PBS film reveals great Ohio-born author Jim Tully

In a new documentary film, Jim Tully is described as an important American writer who deserves to be rediscovered.

“Road Kid to Writer” does more than just reintroduce the literature of Tully (1886-1947); it reveals the life of a low-born Ohioan who became a vagabond and then rose to the rank of Hollywood celebrity.

The hourlong film premieres Sunday at 7 p.m. on Western Reserve PBS (go to westernreservepublicmedia.org to check schedule for repeat airings).

Tully’s novels had the hard-punching style of Hemingway and the subject matter of Steinbeck, but he preceded both men. He wrote of the American underclass with expertise, because it’s who he was.

Tully was the son of an Irish ditch-digger in St. Marys, in western Ohio, and lived a hardscrabble life. He was shipped to an orphanage at age 6 after his mother died. At age 12 he began taking work as an indentured field hand on Ohio farms, until he ran off to join his sister in St. Marys.

Wanderlust, and the deep certainty that small-town life would grind him up the same as his father, quickly had him jumping a train out of town. It was the beginning of six years as a railroad hobo. Tully would always stop in the library of whatever town he jumped off at to read for hours.

He would make his final stop at Kent, where, after working several years, he resolved to move to California and become a writer.

Tully would rise to fame with a series of six hard-boiled novels, beginning with “Beggars of Life,” that chronicled his time wandering the country in the company of hoboes.

“Road Kid to Writer” is based on an autobiography of Tully written by Paul Bauer and Mark Dawidziak, who are both extensively interviewed in the film. It features footage of Tully’s haunts in Ohio today, as well as archival photos and film clips.

WKBN-TV NEWS TO UNVEIL NEW LOOK today AT 5 P.M.

Viewers will get the first look at WKBN-TV’s redesigned and upgraded studio today, starting with the 5 p.m. newscast.

The redesign, nearly a year in the making, updates everything from set design and lighting, to the logo, to animated graphics. It utilizes virtual- and augmented-reality technology — computer-generated designs that are layered over real scenes —to explain news stories.

Mitch Davis, news director for the station, said the new studio allows his team to better gather and explain the news. Reporters will be able to go into more detail by using a variety of graphics, and late-breaking video will be brought to the air much quicker, he said.

SOUNDOCTRINE RELEASES SONG

Youngstown-based jazz-funk ensemble SounDoctrine today released “Selah,” its second digital single, on iTunes and its website.

The Latin-flavored R&B composition features vocalist Sheldon Grayson and Berklee School of Music grad Jeremy De Jesus, a Puerto Rico-born flautist who has performed with Giovanni Hidalgo, Meshell Ndegeocello and Terri Lynn Carrington, among others.

Drummer and producer Jere B said the tune might surprise long-time fans of the band while stirring curiosity as to the direction the band’s new CD will take. Titled “Source,” the CD is slated for a summer release.