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Curry,Joanne K.
California
Shep fan since:
1983
Saw One of His Movies |
Comments:
I never tire of Jean's stories, especially 'A Christmas Story.' The 'feel' of the movie brings back many fond memories of my own childhood growing up in Chicago. I teach at a small private prep school and have made 'A Christmas Story' a holiday tradition for the middle schoolers to watch at our December 'Movie Night.' Kids of all ethnicities and religions arrive in their P.J.'s, pillows in hand...we eat popcorn and drink hot chocolate while enjoying the movie. This is an event that all students look forward to each year and can't wait to attend. Thanks Shep!
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Jorgensen,Marty
California
Shep fan since:
1970
Saw his TV show |
Comments:
I was first exposed to Jean in a PBS show from the '70's called The Great American Dream Machine, with Marshall Efron - Jean would do antidotes about living in America and the Midwest - he really hit a chord with me, and I've been a fan ever since.
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Hotvedt,Steve
Alameda
California
Shep fan since:
1962
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Comments:
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Applebaum,Dick
Antioch
California
Shep fan since:
1986
Saw his TV show |
Comments:
Great work!
I never heard of any of the old radio shows -- it is wonderful to be able to hear them now.
What a story teller!
My late wife and I really enjoyed the America series... whether he was:
extolling the virtues of "Beer";
sitting a swamp boat talkin' 'bout Pogo and Churchy Le Femme:
recalling when he and his friends went down to the train yard to help
unload a Sears Mail-Order house;
his Dad's old Buick/Chevy/Oldsmobile and the"Rheostats" in his Mother's
hair;
"Whose face is on the $1,000 bill... you probably have one in your
wallet..take it out now."
... so many priceless hours of enjoyment.
We recorded many of these on the VCR, but unfortunately the tapes are lost.
Is there anywhere that these shows are available for purchase?
Or, are the shows scheduled to air again, anywhere?
I (and I think many others) would like to enjoy these again.
Thanks in Advance!
Dick Applebaum
P.S. Did the theme song of America have a name and/or who was the artist.
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Jose,VJ
Apple Valley
California
Shep fan since:
1956
On the Radio |
Comments:
My first wife and I used to listen to Shep in the mid 50s when we were students.
Why can't I find his books and short stories in amazon.com?
Where can I buy his short stories published in Playboy?
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Yancosek,Barry
Arroyo Grande
California
Shep fan since:
1990
Saw One of His Movies |
Comments:
I was doing a search of my great grandmothers maiden name Zudock. The Zudock character is my great grandmothers brother.
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coplin,art
arroyo grande
California
Shep fan since:
1965
On the Radio |
Comments:
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Kranzler,Peter
Belmont
California
Shep fan since:
1963
On the Radio |
Comments:
What a great site!
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Cronin,Ed
Benicia
California
Shep fan since:
1965
On the Radio |
Comments:
I now enjoy ham radio KG6Oqk
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S.,Rich
Berkeley
California
Shep fan since:
1956
On the Radio |
Comments:
I just,with painful nostalgia,read aloud Ole Wortermelon Time, by the Hoosier Poet, James Whitcomb Riley and fondly remember Shep reading it. I read a story in the New Yorker today by David Sedaris,whom I like and think is really pretty funny, and I said to myself this guy tells a story about as good as Jean Shepard did (and JS did it hundreds of stories a year for decades-astounding). I've also found great success over the years leading "I'm the Sheik of Arabie (without no pants on) " around whatever campfire I find myself at.
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Luersen,Paul
Berkeley
California
Shep fan since:
1958
Saw One of His Movies |
Comments:
brings back memories of my college days, Shep was a true late night friend!
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Reichel,John
Berkeley
California
Shep fan since:
1970
Read his Playboy short stories |
Comments:
I used to always hear about Jean Shepherd from my dad, who heard him in Ohio in the late Forties, I believe. Tracking down Jean Shepherd tapes, CDs, and memorabilia has been useful when it comes to gift-giving time.
What great stories! I always thought they were 100% true :)
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Oremland,ronald
brisbane
California
Shep fan since:
1964
On the Radio |
Comments:
Wonderful site!!!
Thanks so much.
Shep was truly an avuncular figure for many of us. His narratives instilled the feeling in me that life was often interesting, funny, and downright adventurous if you can manage to see things with open eyes and harbor a sense of humor.
Listening to just one of his old shows brings back memories of some 40 years ago. I was a college student home during the summer and working as a lifeguard at Brighton Beach in Brooklyn. After getting home from the late shift, eating dinner, I would typically go to bed and turn on WOR. I would often fade off in the middle of his monologue, but managed to come back to his endings. I even remember him doing one show where he only played his kazoo for 45 minutes........I think he was getting back at management that night, but what the hay. It was true Shep.
I once caught a show of his at the Limelight. He was in the middle of his monologue and tried to pull a transition that didn't quite work. He started saying something like.."they're all after me...get away, get away" while waving his hands. The audience didn't quite get the connection, so it fell entirely silent and Shep paused. Breaking the ice, I let out a very feeble, high pitched "Banzi."
The audience laughed, and then came Shep's retort from the stage: "There is nothing worse than hearing someone cry banzai with a Fordham Road accent!!!!"
The audience roared! I knew I would only get in deeper if I replied that I was from Brooklyn.
Some time later, I atually got to meet Shep and Leigh. They came down to Univ. Miami in early 1969 I believe , while I was just starting grad school in oceanography, and before I got called up for military service in the navy. He gave a great show as usual, but he was a bit on thin on any NYC fans that down south. I did chat with Leigh, and it was real obvious se adored Shep very much. He was a lucky guy in that respect.
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McIntyre,Doug
Burbank
California
Shep fan since:
1966
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Comments:
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Mazur,Neil
Burbank CA (formerly Spring Valley, NY)
California
Shep fan since:
1966
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Comments:
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Morgan,Bill
Calistoga
California
Shep fan since:
1970
Read his Playboy short stories |
Comments:
Actually, I found Shep in the pages of Car & Driver, not Playboy
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Carone,Jack
Canoga Park
California
Shep fan since:
1960
On the Radio |
Comments:
Every reminiscence of Shep I read tonight includes a transistor radio under the pillow---exactly my m.o., with the covers pulled up over my head--what a time!
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Peduto,Laura
Capitola
California
Shep fan since:
1965
On the Radio |
Comments:
So wonderful to find the site dedicated to Jean Shepherd.
I used to listen to him 10:45 each weeknight on WOR in Brooklyn NY during my college years and "welcome to the real world" years throughout the 60's.
In 1969 or 1970 I introduced my husband Ralph to Jean at a Booksigning which I believe was at Marboro books on Times Square. I know that Jean single handedly inspired Ralph toward his radio dj years and onto being a comedic writer himself. I know I have some tapes of Jean's shows
because I couldn't bear the weekends without his stories.
I even entered one of his contests. You had to get the word Cinzano (one of his sponsors) on a postcard as many times as possible. Mine were handwritten in the teeniest tinyest print I could create with our new ball point pens. I WON! I received a tiangular shaped Cinzano ashtray wrapped in all sorts of stuffing. I have it to this day (35 years later) in the bottom of my lingere drawer.
I was thrilled when the Christmas Story came out to entertain the next generation. Our children love it so much that they created the famous "leg lamp" for me for a surprise Christmas gift in 1988. We enjoy it to this day.
It's like having a piece of Jean with us. He became to our family like a great uncle who sent letters from his world travels. Each one of his books and stories and movies we were sure were written especially for US. Now we are reading them to our grandchildren! We love him and miss him. Great memories from a great man.
In today's world I can't help but continue to be inspired by Jean and think : WWJD (What would Jean Do)!
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holloway,jean
carlsbad
California
Shep fan since:
1966
On the Radio |
Comments:
At the Overseas Press Conference Q&A,I kissed him.Excelsior!
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Ebi,Kenneth Ade
Carmichael
California
Shep fan since:
2000
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Comments:
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Mitchell,John
Cathedral City
California
Shep fan since:
1951
On the Radio |
Comments:
Great site! Brings back many pleasant memories.
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Wick,Ed
CedarpinesPark
California
Shep fan since:
1964
On the Radio |
Comments:
In the mid 60's I got a small transister radio from the Sinclair gas station which was shaped like a gas pump. I would listen to it at night before falling asleep. This is how I first discovered that voice which had me glued to Shep's show from then on. Listening every night under my covers, my mom would still hear me laughing and I'd be in big trouble!
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Mosiello,Dan
Cerritos
California
Shep fan since:
1957
On the Radio |
Comments:
Your site brings back so many happy memories of the many nights I lay awake listening to shep as a young teen in New York. Thoughts of Fred Frecklebottom and Herman J. Fignewton still dance in my head.
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Edson,Marc
Chico
California
Shep fan since:
1994
Saw One of His Movies |
Comments:
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fogel,richard
chino
California
Shep fan since:
1965
On the Radio |
Comments:
used to listen with my dad. i am buying his books for my dads birthday april 15th.
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Disbrow,(Ms.) Willie
Corona del Mar
California
Shep fan since:
2001
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Comments:
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Spencer,Rob
Culver City
California
Shep fan since:
1980
Saw One of His Movies |
Comments:
I found this site years ago, but was incited to revisit by my brother's pestering me for a new copy of "Great American Fourth". He'd worn his old one out. Any word on plans to air this again or make it available?
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Rickert,Joel
Daly City
California
Shep fan since:
1976
Saw One of His Movies |
Comments:
Shep lives! (And keep your tongue away from the flagpole.)
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hone,lee
danville
California
Shep fan since:
1957
On the Radio |
Comments:
Memories Memories -- Memmmmmmories
Thought I would never hear those shows again
You package them very well and give it your personal touch
Thank you
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Silverberg,Evan
Danville
California
Shep fan since:
1994
Saw One of His Movies |
Comments:
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Flamenbaum,Bruce
Diamond Bar
California
Shep fan since:
1963
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Comments:
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Van Hoorn,Derek
El Cerrito
California
Shep fan since:
1956
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Comments:
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Brown,Anastasia "Sweet Tasia"
Encino (argh!) via Brooklyn , NY and Northampton, MA
California
Shep fan since:
1972
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Comments:
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Garner,Thomas
Fontana
California
Shep fan since:
1970
Read one of his books |
Comments:
I grew up in Hammond and associate with many of the references in his stories, such as the Bluebird Tap and the annual trip to Crown Point for the Lake County fair and dating mysterious Polish girls from East Chicago. All of Shep's stories bring back fond (and some times not so fond) memories of a past time.I am glad to know that so many appreciate his stories as much as I do.
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Harris,Kevin
Fresno
California
Shep fan since:
1984
Saw One of His Movies |
Comments:
Great Site!!
I had the pleasure of performing as "Big" Ralph in A Christmas Story @ Good Company Players this last year. It was the thrill of a lifetime. I will never forget my Christmas as Shep.
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Hollis,George Hollis
Glendale
California
Shep fan since:
1974
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Comments:
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Riske,Bill
Grass Valley
California
Shep fan since:
1982
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Comments:
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Forgensi,Bill
Greenbrae
California
Shep fan since:
1963
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Comments:
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Adelman,Sanford
Huntington Beach
California
Shep fan since:
1963
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Comments:
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Erlich KQ6QY,Michael
Idyllwild
California
Shep fan since:
1965
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Comments:
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Klein,Jeff
Irvine
California
Shep fan since:
1979
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Comments:
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Bilar, Sr,John F.
Kelseyville
California
Shep fan since:
1925
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Comments:
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chun,reg
LA
California
Shep fan since:
2003
On the Radio |
Comments:
What a storyteller who is unparalleled, a great human being and a great newscaster in the finest sense of the word. He made the civil rights march on Washington poignant and powerful, more real then a common photo.
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Yount,Kurt
La Habra
California
Shep fan since:
1968
On the Radio |
Comments:
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Silverman,Arnie
Laguna Niguel
California
Shep fan since:
1955
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Comments:
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Jacobucci,Mark
Laguna Niguel
California
Shep fan since:
1959
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Comments:
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Jacobucci,Mark
Laguna Tuna Beach
California
Shep fan since:
1956
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Comments:
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Litwin,David
Larkspur
California
Shep fan since:
1956
On the Radio |
Comments:
You're doing a terrific job with this site... Shep was a godsend, very important to me all thru jr high & high school. Saved my sanity, you might even say.
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Refsnider,Pete
Lompoc
California
Shep fan since:
1966
On the Radio |
Comments:
I remember listening to Jean on WOR way down in southeast PA with friends. We were 15 or 16 yrs old. Jean was magical... I just relived it, for a moment... Doug, Ted... are you out there?
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Graff,Alison
Long Beach
California
Shep fan since:
1984
Saw One of His Movies |
Comments:
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Kolkowitz,Dan
Los Altos Hills
California
Shep fan since:
1969
On the Radio |
Comments:
I share the feelings about Jean Shepherd. His stories and commentaries are timeless for both their entertainment and relevance. I have introduced these to my two son's, 14 and 17, respectively, who have become ardent fans of the available collections. Now, onto a more practical question: does a conclusion to the Godzonka story actually exist? I'd really like to hear it, if it does.
Dan
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Hoffman,Michael
Los Angeles
California
Shep fan since:
1951
On the Radio |
Comments:
I found this site because I needed a calendar for 1957. My ex-wife (divorced since 1973) happened to mention that June 16 was our 47th wedding anniversary I thought it was the 14th so I needed a calendar to check it out. Turned out she was right, but Google put me into part of your web site. So I started poking around and got to the Jean Shepherd stuff.
My romance with JS was short, because he left Philadelphia after about a year or so. But it was intense. I was a 16 year old intellectual type and this was my first experience hearing someone with the kind of sense of humor that matched my own weirdness. He also played a lot of classical music in Philadelphia, and that was the kind of music I was into then. After he left I pretty much lost touch, as I was unable to get WOR in Philadelphia except for occasional bouts of good AM radio transmission. I did hear about the I Libertine affair, and even latched on to a copy of the book. My favorite quote of his was "What will we do when the whole world is paved? What will the Boy Scouts scout? Perhaps they will go searching out bargains."
One of my most pleasant experiences of those years was when a girl in my English class told me I sounded like Jean Shepherd. Also one of my biggest regrets was that I was too shy to follow up on this encounter. I re-met this girl at our high school 50th reunion, and reminded her of her comment. She remembered the Jean Shepherd and the comment.
You must be a pretty strange cat to be carrying on this affair with a person dead for five years, that only a few people knew about. But I suppose he inspired that kind of reverence in those why understood.
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Blau,Barry
Los Angeles
California
Shep fan since:
1956
On the Radio |
Comments:
He gave us so much. It was like having a friend come to your home and keep you company. He could make you interested in subjects that you would never even think about. Thanks for all those wonderful evenings I spent curled up to the radio late at night and set to a very low level so as to not wake up my folks. Here's to you Shep.
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Wenzel,Curtis
Los Angeles
California
Shep fan since:
1968
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Comments:
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Marsh,David
Los Angeles
California
Shep fan since:
1985
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Comments:
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Mackintosh,(Evelyn) Carol
Los Angeles
California
Shep fan since:
1967
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Comments:
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Claster,Bob
Los Angeles
California
Shep fan since:
1964
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Comments:
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Moore,Matthew T.
Los Angeles
California
Shep fan since:
1958
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Comments:
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Elliott,Michael H.
Los Angeles
California
Shep fan since:
1964
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Comments:
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Goodstone,Tony
Los Angeles
California
Shep fan since:
1951
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Comments:
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Greenwald,Ken
Los Angeles
California
Shep fan since:
1968
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Comments:
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Farrell,Gerry
Los Angeles
California
Shep fan since:
1965
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Comments:
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Shepherd,John
Los Angeles
California
Shep fan since:
1977
Saw One of His Movies |
Comments:
Worked with Jean Shepherd on a TV pilot (never aired) for ABC entitled "Phantom of the Open Hearth". I think I have a copy on VHS somewhere back in Illinois (we're I'm from) but would love to find out if there's a better copy available...
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Hugg,Larry
Los Angeles
California
Shep fan since:
1965
On the Radio |
Comments:
God bless Jean Shepherd.
A school friend (and my father) 'turned me on' to Shep on WOR-AM. I listened through high school and college (I got to meet him when he came and spoke at my college). I've read all his books. After moving away from N.J., I didn't get a chance to listen to him anymore, except for the occasional NPR shows. Harry Shearer from KCRW-FM put together a nice CD tribute.
Thanks very much for this web site. It has let 'an old guy' remember some good times.
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Raysses,Michael
Los Angeles
California
Shep fan since:
1973
Read his Playboy short stories |
Comments:
i am an actor/writer who lives in los angeles. i was born in gary, indiana, and lived in the calumet region up until the time i graduated law school in chicago. i always had a vague awareness of mr. shepherd, one that came into focus years later when a friend thrust a handful of cassette tapes into my hand with the order "you've got to listewn to these!" i listened to them the way a hungry man takes his first meal after a long fast. and i locked them away. they were treasures, to be sure. but as a writer, i struggle to find my voice. and so alluring, so powerful and pure, are mr. shepherd's, that i had to banish them in an attempt to not fall under their sway.
i write a monthly column for the hammond times under the title "greek to me." it is told from the point of view of a region rat who worked a million faceless jobs as a kid and a young man before he moved to los angeles to pursue his creative dreams. recently, i showed some of my writing to a movie producer who had voiced an interest in my writing. when i last saw him, he paid me the highest compliment imaginable: he said i reminded him of jean shepherd. sometimes, it just doesn't get any better...
here's to you, mr. shepherd! may you live forever in the hearts and memories of those whose lives you illuminated...
michael raysses
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Hill,George Vreeland
Los Angeles
California
Shep fan since:
1948
On the Radio |
Comments:
Jean is GREAT!!
WOW!!!!!
Nothing like a Jean Shepherd story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Schindler,Steven
Los Angeles
California
Shep fan since:
1964
On the Radio |
Comments:
During my grammar school years, I looked forward to going to bed at night so I could sneak my transistor radio under my pillow and listen to Jean Shepherd in the mid 60's on WOR.
I've been told there's some Shep influence in the three novels I've written- SEWER BALLS, FROM THE BLOCK, and FROM HERE TO REALITY. If you've been touched by Shep, how could you not be influenced?
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schwartz,jonathan
los angeles
California
Shep fan since:
1958
On the Radio |
Comments:
I listened on Sunday nights with earphones and a pillow over the radio because the show ran from 10 to 1 and it was a school night. My mother would never have allowed it. I could head-knock, and I still own the nose flute I bought at Manny's Music on 48th street because JS played one on the radio. JS was one of the first adults I encountered who was as crazy as I was.
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Nodine,Harry
Los Angeles
California
Shep fan since:
1970
On the Radio |
Comments:
There was the wheel... and then there is Jean Shepherd.
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Vallely,Jim
Los Angels
California
Shep fan since:
1970
On the Radio |
Comments:
Listened to him. met him, he inspired me to write
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Cole,Brad
Los Angfeles
California
Shep fan since:
1965
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Comments:
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Gregory,Ed
Los Angles
California
Shep fan since:
1963
On the Radio |
Comments:
I'm this kid see. Growing up in Boonton, New Jersey. Listening to Shep's shows every weeknight and marvelling how at how he saw, understood and could describe things.
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Burns,Terry
Mariposa
California
Shep fan since:
1966
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Comments:
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BURNS,TERRY
MARIPOSA
California
Shep fan since:
1977
Read one of his books |
Comments:
I HAVE OLD TAPES:
PHANTOM OF THE OPEN HEARTH
OLLIE HOPNOODLE'S HAVEN OF BLISS
4TH OF JULY & OTHER DISASTERS
THE STAR-CROSSED ROMANCE OF JOSEPHINE COSNOWSKI
I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THEM ALL.
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Clark,Richard
Masterton
California
Shep fan since:
2000
On the Radio |
Comments:
I am about to start my own radio show here in New Zealand, now this is going to be interesting as I have never been on air, even to be interviewed. I have lived in NZ, NY, LA and now back in NZ. A friend in LA sent me a link to this site and now, well I am hooked and scared merdeless. Oh well, nothing venture, nothing win as Sir Ed Hillary always said.
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Olson,Nick
Mill Valley
California
Shep fan since:
1958
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Comments:
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Hirsch,Ken
Mill Valley
California
Shep fan since:
1957
On the Radio |
Comments:
Shep was "lost in the mists of time" until a friend loaned me some of Sheps tapes to listen to. Listening to Shep while driving to work I find myself laughing out loud, I am sure that people wonder why I have this shiteating grin on my face while walking to my office after getting out of my car. It must have something to do with the gravyboat riot at the Orpheum or some other tale. I told my older brother about the tapes and he is drooling to get his hands on them. You see, we used to stay up late with our lights out and our radio turned low so our parents would think we were sleeping soundly in our quiet Trenton, NJ neighborhood. We would have to muffle our laughs with our pillows on many a night. Then, of course, we would stay up for the Long John Nebel show to hear about alien abductions. Ahh, those good old days truly were.
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James,Mark
Mill Valley
California
Shep fan since:
1974
Saw his TV show |
Comments:
He would do public TV appearances telling stories. I bought the book with Wanda Hickey after seeing his show. I also caught some radio shows. Shepard was once interviewed on an FM station that played avante guarde music, TRIAD. Ken Nordine had a 5 minute spot at closing each night at 11:55PM. In the early Triad days, some of the shows were live. I believe Shepard guested on a couple of them.
Tidbit: My father was a lot like Ralph in Christmas story, and I have a brother Randy. Between that and the Chicago area storyline, it is incredibly nostalgic!
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Krauson,Stan
Mission Viejo
California
Shep fan since:
1956
On the Radio |
Comments:
Shep shepherded generations away from "creeping meatballism". Recently I visited the Museum of Radio and TV. To my knowledge, the museums (NY & LA) are the only places where Shep's PBS shows, e.g., Phantom of the Open Hearth and The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters, can be viewed.
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Green,Jack
Modesto
California
Shep fan since:
1960
On the Radio |
Comments:
In 1959 I accepted a teaching position at Rutgers after spending two years in Graduate School at the Universidad Nacional de Mexico (U.N.A.M.) in Mexico City. My first contact with Jean fostered an immediate, unforgetable bond with someone whom I felt was my kind of guy. I was a night person from the gitgo, and caught Jean's show every night I could... sometimes to the detriment of students anxious to see their exam scores. I loved listening to Jean after climbing into the sack, the darkness amplified the feeling that he was addressing ME -a farm boy from Kansas, who could shut his eyes and see those garrish neon signs along the dark, desolate two-lane highways flashing "EATS". I now have to settle for Coast-To-Coast AM, and an admitedly very talented pair of hosts (Art Bell and George Noory) who are the best at expanding one's imagination for the present. However, no one can- or will ever replace Jean as the foremost radio raconteur of the twentieth century. Thank you for your wonderful website; Jean lives on! Your labor of love is most apparent, and greatly appreciated by us all. Cheers, J. Byron Green
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Van Seter of Paterson NJ,Gerald
Mountain View
California
Shep fan since:
1959
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Comments:
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Van Seter,Gerald
Mountain View
California
Shep fan since:
1958
On the Radio |
Comments:
Keep on truckin'
This site is GREAT!!!
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Endelman,Aaron
Mountain View
California
Shep fan since:
1968
On the Radio |
Comments:
I discovered Shep on my two-transistor Radio Shack AM radio. (Electonics hobbyists of the time may remember the red plastic perfboard-boxed kit.) You tuned this radio by twisting a thin threaded rod that caused the ferrite core of its little RF coil to move in and out, which was something of a challenge as there was no knob, just my 11-year-old fingers. The antenna was a wire clipped to the bedsprings, and the earphone was one of those ubiquitous little white piezoelectric nubbins.
I listened to Shep faithfully throughout my junior high and high school years. He'd broadcast on WOR (NY) from 10:15 to 11:00 PM, and he always had a great story to tell. He had an amazing ability to hold forth, seemingly effortlessly, for 45 minutes, yet tell a well-crafted tale or tales that ended during the last few seconds of his closing theme.
And it always felt like he was confiding in me, personally. His was an amazing gift, and his radio show was an important part of my boyhood.
I'll always remember him with fondness.
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DeGiorgis,RJ
Nevada City
California
Shep fan since:
1969
Read his Playboy short stories |
Comments:
I still miss him. Therefore, I still read him. My children were entertained by my reading of his short stories. After many years I can still hear their squeals of laughter.
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Poulson,Harold V
Newark
California
Shep fan since:
2000
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Comments:
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Zeman,Rudy
North Fork
California
Shep fan since:
1957
On the Radio |
Comments:
Gene, thanks for writing this bioraphy. I'll look forward to reading it.
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Stoll,Cliff
Oakland
California
Shep fan since:
1967
On the Radio |
Comments:
Was in 1967 that I talked with Shep over ham radio...
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Sanders,Terry
Oakland
California
Shep fan since:
1965
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Comments:
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Wenten,Bob
Oakland
California
Shep fan since:
1957
On the Radio |
Comments:
Shep on WOR every night 10:15 to 11 pm got me to turn off the TV and go to bed. The tales he told led me to grow up and move out into the world, where I only hoped my life would be as rich as his. There was also a Sunday evening 5 hour or so show that we would play in the car, coming home from some family visit or other. The whole family, riding in the Dodge, listening to Shep. Creeping Meatballism - it plagues us today. Code Orange folks, and vote for me. Indeed.
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Brodbeck,Jack
Orange
California
Shep fan since:
1958
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Comments:
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Cluess,Chris
Pacific Palisades
California
Shep fan since:
1964
On the Radio |
Comments:
Excelsior You Fatheads!
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Freund,Udo
Palmdale
California
Shep fan since:
1964
On the Radio |
Comments:
As a teenager, I listened to Shep many a night from my bed in Cresskill, NJ. Next morning my friends and I would discuss the previous night's show.
My favorite recollection is of a show he did about an army camp in the South. He and the rest of the troops wanted to clear a field to play some baseball in their off hours. It involved removing every bush, tree and scorpion to clear this field. A few weeks later, the guys were playing ball in their skivies and decided it was too hot to wear any clothes. Being all guys in the middle of nowhere, it was okay to play ball naked, 'cause nobody cared, and so they did. A little later, the commander's daughter was driven around to see the new field. She was duly shocked at what she saw, especially the catcher in the crouching position with "things" dangling. She told her dad, who immediately had the troops put every bush, tree and scorpion back where they had found them!
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Doty,John
Palos Verdes Estates
California
Shep fan since:
1960
On the Radio |
Comments:
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De Poto,Bill
Pasadena
California
Shep fan since:
1963
On the Radio |
Comments:
I first started listening to Shep religiously while in high school in Livingston, NJ. While a student at Newark College of Engineering, 2 fraternity brothers and I saw Shep once at the Limelight (we were outraged at the dollar-a-bottle price for beer!) I also saw him once at Montclair State college and at the town public library. He arrived in a slick sports car, Italian as I recall.
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Maddock,Drew
Pasadena
California
Shep fan since:
1962
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Comments:
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Garrett,John
Petaluma
California
Shep fan since:
1953
On the Radio |
Comments:
I grew up in N.J. and first heard Jean because my mother listened to him. I remember he was on the radio on Saturday from PA before he went to WOR in NY. From that time until I moved out of NJ in late 1972, I listened to him every night, all through grade school and high school until I went into the Navy during the Vietnam conflict. When I returned home I resumed listening. The worst part of moving from NJ in 1972 was not being able to hear his shows every night. It was difficult to explain to people what it was he did, because he was more than a monologist; it was like sitting down with your favorite uncle, you know, the one who could always find an audience for his stories. Nobody cared if they were true or not; they were fun to listen to. I remember Jean Shepherd from my childhood and consider him to have been an important influence on my life. I really miss him and will be forever grateful for all the years he entertained us. I saw him live at the Limelight in NY once and will never forget how the audience was totally engaged.
Excelsior you Fatheads! Even now I can hear his theme music fading as he goes off the air.
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Erickson,Marty
Petaluma
California
Shep fan since:
1982
Saw One of His Movies |
Comments:
I first "discovered" Jean Shepherd when I saw "The Great American Fourth Of July And Other Disasters" on PBS. Next I saw the "Star-crossed Romance Of Josephine Cosnowski". At this point I knew I was on to something good, very good. "Jean Shepherds America" and "A Christmas Story" made me a fan for life. I wish the PBS shows would be shown again and better yet I wish they could be released on DVD. I have very warm memories of all of these shows and "A Christmas Story" has become a Christmas tradition in our house. I have just ordered the CD "Jean Shepherd and Other Foibles" and am looking forward to experiencing another side of Shep previously unknown to me. I am delighted to have found this site.
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Kiefer,Garrett
Petaluma
California
Shep fan since:
1962
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Comments:
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Cameron,Martin
Petaluma
California
Shep fan since:
1984
Saw his TV show |
Comments:
Fellows and Gals, I beside myself with joy at finding the threshold to your find electronic alter to the Late Lamented Shep! Being a long living denizen of the Left Coast of America I never got to hear Shep on the radio, and feel somewhat diminished by that.
I first experienced his work on PBS when I was in college, in the form of "Jean Shepard's America". After that I read his books, and larfed and larfed, and am proud to say I was one of the 5 guys in California who saw Christmas Story in the theatre.
Keep up the good work and Tally Ho Fatheads!
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scott,uncle
pico rivera
California
Shep fan since:
1987
Saw One of His Movies |
Comments:
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