Ernie Manouse


 

Ernie Manouse was interviewed in 2010 by Anna Handelman and Manoj Jagani.

Manouse agreed that the students could add to the existing Wikipedia entry about him. Their revised Wikipedia entry is provided below.

Informed consent, an audio recording, and extended paper documentation for the interview are available at the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.

Return to the SWGS 201 interviewee list.


 

Ernie Manouse (born September 1, 1969 in Binghamton, New York) is an American television hostradio personality, writer and producer. He currently hosts the interview show InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse, produced by HoustonPBS. His work with HoustonPBS has met critical acclaim in the southern United States, earning him numerous KATIE awards and regional Emmy Awards [1] [2]

Early Life

 

Manouse was born Ernest David Manouse in Binghamton, New York. He is of Greek descent. He attended Loyola University in Chicago and studied to be a music video director. While in college, he guest-hosted Outlook, a Chicago-based radio show, with a classmate. Their radio presentation received such a positive reaction that Outlook hired them permanently.[1]

 

Career

Manouse began his career in television with NBC Network News, then moved into radio withWLS and WLUW in Chicago, and then back to TV at HoustonPBS. Ernie has since worked his way through many aspects of talk shows – from producing sex therapy call-in radio shows Sex Talk and The Phyllis Levy Show to hosting his own brand of chat and magazine programs[1]. He can also be seen on PBS Stations across the country hosting numerous pledge and entertainment specials, including three of public television’s most successful pledge events with financial guru Suze Orman.

In 1996, Ernie moved to Houston, Texas and spent six years hosting and producing the daily magazine program WeekNight Edition which evolved into WeekDAY and became Houston’s most celebrated local television program, earning multiple Emmy and Houston Press Club awards. Manouse shared with Matthew Brawley the 2006 Katie Award for "Outstanding Interview/Talk Show" for the Southern region.[3] In October 2002, Manouse helped to create and produce the local prime time magazine show The Connection, which he hosted for two years. [4] In 2004, Manouse launched the syndicated series InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse.[5] This award winning series is distributed nationally to PBS stations across the country, and airs in more than 100 cities in the U.S. and the Virgin Islands[6]. The show features Manouse in unedited, one-on-one interviews with noted personalities such as Patti LuPone and Jamie Foxx. Manouse thoroughly researches his guests before interviewing them, and arranges an informal setting to encourage spontaneous discussion[1]. Another area of broadcasting that Manouse has explored is late night talk, and on February 9, 2005, Manouse launched The After Party, combining arts coverage and light-hearted interviews reminiscent of Johnny Carson and Jack Parr.[7] The show received positive reviews from both critics and audiences alike, garnering the coveted Emmy nomination for "Best Entertainment/Variety program" in its first season. The program ended its run on November 15 2006 after over 50 episodes.

In 2006, Manouse produced and anchored A Conversation on RACE for HoustonPBS. He also produced the political Red, White & Blue and moderated the 2002 Houston Mayoral Debates, the 2008 Texas Supreme Court Judicial Debate, and the 2008 Texas US Senate Debate. In 2009, Manouse became the anchor and producer of Houston 8, a weekly current events discussion series. He also hosted the 2009 HoustonPBS Spelling Bee, the largest regional qualifying spelling bee for the national Scripps Spelling Bee.[1]

After seven nominations for the Lone Star (Texas) regional chapter of the Emmy Awards, Manouse won three Emmys in 2009. He won for Best Information Series and Best On-Air Talent. He also won an Emmy for his work on the Houston Spelling Bee in the category of Best Event Coverage[8]. Manouse is also a voice actor. He has done the English voiceovers for over a dozen Japanese anime videos produced by ADV Films including GilgameshLe Chevalier D'Eon andCromartie High School[2]

 

Community Involvement

Manouse is an active member of the Houston LGBT community. Manouse began working with Houston Pride 1997, and began emceeing the Houston Pride Parade in 1999. He has continued to emcee since then, and became involved during the first season of Pride Idol. Modeled after American Idol, Pride Idol selects a winner from a handful of singers from a mixture of judges’ scores and text votes from the audience[9]. In 2009, Manouse was elected as Vice President of the board of directors of Pride Houston. Manouse also works with Pride Houston's marketing committee and public relations [1]. Manouse has hosted community events such as the U.S. Military Ball, and The Cattle Baron’s Ball. He serves on the advisory board of both Stages Repertory Theatre and Dominic Walsh Dance Theater[9]. He served as Vice President of Public Affiars for the Greater Houston United Services Organization (USO) [1]. He was also vice president of the Houston Gay and Lesbian Film Festival [9].

 

References

  1. a b c d e f g "Ernie Manouse". Houston ARCH. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
  2. a b "IMDB". Retrieved 2010-05-11.
  3. ^ 2006 Katie Award: Press Club of Dallas (2006-11-19). "Winners of the 2006 Katie Awards" (PDF). Press release. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
  4. ^ "InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse." HoustonPBS Programming. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. <http://www.houstonpbs.org/site/PageServer?pagename=con_innerviews_ernie>
  5. ^ HoustonPBS (January 2004). "InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse" (MS-Word). Press release. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
  6. ^ "InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse." HoustonPBS Programming. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. <http://www.houstonpbs.org/site/PageServer?pagename=con_innerviews_ernie>.
  7. ^ HoustonPBS (January 2005). "The After Party" (PDF). Press release. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
  8. ^ http://www.lonestaremmy.org/_archives/2009_winners.php
  9. a b c "Pride Houston". Pride Houston. Retrieved 2010-02-25.