Helen Burke

Helen,

The speech was given during September of 1961 at the Statler Hilton Hotel in Dallas. From what I can gather, the gist was that the western world could be defeated by the cutting of sources of import.

In mid 1963, Your father gave another speech in Dallas titled 'American Ideals and World Realities'. This was at a meeting of the Dallas Council on World Affairs. I believe he was grilled pretty hard regarding the John Birch Society.

I dug up some quotes by your father from that 1961 speech.

"American after American is meeting dedicated Marxists and is not able to answer their questions. We do not understand our own American history."

"You cannot defeat communism by thinking like a Communist. I am concerned about Americans who do not know enough about their own way of life to have to adopt Communist methods."

And from the 1963 speech.

"You certainly don't have to love thy neighbor, but you'd better pick a better reason not to than the color of his skin."

"For those who shout about communism, the loudest is usually the least knowledgeable. Empty barrels make the most noise and it doesn't take a loud noise to be patriotic and have concern and dedication. You can go about it in a quiet manner."

Here is another photo.

James

James,

Wow.

I don’t know your resources, wish I did. Perhaps you can share them with me sometime.. Thanks for the quotes.

In any case – I recall that time very well, including how the John Birch Society was absolutely after him. I think they made him an honorary member. To be honest, he was a little peeved about it.

Thanks

And thanks for the 2nd photo. I really don't know where you got the pictures from - it's just great!!

James, interesting quotes from Mr. Burke.

But of course it is Jesus' injunction that one should "love thy neighbor as thyself", a standard obviously almost impossible for any human to meet.

But if one attempts that standard, it of course makes no difference the color of the neighbor's skin.

Tim, thanks for your comments.

I am here to see if I can glean any info whatsoever regarding what happened to my dad, and why. Just the lone survivor of my family, hoping to find some answers. I have never spoken about any of this before now.

I'd also like to welcome Helen to the forum.

A question: Do you have a transcript or are aware of the content of a speech Albert Burke gave in Dallas titled, 'The Sputtering Fuses From Berlin To Havana'? This would have been in late 1961.

Albert Burke below.

James

Dear James,

No, I do not know of it but it doesn’t mean I do not have it stored. There is a lot of material of my father’s yet to go through – his life’s work.

When looking back, it was around 1961 when things became difficult for our family because of “certain things” he had said on the air. Can you tell me anything more about the speech – where it was given, etc.? Among the vast material I have stored are the original tapes from his first shows on the air, from back in the early 1950’s all the way through his last shows on NBC in 1964- when he was forced off the air.

I’m not sure there were many people who realized that my father spoke Russian fluently.

He died in 1999.

Thank you for the photo of my father. I really don’t know where you ever found it – and I truly appreciate it, very much.

Thanks also to all for the welcome. I have been talking with John Simkin on and off for several years about my dad, ever since first finding a post here about him. John has been very supportive about finding out just what my father’s knowledge was, who the players were in his life by 1964, and why. I do recall that he was an advisor and friend to JFK, who often came up to our farm to just talk with him. It was a casual atmosphere, as many people from all over the world came to visit often, back in those days. My father had an office in the woods but after our home close by was burned to the ground 7 weeks after JFK’s death, his life changed and his television career halted. I do know more information and hope to piece things together better, someday.

I am the daughter of the late Dr. Ruth C. Burke - research scientist, Yale School of Medicine and the late Dr. Albert (E.) Burke, former private advisor to JFK, and, for 15 or 20 years or so, quite a popular political/social commentator of the 1950's & 1960's.

I'm finally preparing to write my father's biography. It will focus on his first years teaching at Yale & show how he viewed the then-new medium of television as a tool for both teaching and learning. As a young professor in 1951 who was very concerned about our own country's dependence upon so many other countries for natural resources, he successfully brought the very first televised programs of public education into America's living rooms. It was his effort to still "make people think" together as a nation, to not become complacent now that the War years were behind us.

Later, his 1962 book, titled "Enough Good Men - A Way of Thinking" was a compilation of scripts from his 1961-1964 shows on NBC - and which is now a very clear snapshot of that era.

It is interesting to have grown up as the child of a man whose opinion was sought by many in power and to have seen, experienced and lost things in life because of my father's work during that period of time.

I find this site to be a wonderful resource as well as a helpful place, actually. There's a lot of information and some great people here. I feel right at home.