Join Larry King in remembering the late George Carlin, along with a panel of those who knew him best tonight at 9 p.m. ET on CNN.

I was lucky enough to have seen George Carlin, in concert, in 1972. Once, he and his wife were dining at the same place as we were. He was gracious to the people who would bother him while trying to eat. (I was not that crass.)

I never had long hair but I did have more hair back then.

I caught George one late night on HBO and what he was saying in regard to society in general, education, politics, etc. were dead on. He was more introspective than some people would ever realize.

quote:

Originally posted by fjp451:
A brilliant social satirst and master of the English language - George Carlin. I had caught him on the radio recently, and he had not lost his edge. Hilarious...always poignant.

The Media Police loved him:
1. %)#*&
2. )@*&%+@
3. )*&@+%!!
4. )(?"@#*
5. +>?!}<
6. )+:"<#&
and, of course,
7. +?<|(&W?

I was just thinking about that routine the day I heard the sad news of his sudden passing.

Dandy! As I was getting out of the car to start my school day, one of the folks who shares a ride with us had a stack of materials in the trunk. Of all of the stuff being grabbed by all of us, I noticed the name "Carlin" on the front cover indicating the author of an article within. (The first name I do not recall.) Of course, I instantly thought of George Carlin, his memorable style and passion.

Then I sat down to start my day, opened the RB site...and read DS's post! Go figure?!

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Thomas M. Disch

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-disch8-2008jul08,0,1669524.story

Tony Snow...

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=5361814&page=1

The great chanteuse Jo Stafford.

(somewhere I've got a Johnathan & Darlene Edwards LP!)

Eleanor Friede, 87, Is Dead; Edited 1970 Fable ‘Seagull’

Published: July 25, 2008
Eleanor Friede, the book editor who sent “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” on its nonstop flight to publishing glory in 1970, died on July 14 at her home in Charlottesville, Va. She was 87.

Her death was confirmed by her stepdaughter, Kennedy Friede Golden.

In 1969, while working as an editor at Macmillan, Ms. Friede agreed to look at a much-rejected, very short tale by Richard Bach, a retired Air Force pilot and aviation writer. The fable, about a seagull named Jonathan who veers from his flock to seek freedom and flying perfection, charmed her.

“I think it has a chance of growing into a long-lasting standard book for readers of all ages,” Ms. Friede wrote in a memo to senior editors.

It was a good hunch. “Jonathan Livingston Seagull,” for which Mr. Bach received a $2,000 advance, became one of the biggest successes in publishing history, selling more than 3 million copies in hardcover.

Eleanor Kask was born in Rochester, N.Y., and grew up in Valley Stream on Long Island, where she haunted the town’s public library. Just weeks after graduating cum laude from Hofstra University, she got a job at World Publishing and began working her way up the ladder in publicity and marketing.

She married Donald Friede, an editor at World, in 1951. He died in 1965.

In 1968, when she was marketing director at Macmillan, Jeremiah Kaplan, the company’s president, coaxed her into moving to the editorial side. A keen amateur flier, she published aviation books, and, by serendipity, found her way to Mr. Bach.

In 1974 Ms. Friede was offered her own imprint at Delacorte Press, where she continued to publish flying books as well as works by writers like Françoise Sagan, Jorge Amado and Hugh Downs. In the early 1980s, after Doubleday acquired Delacorte, she started Eleanor Friede Books, a literary agency.

Inevitably, the soaring seagull hovered over her career right to the end, but Ms. Friede did not seem to mind. “You know, I really am very fond of the little creature,” she told The New York Times in 1981. “I have done and am doing other things. It’s really O.K. to be the seagull lady.”

Richard Bach was my neighbor when this all happened. He had sent out the book to 18 different publishers and received 18 rejection slips. The main problem was that many people didn't know if it was a children's book or for adults or what.

Then one day he got a note from Eleanor, who had just read his first novel, Stranger to the Ground, and wanted to know if he had any uncommitted manuscripts that she might be able to read. She read it, liked it, and got McMillan to publish it.

However, it languished with mediocre sales for about a year, then Richard and McMillan started really promoting it by being on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder, and other such shows providing wide exposure. Then it took off like wildfire. CEOs were buying it for the their sales staff as a motivational book. Others were buying it for the simplicity of the story.

About this time Richard's marriage to his first wife Bette was falling apart and there were rumors (unfounded I must add) that Richard was having an affair with Eleanor. He did take off and left his family, but Richard chronicles this himself in his book The Bridge Across Forever.

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Farewell to tenor saxophone player Johnny Griffin, the "Little Giant", a true jazz legend. I remember going to Chicago's Jazz Showcase each April when he would return to his native Chicago from his home in France for an annual "birthday" appearance...great music and great memories.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/arts/music/26griffin.html

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, writer of Gulag Archipelago and Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch. A very interesting and informative news article here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080804/ap_on_en_ot/obit_solzhenitsyn

Thomas Disch! I recall seeing his name for years in the science fiction magazines. Read a few here and there. Didn't captivate me as a Bradbury story, of course. But he obviously put his heart into his writing thruout the years and had many readers.

His obit, (third row down, far left edge, half-smiling fellow with the beard)...along with others that died that very same week, of July 4th, 2008.

http://www.lifeinlegacy.com/display.php?weekof=2008-06-30

quote:

Originally posted by fanboy:
Alexander Solzhenitsyn, writer of Gulag Archipelago and Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch. A very interesting and informative news article here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080804/ap_on_en_ot/obit_solzhenitsyn

Вечная память! Memory Eternal!

Jack Kamen, EC Comics artist who draw some of the Bradbury adaptations:

http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2008_08_06.html#015623

and

http://fourrealities.blogspot.com/