A CONVERSATION WITH TOM BERGERON
HOST OF A CAPITOL FOURTH ON PBS
America’s biggest birthday party, broadcastlive from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol,will be hosted for the third year by Emmy Award-winning television personality Tom Bergeron. We sat down with Tom and asked him about hosting the annual festivitiesand his feelings about July 4th. A CAPITOL FOURTH will air live in HD on PBS Friday, July 4, 2014 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. ET(check local listings).
Q: How do you feel about returning to Washington, D.C. to host A CAPITOL FOURTH?
TOM BERGERON: It’s said that “the third time’s the charm.” If so, this year’s show will be amazing because I loved hosting my first two. I was honored to be invited back to what has become an annual career highlight (not to mention one helluva birthday party!)
Q: What’s exciting to you about being in the nation’s capital on the Fourth of July?
TOM BERGERON: What better place, really, to celebrate our nation’s birthday than our nation’s capital? It’s a great honor to celebrate our birthday collectively - everybody together - on live TV, which I love - and on PBS, which I love. So, you put that all together. It’s a win-win.
Q: What does Independence Day mean to you and your family and did you have any special 4th of July traditions in your family growing up?
TOM BERGERON: When I was growing up, Independence Day was when family came together. There was a backyard cookout. We’d go to fireworks. It was a great time of celebration and a wonderful gathering of family. So, for me, that’s the chief memory, the communal nature of it. I think that is evoked on a much larger scale on A CAPITOL FOURTH.
Q: What do you love most about America?
TOM BERGERON:There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t realize how fortunate I am to have been born here.We’re a fascinating and complex people and this is a great way to come together and remember, at a time when it's too easy to focus on our differences,all the things that we have in common.
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Q. What do you admire most about the American people and how does that translate into your role hosting A CAPITOL FOURTH?
TOM BERGERON: Here’s the thing: when you’re hosting a 4th of July celebration it’s sort of like the ultimate family cookout. It does feel like a family gathering. So, that’s what I admire. Red states, blue states, purple states, whatever. When push comes to shove, we’re all on the same team. And that’s never more evident than on the 4th of July, in Washington, during A CAPITOL FOURTH.
Q: Do you have any special messages for our troops stationed around the globe who will be watching the show on the American Forces Network?
TOM BERGERON: The troops are the ones defending the freedom we’re celebrating in Washington, so I feel a responsibility to help put on a really good show for them, because they’re the ones who deserve it most.
Q. What do you hope viewers will take away from this year’s broadcast of A CAPITOL FOURTH?
TOM BERGERON: Here’s what I took away from it last year, and I hope viewers will do the same; there’s something about that communal patriotism of the 4th of July celebration that reminds us that we're an American family. That’s what I felt being there, and that’s certainly what I hope everybody feels watching it.
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