Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story

After three decades as the colorful bandleader to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, master trumpeter Doc Severinsen defies nature with a relentless schedule of touring and performing into his nineties. A musical icon traces his groundbreaking career and personal trials underscoring a life of inspiration and obsession.

In 2018, at the age of 90, Doc Severinsen is still going strong as he leaves home and sets off on a performance tour. At the gym, Doc demonstrates his grueling work-out routine while his trainer calls him "a freak of nature". He shares childhood memories of growing up in a small town in Oregon, and also looks back on his early marriages, including struggles with alcoholism, and his determination to find stability for his children. The film follows Doc around the country through joyful live performances as he nostalgically retraces the steps of his career from his big band beginnings to The Tonight Show.

As Doc joins The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, he becomes beloved by millions of American households nightly. Through archival clips and contemporary interviews, we relive thirty years of music, comedy, and friendship of America's favorite talk show.

When Johnny Carson retires from The Tonight Show in 1992, Doc moves to Mexico. However, not ready to give up performing, he continues touring nonstop, even forming a new band, The San Miguel Five. Surrounded by family and doing what makes him happy, bringing joy to audiences, Doc is savoring every moment.

FEATURING:

Questlove, Musician
Arturo Sandoval, Trumpeter
Chris Botti, Trumpeter
Ernie Watts, Saxophonist
David Steinberg, Comedian
Martin Mull, Actor
Bob Saget, Comedian

SPEAKERS AVAILABLE

Doc Severinsen can still blow hard with his horn and hit the high notes, a result of his continued commitment to the practice studio and the refinement of his craft. A Grammy award winner, Doc as made more than 30 albums, from big band to jazz-fusion to classical. Doc regularly tours in a quintet called The San Miguel Five, performing a mix of Latin and jazz standards. In addition to his San Miguel Five appearances, Doc tours regularly with his own Big Band and continues to perform with symphony orchestras all over the country. In the end, Doc Severinsen has transcended his celebrity and rejoiced in his remarkable ability to simply play his trumpet as well as he can.

For its entire ten-year run, Kevin S. Bright was Executive Producer behind the Emmy Award winning television series "Friends" and directed over 50 episodes of the show including all 10 season finales. Bright's other producing credits include the "In Living Color" pilot and HBO's "Dream On". Bright was co-director of the short documentary Who Ordered Tax? (Audience Award, Nantucket Film Festival, Boston Film Festival) and Executive Producer of the award-winning SXSW feature documentaries Best and Most Beautiful Things and On These Grounds. Bright recently directed a documentary on the Korean dog meat trade, Nureongi.

FILMMAKERS' STATEMENTS: "For 30 years, every night Monday through Friday, The Tonight Show glowed from our family TV set. While Johnny was the star, I watched the show for Doc, his musicianship, the cool outfits, the sharp wit, he was the man. Thirty years after The Tonight Show ended, I find Doc Severinsen at the age of 90, still looking cool and still playing the trumpet. I simply had to share my love of this inspiring man with his millions of fans."

— Kevin S. Bright

"Sharing Doc's awe-inspiring story is an honor. Doc should be known by all, he is a national treasure."

— Jeff Consiglio

Preview link available upon request. Contact support@videoproject for more information

Documentary Film - Video Project - Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story

A Film by Kevin Bright and Jeff Consiglio

85 minutes

Scene Selection • Closed Captioned

Grades 8 - Adult

Item #: NTL-2001

Traces the career of Doc Severinsen, the bandleader of The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, who still tours into his nineties

Starting at $89

Licensing Options

K-12 Classrooms, Public Libraries: DVD - $89 K-12 Classrooms, Public Libraries: DVD + Digital File - $139 Colleges, Businesses, Institutions: DVD - $395 Colleges: DVD with Digital Site License - $495 Community Screenings: Please Complete 'Host a Screening' Form found on top menu bar K-12 School District pricing available. Please inquire at [email protected]

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Reviews and Festivals

"As a document of a major figure in the history of American television and intersections between that medium and music, its value is clear. Visually, the documentary adeptly weaves together recent footage with older archival film, video, and still images. Of course, students of the trumpet may find this documentary attractive, but its strongest academic appeal likely applies to those exploring American television history and its key performers."

— Educational Media Reviews Online

"Explores his work as a musician, on 'The Tonight Show' and off, and dives deeply into his personal life, his marriages and his family's history with alcoholism. If the movie uncovers much that viewers didn't know about him, Severinsen said, 'I found out how much I didn't know, too.'"

— The New York Times

"Toe-tapping documentary by Kevin S. Bright and Jeff Consiglio. Never Too Late traces Severinsen's journey from small town Oregon to New York and The Tonight Show, including the move with Carson to the West Coast. But it's more than a show business documentary. Severinsen opens up about alcoholism in his early life, his relationship with his children and powerhouse workout routine that keeps him fit and thinking young."

— San Francisco Chronicle

"Revealing documentary...intimate, surprising film...[Bright and Consiglio's] cameras reveal a man always in motion, forever striving to hit that impossible high note and never sitting still. Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story combines interviews with Doc's inner circle, terrific music and elated trumpet playing, and hilarious, iconic Tonight Show moments for an inspirational, honest, and illuminating portrait."

— Mill Valley Film Festival

"Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story celebrates a man whose passion for music remains evergreen and considers the demands of a life devoted to performance."

— Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

"The film is a loving and fun tribute to this great performer, one of the greatest trumpeters to ever pick up the horn, who's dedication to his craft is unmatched and who's stamina is relentlessly impressive."

— Milwaukee Magazine

"Never Too Late is a meticulously produced and emotion-grabbing documentary portrait of the musical career and life of trumpeter Doc Severinsen...The film, brilliantly produced and edited, is shot with heavy emphasis on extreme close-ups, and with the pacing of a swinging jazz chart...the Severinsen legacy resonates through his kindness, warmth, inspiration, and dedication to musicians young and not-so. It also does through this superb film."

— All About Jazz

"This documentary is an overdue look at the life and musicianship of the former Tonight Show bandleader and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra pops-meister, putting his ceaseless energy and gaudy sport coats on full display."

— Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Good music with an even better story, Never Too Late trumpets the story of brass master Doc Severinsen, most famous across the globe as the bandleader for The Tonight Show and the great Johnny Carson...And even now at 93 years old, Severinsen still continues his musical journey in this vivid, brass-kicking documentary worth tooting your horn about."

— On Milwaukee

"The perfect documentary to discover"

— Channel Nonfiction

"What one can also see in this film is the amount of pleasure [Doc] got from what he did and the passion with which he did it...they tell his story fluidly and entertainingly...watch this documentary on the life of a gifted musician"

— The Arts Fuse

WINNER

Anchorage International Film Festival, Jury Award, Best Documentary Feature

OFFICIAL SELECTION

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

Cleveland International Film Festival

Dallas International Film Festival

Guanajuato International Film Festival

Nashville Film Festival

Tallgrass Film Festival

Woods Hole Film Festival

Virginia Film Festival

Portland Film Festival

Milwaukee Film Festival

Bend Film Festival

Mill Valley Film Festival

Sound Unseen Film + Music Festival

Boca Grande Film Festival

Anchorage International Film Festival

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