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

[zeke12]

Sad news out of Chicago.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-studs-terkel-dead,0,2321576.story

 

[buckweaver]

Aww, ****.

 

[Beaker]

Damn. RIP.

 

[writing irish]

I wanted, for a long time, to meet two particular grand old gentlemen of American culture before they died: Buck O'Neill and Studs Terkel. Now they're both gone. Dammit. This man carried with him history such as isn't carried any more. We lost a touchstone to the 20th century today. And a sweet, talented, brave man. RIP.

 

[Clerk Typist]

The voice of America in many ways. RIP.

I wonder if he voted early.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Damn, damn, damn.

 

[Evil Bastard (aka Chris_L)]

Studs Terkel never learned to drive. Of all the things about the man. That was the thing I always wondered about. Why not learn to drive?

 

[jgmacg]

A tiny giant, and one of our greatest oral historians. A fitting tribute for any writer's passing is to read their work. Do so. Go read 'Worklng.'

 

[Steak Snabler]

Great name, great writer, not a bad actor and seemed like a really good guy. RIP.

 

[Evil Bastard (aka Chris_L)]

Hard Times was his masterpiece.

 

[jgmacg]

And won his Pulitzer for 'The Good War,' yes? A great big body of work, fallen a little out of fashion lately. The youngsters here can make a fine remembrance of reading him.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

He was in that living room last year when he said with zest that when he "checked out"-- as a "hotel kid" he rarely used the word "dying," preferring the euphemism "checking out" and its variants--he wanted to be cremated. He wanted his ashes mixed with those of his wife, which sat in an urn in the living room of his house, near the bed in which he slept and dreamed.

"My epitaph? My epitaph will be 'Curiosity did not kill this cat,'" he said.

He then said that he wanted his and Ida's ashes to be scattered in Bughouse Square, that patch of green park that so informed his first years in his adopted city.

"Scatter us there," he said, a gleeful grin on his face. "It's against the law. Let 'em sue us."

Damn this dust!

 

[waterytart]

Take it easy, but take it.

RIP.

 

[writing irish]

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.

 

[Billy Pritchard]

The voice of America in many ways. RIP.

I wonder if he voted early.

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.

 

[Colton]

Damn... RIP.

 

[DanOregon]

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.

 

[buckweaver]

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.

 

[deskslave]

Studs Terkel never learned to drive. Of all the things about the man. That was the thing I always wondered about. Why not learn to drive?

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

 

[slappy4428]

The voice of America in many ways. RIP.

I wonder if he voted early.

Nice... rip...