Stoney Does Houston

In this irreverent and hilarious videotape, renowned street performer Stoney Burke leads us on a subversive tour of the 1992 Republican National Convention in Houston’s Astrodome. Burke disregards the traditional terms of “political debate” offered by the network news establishment, and zeroes in on the questions that never get asked, confronting such Republican luminaries as Oliver North, Neil Bush, Pat Robertson, Jack Kemp, Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, and Rush Limbaugh (among others), on issues that are glossed over during the convention. Hercules’ and Burke’s unobtrusive recording allowed them to take advantage of the on-stage/off-stage character switches of successful politicians, illuminating the murky space between public servant and celebrity. Produced by Tom Weinberg and Joel Cohen for the PBS series The '90s, the tape's more controversial face-offs were censored by Chicago PBS affiliate WTTW before feeding it to the satellite for national broadcast.

An excerpt of this title is also available on Presidents and Elections.