Sebak Biography

Rick Sebak, a native of Bethel Park, PA, has worked for WQED Pittsburgh since the summer of 1987.

His national PBS specials include A Hot Dog Program (1999), a show focusing on America's best hot dogs; Great Old Amusement Parks (1999), whose title speaks for itself; An Ice Cream Show (1996), full of the history and allure of America's favorite dessert; and Shore Things (1996), a day at the beach, with all the tacky, fun and delicious reasons people go there.

In 1990, Rick put together a special titled Things That Aren't There Anymore about beloved places and pieces of Pittsburgh that have been torn down, done away with, or replaced. Winner of a 1991 regional Emmy for Best Cultural Program, Things looks at things like streetcars, Forbes Field, and the old Allegheny County Fair, and West View Park. His concept has been imitated by several other PBS Stations, including WHYY in Philadelphia.

Also in 1990, Rick converted one of his local specials into a national program for PBS: Our Neighbor Fred Rogers. A documentary about the life and work of Mister Rogers, narrated by David Hartman, this program won a 1991 CINE Golden Eagle.

Before coming to WQED Pittsburgh, Rick worked for 11 years at the South Carolina Educational Television Network in Columbia, S.C. His work there included the award-winning documentaries Shag, about the official state dance of South Carolina and The Slightly Wacky Aussie Coco, a travelogue about Austrailia.

Rick is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He's a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and went to high school at Bethel Park Senior High.

The programs mentioned here as well as many of Rick's programs are available on home video as part of WQED's Pittsburgh Home Video Collection.