# RIP Harvey Pekar **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 12, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399 "2010-07-12T15:33:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399/1 "2010-07-12T15:33:47Z")
The Associated Press is reporting that comic-book writer Harvey Pekar has been found dead in his Ohio home. He was 70. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399/2 "2010-07-12T15:35:27Z")
Ouch. That was one death I didn’t expect; he was writing up until a couple of years ago. His works really captured the zeitgeist of life as an everyman in Cleveland’s eastern suburbs. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399/3 "2010-07-12T15:43:00Z")
Sad. A good run, but I would have hoped he would have kept going for awhile longer. Definitely a unique voice in the comic world. And I’d strongly recommend the movie _American Splendor_ to anybody who hasn’t seen it yet. It’s uniformly excellent, a step above your standard biopic ( especially as it features not one, but multiple Harvey Pekars, including Harvey Pekar ). ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399/4 "2010-07-12T16:33:56Z")
Well… I was unsure what I was going to do tonight- Guess it’s American Splendor in the DVD player. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399/5 "2010-07-12T16:35:21Z")
Too bad. Not a huge devotee, but I appreciated his work. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399/6 "2010-07-12T16:36:14Z")
He was the odd ball in all of us. Sad to see him go. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399/7 "2010-07-12T17:06:12Z")
Dammit. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399/8 "2010-07-12T19:52:16Z")
[Cleveland Plain Dealer](http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/07/cleveland_comic-book_legend_ha.html) Harvey Pekar, author of the comic book, _American Splendor_ (the REAL show about nothing), and who was memorably play by Paul Giamati in the movie of the same name has died. > [@](#): > > Pekar, 70, was found dead shortly before 1 a.m. today by his wife, Joyce Brabner, in their Cleveland Heights home, said Powell Caesar, spokesman for Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death. Pekar and his wife, Joyce Brabner, wrote “Our Cancer Year,” a book-length comic, after Pekar was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in 1990 and underwent a grueling treatment. RIP to a real legend. Someone who took the excruciating banality of genuine, day to day life and somehow made it fascinating. I still remember his bristly appearances on Letterman too, including the one where he finally flamed out. Hoist one to one of the most interesting underappreciated writers of the last half of the 20th Century, and to a guy who was the definition of authenticity in his work. I think that his work will become more and more appreciated in the fullness of time. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399/9 "2010-07-12T19:54:21Z")
Duplicate: [RIP Harvey Pekar - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=570513) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399/10 "2010-07-12T20:00:40Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Duplicate: [RIP Harvey Pekar - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=570513) Merged the threads. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399/11 "2010-07-12T20:12:07Z")
Sorry about that. I did look to see if there was already a thread, but I somehow missed it. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399/12 "2010-07-12T20:14:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Pekar, 70, was found dead shortly before 1 a.m. today by his wife, Joyce Brabner, in their Cleveland Heights home, said Powell Caesar, spokesman for Cuyahoga County Coroner **Frank Miller**. Is Stan Lee directing the funeral? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399/13 "2010-07-12T20:44:42Z")
\*American Splendour \*was one of the most original things I’ve read in comics. RIP, Harvey. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399/14 "2010-07-13T01:58:59Z")
Fuck me. I’ve been reading American Splendor since 1976, when I was a 15-year-old underground comix buff in Cleveland. Excellent film, too. Rest in peace, my friend. ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399/15 "2010-07-13T02:32:57Z")
I live in Cleveland so i saw him once but never met him. I used to LOVE his Letterman appearances. r.i.p. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399/16 "2010-07-13T05:17:17Z")
How sad! I briefly corresponded with his wife a long time ago. Such nice people… ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399/17 "2010-07-13T06:37:33Z")
He lived within walking distance of my house. The neighborhood will never be the same. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399/18 "2010-07-13T06:41:21Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > He lived within walking distance of my house. The neighborhood will never be the same. If you run into Joyce, pass along my condolences.. ---
**Author:** ![Timchik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@Timchik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timchik)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399/19 "2010-07-13T15:58:54Z")
Rest in peace, Harvey. I noticed that the in New York Times [obituary](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/arts/design/13pekar.html?hpw), the main photo labeled as Pekar is actually a still of Paul Giamatti playing Pekar, from the film _American Splendor_. I’m sure the irony would not be lost on him; he’s not even important enough to star in his own obit. One final thing to grumble about… ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399/20 "2010-07-14T12:52:37Z")
I found out about this yesterday while looking up Steinbrenner news. I was a lot more taken aback about Pekar, even tho I mainly knew of him thru his Letterman appearances. God bless you & your family, Harvey. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-harvey-pekar/546399.md?page=2)