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‘Buried History’
New TV series with Youngstown roots digs into cemeteries
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
George Saadi had a rough premise for a television series in his head in which a town’s history is revealed through its cemeteries.
While walking through Oak Hill Cemetery in Youngstown on a research trip, he noticed how the names on the tombstones mirror those on street signs, parks and buildings in the city.
That’s when the whole thing came into focus.
“I had never been there before, and when I saw the names on the tombs, like Wick and Arms, it all clicked. The names equated to those on buildings and streets and i said ‘here’s the show’.”
Saadi, a TV producer in Los Angeles and a native of Youngstown, pitched his idea to the Dick Clark Co. and the result is “Buried History.”
The pilot for the new series will air Nov. 1 at 1 p.m. on WQED-PBS. Western Reserve Public Media plans to show it in January. A full 12-episode season will begin later in 2016.
Mark Walberg, host of PBS’ popular “Antiques Road Show,” will serve as host of “Buried History.”
Other PBS stations are likely to pick up the show, which will air either before or after “Antiques Road Show.”
The whole idea actually started about three years ago, when Saadi – who owns Ace’s Choice Entertainment – and a friend were brainstorming ideas for a television show. The visit to Oak Hill Cemetery followed it a few months later.
“You throw out 10 ideas and maybe half of one has merit,” he said in a phone interview. “One of the ideas was telling the story of a town through its cemeteries.”
The 30-minute pilot episode was shot in the city of Avalon, on Catalina Island, off the Southern California coast.
Shooting for future episodes will begin in the spring and will include Youngstown.
“We want it to be small town America, because it more directly relates to the founding of the town,” said Saadi. “Plus, big cities get enough attention. Our show is in places where people are woven into the culture of the town.”
The Ursuline High and Berklee College of Music graduate had worked together with the late Dick Clark, and contacted Clark’s widow, Kerry, who runs his film production company today.
“Mark Walberg, who is also in their inner circle, was at that meeting and he loved it,” said Saadi. “He said, ‘I want to host it’.”
Walberg is vice president of development for Dick Clark Productions.
On “Buried History,” he will travel to towns in a vintage hearse to unearth the past. Starting with tombstones of people who were integral to the birth of their city, to their present-day descendants, Walberg will piece together the clues about each town’s genealogy.
Generations of stories are packed into each half-hour episode, including historical facts, folklore, legends and scandals. Revealed will be the story of how luck, misfortune and sometimes just bizarre circumstances shaped a city.