Shelby Storck
Encyclopedia
Shelby William Storck was an American
newscaster, actor
, writer
, journalist
, public relations
specialist, and motion picture and television
producer-director. He was a radio actor on The Air Adventures of Jimmie Allen
and other programs, and appeared in the feature films The Delinquents and The Cool and the Crazy
.
The descendant of General Joseph O. Shelby
, Shelby Storck was born in Kansas City, Missouri
and was graduated from the University of Kansas City, now the University of Missouri-Kansas City, in 1937. Storck worked as a newscaster for the Kansas City Star and its affiliated radio station WDAF
from 1939 until he joined the Navy
in 1942. A Navy pilot, he rose to the rank of lieutenant before being discharged in 1945. Two of his years of service had been in the Mediterranean theater, where he saw action during World War II
.
, making documentary films which he often narrated as well as produced. He frequently acted in industrial and educational films produced by the Calvin Company
of Kansas City and by the Centron Corporation
of Lawrence, Kansas
. There, he worked with such notable directors as Robert Altman
and Herk Harvey
. In 1954 he became general manager of KETC
in St. Louis, an educational television
station.
From 1955 to 1966 Storck was associated with Charles Guggenheim
of St. Louis as a director and narrator of documentary and commercial movies produced by Guggenheim. Among the fims Storck made while associated with Guggenheim were several award-winning documentaries on St. Louis history. Storck remarried, to longtime friend Jacqueline Field, in 1956. In 1960 the Storcks moved from Kansas City to St. Louis. In 1966, when Charles Guggenheim transferred his operations to Washington, D.C.
, Storck formed his own production company in St. Louis, Shelby Storck & Associates, Inc., and began producing documentaries and commercials. He was best known for making half-hour campaign biographies for politicians, mostly under the direction of media consultant Joe Napolitan, including successful films for Milton Shapp
, Winthrop Rockefeller
, and Mike Gravel
. In 1968 Storck wrote, produced, and directed a half-hour promotional documentary on Hubert Humphrey
called What Manner of Man, which was hugely instrumental in Humphrey's sudden surge in the polls towards the end of his unsuccessful race against Richard Nixon
for President of the United States
.
Shelby Storck had been diagnosed with heart disease
and was under a doctor's care for several months. He died in his sleep, apparently after a heart attack, at home in St. Louis in April 1969. His wife, Jackie, was on the way by air to Taiwan
to visit a sister when he died, and funeral arrangements had to be delayed for several days until she could return to St. Louis.
(where his wife Jackie also makes a cameo appearance).
Shelby Storck had three children: Shelby Randall Storck (1943–1987), who followed in his father's journalistic footsteps and became a photographer; Phillip Alan Storck (b. 1944); and Gael Winslow Storck (b. 1950). He also had a stepdaughter, Kathy Field (b. 1948) from his second marriage.
has in his possession several rare educational and industrial films that Shelby Storck acted in. Several are available for free viewing and downloading online on Prelinger Archives
:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
newscaster, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
specialist, and motion picture and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
producer-director. He was a radio actor on The Air Adventures of Jimmie Allen
The Air Adventures of Jimmie Allen
The Air Adventures of Jimmie Allen was a radio adventure serial created by writers Bob Burtt and Bill Moore, both of whom were from Kansas City, Missouri...
and other programs, and appeared in the feature films The Delinquents and The Cool and the Crazy
The Cool and the Crazy
The Cool and the Crazy is a 1958 motion picture that was distributed by American-International Pictures. The producer of the film, Elmer Rhoden Jr., was president of the Kansas City, Missouri-based Commonwealth Theaters chain, a prominent chain of motion picture theaters with stretched through...
.
The descendant of General Joseph O. Shelby
Joseph O. Shelby
Joseph Orville Shelby was a noted Confederate cavalry general in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War.-Early life and education:...
, Shelby Storck was born in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
and was graduated from the University of Kansas City, now the University of Missouri-Kansas City, in 1937. Storck worked as a newscaster for the Kansas City Star and its affiliated radio station WDAF
WDAF-FM
WDAF-FM is a country music radio station based in Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States. Its current assignment to Entercom's 100,000 Watt facility licensed to Liberty, Missouri, combines the history of both the frequency and the WDAF call letters.- The Early Days :WDAF was one of the first...
from 1939 until he joined the Navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
in 1942. A Navy pilot, he rose to the rank of lieutenant before being discharged in 1945. Two of his years of service had been in the Mediterranean theater, where he saw action during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Post-WWII years
On returning to Kansas City, Storck rejoined WDAF and again became a newscaster but soon moved on to become a member of the staff of T. R. Finn & Associates, a Kansas City company, as its publicity director. He was assistant director of education and organization for the Consumers Cooperative Association from 1947 to 1949 and was public relations director and assistant manager of the North Kansas City Development Company in 1949 and 1950. He was also a semi-professional actor in local radio, television, civic theater, and in films made in the Kansas City area. Storck's first wife, the former Barbara Marsh, died of bulbar polio in 1950. He later established a Barbara Storck Memorial award for poetry at the University of Kansas City in her memory.Films
Shelby Storck continued in radio and television work through the 1950s, working between Kansas City and St. LouisSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, making documentary films which he often narrated as well as produced. He frequently acted in industrial and educational films produced by the Calvin Company
Calvin Company
The Calvin Company was a Kansas City, Missouri-based educational and industrial film production company that for nearly half a century was the largest and most successful film producer of its type in the United States.-Origins:...
of Kansas City and by the Centron Corporation
Centron Corporation
Centron Corporation was an industrial and educational film production company. Founded in 1947 in Lawrence, Kansas by Arthur H. Wolf and Russell A. Mosser, Centron would come to the forefront of the industrial and educational film companies in the United States. Centron competed with large...
of Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
. There, he worked with such notable directors as Robert Altman
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
and Herk Harvey
Herk Harvey
Harold Arnold "Herk" Harvey was an American film director, actor, and film producer.-Early life:Harvey was born in Windsor, Colorado, the son of Everett and Minnie R. Prewitt Harvey. He grew up in Fort Collins and was a graduate of Fort Collins High School before serving in the U.S...
. In 1954 he became general manager of KETC
KETC
KETC is the Public Broadcasting Service member Public television station in St. Louis, Missouri. Owned by St. Louis Regional Public Media, the call letters KETC represent the St. Louis Educational Television Comission, the former name of the organization responsible for bringing public television...
in St. Louis, an educational television
Educational television
Educational television is the use of television programs in the field of distance education. It may be in the form of individual television programs or dedicated specialty channels that is often associated with cable television in the United States as Public, educational, and government access ...
station.
From 1955 to 1966 Storck was associated with Charles Guggenheim
Charles Guggenheim
Charles Guggenheim was an American film director and producer.- Early life :Guggenheim was born into a prominent German Jewish family in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father was a furniture salesman. While studying farming at Colorado A&M in 1943, Guggenheim was drafted into the United States Army...
of St. Louis as a director and narrator of documentary and commercial movies produced by Guggenheim. Among the fims Storck made while associated with Guggenheim were several award-winning documentaries on St. Louis history. Storck remarried, to longtime friend Jacqueline Field, in 1956. In 1960 the Storcks moved from Kansas City to St. Louis. In 1966, when Charles Guggenheim transferred his operations to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, Storck formed his own production company in St. Louis, Shelby Storck & Associates, Inc., and began producing documentaries and commercials. He was best known for making half-hour campaign biographies for politicians, mostly under the direction of media consultant Joe Napolitan, including successful films for Milton Shapp
Milton Shapp
Milton Jerrold Shapp was the 40th Governor of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1971 to 1979 and was the first Jewish governor of Pennsylvania.- Early life :...
, Winthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller was a politician and philanthropist who served as the first Republican Governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction. He was a third-generation member of the Rockefeller family.-Early life:...
, and Mike Gravel
Mike Gravel
Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel is a former Democratic United States Senator from Alaska, who served two terms from 1969 to 1981, and a former candidate in the 2008 presidential election....
. In 1968 Storck wrote, produced, and directed a half-hour promotional documentary on Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
called What Manner of Man, which was hugely instrumental in Humphrey's sudden surge in the polls towards the end of his unsuccessful race against Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
for President of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Shelby Storck had been diagnosed with heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
and was under a doctor's care for several months. He died in his sleep, apparently after a heart attack, at home in St. Louis in April 1969. His wife, Jackie, was on the way by air to Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
to visit a sister when he died, and funeral arrangements had to be delayed for several days until she could return to St. Louis.
Storck awards
There currently exists a Shelby Storck Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The annual Storck Awards for Notable Achievement in the Political Advertising Arts were established by the Washington Post in 1980. Today, Shelby Storck is primarily known for the political films he produced in the 1960s, as well as for his role as a hard-nosed, wise-to-the-world police detective in the 1958 Kansas City-produced feature-length film The Cool and the CrazyThe Cool and the Crazy
The Cool and the Crazy is a 1958 motion picture that was distributed by American-International Pictures. The producer of the film, Elmer Rhoden Jr., was president of the Kansas City, Missouri-based Commonwealth Theaters chain, a prominent chain of motion picture theaters with stretched through...
(where his wife Jackie also makes a cameo appearance).
Shelby Storck had three children: Shelby Randall Storck (1943–1987), who followed in his father's journalistic footsteps and became a photographer; Phillip Alan Storck (b. 1944); and Gael Winslow Storck (b. 1950). He also had a stepdaughter, Kathy Field (b. 1948) from his second marriage.
Film appearances
Ephermeral film archivist Rick PrelingerRick Prelinger
Rick Prelinger is an archivist, writer and filmmaker, and founder of the Prelinger Archives, a collection of 60,000 advertising, educational, industrial, and amateur films acquired by the Library of Congress in 2002 after 20 years' operation.Rick has partnered with the Internet Archive to make...
has in his possession several rare educational and industrial films that Shelby Storck acted in. Several are available for free viewing and downloading online on Prelinger Archives
Prelinger Archives
The Prelinger Archives is a collection of films relating to U.S. cultural history, the evolution of the American landscape, everyday life and social history...
:
- What About Drinking? (1954 - In this Centron CorporationCentron CorporationCentron Corporation was an industrial and educational film production company. Founded in 1947 in Lawrence, Kansas by Arthur H. Wolf and Russell A. Mosser, Centron would come to the forefront of the industrial and educational film companies in the United States. Centron competed with large...
film directed by Herk HarveyHerk HarveyHarold Arnold "Herk" Harvey was an American film director, actor, and film producer.-Early life:Harvey was born in Windsor, Colorado, the son of Everett and Minnie R. Prewitt Harvey. He grew up in Fort Collins and was a graduate of Fort Collins High School before serving in the U.S...
, Shelby Storck plays a doctor who chats with a teenager about alcoholism) - The Magic Bond (Part 2) (1956 - In this film produced by the Calvin CompanyCalvin CompanyThe Calvin Company was a Kansas City, Missouri-based educational and industrial film production company that for nearly half a century was the largest and most successful film producer of its type in the United States.-Origins:...
for the Veterans of Foreign WarsVeterans of Foreign WarsThe Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...
and directed by Robert AltmanRobert AltmanRobert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
, Storck narrates a brief sequence on the importance of voting) - Coffee Break (1958 - A Calvin CompanyCalvin CompanyThe Calvin Company was a Kansas City, Missouri-based educational and industrial film production company that for nearly half a century was the largest and most successful film producer of its type in the United States.-Origins:...
film, in which Storck plays an office boss frustrated by his employees' tendencies to take extra-long coffee breaks) - Promotion Bypass (1958 - Another Calvin film on office workers, where Storck plays an office boss who tells his junior to send his "best man" over to a new office)
- The Innocent Party (1959 - An award-winning and groundbreaking Centron production directed by Herk Harvey, in which Storck portrays a school doctor who has an educational talk with a teen student who has contracted syphilis)