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memories of Studs Terkel
The passing of Studs Terkel yesterday at the age of 96 brought back a flood of memories.
Terkel was our foremost oral historian. He re-invented the form of oral history by going out into the streets of Chicago with his bulky tape recorder to capture the voices and experiences of ordinary people. Studs was a raconteur and an activist for social justice. More than anything, Studs was a real radio guy.
His radio work in Chicago is the stuff of legend. It seemed right that I met Studs on the radio. I interviewed him on WYSO in 2001 for his book Will the Circle Be Unbroken?: Reflections on Death, Rebirth, and Hunger for a Faith.
I called Studs in Chicago and we talked for an hour. He had that fabulous, gruff delivery. Studs was hard of hearing. It wasn’t a problem to get him to speak up. It was an easy interview because Studs was a pro. All I had to do was ask a simple question and he would take off with it. That hour flew by quickly. He said stuff that he had probably said a thousand times before but it was fabulous to hear him speaking it right to me and his radio audience.
He recalled his first radio jobs playing roles in radio soap operas. He said he was usually cast as “the dumb gangster.” Even at the age of 89 he still had that gangster cadence when he wanted to conjure it up.
And he reflected on death.
In March of 2004 I was in Chicago. A friend of mine asked if I wanted to go with him to the airport to pick up Studs. I was thrilled to be asked. Studs had been in New York to receive the National Book Critic’s Circle Award for Lifetime Achievement.
We arrived at the baggage claim at O’Hare and were stunned to find Studs already there. He had caught a plane that had arrived two hours earlier than his scheduled flight. He had spent that time while he waited for us to pick him up wandering around the baggage claim area, chatting up everybody he encountered. That was Studs. He could talk to anybody. And he did. Studs never had a driver’s license. In Chicago he rode public transportation a lot. That would be the bus. He had great stories about random conversations he had instigated with fellow passengers.
There he was in his sportcoat. Plaid shirt. Trademark red socks. As we rode away from the airport Studs regaled us with anecdotes about his trip to New York. It was about a 30 minute drive to his house and the entire trip was a cavalcade of pure Studs repartee. Salty. Earthy. Profane. Political. Irreverent. Hilarious.
When we arrived at his place it was early afternoon. He asked if we wanted to come in for a drink? He didn’t need to ask twice.
Studs took us into his kitchen and made us all martinis. He apologized that he was all out of Tanqueray gin. We had to make do with Stoli’s vodka martinis. Then we retired to his living room for a chat and a sip. It was an awesome feeling to sit in his place and look around at all the stuff he had there. The decor. The piles of books. The awards. The signs in the windows that warned intruders about the vicious dog. No dog seemed to be present?
I mentioned that I was flying to Lithuania the following week. Studs was very interested in my trip. He wanted to know more about my father. My dad grew up in the Lithuanian community on the South Side of Chicago. Studs enumerated all the various slang terms for different ethnic groups over the years in Chicago. He asked me if I knew where the term HONKY originated? I did not. He explained that the term was originally meant to refer to Hungarians but that over the years the meaning had become blurred into a widespread term for any Caucasian. This year I interviewed Scott Simon of NPR for his Chicago novel WINDY CITY. In Simon’s book there is amazingly, a part where he tries to explain the genesis of the term HONKY. I asked Simon if he really thought that his somewhat dubious explanation of this term was accurate? He insisted that it was. I told him that I had the actual derivation of the term from a higher authority, none other that Studs Terkel. Simon offered no demurral to that!
Studs was a very generous autographer. He made some wonderful inscriptions for me. I will always treasure those books he signed that day. The memory of his voice rings clear even now.
Two years ago Studs came to Dayton to receive the first Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Lifetime Achievement. I was waiting for him at the airport as his personal assistant, JR, wheeled Studs past the security gates in a wheelchair. Studs looked frail. I think that was one of his last airline trips.
We took Studs and JR to their suite at the Dayton Marriott. It was the Paul Lawrence Dunbar Suite. Studs had a bedroom on one end. JR was clear over on the other end. In between was a gigantic sitting room. I sat in there as Studs and JR got settled into their rooms.
I could hear Studs talking. I couldn’t make out the words he was saying. He had the football game on- his beloved Chicago Bears. I could hear JR playing music in his room - or perhaps he was watching TV?
Studs called out. JR didn’t hear him. I went in to see if I could assist Studs with something? He was lying on the bed watching TV. He was also rehearsing his speech for that evening. He invited me to sit down with him. We talked for hours.
The Bears were undefeated up to that point and Studs was carrying on about how they were due for a big fall. It turned out that he was right about that.
Studs kept muttering what I determined eventually was his speech. He had no notes. It was all in his head. He kept practicing his lines to get it just right. He told me that this speech would be his “valedictory.”
It was exactly two years ago. It was the Sunday before the 2006 elections. Studs was confident that Democrats would make significant gains in Congress. Once again it turned out that he was right.
I was embarrassed because Studs kept asking me about the various Congressional races in Ohio. He knew all the candidates in all of the races in Ohio and he kept asking me who I thought might win in this or that race. I didn’t know half the people he was asking me about. What a mind he had!
That evening we went to the Schuster to prepare for Studs to give his speech and receive the award. I stayed in the dressing room with Studs and JR. Studs was 94 years old and it was my job to try to keep him entertained so that he would be in good spirits when it was time for his speech.
I had been advised that Studs should not be allowed to take a nap because it might be very difficult to wake him up once he fell asleep. I had no trouble keeping Studs awake. The guy never shut up. He talked constantly.
And what a fascinating conversation we had! He talked about sports and politics and music and books and radio and television and newspapers and it just went on and on.
Studs sang snatches of a song about the bare knuckle boxer John Sullivan. He talked about shaking hands with Bertrand Russell and how by doing so he had shook hands with a man who had shook hands with a man who once shook hands with Napolean. It was that kind of conversation.
He talked about Oprah. He had regrets that when Oprah first started doing her program in Chicago she had approached Studs about making an appearance on her show and that he had dropped the ball. He never did it. He said that he was very distracted at that time because he was being phased out of his regular slot on his long-running radio show. That was a huge part of his life so the Oprah invite got lost in the shuffle.
Studs really regretted it later. He rarely expressed any regrets in my presence so I found that noteworthy. And he loved the food. We three ate dinner together sitting at the dressing table with the mirrors reflecting us. Studs really chowed down. He kept saying how he was amazed that he liked the fish so much because he had never liked halibut before. (I think it was actually tilapia).
Studs gave a magnificent speech that night. Several days before I had been in downtown Dayton picking up a tuxedo. While I was in the store I had gotten a call on my cellphone but I didn’t hear it ring. Later, when I checked my messages I was astonished to find that Studs had left one for me. He had called to deliver his speech to me over the phone to see what I thought of it. I called his agent and asked if I should call Studs back? He said that I probably should not. I’ll always regret missing that call. I still have his message on my phone. It begins: “Hi Victor, this is Studs Terkel…
I’ll leave you with a story that was told to me by a close friend. He knew Studs well. Since this is a second hand story about Studs - so I shall tell it to the best of my ability….as I recall…
One night the Terkels were asleep when they heard a noise. Studs turned on the light and saw that there was a burglar in their bedroom. The intruder demanded that Studs should turn over his cash. Studs took all the money out of his wallet, a couple of hundred dollars and gave it to the burglar.
As the crook began to make his getaway Studs reputedly said in that voice of the dumb gangster: “HEY! You took all my dough! Now I don’t have any dough!” The burglar turned around sheepishly, walked back to Studs, peeled a twenty dollar bill off the roll he had just taken from Studs, and handed it back to him. Then he left.
That’s why Studs had the signs up around his place warning intruders about the vicious dog. There was no dog. Studs merely wanted to hang on to all his dough.
I think that Studs was very excited about the election. I’ll bet that Studs voted early. And if Barack Obama, his fellow Chicagoan, is elected President this coming Tuesday, Studs Terkel will surely be smiling, somewhere.
I miss you Studs.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: we remember
Comments
By vick
November 5, 2008 11:35 AM | Link to this
The Spirit of Studs Terkel hovered over Chicago on election night….By Mark from St Paul
November 1, 2008 3:46 PM | Link to this
And I’m betting that if a reader could get you drunk, you’d have even better stories about Studs….