''California's Gold'' is a

public television Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

human interest program that explores the natural, cultural, and historical features of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The series ran for 24 seasons beginning in 1991, and was produced and hosted by

Huell Howser Huell Burnley Howser (October 18, 1945 – January 7, 2013) was an American television personality, actor, producer, writer, singer, and voice artist, best known for hosting, producing, and writing ''California's Gold'' and his human interest sh ...

in collaboration with KCET, Los Angeles. The series ceased production when Howser retired in November 2012, shortly before his death on January 7, 2013, although episodes continue to be shown on KCET and are featured on the page at the station's website about his shows. The series theme song is "

California, Here I Come "California, Here I Come" is a song interpolated in the Broadway musical '' Bombo'', starring Al Jolson. The song was written by Bud DeSylva, Joseph Meyer, and Jolson. Jolson recorded the song on January 17, 1924, with Isham Jones' Orchestra, ...

." Typically, it is performed by local musicians who may be from a given episode's locale. However some episodes include an old-time recording of the California state song "

I Love You, California "I Love You, California" is the regional anthem of the U.S. state of California, originally published in 1913. It was adopted in 1951 and reconfirmed in 1987 as the official List of U.S. state songs, state song. The lyrics were written by Franc ...

Production

The minimal production allowed locations and people to remain the focal point of the program. Howser's archives are now housed at Chapman University in Orange, California, and can be streamed online. The decision to donate them grew out his experiences making an episode of the show.

Episodes

''California's Gold'' is divided into 24 seasons of varying lengths (plus specials), comprising 443 episodes. In May 2016, KCET showed a "lost" episode on the Charles F. Lummis House, now considered to be the final episode. In March 2018, documentary filmmaker John McDonald released an unofficial episode of the series. "California's Gold: The Ghost Mountain Experiment" documents the life of California hermit Marshal South and family, and incorporates previously unreleased footage produced by Howser.

Related shows

Several related shows were also produced by Huell Howser Productions in collaboration with KCET. These were ''California's Green'', a show about environmentally friendly measures being undertaken in

; ''California's Golden Coast''; ''California's Golden Parks''; ''California's Water''; ''California's Missions''; ''Road Trip'', a show about sights along California's highways and byways; ''Downtown'', a show about

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

' downtown; ''Visiting...'', a show about sights in the Los Angeles area; and ''Palm Springs''.

References

External links

Huell Howser Archives at Chapman University

California's Gold

Video Podcast Feed – California's Gold
* {{IMDb title, id=0371436, name=California's Gold
California's Gold episodes available free on iTunes

California Gold History
1990s American television series 2012 American television series endings