Houston’s Own Ernie Manouse Moderates Panel at United Nations, and Receives Lifetime Achievement Award Back Home

As Town Square with Ernie Manouse Wraps, Manouse Takes the Stage with Kristin Chenoweth and Rita Moreno this Fall, Cary Elwes this Spring

Eleven-time Emmy Award winner Ernie Manouse, witnessed a double-header of accolades  as he moderated a panel at the United Nations on democracy and the current state of U.S./Pakistan relations and received the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Gulf Coast Film and Video Festival the following week. 

He has also racked up additional TV and radio accomplishments, recently concluding his highly successful daily radio show Town Square with Ernie Manouse on Houston Public Media/NPR, as well as producing and hosting one of PBS’ highest-earning new national fundraising specials The Great American  After Show.

Most recently, he conducted an onstage interview with legendary performer Kristin Chenoweth (Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation) and will be at upcoming events with Rita Moreno (Miller Outdoor Theatre’s 100th anniversary gala) this fall and The Princess Bride’s Cary Elwes (Performing Arts Houston) this spring.

In a career spanning nearly 40 years, Manouse has been known for his impactful storytelling, giving voice to everyday people and headliners alike.  His work has helped educate, inform, and entertain millions.  But perhaps nothing has had more direct, lifesaving impact than his radio show, Town Square with Ernie Manouse, launched at the start of the COVID pandemic.  The number of lives saved by the issues Manouse discussed with medical experts on the program may never be fully counted. 

A native of Binghamton, NY, and a graduate of Loyola University Chicago, Manouse started his broadcasting career split between television (with NBC News) and radio (working for iconic Chicago radio station WLS-AM).  In 1996, Ernie moved to Houston, joining Houston Public Media (then PBS/Channel 8) as an anchor and producer. 

Like many Houston transplants, he expected to stay a couple years but fell in love with the city, and the feeling has been mutual: in addition to his Emmy Awards, Manouse has garnered five KATIE Awards, a Houston Press Club Lone Star Award, and “Viewer’s Choice” recognition from multiple local and regional publications, including the title of “Ultimate Interviewer” from the Houston Chronicle and a remarkable 20 years as Outsmart Magazine’s readers choice for “Favorite TV Guy.”

Ernie’s many projects have included the Emmy-nominated and nationally-broadcast interview series InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse, which ran for 15 seasons, and his nationally-syndicated and widely successful Downton Abbey-inspired talk show Manor of Speaking, which prompted Emmy Magazine to acknowledge him as one of the founders of the now-popular “after-show” TV format.

Manouse has also produced award-winning specials and documentaries such as A Mother’s Account: The Stella Byrd Interview; A Murder in Montrose; Houston in Black and White; Getting Here: Journeys from Vietnam, and the annual Houston Public Media Spelling Bee.  Recognized as a skillful moderator, Ernie has hosted over 30 televised debates for City Council, Mayoral, and U.S. Senate candidates.

Ernie’s commitment to public media extends beyond creating compelling programming.  As a PBS/NPR spokesperson, he has been instrumental in raising millions of dollars for Houston Public Media, and his on-air talent has helped PBS affiliates across the country raise over $100 million to support educational outreach, broadcasting, and programming needs.  Additionally, Manouse can be seen nationally as co-host to finance expert Suze Orman on her numerous TV specials, the most successful series of fundraising shows in PBS history.

Outside of media, Manouse dedicates his time and expertise to support the arts, education, and equality, serving on numerous boards, including terms as vice president for Stages Repertory Theatre, Dominic Walsh Dance Theater, USO of Greater Houston, and PRIDE Houston.  He is also a popular host, master of ceremonies, and auctioneer, working with events as diverse as the JCC Jewish Book & Arts Festival, the U.S. Military Ball, and the World AIDS Day Luncheon. For the last decade, Ernie has toured the country interviewing Al Pacino for the live stage show PACINO: One Night Only.

“The power of the medium to influence people’s lives is enormous…journalists are given a responsibility to use this power wisely and humbly−and it’s not a responsibility to take lightly,” says Manouse.  “I am honored to have the freedom and ability to talk to so many audiences, to witness their journeys, and I hope that their experience with me over these years has been a positive one.”

Career Highlights:

·       Being granted Paul Monette’s final interview before the author passed away from AIDS in 1995.

·       Invited to conduct the only sit-down interview with Stella Byrd, mother of James Byrd, Jr., selected over Oprah Winfrey and Ted Koppel.

·       Presenting PBS’ first live national membership event with Suze Orman.

·       Moderating the live national NPR coverage of George Floyd’s Houston funeral.

·       Interviewing live onstage Julie Andrews, Margaret Atwood, John Cusack, Stan Lee, Al Pacino, Dan Rather, Robert Redford, Condoleezza Rice, and William Shatner, among others.

·       Interviewing hundreds of newsmakers for radio or TV, including entertainers Alan Alda, Ed Asner, Zach Braff, LeVar Burton, Dixie Carter, Chubby Checker, Carrie Fisher, Jamie Foxx, Gloria Gaynor, Philip Glass, Isaac Hayes, Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Terrance McNally, Roger Moore, Isabella Rosselinni, John Turturro,and Gene Wilder;authors Judy Blume, Augusten Burroughs, John Grisham,and Anne Rice,political figures President George H.W. Bush, Helen Prejean, Sonia Sotomayor,and Gloria Steinem;and journalists Sam Donaldson, Arianna Huffington, Jim Lehrer, and Helen Thomas,as well as beloved Texans such as Yolanda Adams, Lauren Anderson, Bun B, Christine Hà, Molly Ivins, JoAnne King Herring, Lyle Lovett, Tommy Tune, and Lynn Wyatt.

·       Being directed by Wes Anderson, photographed by Greg Gorman, and featured as a character (Ernie, the Stable Boy) in a Barbara Taylor Bradford book.

Photos courtesy of Ernie Manouse