Harry Nugent was arguably the most beloved subway conductor of all time. His well timed, funny and informative announcements made passengers smile with delight. This filmed piece is the last of three from the 5-25-1990 airing of 'The Eleventh Hour' hosted by Robert Lipsyte on Channel 13. To see the full episode and credits, click here.
Now they say 'Stand Clear of the Closing Doors', better than 'Watch the Closing Doors'. The door closing chime makes saying anything redundant. Just more verbiage to dilute the effective delivery of other messages. The people that this is directed at would no more heed a spoken warning than a fare beater hearing 'Pay your fare'! Old Harry had it right, he simply said 'Doors are closing'. More proof of his mindfulness of the passenger experience. Now, conductors are forbidden even to speak in the seconds that the train is arriving in the station. The reason: to reduce the chance that the the doors without the train being properly berthed at the platform.
