Chip the Black Boy will show up on Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!?
I’m a puppeteer too
David Hart is very much still alive, he drew a sketch portrait of my wife and me today in the park at La Brea tarpits.
Is David Hart still alive?
[…] pretty obsessed with David Liebe Hart. I pretty much can’t stop watching this video, reading this article, or singing “Salame.” I wouldn’t lie to you: This shit is funny as […]
The Urbs: 2005 Urban Blogging Awards Nominations Closing
And so, the end of the nomination phase looms. I’ve been swamped by your collective enthusiasm, and I’ve only barely caught up with nominations received up to sometime this morning. All will be tabulated and accounted for though, I assure…
The Urbs: 2005 Urban Blogging Awards Final Nominations
Phew! Hundreds of emails and thousands of nominations later, nominations for the Urbs: 2005 Urban Blogging Awards are officially closed. Everything’s been counted and sorted, and the voting will begin presently, after I chug a celebratory pitcher of m…
David Hart is now featured on the Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bLurPKqJDc
12/16/2006 – A VERY IMPORTANT PLEA FOR HELP –
Dear Mr Hart:
I recently attended The New York Stem Cell Foundation’s First Annual Transitional Stem Cell Research Conference Curing Disease from Lab Bench to Bedside held at the Rockefeller University, from October 23-24, 2006. It was quite an enlightening experience.
As you are quite aware, there is misunderstandings, misconceptions, and distortions regarding the Embryonic Stem Cell Research Issues.
When communicating with Jeff Eisen, Editor and Publisher for The Stem Cell Page and with Arthur L. Kaplan, PH.D. Bio-Ethicist via E-Mail, they both suggested that I contact you, in order to have you help me coordinate a program discussed below.
I definitely need your help regarding the below challenge/ proposal.
My Challenge/Proposal:
Have a (2) hour TV/Cable Program with unbiased experts who are knowledgeable in their field of expertise regarding Embryonic Stem Cell Research.
Allow call -in – audience participation on this timely issue in order that the listening public will finally hear the truth about this issue…
Please respond to this E-Mail A . S . A . P .
As you are definitely aware, approximately 100,000,000 individuals suffer from live threatening chronic diseases and illnesses in the United Stats of America today.
The unspoken have patiently waited in hope and true frustration that Embryonic Stem Cell Research will be allowed to commence unheeded by this present administration.
As you also know, the President of the U.S.A. has utilized his authority to veto this important legislation (HR810) of using the (NIH) National Institute of Health to perform federal research on this hopeful process to cure many diseases and illnesses. This is simply not right.
I am an Insulin Dependent Type 2 Diabetic who has suffered with this disease for the last 17 years. I as well as the countless millions would love to see at end to their diseases and illnesses with the intervention of this type of unique stem cell approach.
Thank you,
David L. Stein, PA Representative,
for (SCAN) Stem Cell Action Network
43 Griffith Miles Circle
Warminster, PA 18974
Cell # 267-249-4592
Home # 215-443-5895
Fax # 215-443-5325
E-Mail: dlsselfhelp@verizon.net
P.S. I strongly believe that Embryonic Stem Cell Research should not be based on Religion or Politics but primarily for Humanitarian Sake.
I believe there is a universal Source that guides us all. Let us band together in Solidarity to up hold our belief in One God. We all are not separate but connected to this invisible, indistinguable force.
I strongly believe the God we worship would want us to do what is right for Humanity. Wouldn’t you agree!!! God bless you and your family on the up and coming Christmas Season and New Year.
PLEASE RESPOND PERSONALLY TO ME AT 267-249-4592
[…] Chip the Black Boy […]
[…] 12.7 miles. 1.5 hours. Missed most of the Shins set. Didn’t matter. The evening was stellar. Arriving at the bowl was akin to a family reunion: Suddenly I’m surrounded by old coworkers, new acquaintences. New faces I would know well before night’s end. Even Dave Hart was there. […]
[…] David Hart: L.A. Public Access TV Legend “For one day I shared the city’s experiences with a different person. For one day I saw things through a different lens. For one day I split a 12-inch subway sandwich with a complete stranger in a part of town I have never been to in my life … “ […]
[…] Jeannette stumbled across a flyer in Santa Monica recently and brought word of the flyer to the Losanjealous offices. Seems to be a good cause. Losanjealous would like Santa Monica residents to know that Dave Hart (of The Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson Show) is looking for Korendians and/or Orville Wright. If you can help him in either capacity please, by all means, do so. […]
that “pingback” guy is lame. Your writing sucks. You shouldn’t try so hard.
[…] I wonder what Dave Hart’s Christmas is like. Did he come down the chimney and deliver gifts to Chip and the gang? Did he get any window-painting gigs for extra cash? I’ve got his Christmas CD. Why on earth haven’t I called him? I wonder of Fancy Dancer. […]
thanks for sharing ryan. i was wondering what you meant when you said this experience changed your life.
i sincerely commend your appreciation of this enlightening experience.