Paul Harvey has died at 90
"My father and mother created from thin air what one day became radio and television news," ... "So in the past year, an industry has lost its godparents and today millions have lost a friend" - Paul Harveyvia AP:
The broadcasting pioneer passed away today in Phoenix, Arizona, surrounded by friends and family. No cause of death has been reported at this time. At his peak, Harvey reached more than 24 million listeners on more than 1,200 radio stations, and his syndicated column was carried by 300 newspapers.
His fans identified with his plainspoken political commentary, but critics called him an out-of-touch conservative. He was an early supporter of the late Sen. Joseph McCarthy and a longtime backer of the Vietnam War. But Harvey's most famous broadcast came in 1970, when he abandoned that stance, announcing his opposition to President Nixon's expansion of the war and urging him to get out completely.
"Mr. President, I love you ... but you're wrong," Harvey said, shocking his faithful listeners and drawing a barrage of letters and phone calls, including one from the White House.
But Harvey is most widely known for his "The Rest of the Story", which he began in 1976. He would highlight an individual, taking you through events of their lives in an attempt to capture "the heartbeats behind the headlines." Harvey was preceded in death by his wife, Lynn, in 2008 and is survived by his son, Paul Jr.
Click here for "the rest of the story".
Labels: obits, Paul Harvey
posted by John Good @ 10:15 PM
4 Comments:
Regardless of the words he might speak, the sound of his voice on the radio always transported me to a place of hope, serenity & peace: my grandmother's kitchen. I figured he might just go on with his program for another century.
I always enjoyed his "rest of the story." I knew he must be getting quite old as I'd noticed his son had taken over the radio broadcasts I'd been hearing occasionally (and sounds almost like his dad). RIP, Paul Harvey.
There must be some timeline problems. I graduated from HS in 1973 and I recall our bus driver listening to Harvey as early as middle school and his "... and now you know the rest of the story."
It's possible that I mis-quoted an online source. Or that the source itself got the date wrong. Damn it Robert, I'm a blogger not a journalist! ;)
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