By far, the most meaningful, and the longest-lasting, benefits of working in local television are the people you meet along the way. Some become like family. For me, and for many others who happened to work at WDSU, the NBC affiliate in New Orleans, in the late 1980s and ’90s, Gaetano Compagno was one of those […]
By far, the most meaningful, and the longest-lasting, benefits of working in local television are the people you meet along the way.
Some become like family. For me, and for many others who happened to work at WDSU, the NBC affiliate in New Orleans, in the late 1980s and ’90s, Gaetano Compagno was one of those people. Compagno died earlier this week at his home in New Orleans.
Tano, as everyone knew him, was WDSU’s production manager when I worked there. Everybody loved him.
In 1988, I was hired by WDSU as a promotion writer/producer, knowing nothing about television or video production. And in order for me to get anything done, I had to go through the production department at some point, and that’s how I got to know Tano.
Television production was more primitive back then. There were no computers, no nonlinear editing. You had pieces of video, audio, graphics, sound effects, music, nat sound, that you brought down to production and they magically wove them together.
You needed to go to production for everything. Want a dissolve in your promo — schedule time with production. Want to blur the face of an alleged drug dealer — get with production. Supers, lower thirds, graphics, font over video — schedule a session in production.
And of course, everyone’s project was the most important and the production needed to be done now.
At the center of all this demand was Tano. Quick with a joke, affable with a ready smile and an easy laugh, Tano handled it all with grace and charm. He was a true gentleman.
Click here to read Tano’s obituary.
Comments (0)
Reader Interactions