I loved his PBS specials back in the day, especially because he lampooned and skewered everybody equally. RIP.
As many of you know, I have an Amazon store, and someone bought one of his books from me earlier today. Not until a few minutes ago did I find out that he had died over the weekend.
I saw him perform live in 1987!
Greatly enjoyed his work — and did see him live in 2003. He acknowleged the presence of a group from PR in the audience: “I’m sure you’ll get statehood… after we get done with New Jersey”
I remember enjoying his specials as a teen. But it feels like he just faded as the world got crazier and began lampooning itself better than he ever could.
The first time I heard one of his routines, I mistook him for Tom Lehrer.
Russell was one of the best old school political satirists, in the company of Russell Baker and Art Buchwald. They had the misfortune of rising to their peaks in an era when the National Lampoon and other outlets took off the velvet gloves and both-side-are-funny mentality and went for blood. Russell continued on pleasantly for decades but his best stuff was long in the past.
I think he only wrote one book, Presenting Mark Russell, a collection of humor pieces.
I can’t think of him without remembering the Simpsons episode where they went to D.C.:
-He already sang this stupid song!
-No, that was about the budget gap. This is the trading gap.
Somewhere in heaven, Mort Sahl and Mark Russell are putting on a great evening of comedy.
The only time I deliberately cut a class was in college, to see Mark Russell perform.
It wasn’t from that show, but my favorite line of his was about how the government was combining free cheese and the space program by inventing “the first orbital fondue”.
I saw him about that same era; a community college in the Seattle suburbs.
The line of his that I remember (I think) was about a political candidate making a visit to a factory that made American flags. “He was there for a fitting.”
That’s another chunk of my young adulthood gone. 
He was my introduction to political satire.
Same here. He once said something about Will Rogers, so I checked out a few of his books from the high school library (hint: they didn’t age well, like most political humor).