History professor Robert Gudmestad of Fort Collins was privileged this summer to help Jim Parsons, an actor on "The Big Bang Theory," find out more about his family's history in an episode of the TLC show "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Celebrities such as Zooey Deschanel, Kelly Clarkson and Chelsea Handler have learned about their families' history and ancestry on the TLC show.

Experts from all over the world sit down with the celebrities to shed light on past history, such as Quaker ancestors in Deschanel's case, and relatives associated with the German Nazi regime in Chelsea Handler's case.

"The show does a fairly good job of presenting real history and explaining the context," Gudmestad said.

If You Go

What: TLC episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" with actor Jim Parsons. Fort Collins CSU associate professor Robert Gudmestad is featured in the episode.

When: 7 p.m. MDT Tuesday, Sept. 10.

Where: TLC network

Info: Visit TLC.com for details about the show.

He is an associate professor in the history department at Colorado State University.

The episode will air at 7 p.m. MDT on Tuesday, Sept. 10, after an episode with country singer Trisha Yearwood at 6 p.m.

Gudmestad was contacted by a TLC researcher at the beginning of June this year.

The researcher's job is to do historical research and find the larger story on a person's history for the show.

"In this case, this particular ancestor of Jim Parsons had an important connection to a notable steamboat," Gudmestad said.

The researcher found a book Gudmestad wrote, "Steamboats and the Rise of the Cotton Kingdom," which led her to give him a call.


They talked for more than an hour, and Gudmestad gave details about the lives of people who traveled on steamboats in the 1850s and what life was like in Louisiana.

"One of the things we do as historians is we still do research on historical topics to find a new perspective on something, or cover a topic that hasn't been covered before," Gudmestad said.

He wrote a book about steamboats after researching the subject for a lesson in 2002. He realized that the best book on steamboats was written when Harry Truman was president.

Gudmestad published his book on the subject two years ago.

In the 1800s, steamboats traveled up and down the Mississippi and tributary rivers such as the Ohio, Tennessee and Arkansas.

They were the primary long-distance transportation for passengers and to move any kind of large product such as cotton bales as big as refrigerators.

Gudmestad said TLC filmed Jim Parsons and his historical journey in eight days. The team started in New York with a crew of 15 people and 50 boxes of equipment and luggage.

The TLC network flew Gudmestad to Louisiana for a day of filming in late July. He sat with Jim Parsons on the last working steamboat on the Mississippi River, "Natchez," which is used for leisure excursions.

"We sat right by the paddle wheel in the back of the boat," Gudmestad said. He talked to Jim Parson for almost two hours and showed him three documents.

The documents were found by the researcher, but the researcher needed Gudmestad to verify facts and clarify various sections.

"I thought I would be star-struck, but once I started talking about steamboats, I forgot who he was, in a way," he said.

Gudmestad also watched the crew film Parsons do a "Wander Ponder," in which he walked through the French Quarter in New Orleans and made observations about his relatives.

The premiere of "Who Do You Think You Are?" happened to be that night, and Gudmestad was invited to the viewing party with the crew to watch the first episode.

Jim Parsons attended with his mom, who is a first-grade teacher in Houston, Texas.

Gudmestad said he will watch the episode on Tuesday with family members and friends.
