This show originally aired on September 2, 2017.
This week on Sound Effect, we hear stories of royalty in all different forms.
The Princess Bride
You may have seen the pictures online, or on the Today Show or wherever. The headline is usually something like, “Little Girl Mistakes Bride for Princess from her Favorite Storybook.” And we joined the bride, the mother and the daughter for a little reunion, in front of the Hotel Ballard.
Purple Mane
Robbie Luna is a carpenter in Seattle, but by night he portrays the role of Prince in the Prince cover band Purple Mane. But Robbie would soon find that his Prince act had an even deeper impact than he’d imagined.
Royal Brougham
But legendary Seattle sportswriter Royal Brougham certainly did. He started at the Post-Intelligencer in 1910, and wrote there until his death in 1978. That’s pre-World-War One through Jimmy Carter. And he also played an important supporting role in the story of the 1936 University of Washington crew team, which is immortalized in the best-seller Boys in the Boat.
Buddhist Princess
A monastery in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood houses one of the most important sites in the world for one of the four major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism -- the Sakya school. And it houses a genuine princess: Her Eminence Dagmo Kusho Sakya is one of the most prominent female lamas in Tibetan Buddhism, and the widow of the man once held the Sakya throne.
Prince Hall
Julius W. Brown Jr. is the Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Prince Hall Grand Lodges of Washington, a traditionally African American branch of freemasonry. They celebrate the legacy of free black men, including a guy named Prince Hall, who went all the way to the King of England to get formal acceptance into the freemasons. This was back in the days of the Revolutionary War.
Piano Man Obituary
If you happened into the Tacoma Nordstrom any time between 1986 and 2013, it’s very likely that you saw or heard Juan Perez. Juan played piano there for 27 years, greeting guests with a familiar tune and a warm smile. Perez passed away Monday from a rare form of cancer.
Sound Effect is your weekly tour of ideas, inspired by the place we live. The show is hosted by KNKX's Gabriel Spitzer.
