"Tuesdays with Bleier" hosts Billie Holiday event

On Tuesday October 18, the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture hosted an event centered around Billie Holiday for students and faculty. Attendees viewed several Holiday performances, with some students even singing along, and an episode of the 1994 TV series “Touched by an Angel”.

Bob Thompson, pop culture extraordinaire and former president of the National Popular Culture Association, founded the Bleier Center in 1997. The center was created with the mission of exploring television and pop culture alike and providing an entertaining learning experience for anyone who is interested.

Students and faculty filled the room on Tuesday to learn about pop culture history, hear from an expert on the subject, and engage in a discussion with their peers. The Bleier Center fills up every week with passionate participants, according to Thompson. The regular crowd of attendees even earned themselves the nickname of “The Bleier Bunch”.

Located at 430 Newhouse 3, the Bleier Center is filled with different pop culture memorabilia, from action figures to posters to tape recordings. Almost every surface is covered with merchandise, proving Thompson’s expertise and passion for pop culture.

The Bleier Center hosts this event weekly at 12:30 p.m., naming them “Tuesdays with Bleier”. Thompson caters the event, providing lunch and drinks for guests, sometimes even giving away free Syracuse Stage tickets to attendees. He then presents an episode or two of the chosen series, jumping in every so often to provide historical facts or information related to the episode. After the screenings, participants engage in a discussion about what they viewed.

For students that are especially interested in pop culture history, Thompson teaches several classes on different topics in entertainment. The Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture continues to be a resource for passionate students and faculty to explore their interests in the industry.