When he first began writing as a teenager in Minnesota, Robert E. A. Lee,
discovered he was destined for a career in communication.
Radio broadcasting, before TV entered the scene, was only in its second decade also and Lee yearned
for a calling as a radio announcer.
In college he got his wish—a solid learning experience in managing KWLC, the educational station
that had been floundering ever since it was founded in 1927.
He brought it alive and built an audience – much of it from his own program of hymns each day
featuring requests from listeners.
It was there, at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa that he met his future wife, Elaine Naeseth.
His communication career was temporarily interrupted by World War II.
When peace came he quickly got the opportunity he had dreamed of – staff announcer
(and later program director) at WMIN in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He had an offer from the national Lutheran church to create a broadcast, Children’s Chapel,
for children who lived in the prairies and mountains, too distant from Sunday Schools.
This led to other assignments in film producing and public relations.
After his directing the World Premiere of the theatrical movie Martin Luther, he was called to New York
to direct the film and television activities for the consortium of Lutheran church bodies.
Lee served as executive director of Lutheran Film Associates for 33 years and for 20 of those years
was also head of communication for the Lutheran Council in the USA.
He wrote and published and broadcast film reviews and wrote articles, essays and news releases.
He traveled extensively in Europe, Latin America and later to Africa and Asia for film promotion
and production.
Susquehanna University honored him with a Doctor of Fine Arts degree in 1979
and he received his Bachelor of Arts from Luther College in 1942.
Before Dear Elaine, Lee authored six earlier books,
the most recent, Mathilda's Journey, the story of his mother.
Also Question 7 (a novelization of his movie of the same title),
Behind the Wall (a novel set in Berlin before the liberation of East Germany),
Martin Luther: The Reformation Years (a visualized edition of Allan Sloane's screenplay
for the movie Martin Luther -- with photo stills from the film),
Popcorn and Parable (co-authored with the late Roger Kahle -- a handbook for finding
moral and spiritual parables in cinema productions) and
The Joy of Bach (a companion to his TV production -- a Christmas special on PBS during
consecutive holiday seasons 1979-1982.)
Lee was executive producer of those films and also of the Academy Award nominee in 1966, the
documentary on race relations entitled A Time for Burning.
Lee reviewed theatrical movies during the 1970s and 1980s for a syndicated radio series,
Cinema Sound, and for The Lutheran magazine.
He was host of a cable TV program VISN on Film for three years in the early 1990s.
Currently he is completing his own book of memoirs entitled My Wings at Sunset.
He enjoys writing essays and poems which are available on this website.
Elaine and Bob were married for 56 years and were parents of six children. Lee lives in Baldwin, Long Island, New York.
About the Author