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Curiousity Didn't Kill This Cat: RIP, Studs Terkel

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by zeke12, Oct 31, 2008.

  1. waterytart

    waterytart Active Member

    Take it easy, but take it.

    RIP.
     
  2. writing irish

    writing irish Active Member

    Nelson Algren, Richard Wright and Studs might be having a hell of a party in the hereafter. That is, if the hereafter includes pilsener on tap, a record player and a few Lionel Hampton 78s.
     
  3. One of the things I just heard on Chicago Public Radio was that Studs indeed did vote. He went the absentee ballot route because of his failing health.

    Oh, and I just pulled down "My American Century" from my bookshelf. Time to get reacquainted with a sampling of his greatest work.
     
  4. Colton

    Colton Active Member

    Damn... RIP.
     
  5. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    I can't think of the last fiction writer who had such a profound impact on our social and political history, Upton Sinclair, John Steinbeck, Richard Wright, Ayn Rand, Studs Terkel, a very elite club.
     
  6. buckweaver

    buckweaver Active Member

    Man, this really sucks. Studs and Paul Newman, two giants among giants, in the span of a month.

    I was introduced to the great Studs Terkel when he appeared in Ken Burns' "Baseball." He reprised his role from "Eight Men Out," which I hadn't seen at the time, reading actual excerpts from Hugh Fullerton columns about the Black Sox scandal. His inclusion in "Eight Men Out" was a show of respect toward a man who has lived more Chicago history than most people could ever learn. He wasn't much of an actor, but he pulled off the part spectacularly. Just Studs being Studs.

    How did Louis Terkel get his nickname? From a character created by another great Chicagoan, James T. Farrell, who wrote the "Studs Lonigan" series. (Farrell was also a good friend of Buck Weaver and Ray Schalk.) Studs was a good friend of Mike Royko and Nelson Algren. You can play six degrees of Chicago, and you'll always find your way back to Studs.

    Of course, for me, Terkel will always be associated with baseball. But his impact on our understanding of American culture can't be understated. "The Good War," one of my favorites, is still a phenomenal piece of work. I wish I could have grown up listening to his radio show for so many years.

    RIP to a great writer, a great Chicagoan, a great human being.
     
  7. deskslave

    deskslave Active Member

    Three of my four grandparents never drove. Granted, they all lived in England, but still. It remains so strange to me.
     
  8. slappy4428

    slappy4428 Active Member

    Nice... rip...
     
  9. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member

    Didn't drive? Urban boy. Moved from New York to Chicago at age 8. Public transit in Chi was good enough in the '20s, and good enough, now.

    Have friends who didn't like him because they saw him as an unabashed leftist.

    Their loss. His body of interview work with members of the music and entertainment worlds, alone, would earn him a spot in the parthenon. Snag his multi-disk set of
    recorded interviews, for a real treat.

    He settled into a routine, late in life. He had his role down pat, and played it.
    Became totally deaf a few years ago, but hung in there.

    Was in the car around 6 PM Friday night, when I heard the news. Cried like a baby.
     
  10. "You're a leech, Hughie."
    "Makes you proud to be a sportswriter, don't it?"

    RIP, Studs.
    Solidarity forever.
     
  11. MN Matt

    MN Matt Member

    I was in the play "American Dreams" in college which was based off alot of his work. Simply wonderful it was. I guess this will be an excuse to take a look at some of his other writing.
     
  12. tapintoamerica

    tapintoamerica Well-Known Member

    Reminds me of a Steven Wright joke: "Curiosity killed the cat. But for a while, I was a suspect."
     
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