Sheplives

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Jean Shepherd, 79; radio, TV humorist, raconteur
Airdate: Sunday - October 17, 1999

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Jean Shepherd, theprolific radio raconteur whose easy storytelling style earned comparisons to fellow Midwesterner Mark Twain, died of natural causes at a Florida hospital early Saturday. He was 78. Mr. Shepherd, once described by media critic Marshall McLuhan as "the first radio novelist," died at 3:20 a.m. in Lee Memorial Hospital near his home in Sanobel Island, Fla., said his longtime friend and business advisor, Irwin Zwilling. Mr. Shepherd spent 21 years on the 50,000-watt WOR-AM in New York City, attracting a large, loyal cult following along the Eastern seaboard. He worked without a script, conjuring tales based on his Indiana upbringing, creating such characters as his alter ego, Ralph Parker, and his neighbors, the Bumpuses. "If there was ever a voice to hypnotize... it was Old Sheps; familiar but not condescending; sharing [it seemed] confidence with the masculine comraderie; constantly interrupting itself in a stream of consciousness more properly described as a torrent," read a 1971 profile of Mr. Shepherd. In a move that likely inspired the climactic scene in the movie "Network", Mr. Shepherd would tell his listeners to crank up the volume on their radios and scream along with him. "Drop the tools, we've got you covered!" was one of his favorite shout-along phrases. Though best known for his radio work, Mr. Shepherd excelled as a multimedia performer. His films included the 1983 classic "A Christmas Story," a sardonic look at the holiday that he hoped to call "Satan's Revenge." (correction - actually it was "Santa'a Revenge) His writing appeared in a vast assortment of publications, from The New York Times to the National Lampoon. He wrote several books, including 1966's "In God We Trust" and the 1971 story collection "Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories and Other Disasters." Mr. Shepherd did a pair of syndicated PBS television programs, "Jean Shepherd's America" and "Shepherd's Pie," and often sold out Carnegie Hall for his live shows. He was born July 21, 1921, in Hammond, Ind. - a town that later became "Hohman" in his tales. He bgan his radio career at age 16, doing weekly sportscasts for a local station. Mr. Shepherd served in World War II in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, developing a healthy distaste for authority that later cropped up in his stories. He did radio shows in Cincinnati and Piladelphia before briefly movin into television. His Philadelphia television program, "Rear Bumper," attracted the eye of original "Tonight Show" host Steve Allen, who recommended Mr. Shepherd as his replacement on the NBC fixture. When this didn't work out, Mr. Shepherd launched his career at WOR, performing in off-hour shifts for an audience that he dubbed the "Night People." The station's powerful signal attracted die-hard Shepherd-philes from Canada to Florida. His books and television appearances cemented Mr. Shepherd's place in pop culture, as did "A Christmas Carol." (correction - "A Christmas Story") The film was the top-grossing movie of the 1983 holiday season, outgrossing "Terms of Endearment." In recent years, Mr. Shepherd stayed out of the public eye, making infrequent radio appearances. His last radio date came on WFAN-AM in New York in September 1996, appearing on a show co-hosted by his friend Zwilling. Though Mr. Shepherd left New York, he remained a New Yorker at heart - the comedian often requested Manhatten visitors to bring New York bagels or a pastrami sandwich from the Carnegie Deli, Zwilling said. Funeral arrangements were not made public, but a New York "memorial celebration" was planned, Zwilling said.

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