Entertainment Diet: UNLV history professor Michael Green
Over the past several weeks, Michael Green has added another entry to his usual roster of entertainment-related activities: politics-watching.
Green, an associate professor of history at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, followed the lead-up to the Nevada presidential caucuses and even served as a political analyst and commentator for area media during the process.
Green moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas at the age of 2 and has been immersed in the state’s history and culture ever since. Last year, “Nevada: A History of the Silver State,” Green’s comprehensive and highly readable history of Nevada, was published.
“If you find politics interesting — and there’s something to be said for that — then yes, my entertainment (lately) certainly has changed,” Green says with a laugh. “Adlai Stevenson once said that he liked politics because politicians are so funny. I don’t know how funny this (presidential) crowd is, but if ‘funny’ means ‘interesting’ or ‘unusual,’ there’s your entertainment.”
We talked to Green about what he and his wife, Deborah, do when he’s not keeping up with politicians or trying to figure out how today’s events fit into the tapestry of Nevada’s colorful history.
TV
“When I do land in front of the TV, I try to get news. I try to sample a little of everything, and some of the time it’s there for background noise. I still love “M*A*S*H*” reruns. I still love “Barney Miller” reruns, and I vaguely recall yelling at the cable people enough to get the cartoon channel. I am a Warner Bros. fanatic, and “Tom & Jerry” was all I had until they changed the schedule. … I’m a sports fan, especially baseball, so it’s a time of year for anticipating things, and it would be nice if I got the (Los Angeles) Dodgers on TV, especially for Vin’s (announcer Vin Scully’s) last season, But, in that case, I will get what I can when I get it. And we are loyal PBS viewers, and let’s just say Carson the butler (from “Downton Abbey”) is my hero.
Movies
This is a big joke in our household. Deborah and I have been together for 16 years and I think we have seen 10 movies together. … We like comedies, musicals, good dramas and period pieces, and I do not incline toward foreign and arts films, which is a moral defect on my part. But it does mean I have been abandoned a couple of times (laughs).
Theater
We love New York City, we love Broadway, and we have gone to several productions at The Smith Center, including “Mary Poppins” and “Wicked.” We have gone to The Smith Center for several things, most recently for Pink Martini with the Las Vegas Philharmonic. … We like theater, and we’ve gone to several things at UNLV. Later this spring, I believe UNLV is going to have “Kiss Me, Kate,” which was one of the first musicals we saw together, so we’re going back for, like, a sing-along.
Books
I have to read (nonfiction) in the fields I study, and if I really dedicate myself to that, then I don’t have enough time for goof-off reading. But for Christmas and birthdays, my wife will get very cheapie, easy reading books, and never mind where I read them (laughs). … I read about one of my loves, baseball broadcasting, and I especially love the old Nero Wolfe mysteries. He’s my kind of guy. He just likes to eat and read and sends other people to dig up information for him (laughs). That would be a nice life.
Music
I listen to KNPR, which is not music, and then I will go over to see what’s on the classical station and the UNLV station, and I will end up checking the big band station. I actually like older music and, sometimes, the country station. … I find I like just about most music. I’m not into hip-hop or rap, but I can’t wait to see “Hamilton,” and not just on historical grounds, just on the basis that it looks fascinating.
Dining
I wish I was a foodie; I just like what I like. … Downtown has a lot to offer, and it’s a big change from my youth, and I think it’s a great change in that there are not just a lot of places to choose from, but so much variety, so many ethnicities.
Read more from John Przybys at reviewjournal.com. Contact him at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com, and follow @JJPrzybys on Twitter.
