Humorist Jean Shepherd at PUC Thursday HAMMOND - Jean Shepherd, author, actor, humorist and Hammond native, highlights Purdue University Calumet's Sigrid Stark Writing Awards at 7 p.m., Thursday in Alumni Hall of the university's Student Faculty Library Center. Admission is free. Shepherd is the author of "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash," which was the basis for the film "A Christmas Story." He also was in the movie "Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss." His series, "Shepherd's Pie", airs on PBS. Shepherd has received Playboy magazine's Humor/Satire Award for best writing five times. The Sigrid Stark Writing Contest, the university's 23rd annual writing competition, is named after a Purdue Calumet professor Emerita of English who retired in 1971. Contest entries include essays, stories, poems, and plays in numerous categories.