The Pan Am Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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In this episode we explore the life of Kathleen Clair, executive assistant to Pan Am founder and chairman Juan T. Trippe for over 32 years from 1948 to 1980. We will also hear a personal and private memories of Mr. Trippe and Kathleen. 

We are joined by two special guests that knew Kathleen well: Wendy Trippe Barr, the granddaughter of Juan and Betty Trippe and John Luetich, a board member of the Pan Am Museum Foundation, Museum Curator, and the son of Mary Luetich who worked with Kathleen for many years in the Pan Am Building.

Both guests remember Kathleen at an early age and will share their intimate perspectives on this incredible woman. 

After the airline ceased operations in 1991, Kathleen worked tirelessly to preserve Pan Am history and was a founding member of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and worked with Juan Trippe’s sons, Charlie and Ed, to preserve Pan Am’s historic contributions to the history of flight.

Several audio clips from an oral history interview of Kathleen recorded in 2003 are used in this episode. A special thank you to the Pan Am Historical Foundation for allowing us to use these recordings for this program. Another special thank you to our high school intern Michael Genter for his help in organizing the audio clips.

Kathleen Clair was born on December 12, 1918 to her parents Ted and Kit Clair and would later become the devoted older sister of Phyllis and Donald. She graduated from high school in Englewood, NJ, in 1936 and then went on to the prestigious Katherine Gibbs School for women in 1937.

After graduation, she stayed in Manhattan and spent the next 11 years as a secretary at various jobs. One of the many gifts of Kathleen that become invaluable in her career was her photographic memory. She remembered everything to the finest detail with instant recall.

In late 1948, she applied for a job at the corporate offices of Pan Am, then in the iconic Chrysler Building. She was hired and worked for Mr. Trippe for 32 years until her retirement in 1980.

In December of 2018, Kathleen celebrated her 100th birthday with family, friends and many Pan Am colleagues. A little over a month later, Kathleen M. Clair died peacefully on January 26, 2019, after 100 years of engaging life on her own terms.

She is missed by her large extended family, the Trippe family, colleagues from Pan Am and the larger aviation community, and friends from her long and well-lived life.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

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In this episode we explore the life of legendary Hollywood costume designer Edith Head who designed uniforms for Pan American World Airways introduced in 1975 and used until the early 1980s. 

Then we will be joined by actor Susan Claassen who plays the Hollywood legend in her one-woman production called A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD.

In her storied career in Hollywood, Edith Head won a record eight Academy Awards for Best Costume Design between 1949 and 1973, making her the most awarded woman in the Academy's history. She is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential costume designers in film history.

Actor Susan Claassen is celebrating her 49th anniversary with Tucson’s Invisible Theatre. As Managing Artistic Director (now emeritus), she has produced and directed over 500 productions.

She was nominated for the 2011 LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award and BroadwayWorld LA Award as Best Actress for her portrayal of Edith Head in A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD and most recently, nominated for The San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle 43rd Annual Excellence in Theatre Awards for Best Solo Production and Best Production. 

A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD premiered at the Invisible Theatre in 2002 in Tucson, Arizona and has played coast to coast with more than 700 performances. 

The production has toured internationally to the Republic of Georgia; a “Sold Out” engagement at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Toronto and an acclaimed five-week run at the Leicester Square Theatre in London’s West End. 

Susan has also been a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade since 2001. She dedicates her performance to the vibrant memory of her beloved mother, Goldie.

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• Visit Us for more Pan Am History!
• Support the Podcast!
• Donate to the Museum!
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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

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In this episode we are turning the tables…the interviewee becomes the interviewer. Guest host Phillip Keene interviews the host of The Pan Am Podcast, historian Tom Betti to bring our listeners his story. Phillip is a podcast guest in episodes 18, 29,  and 30.

This program is marking a milestone as this is the 40th episode and the beginning of season three.

Tom Betti is dedicated to bringing history to life through entertaining and engaging storytelling. Although having a career in public service and government work for over 20 years, history has always been his  constant passion. 

He currently serves on the board of the Pan Am Museum Foundation with Phillip and has co-authored five books on Columbus, Ohio history. His latest book, written with his mentor Doreen Uhas Sauer, is titled Forgotten Landmarks of Columbus.

Since 2006, Tom co-leads various local history tours and educational programing with Doreen where he always brings dry humor and wit, but also makes learning about history engaging and fun. He works closely as a professional partner with the Columbus Metropolitan Library on neighborhood tours, special events, and presentations…and has been a guest on WOSU Public Media.

In addition, he is an active member of the 501st Legion volunteer organization, a LucasFilm affiliate, providing screen accurate Star Wars character appearances to charities and good causes like children hospitals, libraries, hospice centers, and museums. To learn more, watch this video.

To watch the education video of "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel, click here.

Tom earned a Master of Arts in History from Norwich University and lives in the historic Hartman Hotel Building in Columbus, Ohio with his pug, Roosevelt.

Support the show

• Visit Us for more Pan Am History!
• Support the Podcast!
• Donate to the Museum!
• Visit The Hangar online store for Pan Am gear!
• Become a Member!

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

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In this episode we are joined by 98-year-old Madeline Smith and her daughter Valerie Smith O’Grady Skinner. 

Both were Pan Am flight attendants…Madeline joined  the airline right after the war in 1946 and Valerie, following in her mother’s footsteps, joined the company in 1977.

Madeline was a stewardess until 1951 when she resigned to marry the love of her life. But although personally leaving Pan Am’s employment, the airline was still an important part of her family as her new husband was a Pan Am pilot named Charles Smith. The two met on an overseas working trip and were inseparable, marrying only six months after they met. Captain Smith passed away in 1989. 

Valerie stayed with the company until the end in 1991 where she was hired by Delta and would continue flying for almost two decades. 

Today, Madeline is still a force to be reckoned with.  At 98 years young…a typical day for Madeline is playing nine holes of golf, an hour of tennis, kayaking, and then walking two miles!

Support the show

• Visit Us for more Pan Am History!
• Support the Podcast!
• Donate to the Museum!
• Visit The Hangar online store for Pan Am gear!
• Become a Member!

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Send us a text

In this episode we are joined by Dan Colussy who served as Pan Am’s President and Chief Operating Officer in the 1970s. Dan will share his experiences of working in the airline industry during a pivotal point in Pan Am history. This interview provides a unique look inside the workings of the  executive leadership of the airline in the 1970s. 

After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard after college, Mr. Colussy began his career in engineering at General Electric and then went on to work for American Airlines and Northeast Airlines in executive marketing positions before joining the prestigious advertising agency Wells, Rich and Green as Senior Vice President overseeing the Trans World Airlines account. 

As a result of a chance encounter seated next to the CEO of Pan Am on a TWA plane over the Atlantic, Mr. Colussy was hired by Pan Am in 1970 as Vice President of Marketing Development and in a short period of time was promoted to Senior Vice President of the same division.

In 1976, Mr. Colussy was promoted to Executive Vice President and was elected as a member of the Pan Am's Board of Directors. Two years later in May 1978, he was elected president and chief operating officer of Pan American World Airways by the company’s board of directors. William Seawell remained Pan Am CEO. 

Mr. Colussy left Pan Am in 1980 to pursue other opportunities in the airline and aerospace industries. A successful and respected businessman, among his many pursuits he served as chairman and CEO of Canadian Pacific Airlines and is the former Chairman of Iridium Satellite, which he took out of bankruptcy in 2000 and rebuilt into a global and profitable satellite network providing communications services for over one million customers worldwide.

Today, Mr. Colussy is the Chairman of Gemini Capital, a Venture Capital Fund investing in new technologies. 

Support the show

• Visit Us for more Pan Am History!
• Support the Podcast!
• Donate to the Museum!
• Visit The Hangar online store for Pan Am gear!
• Become a Member!

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Send us a text

In this episode we are joined by 99-year-old Lester Kappel. He worked for Pan Am during World War II beginning in early 1942 until mid 1946. He was stationed for the majority of World War II in Casablanca with the African-Orient division of Pan Am under the Air Transport Command. 

Lester provides a unique perspective of what it was like to be working for the airline during wartime in support of Allied forces that utilized Pan Am’s vast global network and resources making it a vital lifeline of resupply. 

He began his time with Pan Am as one of the airline’s esteemed mechanics and worked exclusively in 1942 on the celebrated Boeing B-314 Flying Boats and then later expanded his skills during the war to the engines of land-based planes. 

Lester was at the airport and saw President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s plane when he came to Casablanca in January of 1943 to meet with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Watch the Pan Am 1945 post-war film called, Clippers at War, to learn more about the airline's contribution to the war effort: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvElNiAsC_Y

After leaving Pan Am after the war, Lester Kappel worked in the family printing business for 30 years, while also serving as a volunteer firefighter on Long Island beginning in 1958.

In the 1980s, he sold the company and began working for the local library where he worked for over 30 years up until recently. During Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Lester literally did not stop helping his Long Island neighbors until he was dehydrated and had to be taken to the hospital.

Today, Lester is revered by family, friends, library patrons, and firefighters alike. He is a great supporter of the Pan Am Museum and has donated items that are proudly on display in our public exhibits.

Support the show

• Visit Us for more Pan Am History!
• Support the Podcast!
• Donate to the Museum!
• Visit The Hangar online store for Pan Am gear!
• Become a Member!

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Send us a text

In this episode we are joined by legendary journalist Sam Donaldson where we will talking about traveling  with Pan Am on assignment, covering presidents as White House correspondent, tracking down a Nazi war criminal, deregulation of the airlines, and everything in between.

He is best known for his distinguished 52 year career at ABC News, where he covered stories and conducted investigations of national and international interest. In 1977, he was assigned the coveted White House Correspondent assignment for ABC News, a post he would hold for the duration of the Carter and Reagan administrations. He would later return as ABC’s White House Correspondent for much of the Clinton Administration in the 1990s.

This episode is an indirect follow up to Episode 21: White House Press Charters and Flying with Air Force One where we explored Pan Am’s historic supporting role with presidential travel. In that episode we were joined by Dwight Chapin, a trusted aide to President Richard M. Nixon and Pan Am veterans: flight attendant Claire Graham and Captain John Marshall.

Sam Donaldson was a frequent passenger on Pan Am’s White House Press Charters during the Carter, Reagan, and Bush administrations.

In 1994, his Primetime Live segment on Erich Priebke, a former Nazi SS officer, set off a chain of events that ended with Priebke being arrested and convicted for war crimes and given a life sentence in prison. Remarkably, Priebke was living in Argentina out in the open for many years and admitted to most of his crimes on camera during Sam’s interview.

To learn more about this incredible interview that includes interviews with Sam Donaldson, ABC News producer Harry Phillips, and researcher Dalia Herbst, watch this segment of the television program Nazi Hunters.

Support the show

• Visit Us for more Pan Am History!
• Support the Podcast!
• Donate to the Museum!
• Visit The Hangar online store for Pan Am gear!
• Become a Member!

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Send us a text

In this episode we continue to celebrate Black History Month and are joined by veteran Pan Am pilots Captain Perry Jones and Ed Moon.

Perry was the first African American to be hired by Pan Am in late 1965 and Ed was the third to be hired in early 1967.

The second African American hired by Pan Am was Otis Benjamin Young in 1966. "O.B.," as he was affectionally referred to, was born in 1938 and graduated from Howard University and then served in the United States Air Force.  After Pan Am, he flew for Delta Airlines until retirement. Unfortunately, Captain Young passed away on June 9, 2021.

These gentlemen were legendary trailblazers at the height of the civil right movement in the 1960s.

All three left a lasting legacy at Pan Am, paved the way for other people of color and beyond, and were part of the change that transformed the commercial aviation community.

In 1976, Benjamin Thomas, an Eastern Airlines pilot, organized a meeting that formed the Organization of Black Airline Pilots, now called the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, to address discrimination in the airline industry.

Ed Moon was a one of the 38 founders of the organization and both Perry and Ed served as president and board chair of the organization through the years.

Today, the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals or OBAP for short, is a world-leading non-profit organization that changes lives by creating a pathway to success through educating youth, communities, and professionals—shaping an aerospace industry as diverse as the people they serve.

For more information on OBAP, visit their website at obap.org. 

Support the show

• Visit Us for more Pan Am History!
• Support the Podcast!
• Donate to the Museum!
• Visit The Hangar online store for Pan Am gear!
• Become a Member!

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Send us a text

In this episode we celebrate Black History Month and are joined by author Bruce Wolk to explore the inspiring life of sports legend Junius Kellogg and his incredible connection to Pan American World Airways. 

Junius Kellogg was born on March 16, 1927 in Haverstraw, New York to Lucy Lee Williams and Theodore Kellogg. Young Junius always excelled in the classroom as an outstanding student, but also was an exceptional athlete in every sport he attempted.

While in high school, Junius made the Virginia State High School All-Star Team, as well as, earning earn high marks in academics. After graduating in 1946, he was awarded a scholarship to West Virginia State, however, he was drafted into the U.S. Army after only one semester.

While in the military in 1948, Junius was named 1st Army all-around athlete. The next year he was offered a basketball scholarship to Manhattan College as the school’s first African American scholarship recipient. When eligible to play in the 1950-1951 season, the 6’10” Kellogg made an immediate impact on the team.

In January 1951, after reporting that someone was attempting to bribe him, Junius helped authorities uncover the biggest betting scandal in collegiate basketball history. And was subsequently hailed a national hero for his honesty and courage.

But despite this, a career in the NBA eluded him mainly because being the whistleblower embarrassed some of the league’s executives and star players that were likely involved in past betting schemes. After graduation in June 1953, he was invited to join the Harlem Globetrotters, even though he still dreamed of becoming a professional basketball player in the NBA.

That dream was shattered and his life forever changed on April 2, 1954 when a horrific car accident left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. While recovering in the Bronx Veterans Hospital, Junius was approached to be head coach of the Pan Am Jets, a wheelchair basketball team sponsored by Pan American World Airways. In addition, Pan Am offered him a job in the accounting department.

He became the first African American coach in the history of wheelchair basketball, and with the Pan Am Jets brought the sport to people throughout the world. Junius coached the U.S. Wheelchair Basketball team to a gold medal at the Tokyo 1964 Paralympic Games.

He died at age 71 on September 16, 1998.

To learn more about Mr. Kellogg and to watch a tribute video, visit the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum. 

Support the show

• Visit Us for more Pan Am History!
• Support the Podcast!
• Donate to the Museum!
• Visit The Hangar online store for Pan Am gear!
• Become a Member!

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Send us a text

In this episode we are joined by Dr. Johanna O’Flaherty.

Johanna joined Pan American World Airways in 1970 as a flight attendant, and was later promoted to purser, trainer, and in 1986 was appointed Corporate Manager of Pan Am’s new Employee Assistance Program (also known commonly today as EAP).

In this role, Johanna was responsible for the oversight of bio-psycho-social-spiritual aspects of the 1988 Lockerbie disaster.

Her new book, a memoir called Flight With Weighted Wings, was released in January of 2023 and is available from the Pan Am Museum’s online store.

Watch Johanna’s Pan Am corporate video to new employees from 1987 on our YouTube channel.

Johanna received her Doctorate of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in California. Today, Johanna is an expert in crisis management from a psychological perspective, and a renowned expert in the field of trauma, addiction and recovery.

She served as Vice President of Treatment Services at the Betty Ford Center from 2006 to 2013, before serving as CEO of the Las Vegas Recovery Center, Senior Fellow of Clinical Services, from 2013 to 2016.

In addition, she adds her 40 years of personal recovery to her long list of accomplishments. Johanna developed and implemented Crisis Response Programs for Pan American World Airways, Trans World Airlines, and has facilitated the training of Crisis Response Teams for several other airlines as well.

Then in September of 2001, Dr. O’Flaherty was again called to New York to assist with counseling airline employees and facilitating the Crisis Response training for the New York City Transit Authority after the terrorist attacks of September 11th. She also conducted critical incident response training for the FBI and first responders.

Dr. O’Flaherty has been featured on American news channels CBS, ABC, NBC and CNN as well as several podcasts as an expert in her field.

To listen to more of Dr. O’Flaherty, check out the podcast called Living OnBrand with Kim and Glenda.

For more information on Johanna or to contact her, her website is www.johannahelps.com

Today, Johanna maintains a consulting practice and has an active schedule as a keynote speaker in crisis management and addiction. She resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Support the show

• Visit Us for more Pan Am History!
• Support the Podcast!
• Donate to the Museum!
• Visit The Hangar online store for Pan Am gear!
• Become a Member!

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!