Pamela Mason Wagner to Lecture at CSUF
“My Brother’s Keeper: Personal Ethics,” is the subject of Mason Wagner’s presentation at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, in the CSUF Pollak Library

February 6, 2007

The spirit of Troy High School drama teacher Tom Moore still hovers over the lives of many former students. Having mentored an entire generation of teenagers in his popular classes, Moore, were he alive today, might be surprised to learn of the many successes he nurtured.

Take for example Marc Cherry, producer-director of Desperate Housewives; Tim Praeger, successful film writer and director in both Great Britain and Europe; Melanie Backer, film producer; and Toti Levine active in television.

The list is long and impressive and includes Pamela Mason Wagner, a homegrown product of Fullerton who attended Fullerton Community Nursery School, Raymond Elementary and Wilshire Junior High, as well as Troy. Tom Moore gave this talented student an early taste of success by casting her as Amanda in “The Glass Menagerie,” the lead in “Hello Dolly”and Miss Adelaide in “Guys and Dolls.”

Although initially interested in acting as a career, Mason Wagner went on to study at Dartmouth College, where she elected to take classes from film critic David Thomsen, then chair of the Film Studies Department. Impressed with her good sense of drama and design, Thomsen encouraged Mason Wagner to pursue a major in film studies.

Mason Wagner has never looked back. In 1993, she and her husband, Thomas Wagner, founded the production company Turtle Rock Productions.  In 2001 they won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Primetime Non-Fiction Series for the program she directed and produced for the PBS American Masters series, “Finding Lucy,” about Lucille Ball.

Much of Mason Wagner’s work has been with journalist Bill Moyers, such as “The Mythology of Star Wars” with George Lucas and “Healing and the Mind,” a five-part series that won the primetime Emmy Award for Best Informational Series. She also directed, wrote and produced the series “The Wisdom of Faith” with Huston Smith, which garnered a Bronze Plaque, the Wilbur Award and an Emmy nomination. One can almost hear Tom Moore rapturously applauding his former student’s success.

Recently, Mason Wagner produced and filmed two seminars for the acclaimed Fred Friendly Seminars, founded over 20 years ago by broadcast pioneer Fred Friendly. These programs were designed as a follow-up to the award-winning series “Ethics in America,” funded by the Annenberg Foundation. One of these films, “My Brother’s Keeper: Personal Ethics,” is the subject of Mason Wagner’s presentation to the Patrons of the Library at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, in the CSUF Pollak Library. Featured panelists in the film include Jill Ker Conway, author of  “The Road from Coorain” and former president of Smith College, and Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA). Tickets for the lecture are $15 and $7 for students. Free parking is available on campus. For tickets and additional information, call 714-870-7208 or 714-870-4349.

« back to News Front