OBIT/Jean Shepherd, Beloved Raconteur has Died
NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Oct. 16, 1999--Jean Shepherd, the prolific
author and radio and television personality whose storytelling has been
compared with that of Mark Twain, died of natural causes on Saturday, October
16, 1999 at 3:20 AM, in Lee Memorial Hospital near his Sanobel Island,
Florida home, his long time friend and business advisor Irwin Zwilling said.
Marshall McLuan once called Shepherd "the first radio novelist."
Zwilling said "Jean was an avid Chicago White Sox fan, and hated the Yankees,
but nonetheless was probably glued to the television this week. He had been
working on a new film in recent years even as his health was failing.
Shepherd had remained completely out of the public eye in recent years except
for isolated live appearances on a WFAN radio show including one on September
1996 hosted by Zwilling and Ann Ligouri.
A memorial celebration of his works is being planned in New York.
His favorite activity was story telling. "Shep" created such memorable works
as the movie Christmas Story (in 1983) which TV Guide called "one of the
great Christmas classics of all time." It airs each year on TBS. He wrote a
sequel, Summer Story. He authored books including The America of George Ade,
The Ferrari in the Bedroom , In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, a Fistful
of Fig Newtons, and Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories, and created a
vast number of characters and stories. In addition, his television programs
included the widely syndicated Jean Shepherd's America" PBS programs in the
1970's and were later continued on the PBS New Jersey Network as "Shepherd's
Pie." He hosted nightly a 45-minute radio show on WOR in New York, from in
the 1950's and 1960's, and a series of live Saturday night broadcasts from
The Limelight, a Greenwich Village, New York nightclub.
He carried his talent for story telling to Carnegie Hall, which he sold out,
and numerous one-man shows at corporate conventions, meetings, and college
campuses. Among his favorites was a series of appearances each year at
Princeton University in the 1970's and 1980's as well as on numerous other
campuses.
Shepherd wrote for the most diverse selection of publications imaginable,
including Mad Magazine and Lampoon, The New York Times, Playboy,
Mademoiselle, Car and Driver, and Omni. In addition he was an early columnist
for Village Voice in New York.
Born Jean Parker Shepherd on July 21, 1921, in Hammond, Indiana, he attended
public schools, graduating from Hammond High School in 1939. During World War
11, he served in the Signal Corps. Shepherd attended Indiana University
before launching his radio career as host of a show named "Rear Bumper." He
began his career on stage in Chicago as a performer at the Goodman Theatre,
and performed night club acts on Rush Street.
Shepherd's wife Leigh Brown died in June 1998 and the couple had no children.
There are no survivors. Zwilling said.
Notes. A partial list of his works include:
Movies
"The Light Fantastic" ; Embassy (1963) Directed by: Robert McCarty, Produced
by: Bob Gaffney Starring: Dolores McDougal, Barry Bartle and Jean Shepherd
"Lenny Bruce Without Tears" ; Fred Baker Productions (1975) "A Christmas
Story" ; Christmas Tree Films / MGM (1983) Directed by: Bob Clark Written by:
Jean Shepherd, Bob Clark, Leigh Brown Starring: Melinda Dillon, Darren
McGavin, Peter Billingsley, Ian Petrella "My Summer Story" ; MGM (1994) AKA:
"It Runs in the Family" Directed by: Bob Clark Written by: Jean Shepherd, Bob
Clark, Leigh Brown. Starring: Charles Grodin, Kieran Culkin, Mary
Steenburgen, Christian Culkin.
Voiceovers, Radio & TV Commercials, etc.
Alfa-Romeo Cars
Alka-Seltzer
Amercian Cancer Society
American Gas Foundation
Carvel Ice Cream
Drakes Cakes
Greyhound Bus
Illinois Tool Works
Land Rover
Millbrook Bread
Rheingold Beer
Sealtest Ice Cream
Sylvania TV
Vlasic Pickles
"The Face Of FuManchu" 1964 Movie
"A Fine Madness" 1966 Movie
"Carousel of Progress", G.E. Exhibit/Disneyworld, Florida
Theatre
"Asylum" (1959) Closed in previews.
"A Banquet For The Moon" (1961)
"Voice of the Turtle" (1961)
"New Faces Of 1962" Co-writer and performer
For PBS/WGBH's American Playhouse
"The Phantom of the Open Hearth"
"The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters"
"Oldie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss"
"The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski"
Books include:
The America of George Ade
In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash
The Ferrari in the Bedroom
A Fistful of Fig Newtons
CONTACT:
Contact for Irwin Zwilling:
Agins Communications
Steve Agins, 212/666-8578
KEYWORD: NEW YORK
BW1017 OCT 16,1999
10:41 PACIFIC
13:41 EASTERN
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