Brown's journalism inspires hit movie

A television report by ABC's Bob Brown inspired the new Will Smith movie, The Pursuit of Happyness. Brown, a TU graduate who started his television career at KOTV Channel 6, has been a correspondent for ABC's 20/20 program for many years.

Both Brown's original report and the Hollywood version tell the story of an resilient single father in San Francisco who falls on hard times. Despite numerous personal and professional setbacks, the father persists, eventually becoming not simply successful but rich.

It sounds unlikely, of course, which is exactly why Hollywood was interested in the story. We at AltTulsa haven't seen the movie (it's playing now in Tulsa and everywhere) but it has received warm reviews from many critics and is apparently a crowd-pleaser.

Brown has made a career of reporting interesting features stories for 20/20. An earlier Brown story on a door-to-door salesman in Portland, Oregon, was turned into a made-for-television movie starring William H. Macy.

Brown's original ABC report can be viewed at the 20/20 website (abcnews.go.com/2020). It's inspiring, and certainly worth a look this holiday season.