Behind the Scenes:
Letters Nominating Studs Terkel for the 2002 TCF Lifetime Achievement Award

Neenah Ellis
Independent Producer, Author

Studs, Studs, Studs, where to begin?

I grew up in the Chicago area and although I never met Studs until I was grown, I listened to him on the radio and felt like I knew him because he spoke from his heart, always. He didn't yell, as became fashion for announcers in the 60's, he never seemed to be reading a script and you pretty much always knew what he thought.

Studs Terkel has been a radio producer more or less for 60 years. We all know some of his story but there are two aspects to it that appeal to me most. The first is that he always stood for something and took the consequences. He got involved, he signed petitions, he performed at labor rallies, he got blacklisted in the fifties and had a hard time getting work because he believed that the races should be treated equally.

The other part of the story that I'm partial to is about how Studs just can't stop asking questions. He is THE most curious cat.

When the FBI came to his house to question him, he invited the guy in for dinner. When a mugger jumped him one winter night, he asked the guy for an interview while they were rolling around on the ground. When Studs hears about a good story, he cannot rest until he tracks the person down. Last winter he told me a story about a young man - a bike messenger - who he met in an airport. The young man had read Studs most recent book and asked for an autograph. Studs signed the book, they chatted a little and then they parted and went their ways, the young man back to New York City. But then Studs was gripped, seized, absolutely obsessed with finding that young man again so he could interview him for a new book he's writing about hope. Long story short: he found the guy.

I love Chicagoans and how they sound, and to me, Studs IS that sound. He has spent so much time listening to people and finding a human connection with them, that he has become a little bit of every person he has interviewed in his life. Much is made of Studs’ identification with what he calls the so-called average guy, and it is true. But he is also part novelist and jazz musician and philosopher and shrewd politician.

I have to mention his books too. He's written TEN books! Wonderful books. Amazing books. When he came out with The Good War twenty years ago, it was stunning to me in its simplicity and its strength. It was a radio producers book. He listens so well, that he can capture a life in a short excerpt. I recently read his memoir for the first time. I don't know how I missed it. It's called Talking to Myself and it should be required reading for every radio producer. He tells about his life and his interviews and what's going on in the world and they are all of a piece. It reminds me of Eudora Welty's One Writer's Beginnings. His narrative voice, is the same as his spoken voice, thank goodness. To me it's kind of music. I had to read much of it out loud.

Studs Terkel is a certifiable national treasure - and, miracle of miracles, he is also one of us.

Thanks.
Neenah Ellis

Sydney Lewis
Author, Long-time Assistant to Studs Terkel

I second the Studs nomination for Lifetime Achievement. His 45-years on Chicago's WFMT alone qualify him for this award. Anyone fortunate enough to catch him on the air was forever hooked, educated, entertained, exasperated, moved, tickled, and in some way changed. Five days a week he broadcast from the School of Studs Terkel. You could hear beautiful documentary work, spell-binding music programs, exciting live music performances, poetry, drama, fantastic interviews on everything from opera to baseball to nuclear disarmament. You could hear the voices of your neighbors, you could hear the voices of travelers from another shore. Studs made people look at the world in a different way and the endless stream of appreciative, loving, pissed off phone calls, postcards, letters, manuscripts, photographs, drawings that appeared on his doorstep are merely one testament to his wide-ranging effect. This man has made and continues to make a difference in the way we see the world and each other. His endless urge to know and understand, his passion to connect and communicate, to share the fruits of his curiosity with EVERY and ANY one, his inclusive nature, his glee and delight, his incredible artistry on the radio, the legacy he leaves make this award a fitting match for Studs Terkel, the nonpareil.

Sydney Lewis

Jay Allison
Independent Producer, Executive Director of Atlantic Public Media, Founder of Transom.org

Has Studs been nominated? I nominate him. Not so much for his contribution to radio, but for his inspiration, for the example of his life to those of us in public radio and other fields of documentary, history, advocacy, activism, journalism and art. He teaches us about the importance of our role as listeners. By listening, and relaying what we hear, we become the proxy for all the voices in this country that are otherwise unattended to. That is a fitting role for public radio, and Studs, still at 90, has plenty to teach us about fulfilling it.

Jay Allison