Roger Ebert Writes Tribute/Birthday Piece to Oral Historian Studs Terkel

News Type: Opinion — Seeded on Thu Jun 7, 2007 9:03 AM EDT

Article Source: Chicago Sun-Times

health, roger-ebert, ebert

Seeded by Scott (Scoop) Butki

My favorite movie critic writes a lovely piece about my favorite oral historian

Published to:

Scott (Scoop) Butki's Column, All of Newsvine
Groups: Historical Vine
Regions: none

What's this?

Who's leading the conversation?

This visualization below allows you to see the impact that each user has on the current conversation. The top row contains the group of users who have had the most impact, the 2nd row the group of users who have had the 2nd most impact (et cetera). Users with similar impact are grouped together, and the average score of the group is shown to the left of the group. The author of the article is also shown on the left, in their corresponding group. Each user's score is based on the number of comments the user has made plus the number of votes their comments have received. The scores are calculated relative one another, so while their absolute value is not particularly important, their relative difference does indicate a larger difference in impact on the conversation.

3.2

{"commentId":763912,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}

Scott (Scoop) Butki

I met Studs Terkel within a few weeks after I arrived in Chicago. I was not a movie critic yet, just a kid who had been hired by the paper, but Studs was always ready to make a friend and give a kid a boost. I've talked with him countless times over the years, but only took notes once, in August 2005, over dinner, six days before his open-heart surgery.

He is the greatest living Chicagoan. Through his best-selling oral histories, involving work, World War II, death and so much more, he has recorded our lives, our thoughts, our fears, our dreams.

Now, as Studs celebrates his 95th birthday today at the Chicago History Museum, I pulled out those notes. I saw him then, wondering if he'd pull through the surgery. He regarded the possibility of death as he regarded life, with unbounded curiosity. "It's another adventure!" he said. "The docs say the odds are 4-to-1 in my favor. At age 93, those are pretty good odds."

{"commentId":763912,"threadId":"111377","contentId":"761361","authorDomain":"sbutki"}

1 vote

#1 - Thu Jun 7, 2007 9:05 AM EDT

{"commentId":763971,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}

Scott (Scoop) Butki

I referred to the great Studs while doing an interview with one of
Stud's fans who followed in his footsteps.

{"commentId":763971,"threadId":"111377","contentId":"761361","authorDomain":"sbutki"}

1 vote

#2 - Thu Jun 7, 2007 9:35 AM EDT

{"commentId":764736,"authorDomain":"redruby"}

Redruby

He's a true American hero who told the stories of 'everyman'. I liked this:

"Also, I'd like to stick around long enough to work on my memoirs," he said. "I've got a working title: The Great American Lobotomy. I think this country suffers from National Alzheimer's. There was a survey the other day showing that most people think our best president was Reagan. Not Lincoln. FDR came in 10th. People don't pay attention any more. They don't read the news."

{"commentId":764736,"threadId":"111377","contentId":"761361","authorDomain":"redruby"}

2 votes

#3 - Thu Jun 7, 2007 1:36 PM EDT

{"commentId":852862,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}

Scott (Scoop) Butki

Studs is wonderful!, I agree.

{"commentId":852862,"threadId":"111377","contentId":"761361","authorDomain":"sbutki"}

#3.1 - Tue Jul 10, 2007 9:39 AM EDT

{"canLink":false,"threadId":"111377","isPrivate":false}

SCOTT (SCOOP) BUTKI

Backyard

Roger Ebert Writes Tribute/Birthday Piece to Oral Historian Studs Terkel

Published to:

FUN STUFF:

COMPANY STUFF:

LEGAL STUFF: