William Dunlap, Ralph Eubanks and Sam Haskel III are not quite self-help gurus, but they will be offering life lessons and advice at Mississippi State University on Monday, March 25, as men from small Mississippi towns who made lives doing what they love. Coming together in the Robert and Freda Harrison Auditorium in Giles Hall, the trio will be presenting “A Life in the Arts,” a series of presentations and panel discussions on making a life of integrity in the arts, whether in television, writing and publishing or visual arts.
Dunlap, MSU’s first artist-in-residence has been a visual artist for over four decades with work in collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. As the event’s catalyst, he invited Eubanks and Haskell, both friends of his, to share their stories and professional advice. Dunlap said Monday’s presentation is the pinnacle of his offerings to students this semester.
“This is the culmination of my artist-in-residency,” he said.
As a graduate of Mississippi College and the University of Mississippi, Dunlap said the transition from academia to a professional career was a subject on which he was never given clear answers.
“I always wanted to do this. I always knew what I wanted to do, but I just didn’t know how to go about doing it,” he said. “How do you transfer your academic experience into real life experience?”
As two men who moved from Mississippi to pursue the arts on full throttle, Dunlap said Eubanks and Haskell are examples of sticking with a goal and making it happen.
“Haskell had a dream from childhood to work in TV, and Eubanks was the same way, interested in writing and publishing. Now he’s got a seat on the front row in the Library of Congress,” he said.
Haskell, at one time Worldwide Head of Television at the William Morris Agency in Los Angeles, said he was a walking TV schedule as a kid growing up in Mississippi.
“I used to walk around the streets of Amory with a TV Guide in hand and tell people what was on. I dreamed of going to Hollywood from the time I knew there was a Hollywood,” he said.
Having had his hand in shows such as “The Cosby Show,” “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” during his career, Haskell said he began at the bottom rung of the business in the mailroom and climbed the ranks to the board room.
Far from techniques or strategies for success, Haskell said he attributes his career in the arts to simply focusing his attention on the way he treated those who crossed his path.
“People ask, ‘What does it take to be a good actor, singer, television executive?’ and I believe that first you have to be a good person. Then talent and ability to deal with people comes secondary,” he said.
Eubanks, director of publishing at the Library of Congress, has written two books and numerous articles of creative nonfiction on race, civil rights and literature in the South. Also as one who worked his way through the ranks, Eubanks said a job in editing has always allowed him to help others tell their stories.
“One wonderful thing about editing is helping someone turn an idea into a book. Someone comes to you with one paragraph and then you talk with them about an entire narrative work,” he said. “I edit, I write, but at the end of the day, I’m a storyteller. That’s the role of the editor.”
Eubanks said reading has been a major influence in his life of dealing with written word from the time he was a kid.
“I would say from a very early age I was encouraged to read broadly and read deeply. It was reading that changed my life. I think it’s reading that made me a writer,” he said.
The presentation is Monday, March 25 at 4:30 p.m. in the Roberta and Freda Harrison Auditorium of Giles Hall.