If you’ve watched Public Television in California at all in the last 25 years, you know about Huell Howser. Mostly famous for his show California’s Gold, Huell is the most enthusiastic TV personality you’re ever likely to see. In fact, this infoMania story calls him The Happiest Man on TV. He travels all over the state and brings back stories about interesting people and places in his down-home “Aw shucks, this is AMAZING!” style.
You could plan a whole California vacation based on his shows: he’s been to just about every attraction/place of interest in the state—and then some. His name gets mentioned a lot when I’m out on the road. Just last week I was on a tour of a gold mine and someone said, “Has Huell Howser been up here? He needs to do a story on this place!”
Huell has even made it into the Simpson’s pantheon of characters, as Howell Huser. I suspect that his over the top enthusiasm might be off-putting to some, but he has tons of fans. I was in Palm Springs one time and saw him riding a moped on the main drag and people were lining up to say hello and shake his hand. I’m sure other states have road-tripping TV hosts, but Huell is one of a kind, and California is lucky to have him as a cheerleader/reporter.
Non-Californians can check out some of his stuff on Howser’s official youtube page.