Author George Plimpton, 76, Dies in New York
I knew him more from his sports writing than from his work as a literary editor - to me, he’ll always be the man who brought story story of Sidd Finch to the world.
He was also a fantastic interview - I remember him from several years ago on the Charlie Rose show discussing When We Were Kings.
Aw, man, this is sad. What an interesting life he had.
The first thing I think of is MARRIED WITH CHILDREN. He did a full Masterpiece-Theater style introduction for the 200th episode in 1995. He’d never seen the show, so his narration was perfect.
I remember his snooty endorsements for the Intellivision home video game system as if they were yesterday.
I ended up getting a Colocovision.
I just keep hearing “And a hot plate”.
Ahem.
We are gathered here today to mourn the passing of our friend George Plimpton, a man whose death was first announced to the SDMB at 11:43 AM (not 11:49 AM) on the 26th of September in the year of our Lord 2003, by poster cuauhtemoc (not Wilson).
A man whose literary and intellectual pursuits enriched, enlightened and entertained so many over the course of his illustrious career, George Plimpton’s passing will be marked by many. May the people of the SDMB always remember the sad frame of mind in which they found themselves when cuauhtemoc (not Wilson) delivered the shocking news to the board (a full six minutes before anyone else did).
As the person who first alerted the board to the loss of this genuine American treasure, I feel a special bond with George, one that I sincerely wish all of you could experience with me (even though it was I who made the first announcement of George’s death, and not any of you). Alas, with this bond comes a certain sense of duty. And when men are called to duty, they must rise, rise to the occasion! You may rest assured, my brothers and sisters (and Wilson), that I intend to prove myself worthy of George’s memory. George, old boy, wherever you are, know that I’ll make sure they remember your name.
Cute.
Anyway, I just heard he’d died a few hours ago. Too bad; I loved his sportswriting, especially the “participatory journalism.” The piece in which he boxed against Archie Moore was superb.
Anyone else remember his cameo on Saturday Night Live, when he did a fake commercial for some board game that would teach your children about the various kinds of cheese. He was introduced as George Plimpton: Author, Sophisticate.
Pretty much nailed it.
I couldn’t believe it when I heard this. I just saw him on Sunday. He was in Detroit for the Lions’ game, celebrating a reunion of the “Paper Lion” team. Very sad, he had one hell of a interesting life though.
Why certainly, you did beat me to the posting. I looked for another thread in both MPSIMS and the Cafe and found nothing. I will admit to not doing a name search for him, though. Do I at least get a half a point for opening the (apparently) only thread?
I had forgotten that Married With Children episode, Mehitabel. That was an oddly inspired bit of casting.
With respect to you, Wilson, this isn’t a game. It’s about the loss of a dear, funny, intelligent man (and the heavy burden borne by those who must break bad news, which in this case happened to be me). You can have as many “points” as you want if it makes you feel better (just so long as it’s not as many as me, since I was actually the one who posted it first), but personally I’m satisfied just to honor his memory here among people who appreciate him for who he was.
Incidentally, my original announcement didn’t go through the first time I hit “Submit”, so it was probably more like eight or possibly nine minutes I beat you by. Not that it matters.
Yes and he was a guest on ESPN radio just last week and made mention of that. He sounded in fine form. A shock indeed.
I’m sorry about his death, too.
One thing I always loved about Plimpton was that even with all his erudite accomplishments, he refused to take himself too seriously. In the early days of The Disney Channel, Plimpton hosted the program “Mouseterpiece Theater” (a pun on “Masterpiece Theater.”) He’d sit in a leather chair in a richly paneled library and discuss a classic Mickey Mouse cartoon (whom he always referred to as simply “Mouse”), a la Alistair Cook or Russell Baker. I remember one cartoon where Plimpton held forth, comparing Goofy to Gary Cooper in “High Noon.”
He always played it straight, and it was a highly entertaining spoof.
A multi-talented man, he’ll be missed.
“… while the Atari 2600 left me feeling” (Plimpton holds up cardboard cutout of himself) “… rather flat.”