With his first quarter century now enshrined in broadcast history (including induction earlier this year in the North Carolina Broadcasting Hall of Fame), pioneering woodwright Roy Underhill prepares to embark on the 26th season of his deep-rooted series The Woodwright’s Shop With Roy Underhill. Tune in Saturday, October 7, at 4 PM, as Roy again shares his love for American woodcraft through a one-of-a-kind blend of wit and artistry. His eclectic mix of projects features the fantastic and fascinating—including revealing insights into ships in bottles, fresh takes on tables and chairs, wonderful wheels and their barrows, plain talk on planes and joints—even a consideration of Thoreau through grains of wood.

Using only tools of yore, Roy shows that woodworking doesn’t have to be expensive, noisy or dangerous (well, not too dangerous). His insights into the principles of the craft reveal the enduring relationship between tools and material—between the human hand and the creations of culture in “the best how-to program since Julia Child started rattling pots and pans.”

About The Woodwright’s Shop With Roy Underhill
The origin of The Woodwright’s Shop With Roy Underhill dates back to the day when Roy, dressed in the period clothing he wears during the program, dropped by the UNC-TV studios, introduced himself to bemused production executives, and announced his intent to become the Julia Child of woodworking. The pitch worked and with UNC-TV’s help, Roy developed The Woodwright’s Shop for public television.

Initially airing only on UNC-TV beginning in 1979, PBS acquired the show for national distribution in 1980. Since its humble beginnings in North Carolina, The Woodwright’s Shop has taped in more than a dozen states and seven foreign countries with Roy creating one wooden masterpiece after another. A proven pioneer in the field of how-to shows, The Woodwright’s Shop set a foundation for other how-to programs on public and commercial television.

As he has for the first quarter century of The Woodwright’s Shop, Roy continues devoting a significant portion of his series to celebrating North Carolina’s craftspeople and traditions while educating viewers about culture, history and self-sufficiency of their forebears from around the world.

Today Roy still hosts, writes, and co-produces the show he created more than a quarter century ago at UNC-TV. And more than 300 episodes later, The Woodwright’s Shop continues to delight millions of public television viewers in more than 200 markets around the nation. Embarking on its 26th year on PBS this fall, The Woodwright’s Shop remains an anachronism in many ways, not the least of which is as one of the longest running of all PBS “how-to” programs.

About Roy Underhill
Raised in Washington, DC, Roy’s interest in tools began when his older sister introduced him to her Smithsonian career in American artifacts. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Roy put his woodworking skills to the test when he and his wife moved to the northern New Mexico mountains, nearly 17 miles from the nearest electrical line. The forced freedom of living in a remote area, combined with an environmentalist’s interest in technology independent of modern energy sources, firmly established Roy’s love for the highly efficient tools of the past.

Roy returned East a few years later to further develop his woodworking knowledge, studying colonial American technology at Duke University in Durham, NC. Following graduation he continued exploring woodworking and blacksmithing, becoming an expert on time-tested and true woodworking techniques.

While producing The Woodwright’s Shop, Roy spent nearly two decades at Colonial Williamsburg, first as master housewright then as acting as director of interpretive development. In addition to being a master woodworker, Roy launched another successful career as a communications consultant and speaker. Roy uses situations involving major public figures to illustrate how a speaker’s efforts to engage an audience can make or break a presentation. He offers advice on how to make interactions—even with large groups—personal, meaningful, and enjoyable.

Roy also authored scores of articles on early technology, five books in The Woodwright’s Shop series, and several books on early American architectural treasures. In 2000 Roy published a book about public speaking entitled "Khrushchev’s Shoe: And Other Ways to Captivate Audiences From One to One Thousand."

Through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on instruction, Roy shares his woodworking wisdom at events around the country—including home and garden shows, state fairs, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Conner Prairie Country Fair in Indiana, Cabin Fever Reliever Traditional Artists Retreat, State Farm® Classic Homes Fair, Heritage Village Museum in Cincinnati, Rochester Woodworkers Society, and Illinois Valley Woodland Expo. His lectures and workshops, including ones in interactive communication at the University of Indianapolis and music for home schoolers at the Home Education Conference, delight all types of attendees.

Each week Roy’s formidable woodworking skills, love of teaching, and irrepressible charm transform The Woodwright’s Shop into part history lesson and part entertainment show, making it more than just another “how-to” program. By engaging visitors from around the world in living history—and actually giving them the tools to discover the wisdom of their ancestors—Roy instills a passion for history and ingenuity in his devoted fans.

For more information about The Woodwright’s Shop With Roy Underhill, visit The Woodwright’s Shop With Roy Underhill online at www.pbs.org/wws.

The Woodwright’s Shop With Roy Underhill is produced by UNC-TV and made possible through the generous support of State Farm Insurance, now in its 24th year of support. For more information about this show and other UNC-TV programming, visit UNC-TV online at www.unctv.org. UNC-TV’s 11 stations comprise North Carolina’s only statewide television network, made possible through a unique partnership of public investment and private support. UNC-TV is committed to producing and broadcasting programs for and about North Carolina, making it the state’s most important source of information about North Carolina.

—UNC-TV—