Past Speakers – Town Hall South

In its 53rd season, Town Hall South is dedicated to bringing nationally and internationally acclaimed lecturers to the South Hills of Pittsburgh. Over the years, Town Hall South has hosted over 255 famous and notable speakers who have provided stimulating, intellectual entertainment including authors Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jon Meacham, David McCullough, and Mitch Albom, journalists Mike Wallace, Leslie Stahl and Wolf Blitzer, entertainers Beverly Sills, Judy Collins, and Marlee Matlin, television personalities Jane Pauley and Jack Hanna, chefs Anthony Bourdain and Jacques Pepin, civil rights activist Maya Angelou, coaching legend Lou Holtz, changemakers Wes Moore and Bill Strickland, and renowned scientists David Eagleman and Dr. Isaac Asimov, to name a few. Town Hall South’s current 2022-2023 season includes John King, Kevin Surace, Leon Logothetis, Richard Stengel, and Alton Fitzgerald White. Our forthcoming 2023-2024 slate includes award-winning actor, author, and producer Henry Winkler, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario, James Beard Award recipient and culinary icon Ruth Reichl, NASA Lead Engineer Kobie Boykins, and best-selling author, distinguished professor, and CNN Presidential Historian Douglas Brinkley.3

1969 - 1970 Sydney Harris Betty Furness Rod MacLeish Vincent Price William Pollard	1970 - 1971 John Ciardi Mike Wallace Julia M. Walsh Alex Haley Art Buchwald	1971 - 1972 Kitty Carlisle Hart Dan Tyler Moore William Rusher David Brinkley Robert Goralski
1972 - 1973 Hugh Downs Maya Angelou Tom Wicker Dr. Thomas Bennet Hans Suyin	1973 - 1974 Olivia DeHavilland Edwin Reischauer Robert Cromie Eliot Janeway Bernard Kalb	1974 - 1975 Charles Kuralt Elliot Richardson Margaret Mead Cleveland Amory Hugh Sidey
1975 - 1976 Erma Bombeck David Frost Tom Wolfe LaDonna Harris Edward P. Morgan	1976 - 1977 William Colby Jill Ruckelshaus Dr. Sam Hayakawa Rosamond Bernier David Halberstam	1977 - 1978 Art Buchwald Dr. Isaac Asimov Helen Thomas Joseph Sorrentino Louis Rukeyser
1978 - 1979 George Will John Lindsay Jacqueline Wexler Barbara Howard Ashley Montague	1979 - 1980 Phil Donahue Letitia Baldridge Nancy Dickerson Frank Cappiello Ellen Goodman	1980 - 1981 William Buckley Doris Kearns Goodwin Thomas Hoving Jack Anderson Dan Cordtz
1981 - 1982 F. Lee Bailey William Sullivan Russel Baker Mark Russell Gene Pell	1982 - 1983 Heywood Hale Broun Washington Week in Review Dr. Joseph MacInnis Robert White Marshall Loeb	1983 - 1984 Douglas Edwards John Berry Rex Reed Ralph Earle Patricia Neal
1984 - 1985 Winston Churchill II James J. Kilpatrick Charles Osgood Jane Brody Patricia Aburdene	1985 - 1986 David Susskind Prof. Arthur Miller Roger Ailes Col. John Cottell Charlayne Hunter-Gault	1986 - 1987 Beverly Sills Tom Logsdon Jerry Parr Judith Viorst Dr. Robert Coles
1987 - 1988 David Eisenhower Robert Stovall Calvin Trillin Fred Graham Ralph Nader	1988 - 1989 Art Linkletter Countess Romanones Peter Jennings David Gergen Julie Nixon Eisenhower	1989 - 1990 Stansfield Turner William Proxmire B. Gentry Lee Ernest Boyer Lloyd Dobyns
1990 - 1991 Jayne Meadows Dale Van Atta Frank Cappiello Bernie Siegel Cousteau Society	1991 - 1992 Thomas P. O’Neill Boris Notkin “Lucky” Roosevelt Gerald Posner Sheila Kast	1992 - 1993 Mark Shields Hedrick Smith Marlene Barasch Susan Bondy Warren Rudman
1993 - 1994 Leslie Stahl Ed Rollins Star Jones Orville Schell Dr. Bob Arnot	1994 - 1995 Pierre Salinger Leon Lederman Linda Chavez Sheri Poe Marlin Fitzwater	1995 - 1996 Mary Higgins Clark James Lovell Elliot Engel Stuart Varney Steve Roberts
1996 - 1997 Linda Werthheimer Stephen Carter Henry Haller Elliot Engel David McCullough	1997 - 1998 Michael York Susan Eisenhower Rudy Maxa Laura Pederson Gloria Borger	1998 - 1999 Doris Kearns Goodwin James Reston, Jr. Elliot Engel Steve Roberts Aileen Bridgewater
1999 - 2000 Frank McCourt Claire Shipman Steve Stark Jan Schlictman Alan Murray	2000 - 2001 Anna Quindlen Paul Gigot Donna Woolfolk Cross Malcolm Gladwell Joel Siegel	2001 - 2002 Jeff Greenfield Fareed Zakaria Dr. John Hasse Holly Atkinson Michael Beschloss
2002 - 2003 David Halberstam Ken Auletta Frank Deford Robert Young Pelton Ronan Tynan	2003 - 2004 Ann Compton Dr. Harm deBlij Dr. Will Miller Bruce Feiler Judith Miller	2004 - 2005 David Baldacci Joe Klein Peter Greenberg Judy Collins Steve Coll
2005 - 2006 Wolf Blitzer Gail Collins Sam Abel David Lampton Jon Meachem	2006 - 2007 Tori Clark Maj. Gen. Perry Smith Regina Barreca Roland Fryer James Bradley	2007 - 2008 Alexander McCall Smith Lisa Ling Anthony Bourdain Robin Wright Juan Williams
2008 - 2009 Brian Greene Martha Raddatz Anna Deavere Smith David Sanger Jeannette Walls	2009 - 2010 Greg Mortenson Todd Buchholz Dan Buettner Thomas Kostigen Christopher Buckley	2010 - 2011 Nick Clooney T. R. Reid Rick Steves Robin Wright Steve Kroft
2011 - 2012 Jeffrey Toobin Dr. Alan J. Russell John Hofmeister Amy Dickinson Scott Simon	2012 - 2013 Jane Pauley Spencer Wells Lee Woodruff Marin Alsop Reza Aslan	2013 - 2014 Frank Abagnale Eric Greitens Zanny Minton-Beddoes Dr. Gary Small Wes Moore
2014 - 2015 Robert M. Edsel Evan Osnos John Miller David Pogue Jacques Pépin and daughter Claudine	2015 - 2016 Dr. Eben Alexander Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter Peter Greenberg Bill Strickland Jack Hanna	2016 - 2017 Mitch Albom Rikki Klieman Tom Szaky Suki Kim Dr. David Agus
2017 - 2018 Marlee Matlin Michael Sandel Tom Gjelten Theresa Payton Fabien Cousteau	2018 - 2019 Jon Meacham Adam Steltzner Francine Segan Lara Logan David Eagleman	2019 - 2020 Lou Holtz Beth Macy Alan Zweibel Vijay Gupta Lynsey Addario***
2020 - 2021 and 2021 - 2022 ***	May 10, 2022 Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret.)	2022 - 2023 John King Kevin Surace Leon Logothetis Richard Stengel Alton Fitzgerald White
2023 - 2024 Lynsey Addario Ruth Reichl Kobie Boykins Douglas Brinkley Henry Winkler

***The final speaker of the 2019-2020 season was cancelled and the 2020-2021 season was postponed for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Return to top.