Studs Terkel Dies

Louis Terkel arrived here as a child from New York City and in Chicago found not only a new name but a place that perfectly matched--in its energy, its swagger, its charms, its heart--his own personality. They made a perfect and enduring pair.

Author-radio host-actor-activist and Chicago symbol Louis "Studs" Terkel died today at his Chicago home at age 96.

At his bedside was a copy of his latest book, "P.S. Further Thoughts From a Lifetime of Listening," scheduled for a November release.

Beset in recent years by a variety of ailments and the woes of age, which included being virtually deaf, Terkel's health took a turn for the worse when he suffered a fall in his home two weeks ago.

It is hard to imagine a fuller life.

Keep reading Rick Kogan's obituary for Studs Terkel in the Tribune.

Read Huffington Post Chicago blogger Edward Lifson's recent interview with Studs on the 2008 election.

Watch this compilation of Studs discussing work, politics, art and his career (h/t Progress Illinois):

Comments

[TheAlchemist]

Studs, we sure will miss ye.

Indeed you were an ageless master of listening(AP), did gor grown-ups what Robert Coles does for children.

[jpzora]

Please move to headline. RIP Studs. We only pray and dream that there could ever be another like you.

[naschkatze]

How sad, just when I posted the other day how happy I was that Studs was going to see Obama become president. I have all his books, and he and his guests
are so memorable: the physician against nuclear proliferation who said that the US and Russia were like two men standing in a basement up to their necks in gasoline, and one says, "I have five matches," and the other says, "Aha, I have nine matches!"; Marcel Marceau describing doing an indirect performance for a single inmate on death row with mirrors and at the end hearing the clapping of one ; and Studs, I think, describing a migrant worker having nothing to show for his life of back-breaking labor except a cardboard box under the bed. When you can remember little special details like these after 26 years, you know he was good.

[TheAlchemist]

Mabye Studs already knew what we don't know for sure yet...in the liminal space before death time doesn't exist...he probably already saw President Obama...

[Rolf618]

Truly one of our nations greatest treasures. What a shame he could not have lived to see America reborn just a few days from now. We will miss you Studs!

[Chalkeater]

RIP Studs.

[milesvera]

All the best!

It's got to piss you off to get soo close to 100 & not quite make it, bloody good try mate.

[peacegurl48]

Brilliant, huge spirit, compassionate and so inclusive. RIP, you sill be missed.

[Mr Grey]

Goodbye Studs you will be missed, but you will be remembered.

[fightorleave2]

If anyone captured America's heart and soul, he did, and now I really want to re-read that bit about the soldier in Hiroshima, which was mentioned above. I hope it's on line.

[Shaddup]

Damnit. Studs was the best. I just checked his book "Chicago" out yesterday and started reading it last night. It was every bit as poetic as Algren's "City on the Make." Studs was the best. A shining example of what an American should be. God bless you, Studs.

[WilliePilgrim]

I'll miss Studs' perspective. He was a great interviewer and always seemed to bring out genuinely interesting aspects of his guests' lives and their points of view. My dad, for whom I am now the primary care-giver) on the other hand never liked Studs at all, and having grown up in Chicago, we'd often enough have some argument over things we'd come across when Studs was on the radio, but the point would be that we'd both listen him and from there a platform for our discussions could ensue. It was a different time and harder to simply immerse oneself in a media outlet where one was all but guaranteed to hear largely about what one found agreeable, spun for maxiumum sizzle. Being in disagreement didn't seem to sink into rancor with the frequency it does now. As a result my opinions I think we better informed for knowing the other side of the coin from a more intimate and comfortable position.
One thing I admire about Obama is that, like Studs and others of that ilk, he likewise appreciates, it seems to me, the breadth and depth of an argument and from that perspective seeks a solution that goes to the heart of the matter, whether human nature or logic, or with a more comprehensive understanding of the history of the people for whom these issues matter.
See ya' Studs.

[esgabel]

May there be an old Underwood Typewriter, a note pad and great many stories to collect--if we are known by the company we keep you have made it your business to bring alive the views of people we would never cross paths with...you have give individuals the dignity they are due and allowed all of us to absorb their wisdom. No more pain, no more age, once more with those you love and those you want to meet. God Bless You! Studs

[MNmommy]

You'll be missed, sir.

R I P

[solbro]

One of the greats. The personification of a Chicagoan.

[Heavenhound]

A true American original. I agree with a couple of others here who've noted that it's too bad he didn't live to see Obama elected (cross fingers, knock on wood, sign of the cross, spit three times). That declamatory yet warm and homespun voice, instantly recognizable. Though he perhaps didn't create that great artform, the oral history, he shaped it and refined it. "This American Life" and "The Moth," as well as the late Spalding Gray and other practitioners of the art, stand on his shoulders.