Art Buchwald, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist, dies at 81

[never cry wolf]

no links, just heard this on WJ

rest in peace art

:cry:

on edit here's a link and subject line changed: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/18/america/NA-GEN-US-Obit-Buchwald.php

2nd edit to add:

"The last year he had the opportunity for a victory lap and I think he was really grateful for it," said son Joel Buchwald, who was with his father when he died quietly in his Washington home late Wednesday. "He had an opportunity to write his book about his experience and he went out the way he wanted to go, on his own terms."

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

1. Rest in peace to a wonderful man

Deepest condolences to his family.

[LostinVA]

2. Goodbye to a good man

He cheated death by almost a year, too.

[Botany]

3. Art B. an American Gem.

Some of his last writing was some of his best.

Golden Slumbers
(John Lennon, Paul McCartney)
Lead Vocal: Paul McCartney

Once there was a way to get back homeward
Once there was a way to get back home
Sleep pretty darling do not cry
And I will sing a lullabye

Golden slumbers fill your eyes
Smiles awake you when you rise
Sleep pretty darling do not cry
And I will sing a lullabye

Once there was a way to get back homeward
Once there was a way to get back home
Sleep pretty darling do not cry
And I will sing a lullabye

[Kadie]

4. Here is what I posted in GD...links and pics

Pulitzer Price-winning columnist Art Buchwald is seen at a hospice in Washington in this May 24, 2006 file photo. Buchwald, whose wry political and social satire made him a pillar of the nation's capital for more than four decades and earned him a Pulitzer Prize, has died, his son said Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Columnist Art Buchwald dies at age 81
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press Writer
6 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Columnist Art Buchwald, whose wry political and social satire made him a pillar of the nation's capital for more than four decades and earned him a Pulitzer Prize, has died, his son said Thursday.

Buchwald, 81, had refused dialysis treatments for his failing kidneys last year and was expected to die within weeks of moving to a hospice on Feb. 7. But he lived to return home and even write a book about his experiences.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070118/ap_on_en_ot/obit_buchwald_1

Columnist Art Buchwald Dies at Age 81
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press Writer
Thursday, January 18, 2007

snip...
"The last year he had the opportunity for a victory lap and I think he was really grateful for it," said son Joel Buchwald, who was with his father when he died quietly in his Washington home late Wednesday. "He had an opportunity to write his book about his experience and he went out the way he wanted to go, on his own terms."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/01/18/entertainment/e064809S91.DTL


Author and humorist Art Buchwald displays a golf club during the Possible Dreams Auction 2006 in Edgartown, Mass., on Marthas Vineyard Island, in this Aug. 7, 2006 file photo. Buchwald, whose wry political and social satire made him a pillar of the nation's capital for more than four decades and earned him a Pulitzer Prize, has died, his son said Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

[CBHagman]

5. God rest his soul.

I saw him at the legendary political cartoonist Herblock's memorial service back in 2001. Buchwald came down the aisle of the National Cathedral, with a lady on each arm (I don't recall who they were).

What a guy. What a shame to lose him. It's the end of an era.

[endarkenment]

6. K&R a great progressive voice has died.

[medeak]

7. really believed he was going to live forever

what a force of nature.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

8. Favorite Buchwald Quote

I'm paraphrasing here:

"Everything he did lent itself to satire. Watergate gave me three years of material the likes of which I may never see again...Truth be told, I needed Richard Nixon far more than he needed me."

[otherlander]

36. Great quote.

He also said, "America is suffering from a severe shortage of Communists. If we don't do something soon, the American Communist Party will be made up entirely of FBI informants." :)

:cry: RIP...

[MarkTwain]

9. At Least He Lived Long Enough....

... to see his country - somewhat - reverse the vile trend of the last decade and to see that that a bastard who presumes the Presidency began his decent into the political hell that he deserves.

Thanks, Art, for your lifetime of work and your service to your country.

[ncrainbowgrrl]

10. RIP to a truly great American

:cry:

[bikebloke]

11. He spoke at my graduation commencement.

And it was only a dinky community college.

[hlthe2b]

12. Ohhhh, I'd thought he'd cheated death for the long term...

Thanks for the laughter and humanity, Mr. Buchwald. You've set quite an example in both life and death and there will surely be chuckles in the "great beyond" now that you are there.

RIP and thanks, ART!

[Phredicles]

13. Rest In Peace; he and Mad magazine were my introduction to

the Nixon gang. A greart American.

[rocktivity]

14. Thanks for keeping me laughing through Watergate, Art

And for the nice end run you pulled on life last year.

:hi:
rocknation

[AnneD]

15. I've told this before, but I'll tell it again....

I met Art at Baylor University in 1973. Information was slower then, but some of us were on to Watergate. The conservative student body was silent as he gave his talk about Nixon and the plumbers (there were 3 of us laughing, myself and 2 others).

I could tell that it bothered him that folks weren't laughing. I went up to Art after the speech and explained to him that the student body president had just sent Nixon a letter of support. He chomped on his cigar a minute then let out a hearty laugh. We talked another 15-20 minutes trading barbs and observations. It was one of the bright spots in my bleak education at Baylor.

I love to write satire and humour esp political satire. Art was one of the best. Thanks for the laughs......I'll miss you.:toast::smoke:

[flamingyouth]

26. That's an awesome story

Thanks for sharing it. :D

[rcdean]

33. Must have been a great experience for you.

Satire, imo, is the highest form of humor, and the most difficult to write well.

[monarch]

16. Graceful statement by Ted Kennedy

Senator Ted Kennedy said of Buchwald’s passing, “Art was the Mark Twain of our time.”

“He’ll forever live on in our hearts and minds for his brilliant human observations. For decades there was no better way to start the day than to open the morning paper to Art’s column, laugh out loud and learn all over again to take the issues seriously in the world of politics, but not take yourself too seriously.

As Art said, “Whether it’s the best of times or the worst of times, it’s the only time we’ve got.” The special art of Art Buchwald was to make even the worst of times better. We’re fortunate to have had him for so long, and I’ll miss him very much.”

http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=5141

[underpants]

17. Great guy

RIP

[msanthrope]

18. R.I.P. Mr. Buchwald.

[daleo]

19. I still remember his "Escalation" column, about Viet Nam

A masterpiece of satire. Rest in peace.

[newscott]

29. Right up there with Swift's Modest Proposal.

[Jeanette in FL]

20. He will be sorely missed.

I too, learned so much from his columns during Watergate. He was hysterical to read.

Right to the end his sense of humor never left him. Godspeed, Mr. Buchwald.

RIP

[Vidar]

21. RIP Art.

[eppur_se_muova]

22. RIP, Art. You made us laugh when we needed to most.

[NastyRiffraff]

23. RIP, Art...

I'll never forget his columns from the hospice, when he thought he was going to die there. He had humor even as he contemplated death. Lovely, lovely man. He'll be missed.

[Pastiche423]

24. A safe and peaceful journey, Art

[flamingyouth]

25. He will be missed - RIP, Art

I heard him not too long ago, and he said he actually didn't mind the prospect of his impending death because then he wouldn't have to hear George W. Bush anymore. :D

Even in his last days, that guy had his priorities straight. Thanks for everything, Art. :thumbsup:

[xchrom]

27. good night sweet prince.

now there was a good man.

blessings now and ever after mr buchwald.

[Penndems]

28. Art Buchwald videotaped his obituary for the New York Times as part of their "The Last Word"

Series:

"Hi, I'm Art Buchwald and I just died!"

Link to video:

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/khtml/2007/01/18/obituaries/20070118_BUCHWALD_FEATURE.html

*************************************************************************
I read Art Buchwald's column in the Washington Post for over forty years, and have four of his books. There isn't a lot that's funny in the Nation's Capital, but Buchwald found the humor in both political situations and in politicians.

God Bless You, Art. Thanks for the laughs. :cry:

[AnneD]

31. It was hard to watch him at times....

but he was able to tell it like it is/was. He took a bad situation and made it better. And in doing so he found his gift. I think I know why he was around a little longer...God loves a good laugh too, and he wanted Art to see which way the story was going.

[burrowowl]

30. RIP

He made my day in the IHT in Paris for a long time. Love you man!
His Merci Donnant article evey Thanksgiving is a great.

[DFW]

32. Art Buchwald was friend to me and my family

I used to see him at least once a year at the Renaissance Weekend
gatherings in South Carolina, and my dad knew him for decades,
since before I was out of high school. Later on, even when he could
hardly walk, his ailment slurring his speech, he never once complained
and never once lost his sense of humor. Mastering depression is an
awesome task in itself. Art stomped it into the ground.

His 1952 Thanksgiving column is a classic that will remain as such
as long as English and French are both spoken.

Salut, mon ami, et mes sentiments à Kilomètres Deboutish quand tu le vois!

[rcdean]

34. No online links to his older columns. What a shame!

It sure would be nice to have a few of his Nam era pieces around to review after all these years.

[USA No. 1]

35. First Joke Book I Ever Read

Laughter, the Best Medicine. My dad had it on his bookshelf. I must have been 7 or 8 years old when I first saw it and pulled it from the shelf. It was the first joke book I ever saw and I thought it was so cool that someone would write a book that had nothing but jokes. I used to read it when it was raining and I couldn't go out and play.

There was this one joke that I always remember about a guy who was visiting a relative in an insane asylum when a naked woman came running by. She was being chased by half a dozen interns. The last intern was carrying two buckets of sand. The visitor asked the nurse why the last guy was carrying sand buckets. The answer: "Because he caught her last time."

Buchwald was a good guy.

[burrowowl]

37. RIP

Always read you in the IHT and always loved Merci Donnant!
Love you guy, you are now in a better place.