For fifty years, David Saltman has been a prizewinning broadcaster, author and film-maker; he's also an innovator in meditative and martial arts. In 1972, he created the first radio program, on Pacifica, to cover spiritual ideas. He "discovered" Gilda Radner and was first to put her on the air, on WCBN in Ann Arbor. He has worked at KPFK and KPFA, at CBS News, ABC & CNN.
David has written, produced and directed some two hundred documentaries for CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC and public television and radio networks and has written or collaborated on three feature film scripts. He has won Emmy and Ace awards, shared a Peabody award, and has had his film work inducted into the Smithsonian Institution.
David's debut novel, Houdini Unbound, is a work of historical fiction based on Houdini’s performances for Nicholas and Alexandra, Emperor and Empress of Russia.
Grand Master, the life of Dong Ying Jie, Tai Chi champion of China, David co-authored with Dong's great-grandson, fourth-generation Tai Chi master Alex Dong. David's fourth book, Gilda, a biography of the late comedienne Gilda Radner, was praised by the Los Angeles Times as “elegiac” and “more exciting than prime time.” He has authored or co-authored three other critically-acclaimed books: The Sports Book, The Great Escape, and The Marrakech Express. His humor pieces in TV Guide, his science writing in Omni and his travel writings in Rolling Stone and The New York Times have been hailed as setting the standards for the art.
He has taught writing and filmmaking at St. John's University in New York City, the State University of New York's Purchase College, the University of California at Santa Cruz and the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil.
Concurrent with his work in film and publishing is David's practice of Tai Chi, Qigong and related healing and martial arts. He began his studies in the Far East, while working as a consultant to the Malaysian national television network. Upon returning to the USA, he studied for five years with master S. T. Ying in the San Francisco Bay Area. Moving to New York, David practiced for more than 25 years with master B. P. Chan, known around the world as a walking encyclopedia of martial arts, meditation and healing practices. David served as Mr. Chan’s teaching assistant for 15 years; after Mr. Chan’s death in 2002, David took over his public classes.
In the great tradition of these arts, David continues to study Tai Chi with Da De "Alex" Dong, fourth generation master of Dong Tai Chi, and the great-grandson of Mr. Chan's teacher, Dong Ying Jie.
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