HILLMAN: 50-YEAR MUSICAL ODYSSEY
www.hillmanweb.com/book/media/bio/cbc3.html
CBC’s Coleman & Company
CBC National Television Special Featuring
Bill and Sue-On Hillman
Script with accompanying screen captures from video tape
PART III
PART III (Continued from PART I and PART II)

VIDEO: At the front door of Hillmans' Maple Grove country home.
Sandi walks down brick steps and out among spruce trees.
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SANDI: OK. Time for a review -- there may may be a test later on...
Bill and Sue-On have recorded 10 albums.
They have performed just about everywhere.
They have homes in Brandon and in Strathclair.
They’ve catalogued their collections of  musical instruments. . .
the comic books. . . Chinese furniture. . .
O yeh. . . They own and operate a 260-seat Chinese restaurant . . .
and did I mention that Bill also commutes for his teaching job
200 kilometres a day from Brandon to Strathclair?

VIDEO: Closeup of hand surfing a car radio dial
and then to Bill driving van... waves to local traffic...
cut to over the shoulder view of Highway 16.

BILL: It’s almost easy driving, cause we’re so used to driving at 4 and 5 in the morning
after setting up and tearing down and performing and all . . . and driving for three  hours after that.
We’re just here for such a short period of time, so you try to cut down on your sleep.
SUE-ON: Do as much as you can.

VIDEO: Long shot of van going by on highway.

BILL: You try to do a great number of things at once.

VIDEO: Sandi takes down a family portrait from Media Room picture wall.

SANDI: And did I mention that the Hillmans also have three children.

VIDEO: Ja-On and Sue-On at front till serving customers.

SANDI: There’s 17-year-old Ja-On who helps out at the restaurant.

VIDEO: Robin working in clean up prep room washing dishes.
VIDEO: China-Li playing harp in the Hillmans' Kensington music room.

SANDI: 13-year-old Robin who is also picking up some of the family work ethic.
SANDI: And 9-year-old China-Li.

VIDEO: Back to Media Room chat

SANDI: Have you two always been this busy?
SUE-ON: We were busy from the day we got married.
We were painting a school house in Elphinstone for money to go on our honeymoon.
I think we finished painting on a Friday,
so we phoned our friends up and said we’re getting married on Monday,
because we had to be back in two weeks for another gig he was playing
-- that was before I joined the band.

SANDI: With you both being so busy, what do you do to relax?
AUDIO: Chinese chimes and gong

VIDEO: Long shot overlooking City of Brandon from upper balcony of their North Hill residence.
Camera zooms back to show Hillmans doing slow Karate and Tai Chi moves -- a  morning ritual.

SANDI: I guess we forgot to mention that
Bill and Sue-On both have their black belts in karate.
AUDIO: Traditional Chinese music
VIDEO: Cut to side view of work out on balcony.
Cut to shot from ground level looking up for
a long shot of Hillmans on the upper deck of their Cedar home.

VIDEO: Cut to stage shot ~ Riding Mountain National Park
Closeups of band warming up. Barry Forman tuning fiddle.
Kerry Morris tuning bass. Kevin Pahl missing from shoot.
Bill tuning Roland Synth Guitar. Sue-On adjusting drums.

SANDI: It seems for the Hillmans, their music, their jobs,
and their many obsessions are part of a basic whole.

VIDEO: Dancers on dance floor. Sue-On singing and band performing:“Can I Have This Dance?"

AUDIO: “I’ll always remember, the song they were playing --
The first time we danced and I knew -- As we swayed to the music --
and held to each  other -- I fell in love with you.”

BILL: I think that the things we pursue -- that we’re busy in --
are relaxing things in general and we gain energy from trying different things.
BILL: A change is as good as a rest . . . or whatever

VIDEO: Sue-On while playing drums sings “One Day At A Time”
AUDIO: “I’m just a woman. Lord help me believe in all that I am... and all I can be.”

SUE-ON: We’ve never been idle -- we’ve always done things.
Maybe we’ll grow old and slow down...
BILL: We have each other to lean on a lot, you know.
We gain strength from each other.
SUE-ON: And it’s worked out great for 29 years.
I don’t know what would happen if one of us wasn’t there.

AUDIO: “Lord help me today. . . Show me the way. . . One day at a time.”
VIDEO: Fade out with band performing.


AFTERWORD
This video doc touched on the first half of our Musical Odyssey. Our journey keeps chuggin' along.

After 30 years of teaching high school Bill was recruited to serve as a professor in Brandon University's Faculty of Education -- where he was later awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award.  He continued to add to his many collections and put in long hours creating over 15,000 Webpages: family heritage, military tributes, music, travel, museums, Facebook, and the official Tribute sites for Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. in Tarzana, California. Music still remains a consuming interest.

After 10 years Sue-on retired from the restaurant to resume her teaching career -- this time for the EAP program at Brandon University. She and Bill carry on with their love of travel: Canada, USA, Mexico, UK and Europe, Malaysia, China, India, Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and all the SE Asian countries. Her kitchen and gardens turn out a staggering array of delights -- many of which she shares on  the Internet and in publications.  Music still keeps the creative juices flowing.

Ja-On worked his way up in SOO'S to become head chef and supplemented his income by teaching saxophone. He went on to graduate with a number of degrees in massage therapy and Osteopathy and to open a huge clinic in downtown Brandon. He and wife Angela have a son and two daughters. 

Robin learned drums, bass, and trombone to become the latest of our band's "Third Men". He graduated in Computer Science at Brandon University and has entered a very successful career in computer technologies in Ontario, Winnipeg and St. John's. He was also chosen for a major role in the 4-hour BCATP WWII reality/documentary -- THE BOMBER BOYS -- filmed on military locations in Canada and across the UK and Europe. The series was featured on the History Channel and other Commonwealth countries. Robin, his wife Jen and their two daughters, now live in St. John's, Newfoundland. 

China-Li mastered a series of instruments: harp, bagpipes, piano, synths, voice, etc. and also took over a major role in the SOO'S kitchen while she worked her way through University. She graduated from Pre-Med at  Brandon University and was accepted into Medical School at age 20.  She is now a Doctor of Radiology. Dr. China-Li Hillman specializes in Thorasic Cardiology at Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre and other Winnipeg hospitals. China and her husband Scott -- a Critical Care Paramedic -- live and work in Winnipeg.
 
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Click for full-size collage from our Photo Collage Archive

BILL and SUE-ON HILLMAN CBC TV BIO SPECIAL
Script and Screen Captures

Part I
Recordings ~ Country Home ~ CBC Concert
Part II
Soo's ~ Teaching ~ Collections
Part III
Commute ~ Family ~ Performance
TEXT ONLY VERSION


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