R.I.P. Studs Terkel, 96

[Brad from Georgia]

Studs Terkel passed away Friday at the age of 96. I enjoyed his oral history books and listening to him perform from time to time on "A Prairie Home Companion."

[Maxwell]

Studs hosted a show locally on WFMT for decades. He was a terrific interviewer. He was also a pioneer in television, hosting "Studs' Place" on the NBC network in the early '50s. I've seen some excerpts of the show on the web from time to time.

In later years he was a guest on whatever local radio shows were willing to air his rather unpopular political viewpoints. This morning a host on WGN radio played an interview from before the Iraq invasion in which Studs predicted pretty much what the actual outcome of the war would be. Richards said that interview generated more negative phone calls at the time than any he has ever done.

On another note, Garrison Keillor brought PHC to the Auditorium Theater in Chicago in the '80s and I saw Studs live there. My son had to be five or six years old at the time, and he still remembers it.

Studs was Chicago, and we'll miss him here.