Leopold Chartwell, President and CEO of HUD-TV
Q: Who are you?
A: My name is Leopold Chartwell and I am president and CEO of HUD-TV.
Q: What is HUD-TV?
A: HUD-TV is a community-based, community-access television station built with the grit, gravel and determination that has made Hudson so great these many years. Besides HUD-TV, the Chartwell family name has brought plenty to this county, for eons! I am a 5th generation Hudsonian, so my opinion matters more than anyone.
In 1933, when my brother Epstein “Eppie” Chartwell had to fill-in the secret tunnels he’d dug beneath Warren Street to aid in the trade of spirits during Prohibition (he hasn’t been seen since, God rest his soul), and in 1967 when the bottom fell out of my sister Bertha’s brothel on Union Street, I said to myself, “Leopold… you’ve got to carry the family name.” So I built a television station!
The original HUD-TV broadcast studio began in 1934 in the basement of the glue factory on Front Street near the river. Accompanied by the smell of burning horse hair, HUD-TV broadcast live shows like the popular children’s dance show competition Jitterbug Scrimmage, and women’s programming like The Whale Oil Beauty Hour.
In 1967 our studio moved to the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse, we didn’t realize how cramped it was before we signed the lease, (it looked so much bigger from the shore), but taking a kayak to work every morning was memorable, as well as creating HUD-TV 1970s programming like the now classic Star Wars Winter Solstice Variety Hour, and General Electric Presents the Polychlorinated Biphenyls Chemical Spill Synchronized Swimming Competition.
But now HUD-TV is proudly moving to Green Street Studio at 46 Green Street, right next to Hudson’s dirty little secret… the liquor store!
Q: Is it a real TV station?
A: Wrap some tin-foil on your antenna and adjust it just right to get reception clearly. During thunderstorms the reception is terrific! It has something to do with the broadcast antenna we use on top of Hunter Mountain.
Q: Should the City of Hudson have its own Public Access TV station?
A: It has! HUD-TV! Started in 1934. I just told you!
Q: What types of programming would you like to see?
A: Hudson, NY community-based television with popular appeal. Things the entire county will want to tune into, rather than the “high art” you see in some of Hudson, which is too obscure and exclusive.
Q: How many programs is HUD-TV producing?
A: So far we have local talent showcases like Trapdoor To Stardom, local restaurant, cooking and business review shows like Just the Tip, Can Will Cook?, Shoplifter, and Art Gallery Bathroom Critique, and local political and infrastructure shows like Pressure Cooker and Infrastructure Narc, all locally based and hosted by the residents of our great city, Hudson, New York!
