Signing Off: Jean Shepherd
By Vince Santarelli


Jean Shepherd, who entertained an entire generation with his nightly monologues on WOR (710 AM), died early Saturday. He was 78.

Shepherd is best remembered for his nightly 45-minute show on 50,000-watt WOR, during which he spun tales based on his childhood in Hammond, Ind.

In fact, his hometown became "Hohman" in his tales, and some of his more famous characters included Ralph Parker and his neighbors, the Bumpuses.

In addition to his radio work, Shepherd also was responsible for the classic 1983 film "A Christmas Story," and two PBS-TV specials, "Jean Shepherd’s America" and "Shepherd’s Pie."

Most referred to him as a radio monologue artist. He could tell a tale and keep you transfixed to that radio for the entire 45-minute show. Most of us listened to Shep with that transistor radio under the pillow, or with the earphone firmly planted in the right ear.

For me, Shep was a major part of growing up. Like many others, I listened to him on WOR-NY every night in the dark and tried not to laugh to loudly, lest I wake my parents.

He taught me that everyday life can full of humor and philosophical meaning. He brought his wit and satire to many forums. Radio, theatre, books, magazines, television and film were the canvases on which he could paint. Shep was one of the first true multi-media artists.

We were fortunate to have him and the great work he left behind.

Flick lives!

How many out there remember the Sweetheart soap incident? The strawberry shortcake at Prexie's promotion? When to respond, "seltzer bottle"? Or how about the Gogomobile? Back in the late '50s Shepherd warned us: listen long enough and you'll be hooked. And hooked we were! Forty years later, when I read the phrase "the old man," there's an echo of the only voice that can say it correctly. I think it's called imprinting. Others here have said better than I can just what an amazing effect he had on our lives---and it's all true.

Do any of you recall the Saturday in 1959 or so that Shep suggested we all meet in Washington Square Park near the arch and bring a kite? We were supposed to fly the kites, and, if stopped by the police, we were to say, "I'm just flying my kite." I didn't make it then. But I was thinking that if there's to be a funeral, and anyone knows where it will be held, those who can might show up with a kite.

Bill Haggerty, still out here in the darkness.

I haven't given Jean Shepherd much thought in many years, but was greatly saddened when I heard of his recent passing. The mention of his name brought back fond memories of my nights in the 1950's as a pre teen, under the covers and pretending to be asleep, but listening to Jean through a crystal radio hooked up to a radiator near my bed. His stories reflected every kid's experiences and helped shape my outlook on life. Although I never met him, he will be missed.

Mr. Shepherd was a gifted master of language and the art of storytelling. We laughed and cried with him because in telling his own stories, he was telling our stories. He was an intellectual with a heart. I am grateful for his legacy to us. May he rest in peace.

I was watching the Notre Dame game on Saturday and began to wonder where South Bend was in relation to other places in Indiana. I pulled out my Funk and Wagnalls Hammond World Atlas (no kidding) and fingered my way to the Indiana state map. I found South Bend, but my eyes were mysteriously drawn to that spot up in the upper left hand corner, so close to Illinois that the name Hammond is actually written over on the Illinois side of the page. And there it was . . . the birthplace of my hero.

It is eerie that less than 24 hours later I would learn that my hero was dead... continued

...continued from previous message . . .

Thank you so much for your tribute to home town boy Jean Parker Shepherd. I am sure that he would be (and probably is) flattered with all of the outpouring of sentiment about his passing. But knowing Shep, he would just chuckle and encourage you get on with life. "Hang by your thumbs and write if you get work!"

John Brandt
Augusta, Maine

PS: BTW, The Warren G Harding School looks way too modern to be the one Shep attended. Was there really an old WGHS, or did you guys just make this up? Hi Ho! Flick Lives!

No one had a more profound influence on my own radio style and career than Jean Shepherd and Long John Nebel. Shep, in particular, was for me a mentor, who taught me how to let my soul go and provide an entertaining stream-of-consciousness into a microphone, without the slightest thought of who might be listening.

In ham radio language (he was K2ORS), Jean is now a "silent key".

I wish he could come back to do a bit about his own life and death. It would be his crowning glory.

My regret is that I didn't contact him while there was still time. Then again, I'd like to think that maybe Jean heard me on the air once in a while, and would chuckle when he identified his own style caming back to him from the other side of the world.

This site has now become previous. Please keep it up.

Bob Zanotti
Swiss Radio International
Bern, Switzerland

I am much poorer these days because Jean Shepherd has passed on. I, too, huddled under the covers each night looking forward to whatever story Shep was going to tell me, trying not to let the old man know I was listening in. I look back in fondness to the "kid" stories, to the "army" stories, the ability to win a "brass figligee, with bronse oakleaf palm" Playing "Hindistan" on the Jaw Harp and kazoo. We'll miss you, Jean. Excelsior!

I was new to Hammond Indiana and assigned to cover a Hammond Centennial Parade with Mr. Shepherd as Grand Marshall. I went to the library the day before the event (Friday) to read Mr. Shepherd's works and was crestfallen to discover that they were in the "Calumet Room", only available Tuesdays and Thursdays... so I went to interview Mr. Shepherd, knowing only the brief bio material... he was not pleased to hear I hadn't read any of his writings; less pleased to discover why; and I, too became disenchanted...but fortunately, a radio reporter had read his stuff and was cracking up, so much that I was led to discover for myself the delight that lay in the fruitful mind of Mr. Shepherd... I became dear friends with the radio reporter for many years, until recently.. Mr. Shepherd's passing reminds me that dear friends must not be let go easily.....

Every time I watch A Christmas Story, it brings back the memories of listening to Shep on the mighty WOR 710 with that 50 kilowat smile! I always looked forward to 10:15 pm to hear that trumpet balst and the theme song roll, and Shep going into a complaint letter from those old blue haired lady John Gambling Fans. My views on life, my views on my surroundings, were shaped by Shep. Heck, I even got a B+ in English by using one of his stories about calling a phone number on the wall of a phone booth and getting the LaGuradia control tower (ala I Libertine!).

Since I now live in Tulsa OK, I will be listening to the tribute on WOR via the web. My kazoo and jews harp at the ready!

Guys and gals, don't mourn too much; don't grieve too much. Remember, Shep will always be with us in his works. Keep those knees loose!
Excelsior, you fat heads!
Bob Angarola, Tulsa OK

The SPECTRUM Radio Show is doing a tribute to Shep Saturday Evening at 11:00 PM Eastern Time October 23, 1999. The show can be heard on the Omega Radio Network WWCR, Nashville, Tn USA Shortwave 5070 Khz. or on the net at http://www.orn.com
Click on "Listen Live". The show is hosted by Mark Emanuele & Stan Olochwoszcz (Pronounced Oh-Lock-Woods), and can be heard every week at this time.

Like so many of you, I buried my old vacuum-tube laden radio under the covers, (against my parents' wishes) to hear Shepherd at a tender age. But you must understand that he was telling those stories to ME ALONE. I also liked to hear him sing "Ragtime Cowboy Joe," and "The Sheikh of Araby." I never made it to any "millings," but I dutifully put my radio on the sill of my open window for Shep to "hurl invectives," on my behalf, out into the East Orange, New Jersey darkness.

Jean Shepherd, I made my dad by a TR-3 in '58 because they sponsored your show. I took up and discarded boyfriends based on whether they were your devotees or not. I married another Shepherd listener, a "night person" like you and me, because it mattered to me. I will never forget.

I was in a Manhattan video store last night with a lady friend looking for a movie to rent. Noticing "A Christmas story", I remarked - "This is a real gem, it's from a story by Jean Shepherd". She then told me the sad news. I was unaware. Talk about mixed feelings, Jean's gone, but the woman I'm wooing is a big fan (which I didn't know) and, like me, listened to WOR faithfully each and every night.

"Gone! All gone! No turkey sandwiches, no turkey soup..." I can still hear his voice in my head. I'm very sad today, we have lost the greatest American story teller of this century. Blue-haired ladies, the chenille robe, the Old Man, Flick, Schwartz and the generator that would still be running at the end of the world, he made it all real to us. We are all richer for it.

He made the night a little brighter. Thank you my friend. Wherever you are may you keep everyone laughing and help them to remember the ordinary is seldom that, and sometimes priceless.

I wept when I heard Jean Shepherd had passed. I can honestly say he had more influence on my life than any person outside of my own parents. I wanted to be Jean Shepherd. I live in Los Angeles and write television and film scripts. I also host a talk radio show on KABC in Los Angeles. I would not being doing either of these if it had not been for Shepherd's powerful impact on my life. He was a great writer. He was one of radio's true giants. I am forever in his debt.

Flick Lives and Excelsior!

Doug McIntyre

Hailing from the Calumet Region I always felt like Shep was family. Being 32 years of age I wasn't really around to hear his legendary WOR material.
Thanks to the internet now I know how great he truly was. "A Christmas Story" is not only a Christmas classic but it always reminds me of home. Jean was a great storyteller who will be dearly missed. Thank God he left us with so much. Rest easy my friend, I'm sure the Old Man & Uncle Carl have a few cold one's waiting for you. Thanks for remembering "SHEP," one of our very own!

BP
born in Hammond (aka Hohman)
now of Highland, IN

I loved growing up in Hammond, and loved Shep's stories about the area. One of my favorite stories Shep told was when the theaters in Hammond gave away dishes each week. There was supposed to be a different one each week, but somehow the shipments were delayed. They gave out gravy boats week after week, with the intent of having the customers trade them in on the other dishes when they arrived. The movie-goers got so fed up with the gravy boats, one week the audience stood up in the theater, yelled "We don't want your %$#@& gravy boats!" and began throwing them on stage. By the way, if anyone is interested, you can purchase a copy of the infamous "leg lamp" from "A Christmas Story." They are about $100, and you get your choice of stockings and shoes. E-mail me if you would like the address of the company. DHabben@aol.com

I came along a bit later...late 60's, but Jean was a great hit, especially when toking on one's favorite smoke...how he would take us to the ends of the universe and back...

And a fellow ham...

Rest in peace, brother,

Len Grasso
Portland, Oregon
WB2WFO

I was one of the multitudes who Jean Shepherd entertained in the 60s. I was in awe of the fact that he could sit down at a microphone 5 days a week, 45 minutes a day and became the supreme racantuer(a term he would have disliked). I heard the special that WOR radio ran shortly after his death. Despite that fact that my tastes in humor have changed over the course of 3 decades, my appreciation of Jean Shepherd had not. The snippets that WOR ran on the special emphasized the brilliance of this man. Jean's last radio interview was on New York's WEVD Radio some months before he died. It was hosted by Alan Combes and it revealed the fact that although Jean Shepherd was able to paint on an audio canvas like no other, he felt that radio was just a means to an end. In truth, if Jean Shepherd did not fulfill his destiny, he shaped a great many others and we are fortunate that his voice, writing and words will live on forever.

One of the most memorable story that Shep told relates to one of his so-called army experiences.

The sarge turns to Shep, and says: "Soldier, I want you to pick 6 men and charge that pill box". Shep's response was that he would immediately find the first 6 Chicago White Sox fans and have them join in the charge. Why? Because they measure victory in terms of defeats",

I have thought of that sage advise many times in my life to help me with my objectives. You have to reflect upon what success means, and Shep surely knew how to define life.

I had no idea Jean Shepherd was gone. I only just found out in the 1999 wrap up issue of the NY Times Magazine. I was so upset I couldn't believe it. I grew up listening to Shep and his tales and exploits. He was the best and he did it all with style and humor. He was so avant-garde and hip waaaay before anyone else. Getting his audience to phone in if they had a plaster Mexican in the garden or if a woman was a "tomato"...plus, he toured with the Beatles for Playboy.
He introduced us all to the work of Robert Service, and Thomas Wolfe, and he had the best laugh. Who could ever forget him chuckling over some story he was telling?
His passing leaves an unfillable void in the universe.There can never be another Jean Shepherd. We'll miss him.

I just wanted to say that growing up in the 60's for was a difficult one. Jean Shepard amazed me with his wit and whimsical charm. He truly was a gifted man and I thank God for our ability to save his works for generations to come. His soft yet energetic voice was a true joy to listen to.
I am older now, but my 3 year old now too enjoys the treasure of the "Shep" as we listen and savour
his timeless tales. Thank you Shep, you will not be forgotten.
Peace

does anyone recall a story by shepard called THE PHANTHOM OF THE OPEN HEARTH ?

Shep made me undersand how to be funny and how to be a rebel. For better or for worse he shaped my way to be. I loved him and I will miss him.

I just found out ten minutes ago and am shocked.I
guess we all thought Shep would always be there.
Yes..I too was a nocturnal phantom..with World War II aviators headphones wired to an old wooden
art-deco radio with a golden dial lit by a single small bulb...I listened...10:15-11:00 every night.
It was entering another world so much richer than
the one we had...He was a true Master of the Spoken Word...I wonder if his shows are preserved anywhere...WOR archives?..are they available.Rest easy pal.

One evening some 43 years ago I was alone in our
basement apartment in Queens, NY, twirling the
radio knob aimlessly, when a mid-western man's
voice speaking in a conversational, not "radio,"
voice caused me to release my fingers. The voice
was warm, close, amused and vaguely
conspiratiorial

"So I'm sitting in this restaurant, Sardi's,
across from this fantastic chick, and she's
sniffing." And the man sniffed and sniffed again
and cracked into brief laughter. I laughed, too,
and at that instant became a devotee of somebody
whose name I didn't know, who turned out to be
Jean Shepherd.

His story that evening was typical Shepherd, about
the gulf between our fantasies and our real lives,
told with insight and humor. For me, the
inarticulate restlessness of my spirit suddenly
found form and shape. I didn't feel so overwhelmed
by the world, or myself. I was in a psychic
balloon that could rise high above both earth and
clouds, high enough to see it all resolve into
comic relief. Until I fashioned my own viewpoint,
Jean Shepherd's informed and guided me through
adolescence and early adulthood. Worse things
could happen.

When I learned that he died, I suddenly became a
much younger person than I was even 45 years ago.
I cried like a little child

It's been almost a year since his passing but I clipped and saved the obit which appeared in the Seattle Times that weekend. Many fond memories and good laughs were recalled by the sad news on that days and on many days thereafter. He was a rare talent and great guide to the night. I used to listen to him while under covers in bed when I was a young teen living far down the Jersey Shore and faraway New York, and Indiana, were made all the more magical by his stories. He will always be missed by me but I know, too that Flick lives!

In April 2000, the NPR affiliate in Seattle, KUOW, aired a 2-hour tribute, "Voice in the Night:A Tribute to Jean Shepherd," narrated by Harry Shearer which airing, sadly, I missed because I was out of town (drying my feathers in the sun somewhere.) On inquiry, learned that the program was produced by NPR affiliate KCRW in Santa Monica CA. Called (1-800-600-KCRW)to learn that the 2 CD set was not "for sale" but available only as a pledge premium for a minimum $55 subscription (and assurance that you'll end up on the mailing list of every non-profit in Southern California.) Perhaps we can request and entreat our local NPR outlets to offer the CDs as premiums in their pledge drives. How about it? Open your window and turn up the volume; Ready!?

A decade or so back, I saw "The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters," a short movie written by Jean Shepard, broadcast on PBS. I have been trying to purchase a copy to show to my literature classes since. Is it available anywhere?

What a delight to read Jean's stories, my first introduction to him was his book entitled "Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories". I laughed until my sides hurt. A good friend introduced me to his radio show in the middle 1970's and I still recall his half hour show, one in particular,that he read a letter composed by him that could be sent to any business, utility company, etc. that sounded incredibly professional, but said absolutely nothing. What a hoot! He will be greatly missed, but what a gift he left us.

This guy was an original, in an age of hype. He had a short fuse for baloney coupled with great imagination. I learned so much from his talks ... how many books and places he sparked and I wonder if Jean ever realized how much he influenced people? 30 years later and I still remeber his talks. Wish he was around today, when the bull is even piling higher!
Thanks Mr. Shepherd, Roberta

One night, Shep told us to write Flick Lives on top of the next test paper that we handed in. I faithfully did so. On returning the paper, Mr. Birk asked me "What does this mean?" As instructed, I answered "You would'nt understand."
On the last day of my 11th. grade year, he asked again and I held my ground-"You would'nt understand." He walked away shaking his head.
With Shep's passing I feel I as if I lost one of my best friends!
Flick lives!

I remember the day Jack Keroac died and Shep spent the entire program reading from On the Road.
The next day i went out and stole that book from the local library ."the cops won't put no flies on my ass". I still read that book.
Good Bye Shep

When I was 10, my brother (12) and I hounded my mother to get us red transistor radios that were being sold cheaply (with a fill-up) at the Texaco station. She said there was no way that we could afford them, and we forgot about it. On Christmas morning, however, we discovered the very same radios under the tree, and we started dial twiddling and using up batteries at a rapid clip. We lived in Pennsylvania, outside northeast Philly, and most of the stations were local, but one night as I was hiding under the tent I would construct out of my bedsheets, I came across a soothing voice telling stories in what I immediately recognized as a conspiratorial tone. It was a signal from WOR-AM in New York, and the voice was Jean Shepherd, and I listened to him from then on for many years, and now, 36 years later, I consider him to have been one of the main influences in my development of character & knowledge of humanity.

My other memory of Shep was my mom ripping pages of his stories out of Playboy magazine and stapling the pages together (hidden T&A) so I could read them.

I was recently in a local used-book store, and came upon a 2-disk program produced by Harry Shearer, and on it were the words, "Jean Shepherd died in October, 1999". I stood in front of the used CD bin and cried. You were loved, and will be missed, Shep!

I was introduced to jean shepherd's WOR radio program way back in 1963 in catholic high school. Our English teacher-- Father Ignatius told us to
listen to this guy who told stories on the radio.
I was hooked ever since on Jean Shepherd. I saw him perform many times at the Lamplight in the East Village and on the NJ college scene-- at Rutgers; Kean College and at Seton Hall. He visited our campus pub and said he was impressed with our Tiffany lamp collection and the fact that we had a
fireplace. I still have many of his radio shows on tape and they are still poignant and hilarious after 30 years. Rest in Peace, Jean.

you know the story about the girls from east chicago........well it was like that with my east chicago polish boy friend and me.....it's true, it's true, the story is deja vu

Thanks Shep

Ah . . . the light grows dimmer daily - I remember listening to Shep nightly, under the covers, like most others here, until my mom figured out what was going on and let me leave the radio on my table and listen . . . As I grew older, I made sure to be home by 9 in the evening, so I could listen to Shep - he'd have gotten a kick out of knowing that he was contributing to the reduction of the teen delinquency rate.

I barely remember any of the details of the stories he told - but I remember the listening. What a wonderful, warm, innocent time that was.

Thanks, Shep. RIP.

Wow, I can't believe that I missed the obit back in 1999. I just found out about his death while browsing eBay, of all places!

Living in South Jersey, my radio was able to pick up his nightly show on WOR, which I listened to (or at least fell asleep listening to) during most of the mid/late 1960s. I also watched his PBS shows when I could.

Then, one night home from grad school (sometime around 1980 or '81), my parents told me they were going to see "some humorist named Jean Shepherd" lecture at Camden County College, and that I was "welcome to come along if I feel up to it". I couldn't believe they forgot how much I liked listening to him back in the 60s! Anyway, I grabbed my well-worn paperback copy of In God We Trust and tagged along. The stories were all familiar ones; I remember just sitting there, rarely laughing, but grinning from ear-to-ear. Of course I had to meet one of my childhood idols. He was (to my pleasant surprise) very approachable and friendly offstage. As I recall, we had a fairly lively conversation. The biggest question I had was whether his stories were autobiographical. Though many of us would believe that were so, he described himself as a simple storyteller, hinting that his stories were perhaps based on life experiences, but largely fictitious. I also remember asking why he would come to Princeton for an annual lecture, but never to my alma mater, Rutgers - he said it was because Rutgers never invited him! (Victor Tam's message indicates that he did come to RU later in his career). As our conversation ended, I asked for his autograph, and he readily obliged. My signed, beaten-up paperback remains as the evidence of a real night of golden memories.

Hello, my name is Jessi and I grew up on Highland Street in Hammond. I am sad to say that I never heard of Jean Shephard until just last year, but it has made a lasting impression. Let me share.
Christmas of 91 was the first time I ever watched "A Christmas Story". I was 21 and it was the first
holiday I spent as a wife and mother. My husband saw the movie and thought it was so funny that we made a point to watch it when it came on again. I really enjoyed it and it has since become "our" xmas flick. Well, year after year we would see it and I kept telling my husband that the movie reminded me of home. Everytime I saw it I felt a yearning for home. We even rented "A Summer Story" which had the same affect. I eventually caught the part where he mentions northwest Indiana and thought it was coincidental. Then last year on this very message board I learned of Jean Shepherd and his Hammond upbringing. It finally made sense to me why those movies made me think of home, because it is home. I just think it is so wonderful that my heart made the connection to Hammond long before my mind did, and that our town was so deep within this man that he could convey it to me with just his words.
I'm not sure I am explaining it so well but it's hard to put into words how I felt when I learned why I had such a homesickness everytime I watched this movie. I just think it's cool.
Thanks for reading me,
Jessi

To Steve Parker: In your memorial notes you make a nice comment about Shep's WOR program. You write that the show was "...quite popular with a large audience." Does this mean that it was not so popular with smaller audiences? That's exactly how it reads to a lot of people, you bozo! May I suggest, "the popular show had a large audience"?

David Goldenberg
NYC

Please be enlightened, gang...the wonderful Jean Shepherd we knew and loved was not the female second rate country and music singer who had the same name (though spelled Jean.)

The first time I ever knew anything about Jean Shepherd was in a short story in Playboy magizine, I think in the sixty's. The story was , as I recall, the flight of the "blue assed buzzard". The movie, A Christmas story is a classic, as most Shepherd fans know is a compilation of a series of stories published in both "In god we trust" and "Wanda Hickey's night of golden memorys". Although I am not quite of the age of Ralph and Randy, I do remember the time peroid and era very well.
I miss the man and his sense of place and time. My grand children will appreciate his sense of humour along with me.
I almost wish we had a coal fired furnace and an Oldsmobile that would freeze up in July, along with everything Jean created or recalled from his childhood.
A Jean Shepherd Man.

How about a movement to turn Shep's boyhood home into a Jean Sheperd museum? It would be a great idea, folks..lesser American icons have been so honored intheir home towns..its Shep's time..

It seems as if I spent my entire life listening to, and enjoying, Jean Shepherd. I remember hearing him as a sort of "disc jockey" on a show I think was called "Drive East"...or did I just imagine it? He had a contest to decide who would be shot out of a giant slingshot from Manhattan over the Hudson river into New Jersey. I think John Foster Dulles won....or did I imagine that too?

Anyway, more than forty five years later, I am convinced he was America's greatest humorist. I'll miss him but I'm sure his stories will live on for generations to come.

Jean Shepherd's nightly broadcasts on WOR Radio in New York were truly classic. I remember Mr. Shepherd's account/tale of how great it would be, to fill-in for an injured Mickey Mantle as the Yankee's centerfielder in the "House That Ruth Built." (Kind of strange for a lifelong White Sox fan. What would the "Old Man" have said about that?)

I especially remember hearing Mr. Shepherd broadcast live on Friday nights from the Lime Light nightclub in Greenwich Village. On one particular Friday night, Mr. Shepherd recounted to the audience how, as a teenager, he used to hide his adult magazines behind the furnace in his parents' basement. Mr. Shepherd regaled everyone with an hilarious description of how he took great pains to conceal his "reading material" from his mother and younger brother, Randy. Mr. Shepherd concluded his story by saying that one day, the "Old Man" came out of the basement with a handful of the previously secreted magazines, and said to his young son (who thought that he was about to be chewed out by his stern father), "Hey, did you get the July issue yet?" Long live Daphne Bigelow!

I wish to thank those who created this loving tribute to a man I only knew through radio, and story telling on the made for TV Christmas Story. I for one have no idea as to what he looked like, but in that may be that gives me reason to like his voice and stories the more. I feel that his art and craft made him everyman, and yes every child. For he was one and will always be one of us. Few can be as exacting in story telling from a childs' point of view with simple and direct words that paints all of what it means to be a child. Where everything is too big - from spoons to emotions and the world of adults. Few can tell simple stories about being an adult trying to cope with the modern world and family and make each character dramatic and an important member of the cast. Each story he makes a stab at a moral point. He shakes you up about your own moral point of view. It can be as a simple scene about truth telling and being honest and yet being loyal. On the surface they look like a simple issue, but when you look beneath the surface story Jean makes the issue very complex. I am now a grandparent and I have introduced my own to Jean and I hope she will pass on his legacy to her own. His loss means to me that there will be no more new stories, and his family, personal friends will no longer have his ever present love, attention, and affection or get to sit near a fire place and hear his story for the ninth time and smile and be willing to listen yet again. God, I am sure is giving Jean all the time he wants to tell more stories or make them up as eternity goes along. Rest now Jean, you deserve your halo, and I will never stop listening to your stories.

With deep Bahai love,
Robert Jones

It was Jean Shepherd who was responsible for the big laughter coming from the projection booth of the Moorlyn Theater in Ocean City, New Jersey, though the 1970s. I can only hope the theater patrons paid more attention to the film I was running than I did, for I began to read him and from then on my world became "Hohman," Indiana, and a gangly mix of furnace-fighting fathers, cabbage-scented kitchens and drum majors who could short out entire towns with a single baton throw. It was Jean Shepherd who gave me asthma, I'm convinced. God bless you, Jean. We miss you.

http://www.flicklives.com/index.htm

Great webpage dedicated to Jean Shepherd.

I grew up in the region in the sixties and have had the good fortune to have worked from coast to coast. Now that I will soon turn fifty and have a twelve year old son I have been sharing stories with him about what it was like when I grew up. A Christmas story is about as close as it gets. This is his favorite movie and I suspect is is for alot of kids. He is now reading Jean's books and we have has alot of laughs together. I am sorry that I did not experience his radio show. I am glad that they are on tapel

I was touring with a rock back back in the 70's and we were playing in a small town in Iowa when the owner gave me his old collection of Playboys. Now, I wasn't any different than any other 18-year-old boy of the time (who reads the articles, right?) but sitting on a park bench in the middle of that small town, I began to read a story by a Jean Shepherd. Something to do with getting his old toys one Christmas. And I was hooked. I found more stories by the man, and bought his books and only years later, when Christmas Story came out, did I find out the man had a voice! And what a voice it was!
Needless to say, a lot of water has gone under that bridge since then, but Jean still stands to me as the quintessential storyteller. By word or voice, he evokes images that are beyond time and space.
And incidentally, the only Playboys I still have are the ones with his stories in them.

Live long and prosper, man of words. We need more like you -- a LOT more.

It was February of 1958. My roommate and I were freshmen, studying for first semester finals at the University of Delaware and spinning the radio dial, looking for background music when we picked up the voice of a man describing his coming across a truck full of dancing bears on a city street late one night.
There was something about that voice and the way he used it that absolutely transfixed me;I could not stop listening.
For the next twenty years, through good times and bad (for both him and me) I listened to that voice as station WOR changed his air time from Sunday night to Saturday morning to weeknights. His show was real "talk radio"; four solid hours, from 9 pm on Sunday night to 1 am on Monday morning (with a 15-minute news break at 11) of Shepherd soliloquy. No music (except as background) no guests, just Shep, doing his thing like no one else could do. It was through him that I learned of Dr. Fu Manchu, George Ade, Japanese Haiku poetry, and any number of other subjects that broadened my range of knowledge as much as my college education did.
I had the good fortune to meet him twice: once on Sheridan Square in Greenwich Village when he was doing a live remote broadcast on Saturday nights from a bistro called the Limelight (is it still there?) and once at an automobile show in New Hope, PA, where he was sort of a Grand Marshal.
At his best, Garrison Keillor can come close, but I'm afraid that we'll never see Shep's equal again. I never imagined that there would be as many web sites dedicated to him as there are, but I'm grateful for them.

I bought my first volvo on sheps say so. nice car but it had a rattle in the rear end. couldn't figure out what it was. it's gone now to some junk yard out there in jersey. still remember it though.

Everything I know, at least everything I learned from the
early 1960s until I left New York and the USA in 1972, I
owe to Shep. For awhile I had friends record his
broadcasts and mail them to me abroad.

What a blessing to find them, or some of them, on-line
now: I can catch up on the ones I missed in their
hundreds.

Shep was unique among English-language performers:
in French, it doesn't matter what you say or whether you
say anything substantive at all, listeners will still be
respectful and impressed with your verbiage. But, Shep
aside, English-speaking listeners will complain with
slow handclap and stomping of feet if someone tries
talking poetic nonsense in their language.

Shep on the other hand could extemporize between
substantive gems and listeners still would be glued to
their radios. A master of the genre.

Andy, KC2XK
London, GB

My best Shep memory is:
For my Bart Mitzvha, the only present I wanted was going to the Limelight to see a live "Shep Show." Happily they took me to see the master and we all enjoyed it

Jean Shepherd was my favorite humorist from 1972-1976 via the then-mighty WOR (50,000 Watts of Power! 710 on your AM dial). I listened to him over my $2.95 Radio Shack single diode radio, with the antenna connected to the screen window and the ground to the baseboard radiator. Despite the generational differences, his Depression era stories and conversational tone became an integral part of my childhood memories and the core of my preferred style of story-telling. The four books of collected short stories were wonderful. My only regret was that I missed recording his PBS series "Jean Shepherd's America" and more importantly the B&W plays, beginning with "The Phantom of the Open Hearth." It is very hard to find recordings of his work although I once ran into an audio-cassette titled "Shepherd's Pie" that covered the battle between two legendary pull-string tops that was so vivid, I thought that I was reliving the radio show. The best memory was also generational in nature - it turns out that my Dad used to listen to Shep over the radio as well in the 1950's and early 60's before age and responsibility (and Mom) put him to bed at an earlier hour.

So it goes.... The bear missed the train and now he's walking....

The phrase "Ahead of his time" is often over used and incorrect but in his case, it fits like a glove. He not only made you laugh (I've had 3 operations to repair the splits in my side from laughing so hard) but also, and perhaps more importantly, made you THINK! I listened to him on radio as a teenager and more recently on tape, same effect. Shep's gone and while we'll miss him, yet, thanks to those who have saved the tapes, he's still here. That's it for me, I'm going Scraggin'!

As a student in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I first heard Shep in 1960 while accidentally tuning in WOR. Later, while working in Princeton, NJ, I listened to his show every night. When camping in Canada I even taped the show in my tent.

I once met Shep while dining in a restaurant in Greenwich Village. We shared memories of growing up in the Midwest and then he launched one of his many spellbinding stories. Such a genuine and wise man one too seldom finds!

Advance readings of KING OF THE MILD FRONTIER are inspiring laughter and a comparison author Chris Crutcher considers immensely rewarding.

"This guy could be the next Jean Shepherd."

Born in 1946, Crutcher grew up in rural Idaho listening to Jean Shepherd's radio shows almost as faithfully as he read the true-life stories of Davy Crockett. So the fact that those warm early memories fed his creative subconscious, isn't surprising.

Read an excerpt of KING OF THE MILD FRONTIER at Crutcher's website -- www.aboutcrutcher.com -- and see for yourself. The book will be available from HarperCollins in early May of 2003.

Amazon.com: buying info: King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised Autobiography

47 years ago, I was this kid in New York who became hooked and sleepless while laughing into his pillow. I bought all of Shep's books, read most of his magazine articles and many times saw his "live" radio show in the Village. The news of his passing made me sad, but thank goodness he'll always be with us. It was a treat to take the kids to Disney World and hear that voice one more time - a little raspier, but unchanged - doing the voice of an Animitronics character in the Carousel of Tomorrow. Excelsior!

"A Christmas Story" was the alternative title to his reportedly preferred title "Satan's Revenge"?

I just laughed out loud. He still makes me laugh out loud. A subversive, comedically brilliant interpretive assault on the dark side of Christmas.

When I was about 11, living in north Jersey, I used to listen to his show while lying in bed. I'd never fall asleep until the show was over.

Amen. Rest in peace. I'm certain there's a place in heaven for humorists, probably with more comforable sofas and lots of Labrador Retrievers...

It's Christmas eve 2002 and I only just learned that a great talent is gone. It greatly saddens me. I was one of his staunch devotees. I listened to him for many years in NY. First finally saw him when Christmas Story aired in the early 80's. I was a BB gun nut and my folks were not, so I had to live it in retrospect vicariously. I feel I have lost a friend and now I will scour the library for his tomes: Thanx for all the joy and smiles Jean: rest in peace.

I wish I'd been born a bit earlier, so that I too could have listened to Mr.Shepard's marvelous tales under the covers at night with my transistor radio. I shall make an attempt to find and read all of his work. Meanwhile, regarding the posting from Mr. Bill Haggerty, in October 1999, he sugggested that everyone bring a kite to Mr.Shepard's Funeral. Did it happen ?!

What a treat to hear about those who knew of Jean Shepherd, our hometown hero. I graduated from HHS in '60 and moved to San Diego in '69. I discovered Jean from the TV showing of "A Christmas Story" after which I researched the background of the movie. I was thrilled to know that Hammond was famous for something other than being a "bedroom town" and for the bad air. I, also, discovered that my son's English teacher here, believe it or not, was Arnold Kunert, a '59 HHS grad! Amazing cooincidence!! I am a high school teacher (still in San Diego) and delight in telling my students that "the guy who wrote "A Christmas Story" (which they all know and love) went to the same high school that I did.

"A Christmas Story" is part of our Christmas celebration. Mr Shepard's writings and remind me fondly of my family and friends who lived in Hammond and my childhood visits there. He is a treasure.

A few years ago I rented Ollie Hopnoodles Haven of Bliss. Living in central indiana, I had no idea who Jean Shepherd was, and never heard of him on radio. I rented this film for my children and my wife and I loved the film also. We became hooked! I finally purchased a copy and literally have watched it over a hundred times. My four year old was hooked from day one, and she is glued to the screen throughout the entire movie. We now have A Chrstmas Story which is a true classic. I noticed in a book by Jean Shepherd that he dedicates the book, A Fistfull of Fig Newtons, to his wife and Daphene. I noticed on Ollie Hopnoodles Haven of Bliss at the end of the movie, the dog as Fuzhead is Daphene. I am assuming the dog in the film actually belonged as a pet to Jean Shepherd.
Jean Shepherd was a genius and makes me think back to the times of my childhood, long ago memories. Whe he says in Ollie Hopplenoodles Haven of Bliss that there are no vacations like the one's of your youth, he touched a nerve. He is absolutely correct. Sadly enough as a child growing up, I didn't realize how important everything actually was, and you can never go back!
Watching A Summer Story was wonderful and I was appalled reading about this film and how it went directly to video. My girls all have a top now and some of the neighborhood kids have a top also. Today, toys have to talk, walk ect. for kids to enjoy. No imagination what so ever! Today, everyone expects children to grow up too fast! With Shepherd's work, my kids found happiness playing with tops, marbles, jacks, and yoyo's. toys like that, can make a child become more creative using thier imagination.
My parents are gone, but Sheo made me realize the fond memories of growing up and holding on to the memories of my childhood. Styles and trends change, but inside every adult is a kid. Shep instilled that in me forever. My dream is to purchase the radio tapes from WOR radio. I feel like I have missed out never hearing his stories on radio. It surprises me that he was only on a few radio stations. He should have been national! He was a unique individual with talents that are very scarce today. He may be gone, but he is still alive in our house. I hope my kids pass Shep down to my grandchildren someday!

Wow- Shep's dead? Sad.
I met him once. I fenegled an interview for my high school newspaper, Thos. Jefferson High, Elizabeth NJ. Got the interview, never wrote anything.
But the first time I saw him, my friend Tommy Lussen and I just wandered into 1440 Broadway one Saturday morning, and we were naive enough to think we could just walk into WOR studios, and happen to find Shep there, and...I don't know, watch him. WE DID! He was recording an upcoming weeknight show. Couldn't talk to him, but the engineer - he and Shep were the only persons there - let us watch and listen. Shep was alone with his mike and oblivious to us.
When we left, we passed through the lobby, and a desperate guy runs up and says "Are you here for bottlecap baseball?" We said "Sure", and he ushered us into a set next to the Joe Franklin's Memory Lane set, and we sat on bleachers with a few kids, and the producer explained this was a game but also a 1/2 hour sales pitch for the game "Bottlecap Baseball", and then who walks in? This week's guest celebrity - Mel Stottlemeyer.
I could go on.
Excelsior, you fatheads!
P.S. - do they sell recordings of the show anywhere?

Yes, check out www.flicklives.com for info and
links to buy all kinds of stuff!
Amy

'A Christmas Story' Comes Early
JEAN SHEPHERD FESTIVAL
COMES TO AUTHOR'S HOMETOWN
The Jean Shepherd Festival is on the way,
September 18th is the day, and Hammond,
Indiana is the place for this very first Jean
Shepherd Festival to be held in the author's
hometown, of Hammond, Indiana on
Chicago's South Side.
Hammond is the place Shepherd
immortalized in his many books, films, on his
radio show, and most notably, in the classic
holiday film 'A Christmas Story', which will
come to life this fall when Christmas comes
early to celebrate his life and work!
The all day event will include special guests,
rare videos screenings, exciting movie related
merchandise, as well as Jean Shepherd
artifacts, raffles, leg lamps, kazoos, and so
much more.
Part of the prceeds for this event will be
donated to the Jean Shepherd Community
Center to create a permanent Jean Shpeherd
display for the City of Hammond to enjoy, and
continue to learn about this community's
favorite son.
The festival will be held at the newly opened
Jean Shepherd Community Center in
Hammond, Indiana, just a 20 minute drive
from Downtown Chicago. The event will be
held September 18th, 2004 from 1 to 8pm.
Tickets are $10 and include a free raffle entry.

For more Information:
http://www.il
ostmyeye.com
Email:
jeanshe
pherdfest@yahoo.com

I saw Shep at a gathering in NYC once around 1968. All I remember is him grinning down at us from his podium, and our gaping up at our hero. Everything he said had meaning yet it was always about the most "trivial" observations. Relistening to his recordings now, thirty years later, I realize *he* made me what I am today, much more than the vaunted sixties icons of that day whose vapid ideas have now faded from memory. Shep was that wacky uncle who made our humdrum parents--too burdened with raising us--roll on the floor laughing with us. At least that's how I'd like to remember those otherwise difficult times. That we now have his recordings--timeless commentary on things universal--should make every one of us glad to be alive (if only half as alive as Shep was, AND IS!!!)

Jean Shephord is a very good writer. I wasn't around in his time but I have seen the movie "A Christmas Story" and I am now reading the book. My dad is a big fan and has a signed copy of one of his books. From what I am finding out Mr. Shepherd could almost do it all. He seems to have won so many awards I can't count them all!

I grew up on the same hundred block but one street over from where Jean Shepard lived in Hessville. I am now 38 years old. I vividly remember trick or treating at Mr. Shepards house. He would carve a huge Jack O Lantern , big enough to put over his head and that was his costume when passing out candy.It used to terrify me. And in response to one of the earlier posts regarding the appearnace of the current Warren G Harding elemetary school not looking old enough for the era " A Christmas Story" portrays. Warrren G Harding was rebuilt across the street from the old school I believe in the early 60s.

www.coolbeanzcoffee.tk

I still hear his voice in the back of my mind, as he recounts the tale of the dago bomb that backfired. I had the opportunity to see him perform on New Years Eve in Dec 1968 at the City Center in NY. It was a last minute decision by a group of us (I had already been indoctrinated to his monologues), and the 5 of went out laughing our heads off at his stories which have proven timeless. Just think, an entertainer/satirist who could get the deepest belly laughs out of a huge crowd without having to resort to 4 letter expletives. He was a man light years ahead of his
time in comedic brillance.

I remember seeing the Jean Shepard movie "The Great American 4th of July" years ago on TV. It was so funny, but have not seen it in the past 20 years. Does anyone have a copy or know where it could be obtained? I spent my youth listening with great pleasure to his show on WOR.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 8, 2005
Media Contacts:
Sara Conley or Megan Kortemeyer, PCI
312-558-1770
Gina Doyle, MBC, 312-396-0103

NATIONAL RADIO HALL OF FAME NAMES CLASS OF 2005

Comedy legends Abbott & Costello, sportscaster Marty Brennaman, ABC White House correspondent

Ann Compton, football commentator Myron Cope, and humorist Jean Shepherd to be inducted later this Fall


Chicago (August 8, 2005) – A group of six national and local radio celebrities representing politics, sports, humor and classic comedy will be inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame during a nationally broadcast ceremony Saturday, November 5, 2005, National Radio Hall of Fame president Bruce DuMont announced today.


The inductees are:

The legendary comedy team of Abbott & Costello (the late Bud Abbott and the late Lou Costello)
Marty Brennaman, Cincinnati Reds broadcaster
Ann Compton, ABC News Radio White House correspondent
Myron Cope, Pittsburgh Steelers color commentator
The late Jean Shepherd, radio humorist



“The National Radio Hall of Fame Class of 2005 personifies radio’s unique ability to inform, engage, entertain, and delight generations of audiences over diverse programming formats,” said DuMont, who also is president of the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago. “We’re pleased to welcome this year’s inductees. Each has made a significant contribution to the medium of radio, and their names will be enshrined for future generations to acknowledge, both in the new Museum of Broadcast Communications and online.”


The Museum of Broadcast Communications, home to the National Radio Hall of Fame, is in the midst of a major capital fundraising project to convert its building at State and Kinzie Streets to a new, state-of-the-art, 70,000 square-foot museum featuring working radio and television studios and other interactive exhibits and entertainment space showcasing broadcasting’s leading personalities. The new MBC will be the first public museum in the nation built to a Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standard. Construction is under way and the new museum is scheduled to open in late summer 2006.


Westwood One will produce and distribute nationally the special one-hour radio broadcast of the ceremony. The national broadcast will be heard on WOR/New York, WGN and WLS in Chicago and other major stations from coast-to-coast.


Inductees were selected through a national balloting process that included participation by radio executives, broadcast historians and members of the National Radio Hall of Fame. Ballots were tabulated and certified by the firm of Altschuler, Melvoin and Glasser LLP/American Express Tax and Business Services. Travel and promotional support is being provided by American Airlines and the Renaissance Chicago Hotel.


About the National Radio Hall of Fame


The National Radio Hall of Fame recognizes and showcases contemporary talent from today’s diverse programming formats as well as the pioneers who shaped the medium during its infancy. For more information, visit www.radiohof.org.




Tickets to the National Radio Hall of Fame November 5 black-tie induction dinner at the Renaissance Chicago Hotel may be purchased online at www.radiohof.org.


Note to Editors: Biographical information on the 2005 National Radio Hall of Fame inductees is attached. Photos of inductees are available by contacting Sara Conley, Public Communications Inc. at 312/558-1770 or

by e-mail: sconley@pcipr.com .

It is hard to believe that 5+ years have gone by and I just learned that Jean is no longer with us. I think he will always be with me. I first heard about him from a friend in the mid 50's. As teenagers we were supposed to go to bed around 11P.M. but we staid up and listened to the wildest thing I ever heard. He was the first person to open my mind to the vast universe of thoughts. Thanks Jean. You will always be with me. Yours, Joel Spivak

___ / _ _ _ _ / ___ _ _ ___ / ___ ___ ___ / ___ ___ / ___ ___ _ _ _/_ _ _ ___ ___ / _/_ _ _ / ___ ___ _ / _ _ ___ / ___ _ _ / ___ _ _ / ___ _ _ ___ / ___ _ ___ / _ _ ___ ___ ___ / ___ ___ ___ / _ ___ _ / _ _ _ / ___ _ _/_ / _ ___ / _ / ___ _ _ _ _ / ___ _ ___ _ / _ ___ ___ _ / ___ _ ___ / _ / _

Shep will get it...

What is the adolescence & psychological stream of cosciousness in James Joyce's short story Araby?
From-
Abhishek Chakraborty,
Student,Department of English ,
The University of Calcutta,India

Merry Christmas, on the Christmas after the White Sox finally won it all!

I was Jean Shepherd.
My life so closely parallels Randy Parker that it is scary. "A Christmas Story" is like my autobiography. REALLY
I was born in 1948 and had three brothers. I was the oldest. My Dad was a constant beer drinker. Mom was the selfless Earth Mother. My brothers ran the gamut. Randy was in there.
We had many used cars, little enough money, Mom cooked meatloaf or Fischer’s Garlic Franks with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes VERY frequently.
A Christmas for us was the real Christmas Story in Louisville, Kentucky. The store was Sears and Roebuck on Broadway and their window was the event of the year. And Christmas shopping inside was just like Ralphie’s Goldblatts. One year I wanted a BB gun and got it (it was a Daisy); along with a Gilbert Chemistry Set, et al. And I leaned about ricochets just like he did. Caught one right in the cheek. (I didn’t where glasses). And I had the animal unleashed scheme with the bully. I was so out of my head, I remember nothing about it. Mom tells me the story of the whole neighborhood trying to drag me off of “Stevie” while I was yelling obscenities.
My Dad was a world famous user of profanities. Wasn’t much “Furnace Fighting” to be done then. Everyone had natural gas by then, though we did have the coal bin. His was a most feared “Automobile Fighter”. My Dad’s cars had once been new, but there was little evidence of this. He had no allegiance to any one brand. We had a Buick, Mercury, Ford, Plymouth, Chrysler, Crosley, Lincoln, Henry J and a Kaiser, and they all required their regular sacrificial knuckle busting, accompanied with much slamming, banging and cursing.
We had TV most of my childhood but I do remember the Long Ranger on the radio by William Conrad who would later narrate my favorite Rocky and Bullwinkle shows.
And if you ever read "County Fair" in the book "Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories", I also did the amusment ride Barf-o-Rama with my daughter at the Kentucky State Fair.
I have all of “Sheps” books and A Christmas Story. I would love to get my hands on the the other videos he produced. I caught the one with Matt Dillon once on TV.
Jean Shepherd chronicled my life. I was introduced to him in the pages of Playboy and followed his writing ever since. I had no idea of his success in radio until recently. He makes nostalgia fun and helps me to remember my childhood fondly.
May he forever be getting off incredible hip shots saving the world from “Black Bart”.

I was Jean Shepherd.
My life so closely parallels Ralph Parker that it is scary. "A Christmas Story" is like my autobiography. REALLY
I was born in 1948 and had three brothers. I was the oldest. My Dad was a constant beer drinker. Mom was the selfless Earth Mother. My brothers ran the gamut. Randy was in there.
We had many used cars, little enough money, Mom cooked meatloaf or Fischer’s Garlic Franks with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes VERY frequently.
A Christmas for us was the real Christmas Story in Louisville, Kentucky. The store was Sears and Roebuck on Broadway and their window was the event of the year. And Christmas shopping inside was just like Ralphie’s Goldblatts. One year I wanted a BB gun and got it (it was a Daisy); along with a Gilbert Chemistry Set, et al. And I leaned about ricochets just like he did. Caught one right in the cheek. (I didn’t where glasses). And I had the animal unleashed scheme with the bully. I was so out of my head, I remember nothing about it. Mom tells me the story of the whole neighborhood trying to drag me off of “Stevie” while I was yelling obscenities.
My Dad was a world famous user of profanities. Wasn’t much “Furnace Fighting” to be done then. Everyone had natural gas by then, though we did have the coal bin. His was a most feared “Automobile Fighter”. My Dad’s cars had once been new, but there was little evidence of this. He had no allegiance to any one brand. We had a Buick, Mercury, Ford, Plymouth, Chrysler, Crosley, Lincoln, Henry J and a Kaiser, and they all required their regular sacrificial knuckle busting, accompanied with much slamming, banging and cursing.
We had TV most of my childhood but I do remember the Long Ranger on the radio by William Conrad who would later narrate my favorite Rocky and Bullwinkle shows.
And if you ever read "County Fair" in the book "Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories", I also did the amusment ride Barf-o-Rama with my daughter at the Kentucky State Fair.
I have all of “Sheps” books and A Christmas Story. I would love to get my hands on the the other videos he produced. I caught the one with Matt Dillon once on TV.
Jean Shepherd chronicled my life. I was introduced to him in the pages of Playboy and followed his writing ever since. I had no idea of his success in radio until recently. He makes nostalgia fun and helps me to remember my childhood fondly.
May he forever be getting off incredible hip shots saving the world from “Black Bart”.

Hammond native Jean Shepherd left Hammond to pursue a career in radio and TV, and eventually became a very popular author. He has been referred to as "the new "Mark Twain".
For over 20 years, he had a daily spot of his own on New York City radio WOR, (one of the nations oldest and strongest powered) ! While there, he told MANY,MANY stories of Hammond and his childhood, mentioning many of the very same places you folks continue to ask and post about in this forum !!!
I habitually frequent a website dedicated to "Shep", and while there, it is possible to download "free" hundreds of his old radio programs.The site is found at: flicklives.com
(Flick was one of his boyhood chums, and the present local watering hole on Kennedy in Hessville is owned by one of his sons).
I am posting this here, on this thread, because I have been amazed to learn many natives of Hammond are not even aware of neither his works, nor his constant loyalty to Hammond on the East Coast airwaves, (where most New Yorkers think anybody west of New Jersey are "savages living with the indians !!".
Shep sold a whole new vision of Indiana, (and Hammond in particular to the world at large, and was indeed an ambassador of goodwill and midwestern promotion, (which even none of your local elected officials have seen fit to promote).
Case in point?
Why is there not a historical marker of any kind in front of his home, (nor even in his neighborhood of Hessville?).
I can assure you he had a greater audience in his day, than James Whitcomb Riley had in his !!
I hope to see more of you visiting the Shep website, and posting on that forum as well. I can guarantee any natives of Sheps' hometown will be extremely welcome.
BTW, had I posted this on the "Jean Shepherd" thread in your forum, some of you may not have read it, nor seen it. I wished for this to be seen by those who lived and remember the same things he shared with the rest of us.
(I have also posted this on another thread in this forum for folks who seek info on other old Hammond memories)

I listened to Shep on WOR on an old Emerson tube radio in the NY/NJ metropolitan area throughout my childhood. His readings of the poems of Robert Service still live in my memory to this day. (I read these to my cub scouts to freak them out on camp outs.)

Shep will always live on in my memory. He is one of the great American folk tale heroes of the 20th century.

Gone--but never forgotten. I still have my kazoo from Shep's Town Hall Performance on New Years Eve around 1968.

Wow! I cannot believe I never heard of Jean Shepherd until just a short time ago!

I was born and raised in Hammond, so how could I have possibly NOT known of Jean Shepherd? What a pity. I was born in 1949 and lived in Hammond until 1971.

I'm trying to "catch up" on what I missed. I just bought the book "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash" yesterday. I'm finding it to be great reading. I have also listened to several of his archived radio show segments and plan to listen to many more of them.

I have not been a Hammond resident since 1971, but if I could vote, I would be voting for some kind of memorial in front of Shep's old house.

From what little I have learned of Jean Shepherd so far, the comparisons with Mark Twain do not seem too far fetched.

Tom Johnson
HHS Class of '67

Just another of the faithful putting in a plug for ole Jean. I too was a snot nosed kid from central NJ who discovered Jean while surrepticously listening to the radio when I was supposed to be sleeping. My Dad had given me this ancient old woodcased tube radio that belonged to one of my Grandparents, with a glowing golden dial that took about 20 seconds for the power tube to warm up, and then would operate at temperatures hot enough to cook a turkey with. It seemed an appropos device to listen to Jean on.

At 41, I'm not old enough to have caught his early stuff, just his late disgruntled with WOR period, but I knew I was onto something way different. Later in life when I tried to explain why his show was so cool to people not form the area (or era), it just didn't come across, but I guess thats part of the charm, things easily acessible don't offer much in return.

After he first died I learned a bit more about the man, his foibles, his son, his sometimes ascerbic attitude, and disollusion with the industry and his fans, and it kind of made me dissapointed in learning about the man I didn't know. But then I realized in retrospect, Jean's shows where about the gap's between what we want to be and who we are, so it makes sense that in the end he suffer the same fates and dissapointments that plague the rest of us on our own scale.

Excelsior fatheads!

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