Bill Arhos / Austin City Limits Collection
1974-2002
5 linear feet
6 document boxes, 3 record cartons, 2 oversize boxes and artifacts
Acquisition: Gifts donated by Bill Arhos, 2000
& 2002.
Access: Direct inquiries to Archivist,
Albert B. Alkek Library, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, Texas 78666-4604.
(512) 245-2313.
Processed
by: Heather Milligan
and Ruth Sullivan, 2003.
ORGANIZATIONAL
HISTORY & BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Austin City Limits, a television program showcasing musicians in
concert performances, was founded in 1974 by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
affiliate station KLRU-TV in Austin, TX. The showÕs creators were Bill Arhos,
then program director, as well as Paul Bosner and Bruce Scafe, who subsequently
produced and directed programs for the series. Their aim was to develop a locally produced program that
could attract national attention through distribution to PBS affiliates. Capitalizing on the growing Austin
music scene of the 1970s, Arhos received PBS funding for a pilot show featuring
Willie Nelson and Family.
Station executives
across the country liked the pilot and funded filming for Austin City Limits first season, thirteen shows that were taped in
1975 and premiered in 1976. Austin City Limits continues to follow that filming schedule with
each season taped during one calendar year and aired the next. The one-hour programs usually pair two
musicians, each given thirty-minute segments in which to deliver an
uninterrupted, concert-style performance to a studio audience. Nationally known artists are often
paired with lesser-known regional or local performers, giving those
lesser-known artists a chance to be seen by the whole country. Although the mainstream country and
progressive country genres have been staples of the program, Austin City
Limits has also featured an
eclectic mix of American music: jazz, blues, folk, pop and rock. Studio 6-A in the Communications building
on The University of Texas (UT) campus is the permanent home for the show. Some members of the production crew
have been with the show since the beginning. In November 2003, Austin City
Limits became the first
television program ever to be awarded the National Medal of Arts by the
National Endowment for the Arts.
The donor of this
collection, Bill Arhos, was the creator of Austin City Limits and executive producer of the show until his
retirement in 1999. A Texas native
and graduate of Rice University, he received his Master of Educational
Administration from Texas A & M.
A semi-pro baseball player and a schoolteacher for part of his career,
Arhos began working at KLRN-TV, now KLRU, in 1961. He was an instructor in Radio/TV/Film at UT from 1965-1970. He served six years on the PBS Board of
Directors and completed two terms on the Country Music Association (CMA) Board
of Directors in 1994. Over four
decades in public television, Arhos produced and directed educational and
entertainment programs, series and specials, and served as program director,
general manager, and president of KLRU.
SCOPE AND
CONTENTS