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Leonard Feather actively produced radio and television shows, and movies. For most of his career he was almost continually on the air in one form or another. He was featured as a jazz expert on radio shows such as ‘RCA Victor Show’ and the ‘Lower Basin Street Chamber Music and Jazz Society’ program. In 1940 Feather and Bob Bach created the show ‘Platterbrains’ that aired on WNEW and WMCA in New York. ‘Platterbrains’, a variation on the program he had earlier initiated on Radio Normandy, was an audience oriented radio program where listeners would send in questions about jazz music and recordings. A panel of experts was assembled and would try to answer the questions; segments of the records were played until they attempted an answer. It was an excellent way to expose the public to jazz, not only to the recorded music but also to the panelists who were often artists themselves. In the second year Count Basie recorded ‘Platterbrains’, based on a Tab Smith original, to be used as the theme song for the show. The show ran for several years and was later revived in 1953. This time ‘Platterbrains’ was broadcast to a much wider audience on the ABC radio network and ran every week until 1958. Another of Leonard Feather’s early radio projects was ‘Jazz Club USA’ that was broadcast on the U.S. State Department’s ‘Voice of America’. Jazz music and news of events were being broadcast around the world. It exposed many people to jazz for the first time and established a large base of listeners, particularly in Eastern Europe and the USSR. Feather continued to work on the air as host, guest, or producer for the rest of his career. He was presented with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting award for excellence in local programming in 1978 for ‘The Leonard Feather Show’ broadcast on KUSC in Los Angeles. 
(L to R) Steve Allen, Gene Krupa, Leonard Feather, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Duke Ellington In 1961 Leonard Feather was commissioned by executives at MCA to create 23 short films about jazz to be aired on German television. Since MCA was associated with Universal Pictures, the resulting series Feather on Jazz was built from a vast collection of footage, some of which had never been seen by the public. The English versions of the narration, however, were never sold and were never seen in the U.S except for the few viewings arranged by Feather himself. Leonard had many other experiences with television. He served as a consultant for the NBC educational series ‘The Subject is Jazz’ in 1958 and was nominated for an Emmy in 1971 for production of the KNBC series ‘The Jazz Show’. Leonard Feather also was seen in or contributed to many television programs and acted as a movie consultant. His musical creations have also been used in films, a legacy that continued after his death and will likely continue in the future.
Partial television list: 1
Partial film list: 1
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