By: Bethany Vonseggern
“Cronkite was a true role model, a beacon of truth and integrity. I am so humbled and honored to have been chosen to portray him.” – Jim Korinke (Walter Cronkite in “Cronkite” trilogy)
Jim Korinke, played Walter Cronkite in Western’s “That’s The Way It Is” trilogy that depicted three separate experiences that Cronkite had in his broadcast journalist career.
Korinke auditioned for the role as Cronkite in 2013 after a colleague brought the opportunity to him. Korinke stated that he never really thought that we would be thought of for such a role, but has been nothing but grateful since the beginning.
“When they called to offer me the role I just leapt at the opportunity to do it. The rest has been the best ride of my 47-year professional career. I have never been associated with anything that I consider this important.”
Raised in a hardworking low-income family in the small town of Nashua, Iowa Korinke graduated in 1964 at the height of the Vietnam war with the hopes of going to college to be a guidance counselor or school teacher. After enlisting in the service where he worked for the National Security Agency where he realized his passion for world relations.
Upon leaving the service Korinke remembers being more determined to be a teacher. He recalls a conversation with his mother telling her that his need to be a teacher was a vocation and he wanted to help people find what they wanted to do instead of entering college just to avoid being drafted. This mindset led Korinke to start teaching psychology and history.
It was during his time as a young teacher where he led his classes as if they were elaborate performances. He’d draw his students into a “show” as characters in history or psychology to teach them the material, which he said was very successful. It was at this stage in his life that someone came up to him and said he should be an actor which led Korinke to participating in some community theater productions.
Korinke humbly explained that he happened to “be seen” by an agent that attended one of his shows and he graciously accepted and move to Los Angeles, California to act. By 1974 he moved to the Kansas City area with an acting company performing at the Kansas City Reparatory Theatre. Moving between L.A. and Kansas City he worked as a voiceover actor for commercials and landed the national voice of the Honda Civic in 1976 and was also the voice of Walmart for four years. His success allowed him to transition to doing more stage productions, including the “Cronkite” show.
Korinke describes his experience working on “Cronkite” as the craziest thing that ever happened to him and has found that he relates to Cronkite on a personal level, sharing some of the same attributes. Being selfless, not feeling pride and having a strong work ethic along with doing things for others are all qualities that he believes he shares with legendary journalist.
This was the first one-man show that Korinke has performed that represented an experience a character had versus who the character was in life. He also mentioned that writer of “Cronkite”, Western’s president Dr. Robert Vartabedian always says that he is channeling Cronkite during the performances.
“Walter is the first one [character] that the more you learn about him the more it goes outward, like a blossoming flower or a piece of fireworks. It just takes over and goes through you,” Korinke said.
Before a performance becoming Cronkite is mostly a physical transformation for Korinke. He spends forty-five minutes coloring his hair, eyebrows and mustache. During his makeup preparation he reminds himself how selfless Cronkite was and how candid, knowledgeable, honest, and helpful he was in his discourse.
Cronkite’s outlook on life and how he reported the news and treated those around him also inspired Korinke to take on this role. Additionally, he dedicates time to run through all three scripts of the trilogy once a day as to not let his hero down.
“I don’t know of anything else I’ve ever seen, certainly that I’ve ever been a part of, that is more important educationally, informatively, intelligently, logically to give us a base for how to conduct ourselves not only as people, as citizens, husbands and wives, and friends and neighbors, but as a nation in relationship to the other nations in the world than this show,” Korinke said. “I think it’s a great start. And the other two shows that accompany just make it even more obvious where we need to go.”