Huell Howser’s special relationship with Chapman University started with an innocent oversight and a letter handwritten by the president of the private college in Orange.

Howser, the widely beloved TV broadcaster who died Jan. 7, did a story on Old Towne Orange at least five years ago (some say 10 to 15). He interviewed locals and the city historian and took a walking tour of the Old Towne Historic District.

Howser did a thorough job covering the Orange Plaza, Watson’s Drugstore, Pitcher Park and the Orange County Badminton Club, but he largely missed Chapman University, which is in the historic district.

“I was disappointed he didn’t come to the campus,” said James Doti, president of Chapman University for 21 years. “We’re right next to Old Towne, part of Old Towne in fact. When I saw the show, I just sent a note – a handwritten note – which he liked. That’s what attracted his attention.”

A few days after Doti wrote his note, Howser surprised the president with a phone call and said, “Hi, this is Huell Howser here! Tell me about this campus of yours.”

Howser paid a visit and Doti gave him a personal tour of Chapman. And that’s when the love affair began.

“He loved the campus; he loved the people,” Doti said recently in his well-kept office. “He found this to be a very friendly place. He said, ‘This is my favorite place, coming on campus.'”

Over the years, Howser dropped by frequently, giving guest lectures and all 5,000 of his “California’s Gold” master tapes, which were recently digitized and are available on Chapman’s website (shortcut: huellhowserarchive.com). He also donated his mid-20th century residence 20 miles east of Barstow, known as the Volcano House, to the university. All of those contributions were when he was alive.

In his will, Howser bequeathed money (more than $1 million, by some estimates), a house in Twentynine Palms, personal belongings and his extensive art and artifact collection to the school.

“Mr. Howser in effect left the majority of his estate to Chapman University, including homes, savings and personal effects,” said Sheryl Bourgeois, Chapman’s executive vice president of university advancement. “Because he didn’t himself have children, he saw the students at Chapman as his children and his legacy. They could carry on his work in some respects.”

The university is hosting a special day to remember the broadcaster, his contributions and his collections. The “Launch of the Huell Howser Archive and ‘California’s Gold’ Collections” will take place 2-7 p.m. Friday on campus, and will include a program in Memorial Hall, screenings of “California’s Gold” and guests featured on “California’s Gold.” All events are free.

The following folks have confirmed attendance: Slater Barron of Long Beach, “the Lint Lady”; Candace Frazee, co-owner of the Bunny Museum in Pasadena; Carole Anne Kaufman of Monrovia, whistling champ; Joe Rinaudo of La Crescenta, collector and restorer of early movie music machines; Dali Yu, owner of the Soap Kitchen in Pasadena; and Luis “Louie” Fuerte, Howser’s longtime cameraman.

Pink’s Hot Dogs will offer samples, including the Huell Dog. Other food vendors will be Stan’s Corner Doughnut Shop of Westwood, Village Pizzeria of Los Angeles, Fosselman’s Ice Cream of Alhambra and Broguiere’s Farm Fresh Dairy of Montebello.

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In addition, Chapman will confer an honorary doctorate on Howser, and junior Mayra Gonzalez, recipient of the first California’s Gold Scholarship, will be introduced.

Chapman’s Leatherby Libraries will display memorabilia, gifts and artifacts from Howser’s shows and travels, and the lobby will feature a complete re-creation of Howser’s office. The libraries will also showcase the extensive collection of books Howser donated.

On top of that, Leatherby Libraries and Beckman Hall will exhibit some of Howser’s “found-art objects” – chunks of wood, discarded metal, electronics and other materials that he found, repurposed into art objects and displayed inside and outside his homes and El Royale apartment in Los Angeles. Howser gave his entire art collection to Chapman, and the university will find a permanent home for these objects in Doti Hall, the campus’s newest building, officially starting Feb. 22.

“People don’t know the half of it,” Doti said. “They look at Huell Howser on TV, and he was an incredible broadcaster, and they love him because he was so personable. But he was very artistic. If you go to his homes, he had incredible artwork and a real artistic sense. Not real expensive stuff, but interesting art he would collect.”

Bourgeois, who grew to know Howser closely, concurs. “He was extremely funny and very artistic. He had an amazing eye for beauty and seeing what other people missed.”

Chapman has established an endowment to perpetually fund the California’s Gold Scholarship. The goal is to have four deserving students benefit from the scholarship each year.

“He didn’t set a lot of boundaries” for the scholarship, Bourgeois said. “The key factor he was looking for, or wanted us to be looking for, was he wanted a student that was seeking to improve society, to add value to the community. He saw these students as those pursuing the same dreams that brought the first pioneers to California.”

Howser died of prostate cancer at his home in Palm Springs. He was 67. He didn’t tell many people he was sick, but he did abruptly stop production of “California’s Gold” in November.

As Chapman officials prepare to pay tribute to the Tennessee native, they’re also finishing the renovation of his Volcano House for faculty and student research, as a retreat center, a film locale and for other purposes.

Kris Olsen, vice president of campus planning and operations, said the house and grounds have been restored, with the caretaker’s residence planned as a future phase.

If Howser were around today, how would he react upon seeing the Volcano House renovated, the scholarships funding several students, and his art collection on view in the Huell Howser Room of Doti Hall?

Probably as he often responded on TV: “Oh my gosh! That’s amaaazing!”

Contact the writer: 714-796-6026 or rchang@ocregister.com