"Reading Rainbow" Returns: LeVar Burton
Actor LeVar Burton is well-known for his roles in "Roots" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation." But to some of his most devoted fans he is, first and foremost, the host of "Reading Rainbow." The long-running children's television show went off the air in 2009, but was recently reborn as an iPad app. We talk with Burton about his acting career and his passion for encouraging kids to become lifelong readers.
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Actor LeVar Burton discussed how he came to host PBS's "Reading Rainbow" in the 1980s and how becoming a parent changed the way he addressed television viewers. Burton talked about some of the pressures surrounding the program's recent re-launch as an iPad app. "It would have been easy to disappoint folks and that was absolutely what we did not want to do," Burton said. "So that kept us up -- that kept us awake at night."
Trailer for the Reading Rainbow iPad app
LeVar Burton's Memorable Roles
Burton hosts "Reading Rainbow" in this 1994 segment about how U.S. mail gets sorted:
Burton as Kunta Kinte in the television mini-series "Roots:"
Burton played Captain Geordi La Forge on "Star Trek: The Next Generation:"
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I loved Reading Rainbow as a child! My mother would bring us to the public library on a weekly basis and we would pick out a Reading Rainbow VHS to bring home. It definitely was a driving force in making me into the bookworm that I still am today. I am so happy to hear that children now will get the same chance to learn how to love books as I did so many years ago.
Please mention LeVar's dominance on Celebrity Jeopardy.
Growing up in an inner city home with limited income to spend on "extras" such as books, Reading Rainbow made all the difference. It not only got me excited about reading (as a dyslexic, it was a daunting and often frustrating endeavor), but also about our local library system. I am convinced to this day that I would not have supported our library system as I did in my youth and continue to do today, had it not been for Reading Rainbow and the "my favorite" book feature.
I want to thank Reading Rainbow so much for the contribution it personally made in my life. EDIT: I also want to add that I never once doubted Mr. Burton's passion for his work on this show and I am also grateful for that.
With that said; PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE bring the app to Android! =D
What are your thoughts on Google glasses and copyright infringement of the Geordi Laforge visor set?
Am I wrong, or was Mr. Burton also on "The Great Space Coaster?"
Please tell us what other film and production projects you have directed, written, etc., I am an independent filmmaker and I always wonder what people do if I do not see them on the big screen or on television.
Lydia Douglas
Hi Mr. Burton,
My friend Yvonne home schooled her son. Not only were you a big inspiration to her, she also has a big crush on you. Can you send a shout out to her please.
Thanks
Lydia