Oral Histories
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 9541, Nazaret Cherkezian Oral History Interview
Nazaret "Chic" Cherkezian (1924-1996), was born in Queens, New York. He attended New York University (NYU) where he received a B.A. in Journalism and completed all course work for an M.B.A. in Economic History.
Cherkezian began his career as a journalist in 1946 as a staff member of the
In 1957, Cherkezian began producing the weekly television series
Cherkezian came to Washington in 1973 to accept a post as Director of Programming for the National Public Affairs Center for Television (NPACT). His Smithsonian career
began in 1974 when he became Telecommunications Coordinator for the Office of Public Affairs. Cherkezian was named Director of the Office of Telecommunications upon its creation
in 1976, serving until his retirement in 1986. As Director of the Office of Telecommunications, Cherkezian was responsible for the Smithsonian's radio, television, and film
productions. His many credits include
The Smithsonian Institution Archives began its Oral History Program in 1973. The purpose of the program is to supplement the written documentation of the Archives' record and manuscript collections with an Oral History Collection, focusing on the history of the Institution, research by its scholars, and contributions of its staff. Program staff conduct interviews with current and retired Smithsonian staff and others who have made significant contributions to the Institution. There are also interviews conducted by researchers or students on topics related to the history of the Smithsonian or the holdings of the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
Cherkezian was interviewed for the Oral History Collection because of his role as one of the pioneers of public television and his tenure as a Smithsonian administrator.
Cherkezian was interviewed in December of 1986 by John Peterson for a University of Maryland oral history seminar project. The interview covers his education and career in public affairs and television at New York University; experiences as producer for WCBS-TV in New York; public relations and television production for public broadcasting at National Educational Television; coverage of Watergate and Washington politics for the National Public Affairs Center for Television; and career as Director of the Office of Telecommunications at the Smithsonian.
The collection consists of 1.5 hours of audiotape recordings and 35 pages of transcript.
This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
William Grayson was Special Coordinator of the Smithsonian's Office of Telecommunications in 1976, and later became Senior Telecommunications Specialist from 1977 to until his death on April 15, 1980. [Image no. 89-14120]
Nazaret Cherkezian, 1924-1996, director of Office of Telecommunications (OTC) from 1976 until his retirement in 1986, stands beside equipment in Smithsonian Institution's OTC, 1984. [Image no. 84-9185-4A or 84-9185.04A]