Playlist: Jonathan Thomas Stratman's Portfolio
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Jonathan Stratman is a 28-year, commercial writer and video producer/editor. He is experienced and adept as producer, director, video camera operator and Final Cut Studio digital video editor. He is also an experienced song and jingle writer, producer and Pro Tools editor.
In addition to co-managing Reel Life Productions with wife and partner, Billie Judy, Stratman has produced Federally-funded USAID and other projects in Africa and the Mid-East.
His career began with 10 years as a classroom teacher (grades 7, 8 & 9, English, reading, creative writing, journalism). As a writer of short fiction for children, his work has appeared in magazines including CRICKET, and been widely reprinted in elementary reading texts, including translations.
As a professional creative writer/producer and creative director, his accounts and projects include: Eddie Bauer, McDonald’s Restaurants, Schucks Auto Supply, Bank of America, Starbucks and Holland America/Westours.
Independent production clients/projects include: FEMA and Department of Homeland Security. Independent scripting clients/projects include: Principles of Privacy (U.S. Postal Service), and History of the G.I. Bill (Veteran’s Administration).
Stratman is a 48-year, un-repentant guitar player who needs just one more guitar to be perfectly happy.
Roger Arthur Peterson (Buddy Holly Pilot), February 3, 1959
From Jonathan Thomas Stratman | Part of the Who Died Today series | 03:00
The Buddy Holly pilot. Everybody knows how Roger Peterson died, but almost nobody knows who he was.
The Buddy Holly pilot. Everybody knows how Roger Peterson died, but almost nobody knows who he was.
George Raymond Wagner, December 26, 1963
From Jonathan Thomas Stratman | Part of the Who Died Today series | 03:00
The Greeks may have invented wrestling, but it took one man ... Gorgeous George ... to really put the shine on it.
The Greeks may have invented wrestling, but it took one man ... Gorgeous George ... to really put the shine on it.
Jack Norworth, September 1, 1959
From Jonathan Thomas Stratman | Part of the Who Died Today series | 03:00
You may not know his name, but chances are good you could sing, hum or whistle one of his tunes.
- Playing
- Jack Norworth, September 1, 1959
- From
- Jonathan Thomas Stratman
You may not know his name, but chances are good you could sing, hum or whistle one of his tunes.
Amy Beach, December 27, 1944
From Jonathan Thomas Stratman | Part of the Who Died Today series | 03:00
So ... who was Amy Beach? Simply one of the greatest American composers many of us have never heard.
- Playing
- Amy Beach, December 27, 1944
- From
- Jonathan Thomas Stratman
So ... who was Amy Beach? Simply one of the greatest American composers many of us have never heard.
Nguyen Sinh Cung, September 3, 1969
From Jonathan Thomas Stratman | Part of the Who Died Today series | 03:00
When he finally went home to Viet Nam, he began using a name from an I.D. card he had purchased: Ho Chi Minh ... which means "bringer of light." And he joined his Viet Minh fighters to the American cause as allies.
When he finally went home to Viet Nam, he began using a name from an I.D. card he had purchased: Ho Chi Minh ... which means "bringer of light." And he joined his Viet Minh fighters to the American cause as allies.
The Amazing True Story of Paul Revere
From Jonathan Thomas Stratman | 10:14
On the 240th anniversary of Paul Revere's famous ride, re-visiting the Longfellow poem. What did Longfellow get right or wrong? Who rode that night and why? Did the British General's wife tip off the High Sons of Liberty Committee––and why? And what is the direct link from the night America was born to a #1 pop hit from the early 1950s?
On the 240th anniversary of Paul Revere's famous ride, re-visiting the Longfellow poem. What did Longfellow get right or wrong? Who rode that night and why? Did the British General's wife tip off the High Sons of Liberty Committee––and why? And what is the direct link from the night America was born to a #1 pop hit from the early 1950s?
Corrie Ten Boom, April 15, 1983
From Jonathan Thomas Stratman | Part of the Who Died Today series | 03:00
The Ten Boom family hides Jews and members of Dutch resistance from the Nazis in a secret room. Raided by the Gestapo, Corrie, her sister and their father are imprisoned. Corrie survives, only to face one of her prison captors after the war. Can she forgive him?
- Playing
- Corrie Ten Boom, April 15, 1983
- From
- Jonathan Thomas Stratman
The Ten Boom family hides Jews and members of Dutch resistance from the Nazis in a secret room. Raided by the Gestapo, Corrie, her sister and their father are imprisoned. Corrie survives, only to face one of her prison captors after the war. Can she forgive him?
Martha Washington (Last Passenger Pigeon), September 1, 1914
From Jonathan Thomas Stratman | Part of the Who Died Today series | 03:00
Not THAT Martha Washington, but a 29-year-old Passenger Pigeon who spent her entire life in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo. Of billions of birds from just a decade before, she was the very last one.
Not THAT Martha Washington, but a 29-year-old Passenger Pigeon who spent her entire life in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo. Of billions of birds from just a decade before, she was the very last one.
Frank T. Hopkins (Hidalgo), November 11, 1951
From Jonathan Thomas Stratman | Part of the Who Died Today series | 03:00
His father was the only one of Custer's men to survive at Little Big Horn and his mother was the daughter of a Sioux chief. Viggo Mortensen played Hopkins in the 2004 Touchstone movie release. But here's what was really fantastic about Frank T. Hopkins ... (Also available in a non-date-specific version).
His father was the only one of Custer's men to survive at Little Big Horn and his mother was the daughter of a Sioux chief. Viggo Mortensen played Hopkins in the 2004 Touchstone movie release. But here's what was really fantastic about Frank T. Hopkins ... (Also available in a non-date-specific version).
Jack Dunn (Discovered Babe Ruth), October 22, 1928
From Jonathan Thomas Stratman | Part of the Who Died Today series | 03:00
His was a life that nearly didn't happen. He fell under a boxcar, his left arm mangled as a child, yet went on to own and manage one of the greatest minor league teams ever. But what he's REALLY known for is the stuff of legend and changed the game forever.
His was a life that nearly didn't happen. He fell under a boxcar, his left arm mangled as a child, yet went on to own and manage one of the greatest minor league teams ever. But what he's REALLY known for is the stuff of legend and changed the game forever.
Django Reinhardt (Gypsy Jazz Guitarist), May 16, 1953
From Jonathan Thomas Stratman | Part of the Who Died Today series | 03:00
A Gypsy, he never lived in a house or wore a suit until age twenty. At age 18, a late-night caravan fire left him with only two, useful fingers on his fretting hand. And yet somehow, he went on to be one of the world's great guitar players ... much admired, much copied ... his recorded music still purchased and downloaded nearly sixty years after his death and nearly eighty years after it was recorded. The strange truth about the man we knew as "Django," just 43 when he died.
A Gypsy, he never lived in a house or wore a suit until age twenty. At age 18, a late-night caravan fire left him with only two, useful fingers on his fretting hand. And yet somehow, he went on to be one of the world's great guitar players ... much admired, much copied ... his recorded music still purchased and downloaded nearly sixty years after his death and nearly eighty years after it was recorded. The strange truth about the man we knew as "Django," just 43 when he died.
Arthur "Dooley" Wilson (Casablanca), May 30, 1953
From Jonathan Thomas Stratman | Part of the Who Died Today series | 03:00
Although he appeared on stage and in more than 20 motion pictures, Dooley Wilson won immortality for his role as "Sam" in the 1942 film Casablanca. It's worth mentioning that Wilson almost didn't get the part.
Although he appeared on stage and in more than 20 motion pictures, Dooley Wilson won immortality for his role as "Sam" in the 1942 film Casablanca. It's worth mentioning that Wilson almost didn't get the part.
Simeon Taylor Webb (Casey Jones' Fireman), July 13, 1957
From Jonathan Thomas Stratman | Part of the Who Died Today series | 03:00
Who was Sim Webb? Well, fifty-seven years earlier, April of 1900, he was the man who lived. It happened like this ...
Who was Sim Webb? Well, fifty-seven years earlier, April of 1900, he was the man who lived. It happened like this ...
Robert Leo Sheppard (Voice of Yankee Stadium) July 11, 2010
From Jonathan Thomas Stratman | Part of the Who Died Today series | 03:00
For more than fifty years ... an unbroken streak of more than 4500 games, Bob Sheppard was the voice of Yankee Stadium. As Reggie Jackson said, "the voice of God."
For more than fifty years ... an unbroken streak of more than 4500 games, Bob Sheppard was the voice of Yankee Stadium. As Reggie Jackson said, "the voice of God."
Henry Nicholas Gunther, November 11, 1918
From Jonathan Thomas Stratman | Part of the Who Died Today series | 03:00
Officially the last American to be killed in World War I. In a cruel twist of fate, Henry Gunther "cheated life" by dying needlessly on a field in France, in that war's final seconds. (Also available in a non-date-specific version)
Officially the last American to be killed in World War I. In a cruel twist of fate, Henry Gunther "cheated life" by dying needlessly on a field in France, in that war's final seconds. (Also available in a non-date-specific version)
Walter Harper, October 25, 1918
From Jonathan Thomas Stratman | Part of the Who Died Today series | 03:00
His too-short life story reads like adventure fiction.
- Playing
- Walter Harper, October 25, 1918
- From
- Jonathan Thomas Stratman
His too-short life story reads like adventure fiction.
Stephane Grappelli, December 1, 1997
From Jonathan Thomas Stratman | Part of the Who Died Today series | 06:00
He was one of the pioneers of jazz on the violin. Though largely self taught, his career lasted some 77 years, and he recorded hundred of albums. playing with the "best of the best." This six-minute overview is also available in a non-date specific version.
He was one of the pioneers of jazz on the violin. Though largely self taught, his career lasted some 77 years, and he recorded hundred of albums. playing with the "best of the best." This six-minute overview is also available in a non-date specific version.
Shuffle, a meditation on life, weather and work ... or the lack of it.
From Jonathan Thomas Stratman | 03:39
Here's an excerpt from an essay by Springfield, Oregon writer Lawrence Elliott. Out of work and afoot in the scruffy neighborhood he calls home, follow along as Elliott practices 'Doc Martin' and iPod therapy during his downtimes to help keep himself sane.
Here's an excerpt from an essay by Springfield, Oregon writer Lawrence Elliott. Out of work and afoot in the scruffy neighborhood he calls home, follow along as Elliott practices 'Doc Martin' and iPod therapy during his downtimes to help keep himself sane.
The Amazing True Story of Paul Revere
From Jonathan Thomas Stratman | 10:14
On the 240th anniversary of Paul Revere's famous ride, re-visiting the Longfellow poem. What did Longfellow get right or wrong? Who rode that night and why? Did the British General's wife tip off the High Sons of Liberty Committee––and why? And what is the direct link from the night America was born to a #1 pop hit from the early 1950s?
On the 240th anniversary of Paul Revere's famous ride, re-visiting the Longfellow poem. What did Longfellow get right or wrong? Who rode that night and why? Did the British General's wife tip off the High Sons of Liberty Committee––and why? And what is the direct link from the night America was born to a #1 pop hit from the early 1950s?
George Fletcher at the 1911 Pendleton Roundup
From Jonathan Thomas Stratman | Part of the Who Died Today series | 02:49
The true story of American Black cowboy, George Fletcher and Indian cowboy, Jackson Sundown, at the 1911 Pendleton Roundup.
It wasn't a matter of the "the best man winning," at the world-famous Pendleton Roundup, 1911. When Judges awarded the grand prize to European American, Jon Spain ... believed to have disqualified himself by accidently touching his saddle when his horse bolted, the crowd flipped out. They shouted and began to dismantle the grandstands in favor of American Black cowboy, George Fletcher, believed to have been the clear winner. What happened next was more than a little startling in the Jim Crow west of those early days.