Smyser and 'Conversation' were pioneers in television

By A.J. McWhorter

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, May 13, 2012

~~<p>Sunday mornings for more than 20 years, the late Betty Smyser interviewed notable island guests, politicians and national celebrities on her "Conversation" talk show. This month we look back at Smyser and her talk show — the longest-running show of its kind in local television.</p>
<p>Smyser was born Elizabeth Harrison Avery in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1921. Her father was a U.S. naval commander, and as a child she lived in Panama, Hong Kong and the Philippines and visited Hawaii. She married A.A. "Bud" Smyser in New York City on Christmas Day 1943 and moved to Hawaii in January 1946 when her husband began his 55-year career as reporter and editor with the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.</p>
~~

Sunday mornings for more than 20 years, the late Betty Smyser interviewed notable island guests, politicians and national celebrities on her "Conversation" talk show. This month we look back at Smyser and her talk show — the longest-running show of its kind in local television.

Smyser was born Elizabeth Harrison Avery in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1921. Her father was a U.S. naval commander, and as a child she lived in Panama, Hong Kong and the Philippines and visited Hawaii. She married A.A. "Bud" Smyser in New York City on Christmas Day 1943 and moved to Hawaii in January 1946 when her husband began his 55-year career as reporter and editor with the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Login for more...