P.J. O'Rourke, irreverent author and commentator, dies at 74
Source: Politico
ORourke died Tuesday morning, according to Grove Atlantic Inc. Books publisher and president Morgan Entrekin. He did not cite a specific cause, but said ORourke had been ill in recent months.
Patrick Jake ORourke was a Toledo, Ohio, native who evolved from long-haired student activist to wavy-haired scourge of his old liberal ideals, with some of his more widely read takedowns appearing in a founding counterculture publication, Rolling Stone. His career otherwise extended from serving as editor in chief of National Lampoon to a brief stint on 60 Minutes in which he represented the conservative take on Point/Counterpoint; to frequent appearances on NPRs game show Wait Wait... Dont Tell Me!
Most well-known people try to be nicer than they are in public than they are in private life. PJ was the only man I knew to be the opposite. He was a deeply kind and generous man who pretended to be a curmudgeon for public consumption, tweeted Peter Sagal, the host of Wait Wait... Dont Tell Me!
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/15/p-j-orourke-author-commentator-dies-00009232
greatauntoftriplets
(175,729 posts)She wanted me to meet him at the family events that she invited me to to see us discuss politics. Unfortunately, he never came to Chicago for these events, so this never happened.
RIP.
Gidney N Cloyd
(19,824 posts)One of the few genuinely amusing conservatives I can think of.
JohnnyRingo
(18,619 posts)I had all the Nat Lampoons too. Genius writer.
bahboo
(16,317 posts)SouthBayDem
(32,006 posts)His last Wait Wait appearance, from what I could find on Google, was on September 19, 2020.
JohnnyRingo
(18,619 posts)Now I have to get it.
"Holidays In Hell" about his foreign assignments was laughing out loud before there was an LOL. And I loved his too short tenure as Travel Editor for Rolling Stone Magazine. And of course there was the old days with the National Lampoon. Honorable mention for "Republican Party Animal".
I know I'll miss him. If anyone drinks, raise a glass to him for me.
prodigitalson
(2,381 posts)one of the funniest things I have ever read.