Obituaries

Studs Terkel RIP

Posted by Mark Athitakis on Oct. 31, 2008, at 5:20 pm

Studs Terkel, radio host, oral historian, indefatigable promoter of Labor Day, and author of one of the best books ever written about American life, died today. He was 96. A brief obituary in the Chicago Sun-Times has this nice summation:

"He had a very full, eventful and sometimes tempestuous life ," said his son Dan. "It was very satisfactory."

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Comments

1. Will Atwood Mitchell October 31st, 2008
   8:31 pm
   #1

   Here's one of my favorite Studs Terkel audio clips, an interview with Bob Edwards from a few years ago on "mortality."

   http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1132885

2. Tim Carman November 1st, 2008
   12:09 pm
   #2

   I'm really bummed about his death. I know Terkel had a long, productive life and career, but I'm still sad. The first time I lost a job in journalism, back in the '90s, I took up Terkel's work for the first time. I read "Hard Times," in a bit of overly dramatic self-identification with Depression Era folks. Then I went on to "Working." The stories shed some welcome perspective on everything, which was one of Terkel's underappreciated skills.

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