This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Here's a heartwarming story for those of us who were raised on PBS.
LeVar Burton, host of the non-profit network's hugely successful "Reading Rainbow," was pulled over in Van Nuys yesterday for not yielding to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. An irritating start to the day -- admittedly, for both Burton and the pedestrian -- but then, as Burton was driving to the side of the street, TMZ reports that he stopped short, causing the cop car to rear end him.
Yet none of that, surprisingly, is what's heartwarming about this story. Because as evidenced in the photo above, when Burton got out of his car to inspect the damage to his vehicle, he was wearing a "Reading Rainbow" shirt.
Then, the cops decided not to give him the ticket.
And when the TV host was interviewed by a pushy and annoying TMZ reporter, he was nothing but cordial and kind. "I'm fine, everybody's fine, nobody died, nobody got hurt, it's all good," he said.
We really can be anything.
To celebrate all this warm fuzziness, here's the old theme song to "Reading Rainbow."
