`sound Of Music' Comes To Scranton 
Barry Williams Of ``the Brady Bunch'' Fame Plays Captain Von Trapp In The
Rodgers And Hammerstein Hit Musical.

Amelia Vivian

VAN ROSE
 Thursday, February 22, 2001 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1D 





Dale Earnhardt's reputation as ``The Intimidator'' was well-earned. He not
only outran his opponents on the race track, he ran over them. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I still have vivid memories of the 1987 Summer 500 at Pocono International
Raceway. Alan Kulwicki appeared to have the race won, but Earnhardt literally
pushed him off the track on the final lap to score his first victory at
Pocono. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Earnhardt, who died in a crash in last Sunday's Daytona 500, was just as
intimidating off the track - especially when it came to dealing with the news
media. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``Naturally, you were a little intimidated by Earnhardt, because of his
reputation,'' said Jim Miller, former WBRE-TV Channel 28 sports anchor. ``He
used to walk through the garage area at Pocono like he was parting the sea. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``People would step aside and spread a pathway for him,'' Miller added.
``I've never seen another driver up there get that kind of respect and awe.
They got as close as they could without saying anything, almost fearful of
getting bitten by him.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Miller said he will never forget the first time he tried to interview
Earnhardt at Pocono in the early 1980s. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``He was sitting on two tires in the garage area,'' Miller said. ``I had to
ask this guy for an interview. I'm thinking he's either going to take my head
off, or not respond.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Miller found himself at a loss for words. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I just pointed to the microphone in my hand. He just pointed his finger
at me and wiggled it to him, and we did the interview. He was very polite and
gracious, but his demeanor never changed.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 WBRE sports anchor Jason Knapp had a close encounter with ``The
Intimidator'' after Earnhardt suffered a narrow loss to Sterling Marlin in the
Daytona 500 in the mid '90s. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``He had just lost the race that he wanted most to win,'' Knapp said.
``Everybody and their brother (in the press) was trying to find him, but he
had done his typical disappearing act.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Knapp found himself walking around like a lost soul, then he had what
seemed like an out-of-body experience. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I turned around and bumped smack into Dale Earnhardt,'' Knapp said. ``He
was coming out of his trailer to get into his personal car and drive out. I
was coming back from the garage area. We were the only camera crew within a
half-mile.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Knapp seized the opportunity to grab an exclusive interview with NASCAR's
most elusive figure. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I just said `What do you think?' as he got into his car,'' Knapp said.
``He had the presence of mind to smile about it. He said `We'll get 'em next
year.' He knew, sooner or later he was going to win that race.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 When Earnhardt won the Daytona 500 in 1998, he was congratulated by every
crew member of every team. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``That showed all you need to know about Earnhardt,'' Knapp said. ``Whether
they liked or hated him, they respected him for what he did for his sport.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Van Rose is a Times Leader staff writer. His television column appears
every Thursday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

`intimidator' Put The Media On Their Guard