This video is a Biographical documentary video on the writing career and life of Kurt Vonnegut Jr. It goes through his childhood, to his early years, to his time in the war, and well into his adulthood up until death. The biography film goes over his failures leading to his success as who he is known as today.
Written, Produced and Directed by Kevin Finch;
Narrator: Steve Inskeep;
Additional Narration: Michael Atwood;
Editor and Associate Producer: Jim Hall;
Graphic Designer: Keri Lubovich;
Field Producers: Jim Hall & Dave Meyer;
Photographers: Mika Brown, Chris Elberfeld, Mark Fry, John Gerard, David Hodge, Randy Kinsley, Doug Moon, Mike Nolan, Jason North, Kristin Remley & Andy Young;
Field Audio: Ivo Hanak & Jeff Lint;
Makeup: Jennifer Bly & Roxanne Manzano;
Research and Image Acquisition: Andy Townsend & Bob Williams;
Production Assistants: Chase Kitchens, Frank Konermann, Doug Moon, Kristin Remley & Katy Urbano;
Production Supervisor: David DeMunbrun;
Transcription: Katie Dawson, Karly Krizmanich, Rachel Illingworth, Jessica Smith;
Closed-captioning: Karly Krizmanich;
Post Production: Dave Tarr;
Executive Producer: Clayton Taylor
Chapter 1: "I'm not selling anything."
Chapter 2: "I am descended from Europeans who have been literate for a long time..."
Chapter 3: "i was lucky to have been born there."
Chapter 4: "My Aegean Sea"
Chapter 5: "Not much work for anybody."
Chapter 6: "I could go to college only if I studied chemistry."
Chapter 7: "One of the main effects of war...is that people are discouraged from being characters."
Chapter 8: "So I hide in my profession."
Chapter 9: "They are not enthusiastic about my work."
Chapter 10: "...a person from Indianapolis, which is what I am."
00:30 Intro song and highlights on who worked on the biography
1:45 Labels “Chapter 1” and begins
2:19 Highlights Vonnegut’s tendency to make “apocalyptic” humor
2:30 A narrator describes Vonnegut as being like Twain in terms of fame.
3:08 Marc Allan (former Indy Star Columnist) describes the influences Vonnegut had on writers
3:23 John Green (Author) tells story of meeting Vonnegut
3:50 Marc Leeds, Author of the Vonnegut Encyclopedia discusses significance of his books
4:25 Narrator calls Vonnegut a “pop culture icon”
4:30 Prof. Susan Neville describes a conversation of what dead writer you’d want to bring back and her pick was Vonnegut
4:46 Goes over Vonnegut’s appearance in the film “Back to School”, by Orion Pictures
5:07 James Alexander Thom (Author and friend of Vonnegut) discusses Craig Ferguson (a comedian) and how he wished Kurt Vonnegut would have been able to come on his show
5:32 Sarah Conaway (A college student) talks about how he can become a cult figure
5:37 Nanette Vonnegut recounts a story of telling someone he was her father and him falling in surprise
5:49 John Krull (Professor, Author, Vonnegut’s friend) talks about similarities including looks regarding Vonnegut and Twain’
6:24 Rock band Ambrosia took a passage from “Cat’s Cradle” and turned it into a song
7:25 Vonnegut interview is shown where he says that he doesn’t want to be a voice of major culture, but if he is he wants to advocate for peace
7:52 Dan Wakefield (Author, Vonnegut’s friend) talks about how he knew Vonnegut and how he was helpful to writing and helpful as a friend to Wakefield
8:13 Morley Safer (CBS Correspondent, Vonnegut’s friend) describes Vonnegut as a true New Yorker, but that he never lost connection with his home
8:22 Dan Carpenter (former Indy Star columnist) says Vonnegut stands among humanities treasures of the arts
8:46 Chapter 2 is labeled
9:00 Narrator discusses the influence of the Vonnegut family in Indianapolis
9:17 Informs that Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is among the fourth generation of Vonnegut’s
9:25 William Selm (Historian, Athenaeum Foundation) goes into the past of Clemens Vonnegut starting in the 1850’s. Discusses his business ventures and how he had a long-standing hardware business lasting over a century in Indianapolis.
10:08 Narrator discusses his German American association and contributions to the community
10:30 William Selm describes Vonnegut and other German immigrants such as himself as providing culture to areas much in need of it
11:04 Selm talks about the Freidenker movement
11:09 Julia Whitehead (CEO, Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library) Talks about Clemens influencing Vonnegut Jr. through the ideals he set up in his life
11:36 Goes over Vonnegut children and describes how Bernard Vonnegut was the only one who went on to attend university.
11:51 Bernard returned to Indianapolis and joined Arthur Bohn to form firm for architecture which designed many buildings within Indianapolis
12:30 Discusses the tendency for successful Germans to marry other successful Germans
12:47 Bernard had 3 children, one of them helping found the Indianapolis Children’s Museum
13:17 Kurt Vonnegut Sr. begins working at his father’s firm and marries into a brewer’s family
14:00 Chapter 3 begins
14:07 Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is born on the 4th year anniversary of the end of World War 1
15:15 Vonnegut family is important in Indianapolis and regularly host dinner parties with influential guests
15:24 Patty Cochran (Vonnegut family friend) describes that the atmosphere made Vonnegut Jr. as creative as he was
15:33 The Vonnegut kids go to Orchard Private School
15:55 Kurt’s nanny acted more as a mother
16:13 Kurt was better friends with his sister
16:36 Vonnegut Sr.’s father is law was losing his brewery business
17:03 Chapter 4 begins
17:30 Kurt Vonnegut Jr. grew up predominantly around Lake Maxinkuckee
18:40 Unnamed interviewee/Narrator discusses the lake and Vonnegut’s activities and attachments to it
18:54 Vonnegut swam across the entire lake
19:20 Multiple famous authors lived around the Vonnegut’s Lake home
20:21 A famous pianist also lived in the area and hosted dances that Vonnegut Jr. often attended
21:01 They keep the Vonnegut home in good condition to this day
21:26 Vonnegut Jr. spends less time at the lake as her gets older
21:43 Chapter 5 begins
22:17 Great Depression began
22:29 Julia Whitehead is back to discuss Kurt being moved to a public school due to the family’s financial situation
23:48 Kurt Vonnegut Jr. goes to Shortridge high school
24:33 Kurt knew a lot of writers that came out of Shortridge high school
25:07 Kurt joined the Owl’s Club
25:38 Majie Failey (Vonnegut’s friend) talks about how he loved to dance and go to Woodstock
25:55 Kurt joined the Prairie Trek camp experience
26:30 Kurt is described as more popular at Shortridge
26:56 Some people resented Kurt Vonnegut from high school to 60 years later
27:42 World War 2 began
27:50 Talks about how Kurt was part of a school newspaper and on the student council
28:20 Chapter 6 begins
28:37 Prof. Susan Neville talks about how he attended Butler, but also how it was a rumor that he spent his whole time there as he only took classes there on summers off for Cornell
29:16 Kurt’s father only let him attend college if he pursued a science.
29:56 Kurt’s daughter thinks he must’ve given up on his classes and put all his focus into writing for the newspaper
30:06 Vonnegut wrote a humor column for the Cornell Daily Sun and eventually became an editor
30:18 Whitehead talks about his decision to serve in the army
30:55 Whitehead talks about Vonnegut trying for an engineering degree, and how he was pulled out before he could finish and stationed at Camp Atterbury
31:48 Whitehead talks about how the Vonnegut family never got back their fortune and his mother took to alcohol and drugs
32.50 Kurt’s daughter talks about how his mother killed herself on Mother’s Day
33:12 Interview segment form Kurt Vonnegut on suicide and how it affects people
33:34 Narrator talks about how his mother committed suicide just before he was about to ship out to Europe and the effects it had on him
34:26 Chapter 7 begins
34:36 Whitehead talks about Vonnegut being in the infantry division
35:00 Clip of Vonnegut interview discussing the fear of death and causing death to others
35:07 Narrator talks about Vonnegut’s transfer to a scout division that was the 106th
34:38 Narrator says Vonnegut was caught in the last major offensive from the Germans
35:36 Whitehead talks about his capture and cold march to the city of Dresden
36:08 Interview segment of Vonnegut recounting the march of the prisoners
36:29 Whitehead talks about his suffering both as a prisoner of war but also seeing others die
37:00 Narrator says Vonnegut is sentenced to forced labor and that he remembered the city for its beauty
37:12 Vonnegut says where he is imprisoned
37:27 Narrator says bombing of Dresden happened not too soon after
37:57 Soviets rescue the prisoners, and Vonnegut wrote a letter home
38:17 Letter is summarized with quotes
39:54 Chapter 8 begins
40:05 Narrator says Vonnegut returned to Camp Atterbury Indiana
40:25 Narrator talks about how he met his wife who was a childhood friend
41:18 Narrator discusses how Vonnegut worked for a Chicago newspaper for a while before his wife became pregnant
41:30 Narrator talks about Vonnegut getting his master’s thesis rejected and moving to New York to work for General Electric
41:53 Whitehead reads the multiple rejections of his short stories
42:33 Narrator says Vonnegut gets early stories in and wrote his first novel
43:17 Narrator names off family members who died, his father, sister, and brother-in-law
43:47 Vonnegut’s daughter recalls the pain his father seemed to feel upon being in Indianapolis and discussing his sister
44:35 Narrator talks about Kurt Vonnegut adopting his sister’s kids
44:57 Narrator says his daughter attributed his good writing to him working his own pain into the depth of his stories
45:04 Chapter 9 begins
45:24 Narrator talks about Vonnegut writing his memories of the horror of war into his book
45:56 Lines of his book are read out loud
46:35 More readings of his book that refer to the Bible and compare metaphors to his life
48:22 Narrator and guests describe Vonnegut gets terrific sales in many places, except Indianapolis
50:08 Narrator says Vonnegut kept coming back to Indianapolis despite his failures
51:03 Chapter 10 begins
51:11 Narrator talks about his last novel
51:32 James Alecander Thom (Vonnegut’s friend) says Vonnegut came back to write about the wars that America had engaged in
52:25 Thom says that even way back in his childhood he had a rebellious nature against authority
53:20 Vonnegut is described as a humanist
54:07 Dr. Mark Vonnegut (Kurt’s son) discusses Kurt’s views of his childhood and economic situation
54:27 Narrator talks about how he ended up in a life of constant change including a divorce and remarriage
54:51 David Hoppe (Arts critic, Vonnegut’s friend) discusses Vonnegut’s growing appreciation for Indianapolis
55:45 Bart Peterson (Former Indianapolis mayor) talks about finding out Vonnegut had ended up in the hospital and likely wouldn’t recover
56:29 WISH-TV news clip of his in-memoriam death announcement
57:06 Enters credits
Website clips:
Vonnegut talks about his views of suicide regarding his own experience with it in an interview
33:12
IC: “See, there’s a strong reason not to commit suicide”
33:29-
OC: “It’ll seem like one way to solve problems.”
The narrator reads important parts of the letter Vonnegut wrote home to his father.
38:17
IC: “His son had a story to tell.”
39:44
OC: “But not me.”
Julia Whitehead (Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library) reads the rejection letters of his early submissions for short stories, and the narrator wraps up his first success
41:55
IC: “So this is from the Atlantic Monthly, April 25th, 1950.”
42:35
OC: “’Report on the Barnhouse Effect’ netted the young writer $750, about 7000 today.”