“The Heartland Series” television show host Bill Landry came to Crossville today.

He appeared at the Art Circle Public Library at 11:30 a.m. to sign copies of his new book “The Last Hurrah” and speak to attendees in the Cumberland Room.

In the early 1980s, Landry wrote and performed a one-man play titled Einstein the Man and worked during the 1982 Knoxville World’s Fair as a riverboat captain in the TVA exhibit.

After working in a commercial film, Landry was referred to WBIR in Knoxville and hired in 1984 to work on The Heartland Series, a historical program about East Tennessee.

3B Media News asked Landry how important “The Heartland Series” was to telling stories regarding the local area:

Landry wrote and directed many of the episodes. The series issued over 1400 short features and about 150 half-hour length programs. The show received several honors with four Emmy Awards, two bronze medals, and a Theodore Roosevelt Award for Best Outdoor Documentary.

Landry received Emmy Awards for directing in 1999 and 2000.