Edmonton Journal from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • 26

C6 The Edmonton Journal, Wednesday, June 9, 1999 The Secret Life of Charles Kvralt He was on the pGiilanderiinig road Kuralt's mistress is seeking possession of a promised Montana retreat i Put it in a letter think on the 4 -i A A T7EVENINCS LATE NICHTS I 2 Bonanzas OddEven 12 price 1 cany oira lupm Meg. fpm Mi time i 25 Reg. Games 1 Bonanzas 1 OddEven Early Bird l'JU'1-lll ll File photo Charles Kuralt poses with his mistress, Patricia Elizabeth Shannon, and her family, in a 1 978 Christmas photo taken at Shannon's home in Lake Tahoe, Nev. The Associated Prkss Virginia City; Mont. Charles Kuralt, CBS's folksy On the Road correspondent, spent years exploring out-of-the-way places across the United States in search of oddball stories.

But the best story may have been the one he never told. For 29 years, until his death in 1997, he kept a mistress and maintained a second family The celebrated journalist was, in effect, husband and father to them, as well as breadwinner, friend and hero. While his wife remained at their home in New York City, he nurtured his secret life along a trout stream in Montana. None of this would come out however; until after his death, when his mistress, Patricia Elizabeth Shannon, sued to take possession of a Montana retreat he promised her. Montana's Supreme Court ruled last month Shannon is entitled to a trial on her claim.

Kuralt was TVs rumpled Everyman, a bald, pudgy figure renowned for his sonorous voice and eloquent commentary He died at 62 of complications from lupus July 4, 1997. He met the woman he once said "enriched my life beyond all my dreams" the year after he started his On the Road travels. At 33, he already was acclaimed for ferreting out quirky vignettes of Americana. He was also six years into his second marriage, to Suzanna (Petie) Flosom Baird, and had two daughters from his first marriaga Shannon was a divorced, 34-year-old social activist and mother of three. She declined to be interviewed but court documents tell much of their story.

They met in 1968 in Reno, Nev, where Shannon was leading an effort to build a park in a black neighbourhood. Tensions were high following the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy It was a natural Kuralt story He did his reporting job, then asked her to UttxUf AH You Can Play Reg Cards $10 12 Price Seniors 60 Free Meal Arrive Before 6:30 pm QEEOJ family," Shannon recalled. "Charles took care of all my needs." He provided Shannon and her children with a succession of homes in San Francisco. He spent as much as $400,000 to help her start a small business that eventually failed and paid for her to study landscaping in London. He paid for her son, J.R., to attend college in Arizona and put Shannon's elder daughter, Kathleen Baker, through law school He bought Shannon a $50,000 cottage in Ireland and purchased eight hectares along the banks of the Big Hole River in Montana.

They built a cabin there. Kuralt bought an additional 36 hectares abutting the land and moved an old schoolhouse to a bluff overlooking the river. He spent $180,000 to renovate the school into an office where he planned to write after his retirement 7 NIGHTS A WEEK 0p pm ttM pm l(T II dinner, showing up with three-dozen long-stemmed roses. They spent the night talking in the lounge of Reno's Holiday MoteL She knew he was married. But with the freedom his travels gave him, Kuralt called her frequently He visited for two or three days every few weeks.

He doted on her, sending gifts and money He was there for family gatherings, football games, holidays and graduations. Back in New York, Suzanna Kuralt was aware her husband had a fishing place in Montana. But court files showed she had no inkling of his second family She has declined all interview requests. Shannon estimated Kuralt sent $600,000 during the first decade, when their romance was the most intense and they saw each other often. "Charles always said, his refrain through all of his life: 'Don't worry we're he would say He was the breadwinner of the 25 Chisholm Ave.

St. Albert 459-9616 mWmmWmmmmmm Spotlight PM! SLlQsgS Diana's Kralling her way to Winspear Canadian jazz sensation Diana Krall is scheduled to play the Winspear Oct 21. She'll be supporting her just-released album, When I look Into Your Eyes. Tickets go on sale at the Winspear Saturday June 19. The box office opens at 9:30 a.m.

You can also charge by phone at 428-1414. The price of tickets has yet to be confirmed, but there is a special bonus for those who buy them. Until July 18, ticket holders will be able to get $3 off Krall's new release at Music World record stores. When I Look Into Your Eyes is Krall's fifth studio album. Her 1997 disc, Love Scenes sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide.

v. IfASERATt OR PUCHASE RWNONG UP TO M0NI6t AM) $300 SECURITY DEPOSIT FtCMHEDf CUBES MIGHT Of S680 HO POt PURCHASE HOIKS WEIGHT OF S680 AW) PDI Alannah bringing her Black Velvet to town Former Canadian diva Alannah Myles is set to play the Urban Lounge June 23. The singer briefly rocked the world with her album, Black Velvet in the late '80s. The disc sold more than five million copies and Myles even won a Grammy for best Rock Female Vocal Performance. Since then, she's released three albums, including 199Ts ARTVAL, but has failed to achieve the same success.

Tickets for her upcoming show are $12 in advance or $15 at the Star Wars may boost special effects George Lucas may turn the special effects up another notch for the next installment of the Star Wars saga. Lucas used about 2,000 special effects in Star Wars: Episode One The Phantom Menace about four times the number of effects used in director James Cameron's blockbuster Titanic Even more effects may be loaded into the next Star Wars film, TV Guide reported in its June 12 issue "I have no ideas what bizarre things George will come up with for the next one," John Knoll, the visual effects chief at Lucas' Industrial Light Magic studios, told the magazine. "But he scared us a few weeks ago. He said he "held back' in a few places on Episode One." Jones' mangled vehicle for sale Looking for the perfect gift for that die-hard country music fan? George Jones' mangled sports utility vehicle, a black Lexus LX470, is on sale for $22,000 US at Farm's Auto Salvage in Manchester, Term. The salvage yard acquired the vehicle after Jones wrecked it March 6 in an accident that nearly killed him.

A picture of the crumpled vehicle tops the salvage yard's advertisement in the Wheels Deals shopper publication, with a promise that Farm's "has parts to fix many of our cars." "We've had a lot of people come look at it," said Terry Henderson. "Somebody will buy it." 1999 CAVALIER COUPE IF ONLY EVERYTHING IN LIFE WAS AS DEPENDABLE AS A CAVALIER. 2.2 Litre 115HP Engine 5 Speed Manual Transmission Remote Trunk Release Tinted Glass Reclining Front Bucket Seats 4 Wheel Anti-Lock Brakes Next Generation Dual Air Bags Rear Spoiler Block Heater PASSLock Theft Deterrent. And For Only $40 More A Month. 1999 Cavalier Z-24 IF ONLY EVERYTHING IN LIFE WAS AS DEPENDABLE AS A CAVALIER.

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