"Hello Americans, This Is Paul Harvey..."
February 28, 2009 5:48 PM Subscribe
Paul Harvey 1918 - 2009. At 7:30 PM the Paul Harvey site looked like this. Now if looks like this. (via)
"And now you know...the rest of the story."
"And now you know...the rest of the story."
So that's the end of the story.
(dramatic pause)
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posted by The Whelk at 5:52 PM on February 28, 2009
(dramatic pause)
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posted by The Whelk at 5:52 PM on February 28, 2009
. . .
posted by william_boot at 5:53 PM on February 28, 2009 [3 favorites]
posted by william_boot at 5:53 PM on February 28, 2009 [3 favorites]
Thank you, Mr. Harvey.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 5:55 PM on February 28, 2009
posted by kuujjuarapik at 5:55 PM on February 28, 2009
Now who will sell Bose Wave Radio systems with the multi-disc CD changer, Craftmatic adjustable beds, Ocular Nutrition and Robot Insurance?
I wish I could hear the rest of the story.
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posted by Balisong at 5:58 PM on February 28, 2009
I wish I could hear the rest of the story.
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posted by Balisong at 5:58 PM on February 28, 2009
I couldn't help but smile when this dude came on. Nobody delivered the...NEWS like he did.
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posted by Doublewhiskeycokenoice at 5:58 PM on February 28, 2009
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posted by Doublewhiskeycokenoice at 5:58 PM on February 28, 2009
You entertained me on so many rides through the wheat fields on my grandfather's tractor, Mr. Harvey. You and that show where people called in to sell their junk. I vastly preferred your show.
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posted by educatedslacker at 6:00 PM on February 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
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posted by educatedslacker at 6:00 PM on February 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
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posted by lysistrata at 6:01 PM on February 28, 2009
posted by lysistrata at 6:01 PM on February 28, 2009
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posted by Donnie VandenBos at 6:05 PM on February 28, 2009
posted by Donnie VandenBos at 6:05 PM on February 28, 2009
Awesome voice, but if you listened in the later years dude was WACK.
posted by DU at 6:09 PM on February 28, 2009 [3 favorites]
posted by DU at 6:09 PM on February 28, 2009 [3 favorites]
My father and mother created from thin air what one day became radio and television news.
That's a story I'd like to hear the rest of.
posted by DU at 6:11 PM on February 28, 2009
That's a story I'd like to hear the rest of.
posted by DU at 6:11 PM on February 28, 2009
Awesome voice, but if you listened in the later years dude was WACK.
You sure you're not thinking about PJ Harvey?
jes' kiddin'... I like PJ and Paul both. RIP, Paul. Keep rocking, PJ.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:13 PM on February 28, 2009
You sure you're not thinking about PJ Harvey?
jes' kiddin'... I like PJ and Paul both. RIP, Paul. Keep rocking, PJ.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:13 PM on February 28, 2009
...Good day.
posted by middleclasstool at 6:15 PM on February 28, 2009 [3 favorites]
posted by middleclasstool at 6:15 PM on February 28, 2009 [3 favorites]
*pregnant pause*
posted by Ufez Jones at 6:15 PM on February 28, 2009
posted by Ufez Jones at 6:15 PM on February 28, 2009
Now he knows the rest of the story.
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 6:17 PM on February 28, 2009 [3 favorites]
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 6:17 PM on February 28, 2009 [3 favorites]
For the first time in my life, I bought a bottle of Corn Husker's Lotion about a week ago. When I opened it and tried some on my hands, the smell evoked a very vivid memory of being at my Grandma's about 35 years ago. Lemon bundt cake on the sideboard and Paul Harvey on the radio. My Grandma, rest her soul, loved his broadcasts.
R.I.P. Mr. Harvey.
posted by darkstar at 6:23 PM on February 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
R.I.P. Mr. Harvey.
posted by darkstar at 6:23 PM on February 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
I did a Paul Harvey impression when I read news items & PSAs on a college radio station in the 1970s (including closing with "and now you know... the WORST of the story"). NOBODY at the station knew what the @#$% I was doing. Which was kinda sad. He was showing signs of wading into the deep end way back then, but he had style.
That was Paul Harvey...
(wait for it)
Good Day.
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posted by wendell at 6:24 PM on February 28, 2009 [3 favorites]
That was Paul Harvey...
(wait for it)
Good Day.
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posted by wendell at 6:24 PM on February 28, 2009 [3 favorites]
"So to you, Mr. and Mrs. Erotic American, I bid...goodday."
posted by bibliowench at 6:24 PM on February 28, 2009 [7 favorites]
posted by bibliowench at 6:24 PM on February 28, 2009 [7 favorites]
the last time i heard him was september, driving through northern indiana - i was shocked to hear his voice; i thought he'd retired a long time ago - the stations in my area don't seem to carry him anymore, unless there's a country station - so i was pretty surprised as i was dialing around, looking for a decent station, when i heard him say "stand by for NEWS" - it was kind of sad to hear the shakiness in his voice as he spoke - but as old as he was, he was still doing it
i kind of have to respect that
posted by pyramid termite at 6:25 PM on February 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
i kind of have to respect that
posted by pyramid termite at 6:25 PM on February 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
Good night, you bastard.
posted by tranquileye at 6:26 PM on February 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by tranquileye at 6:26 PM on February 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
Now's the time for this, not_on_display!
posted by Horace Rumpole at 6:27 PM on February 28, 2009 [4 favorites]
posted by Horace Rumpole at 6:27 PM on February 28, 2009 [4 favorites]
Awesome voice, but if you listened in the later years dude was WACK.
Whitney Houston tells me crack is wack. Got no idea who this fella is or what you're trying to say. If I was a betting man I'd say his voice was good and somehow got better.
Like the Tucker Carlson FPP, a bit of background would be nice. A link to an infoless home page does not count. What is he, Kenneth Copeland's sidekick or something? Does he need my money in the name of Jeebus? Looks like it.
Peter Harvey > Paul Harvey
posted by uncanny hengeman at 6:32 PM on February 28, 2009
Whitney Houston tells me crack is wack. Got no idea who this fella is or what you're trying to say. If I was a betting man I'd say his voice was good and somehow got better.
Like the Tucker Carlson FPP, a bit of background would be nice. A link to an infoless home page does not count. What is he, Kenneth Copeland's sidekick or something? Does he need my money in the name of Jeebus? Looks like it.
Peter Harvey > Paul Harvey
posted by uncanny hengeman at 6:32 PM on February 28, 2009
Before MP3s and satellite radio, when driving across the country to college, I'd run through all my music by the time I hit Nebraska and was bored with my music and bored with endless cornfields and the pig reports on the only radios stations I could receive. Then I heard the 'Stand by for NEWS' and had a laugh, because my father had told me stories of listening to this same guy when doing the same drive (though on much narrower roads) to college. Now I knew what he was talking about. Then he became more widely syndicated and I have been listening to him on the way to work.
Now days you can't read ads like they are news, but he seems to have been grandfathered and it was such a part of his whole warm wonderful style--even reading the news printout page numbers "and now for page 2!"
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posted by eye of newt at 6:33 PM on February 28, 2009
Now days you can't read ads like they are news, but he seems to have been grandfathered and it was such a part of his whole warm wonderful style--even reading the news printout page numbers "and now for page 2!"
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posted by eye of newt at 6:33 PM on February 28, 2009
uncanny hengeman, you're totally right. I should have given some background. If you're an American over 30 I am guessing you'd know who he is.
I'm not a huge fan, but there was a time where I listened to him a lot.
He was a very distinctive radio personality with a particular (and formulaic) method of story telling. He also had many particular tag lines.
He's been on the radio forever and I kind of expected that would always stay true.
He's the wiki link.
posted by cjorgensen at 6:39 PM on February 28, 2009
I'm not a huge fan, but there was a time where I listened to him a lot.
He was a very distinctive radio personality with a particular (and formulaic) method of story telling. He also had many particular tag lines.
He's been on the radio forever and I kind of expected that would always stay true.
He's the wiki link.
posted by cjorgensen at 6:39 PM on February 28, 2009
He skimmed through the day's AP wire and took one of the weird/fringe stories and embellished it. I mean, I'm as nostalgic as the next guy over the experiences I shared with my father many years ago, but I always thought Paul Harvey was Nooz(tm) for dimwits.
That said, rest in peace.
posted by intermod at 6:46 PM on February 28, 2009
That said, rest in peace.
posted by intermod at 6:46 PM on February 28, 2009
I remember crossing the country in a station wagon when I was a kid. No matter how far out in the middle of nowhere we were, you could always find Paul Harvey on the radio. I can still remember his jokes about someone selling Skylab repellent.
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posted by jquinby at 6:46 PM on February 28, 2009
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posted by jquinby at 6:46 PM on February 28, 2009
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posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:56 PM on February 28, 2009
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:56 PM on February 28, 2009
After all, this is an American site with mostly American members. Thanks for taking it the right way, cjorgensen! FWIW, I would have guessed TV news anchor.
It's funny, but Peter Harvey is also known for signing off with an overly dramatic pause. "Peter Harvey... [wait for it] Can...berraaaaaa." Must be a Harvey thing.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 6:59 PM on February 28, 2009
It's funny, but Peter Harvey is also known for signing off with an overly dramatic pause. "Peter Harvey... [wait for it] Can...berraaaaaa." Must be a Harvey thing.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 6:59 PM on February 28, 2009
Is it ok to say bad things on obituary threads? Because good lord, was that man annoying. He was a reactionary old nut-job, and his delivery was irritating.
Having said that, he was a fellow human being, and I'm sorry he's dead. I'm just not sorry that I'll never again have to change the radio station to avoid him at three in the morning.
posted by craichead at 7:08 PM on February 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
Having said that, he was a fellow human being, and I'm sorry he's dead. I'm just not sorry that I'll never again have to change the radio station to avoid him at three in the morning.
posted by craichead at 7:08 PM on February 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
Is it weird that Paul Harvey always reminded me of some kind of uber-sexist patriarch, like a bigamist cult leader or James Dobson? I'm not saying I think he was. Anyway, I always welcomed the noontime respite from more overtly conservative AM radio rhetoric, back in those horrible days when the only voices I had at work to keep me company came through an AM radio.
posted by theefixedstars at 7:15 PM on February 28, 2009
posted by theefixedstars at 7:15 PM on February 28, 2009
There's a straight line from Harvey to radio fatboy. Condolences to his family but that's all I got.
posted by wrapper at 7:18 PM on February 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by wrapper at 7:18 PM on February 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
It was always a pleasant surprise every time I heard Paul Harvey's voice on the radio, and no matter where I was, even if I was already at my destination, I always sat in my car and listened and waited for "and now you know... the REST of the story."
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posted by gyc at 7:24 PM on February 28, 2009
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posted by gyc at 7:24 PM on February 28, 2009
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posted by vibrotronica at 7:24 PM on February 28, 2009
posted by vibrotronica at 7:24 PM on February 28, 2009
I never listened to the guy on purpose.
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posted by Sailormom at 7:38 PM on February 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
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posted by Sailormom at 7:38 PM on February 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
oh my god, i loved this man. so quiet, so stately, so much from another time. not enough periods on the keyboard.
posted by jbickers at 7:44 PM on February 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by jbickers at 7:44 PM on February 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
I fondly recall getting out of being grounded one day by following my mother around the house talking like Paul Harvey until she couldn't take it anymore and let me go out.
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posted by MikeMc at 7:46 PM on February 28, 2009 [9 favorites]
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posted by MikeMc at 7:46 PM on February 28, 2009 [9 favorites]
He was like Family Circus for the radio.
posted by fourcheesemac at 8:00 PM on February 28, 2009 [11 favorites]
posted by fourcheesemac at 8:00 PM on February 28, 2009 [11 favorites]
I went through a phase where I listened to nothing but AM radio, and I used to be able to know if I was running late based on where I was on my way to work when he came on. I really liked "the rest of the story," and it always made my day when I already knew it. It was never the same when his son did it.
RIP, Paul Harvey.
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posted by lilac girl at 8:08 PM on February 28, 2009
RIP, Paul Harvey.
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posted by lilac girl at 8:08 PM on February 28, 2009
My dad was a huge Paul Harvey fan when I was growing up (in fact still is, err... was). To the point of setting his work schedule so that his commute coincided with Harvey, both morning and Rest of the Story, and the mid-day report on the Bose Wave radio in his office. I hadn't heard him in years until last fall when I was visiting.
Unfortunately, last I heard Fred Thompson was in the running to replace him.
posted by fishmasta at 8:08 PM on February 28, 2009
Unfortunately, last I heard Fred Thompson was in the running to replace him.
posted by fishmasta at 8:08 PM on February 28, 2009
He was like Family Circus for the radio.
Brilliant. One caveat. I'd add "...if Bill Keane got a $100 million contract for selling you crap."
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 8:09 PM on February 28, 2009
Brilliant. One caveat. I'd add "...if Bill Keane got a $100 million contract for selling you crap."
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 8:09 PM on February 28, 2009
In many ways, over the years, Paul Harvey was a touchstone for me. I can remember listening to him on a tac radio in the jungles of Thailand, from the Armed Forces Broadcasting network, to overhearing his distinctive "Good DAY!" from behind a closed door in East Berlin.
Now *that's* reach.
I will miss him terribly.
No dot's... nothing seems adequate except to wish his family peace.
posted by pjern at 8:19 PM on February 28, 2009 [4 favorites]
Now *that's* reach.
I will miss him terribly.
No dot's... nothing seems adequate except to wish his family peace.
posted by pjern at 8:19 PM on February 28, 2009 [4 favorites]
I have earlier memories of listening to Paul Harvey than I have of my own father. I absolutely adored his voice and his cadence, and only now revisiting the few snippets I can find of his radio shows -- specifically The Rest of the Story -- makes my insides swirl warmly.
I was young, really young. It's only now in hindsight that I suspect my mother was not a Paul Harvey fan herself. Lord knows their politics were 180° apart. And, once the show ended, my endless repetition of his catchphrases, especially of his irreproducible good day ...christ, I'd have strangled me. But mom knew I loved him; that, us without a television, his was the household paternal presence I'd latched onto. We'd listen to him whenever we could.
I literally don't remember a single one of his stories. But I'll never forget the sense of comfort his voice brought; that deep, collected voice, gallant, friendly, at once playful and dead-serious. And his patterns of speech, the loaded pauses of a great orator, the stutter-step that kept punchlines surprising and stories engrossing.
I've never seen a picture of him before today.
posted by churl at 8:32 PM on February 28, 2009 [5 favorites]
I was young, really young. It's only now in hindsight that I suspect my mother was not a Paul Harvey fan herself. Lord knows their politics were 180° apart. And, once the show ended, my endless repetition of his catchphrases, especially of his irreproducible good day ...christ, I'd have strangled me. But mom knew I loved him; that, us without a television, his was the household paternal presence I'd latched onto. We'd listen to him whenever we could.
I literally don't remember a single one of his stories. But I'll never forget the sense of comfort his voice brought; that deep, collected voice, gallant, friendly, at once playful and dead-serious. And his patterns of speech, the loaded pauses of a great orator, the stutter-step that kept punchlines surprising and stories engrossing.
I've never seen a picture of him before today.
posted by churl at 8:32 PM on February 28, 2009 [5 favorites]
My mom still listens to him - I thought last time I heard his show he had another guy with a similar voice doing most of the show.
posted by concrete at 8:32 PM on February 28, 2009
posted by concrete at 8:32 PM on February 28, 2009
My favorite Paul Harvey moment occurred one noontime during The Reagan Years™. Much to my surprise, knowing what a right-leaning person Paul was, I heard him fulminate against the then fashionable proxy war in Nicaragua. I'll never forget him saying, in that Voice of his:
"Central America."
(Harvey patented pregnant pause)
"It's a bottomless pit."
posted by rdone at 8:33 PM on February 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
"Central America."
(Harvey patented pregnant pause)
"It's a bottomless pit."
posted by rdone at 8:33 PM on February 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
paul harvey was my little bit of sanity every day while i worked double shifts at the cannery the summer after i graduated high school. he came on at 12:05 and i was pissssssed if i had to take lunch late and EVEN MORE pissed if "the rest of the story" was a freakin rerun.
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posted by Glibpaxman at 8:33 PM on February 28, 2009
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posted by Glibpaxman at 8:33 PM on February 28, 2009
He skimmed through the day's AP wire and took one of the weird/fringe stories and embellished it.
This is true. Some people actually involved in the stories, and I'm thinking of a story involving Phil Greenspun (NSFW pics on that page) got embellished in a way that made the story amusing but missed the entire point (Phil had given his students who showed up to class $100 as a means of "refunding" their tuition for a class he believed that should have been free. Harvey embellished it as a story of a teacher who had to pay his students to show up to class).
The guy was your right-wing but lovable uncle/grandfather who could tell a good story. Mostly great to listen to as long as you forgot about those moments where he went a bit off the deep end. Yet at the same time many times more listenable and interesting than today's conservative radio personalities, simply because he had almost universal appeal. He was a radio personality who happened to be conservative rather than a "conservative radio personality," and that made the big difference.
posted by deanc at 8:45 PM on February 28, 2009 [5 favorites]
This is true. Some people actually involved in the stories, and I'm thinking of a story involving Phil Greenspun (NSFW pics on that page) got embellished in a way that made the story amusing but missed the entire point (Phil had given his students who showed up to class $100 as a means of "refunding" their tuition for a class he believed that should have been free. Harvey embellished it as a story of a teacher who had to pay his students to show up to class).
The guy was your right-wing but lovable uncle/grandfather who could tell a good story. Mostly great to listen to as long as you forgot about those moments where he went a bit off the deep end. Yet at the same time many times more listenable and interesting than today's conservative radio personalities, simply because he had almost universal appeal. He was a radio personality who happened to be conservative rather than a "conservative radio personality," and that made the big difference.
posted by deanc at 8:45 PM on February 28, 2009 [5 favorites]
My favorite thing with him was always "and now . . . page 2." That always cracked me up as a kid - I'd think "Paul, you just say the numbers to yourself!"
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posted by Nabubrush at 8:47 PM on February 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
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posted by Nabubrush at 8:47 PM on February 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
I am not positive, but I have always thought that this episode of This American Life (by Scott Carrier, who is one of my all-time favorite contributors to TAL and also his pieces on NPR, particularly the ones about the drug wars in Mexico -- whoa!) I think that the above link is about a time when Scott Carrier worked as a reporter for Paul Harvey.
(following is the TAL blurb about the story, or, if you prefer, The Rest Of The Story)
Act Two. Whoring in Commercial Radio News.
Scott Carrier took a job in commercial radio working for a network correspondent he refers to as "The Friendly Man." Every story was supposed to be upbeat, a tale of people coming together in the heartwarming spirit of community. And every story they sent him on turned out to be a sham. When he tried to tell his editors the story they wanted was untrue, he was told that attitude would get him fired. (17 minutes)
I listened to Paul Harvey for years, and enjoyed doing so. I know now that he was a complete psycho in his far-right leanings; nonetheless, it's what he believed, and believed in, it is what it is. He was extraordinary (okay, so is stomach gas, if you look at it from certain perspectives), a great voice, quite an entertainer.
Lucky in love, married to the same woman for many years (and I just cannot believe he'd ever have been with another woman, he was of the old guard, a strong believer of 'how it ought to be' or whatever). They woke up very early in the mornings (I think six a week) to take a limo to the city (Chicago) together to prepare for his show(s), one (maybe five minutes) in the morning, maybe seven-thirty, his big show at noon (15 or 20 minutes), and then his The Rest Of The Story, in the evening, maybe five-thirty pm. Of the three shows, only the last show was 'canned' ie was not done 'live' and those were often great shows, it'd be a great thing to have them online somewhere; regardless his political leanings and probable spin on many of the people and/or events involved, his researchers came up with great stories and Harvey really told them well. Again, a great voice, and great timing, and delivery, etc and etc.
My father told me years ago that early in Harveys career he was a real revolutionary reporter, that he climbed over a fence around some high security governmental joint (radar? nuclear weaponry related? I don't recall.) and made his report about it, got in quite a bit of hot water over it. Not certain on all of that but it's what I recall my father said; any inaccuracies are likely mine, and not my fathers memory, which was superb until the Alzheimers nailed him.
I haven't heard him in many years. Another oak felled.
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posted by dancestoblue at 8:55 PM on February 28, 2009 [4 favorites]
(following is the TAL blurb about the story, or, if you prefer, The Rest Of The Story)
Act Two. Whoring in Commercial Radio News.
Scott Carrier took a job in commercial radio working for a network correspondent he refers to as "The Friendly Man." Every story was supposed to be upbeat, a tale of people coming together in the heartwarming spirit of community. And every story they sent him on turned out to be a sham. When he tried to tell his editors the story they wanted was untrue, he was told that attitude would get him fired. (17 minutes)
I listened to Paul Harvey for years, and enjoyed doing so. I know now that he was a complete psycho in his far-right leanings; nonetheless, it's what he believed, and believed in, it is what it is. He was extraordinary (okay, so is stomach gas, if you look at it from certain perspectives), a great voice, quite an entertainer.
Lucky in love, married to the same woman for many years (and I just cannot believe he'd ever have been with another woman, he was of the old guard, a strong believer of 'how it ought to be' or whatever). They woke up very early in the mornings (I think six a week) to take a limo to the city (Chicago) together to prepare for his show(s), one (maybe five minutes) in the morning, maybe seven-thirty, his big show at noon (15 or 20 minutes), and then his The Rest Of The Story, in the evening, maybe five-thirty pm. Of the three shows, only the last show was 'canned' ie was not done 'live' and those were often great shows, it'd be a great thing to have them online somewhere; regardless his political leanings and probable spin on many of the people and/or events involved, his researchers came up with great stories and Harvey really told them well. Again, a great voice, and great timing, and delivery, etc and etc.
My father told me years ago that early in Harveys career he was a real revolutionary reporter, that he climbed over a fence around some high security governmental joint (radar? nuclear weaponry related? I don't recall.) and made his report about it, got in quite a bit of hot water over it. Not certain on all of that but it's what I recall my father said; any inaccuracies are likely mine, and not my fathers memory, which was superb until the Alzheimers nailed him.
I haven't heard him in many years. Another oak felled.
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posted by dancestoblue at 8:55 PM on February 28, 2009 [4 favorites]
Whoa! Just got off the phone with an old buddy, he told me that Harvey had died, I told him yeah, I'd just read some about it, and told him about my post, which irritated him big time; he told me that in the run-up to our murder festival in Iraq (Just one bucket of blood for a whole barrel of oil!) that Harvey was basically a mouthpiece for Bush and The Boyz, how Harvey went on and on about how Americans just love peace! More than any other people! But that if we didn't go over there, as counseled by your wise and prudent prez, that we'd be fighting them here! Well, those of us left after Saddam had dropped his weapons of mass destruction on us... As noted above, I've not listened to him in years; my buddy was set up such that he heard him a lot during that time...
posted by dancestoblue at 9:30 PM on February 28, 2009
posted by dancestoblue at 9:30 PM on February 28, 2009
I thought last time I heard his show he had another guy with a similar voice doing most of the show
Paul Harvey Jr
posted by troy at 9:47 PM on February 28, 2009
Paul Harvey Jr
posted by troy at 9:47 PM on February 28, 2009
The sad thing about the death of Paul Harvey is that, yes, he was a right-wing nutjob: but the saddest thing is that by the time the 21st century arrived, he was one of the sanest voices left on American AM radio.
posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 10:36 PM on February 28, 2009 [3 favorites]
posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 10:36 PM on February 28, 2009 [3 favorites]
Less than a month ago I choreographed an epitaph for him.
Weird.
posted by sixswitch at 10:38 PM on February 28, 2009
Weird.
posted by sixswitch at 10:38 PM on February 28, 2009
When I was 12 years old, I had a paper route and my mom would drive me around to deliver the papers at like, 6 in the morning. Every morning, during my rounds, I'd listen to Paul Harvey's "Rest of the Story" and his news commentary (though I only remember him advertising for some Vitamin C supplement).
RIP.
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posted by champthom at 10:50 PM on February 28, 2009
RIP.
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posted by champthom at 10:50 PM on February 28, 2009
It's a self-link, but synchronicity made me do it:
Epitaph for Paul Harvey
HQ is better as it's not a great recording
Also:
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posted by sixswitch at 10:54 PM on February 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
Epitaph for Paul Harvey
HQ is better as it's not a great recording
Also:
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posted by sixswitch at 10:54 PM on February 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
moment of silence
posted by longsleeves at 11:30 PM on February 28, 2009
posted by longsleeves at 11:30 PM on February 28, 2009
I guess I first heard Paul Harvey in the car with my Dad. On those 200 miles drives that book-ended his court-ordered vistatations. Of course the first thing you noticed was that cliff-hanger, and then the reveal of"And now you know... the rest of the story." The ne'er-do-well, the anonymous striver, turned out to be the famous guy whose household name you knew.
Later, when I occasionally heard Paul Harvey, there'd be that sense of recognition, that "instant nostalgia" to those car trips with Dad after the divorce, that Harvey's rigidly formulaic method invokes. By then, Harvey's shtick seemed more forced, more bombastic, but all the more recognizable for it.
It was all about the formula, like a Horatio Alger book: the moral that the good, moral boy makes good, was inevitably the rest of the story. It almost became self-parody, camp, as I got older and increasingly bruised by a world that refuted the promise that keeping my nose clean meant eventual success. The "rest of the story" for me became increasing cynicism, and Paul Harvey became a cardboard representative of a lie, but a pleasing lie, a forced simplicity we all wished was true. You could suspend disbelief for a minute bathed in Harvey's mellifluous voice, and pretend that all you needed to know you'd learned in kindergarten, that doing well was the inevitable reult opf being eanest and striving to be morally upright.
I think a lot of America is now in that post-Harvey world. They've done what they were told to do, invested in 401Ks, bought and flipped houses, gone to church and kept their noses clean, and despite all that all verities have mocked them and everything seems to be crashing down, all their prophets and leaders and wise men revealed as incompetents and frauds.
Little Piyush, the brown son of immigrants Amar and Raj, who goes on to become a Rhodes Scholar and exorcist and then Governor Bobby Jindal, is a Paul Harvey story, rags-to-riches.
Yet as we saw on Tuesday, that story no longer plays. It's still a good story, but in our adult cynicism, in the tattered and complex America we now inhabit, we now notice the seams and extruded glue and randomly placed rivets that hold that "story" together, and realize its falseness.
Paul Harvey's voice will continue to soothe in reruns, will take us back to a "simpler" time when we believed we could trust the signposts we followed, will still make us smile as we remember who we used to be. But that time is past for most of us. Those times we treasure and have lost, and will never hold again, those foundations of our lives now lost to us.
In a way, that makes Harvey's stories all the more precious, as we long to be who we once imagined we were, riding in Dad's old Ford with the long automatic shift lever attached to the steering wheel, back then it was a new car and Dad was younger than we are now. Back when we had Paul Harvey and when Detroit built the world's cars and we had eternal verities and rock-solid American values and limitless hope for our inevitable bright futures.
posted by orthogonality at 12:06 AM on March 1, 2009 [10 favorites]
Later, when I occasionally heard Paul Harvey, there'd be that sense of recognition, that "instant nostalgia" to those car trips with Dad after the divorce, that Harvey's rigidly formulaic method invokes. By then, Harvey's shtick seemed more forced, more bombastic, but all the more recognizable for it.
It was all about the formula, like a Horatio Alger book: the moral that the good, moral boy makes good, was inevitably the rest of the story. It almost became self-parody, camp, as I got older and increasingly bruised by a world that refuted the promise that keeping my nose clean meant eventual success. The "rest of the story" for me became increasing cynicism, and Paul Harvey became a cardboard representative of a lie, but a pleasing lie, a forced simplicity we all wished was true. You could suspend disbelief for a minute bathed in Harvey's mellifluous voice, and pretend that all you needed to know you'd learned in kindergarten, that doing well was the inevitable reult opf being eanest and striving to be morally upright.
I think a lot of America is now in that post-Harvey world. They've done what they were told to do, invested in 401Ks, bought and flipped houses, gone to church and kept their noses clean, and despite all that all verities have mocked them and everything seems to be crashing down, all their prophets and leaders and wise men revealed as incompetents and frauds.
Little Piyush, the brown son of immigrants Amar and Raj, who goes on to become a Rhodes Scholar and exorcist and then Governor Bobby Jindal, is a Paul Harvey story, rags-to-riches.
Yet as we saw on Tuesday, that story no longer plays. It's still a good story, but in our adult cynicism, in the tattered and complex America we now inhabit, we now notice the seams and extruded glue and randomly placed rivets that hold that "story" together, and realize its falseness.
Paul Harvey's voice will continue to soothe in reruns, will take us back to a "simpler" time when we believed we could trust the signposts we followed, will still make us smile as we remember who we used to be. But that time is past for most of us. Those times we treasure and have lost, and will never hold again, those foundations of our lives now lost to us.
In a way, that makes Harvey's stories all the more precious, as we long to be who we once imagined we were, riding in Dad's old Ford with the long automatic shift lever attached to the steering wheel, back then it was a new car and Dad was younger than we are now. Back when we had Paul Harvey and when Detroit built the world's cars and we had eternal verities and rock-solid American values and limitless hope for our inevitable bright futures.
posted by orthogonality at 12:06 AM on March 1, 2009 [10 favorites]
Bad day.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 12:18 AM on March 1, 2009
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 12:18 AM on March 1, 2009
he told me that in the run-up to our murder festival in Iraq (Just one bucket of blood for a whole barrel of oil!) that Harvey was basically a mouthpiece for Bush and The Boyz,
And yet Paul Harvey broke the news that the Pentagon was severely underreporting the count of US casualties in the Iraq war.
As AsYouKnow Bob mentions, he may have been a right wing nut job, but he was no propaganda puppet like much of the noise on talk radio.
posted by eye of newt at 12:22 AM on March 1, 2009 [1 favorite]
And yet Paul Harvey broke the news that the Pentagon was severely underreporting the count of US casualties in the Iraq war.
As AsYouKnow Bob mentions, he may have been a right wing nut job, but he was no propaganda puppet like much of the noise on talk radio.
posted by eye of newt at 12:22 AM on March 1, 2009 [1 favorite]
Politics aside (and yeah, I can put them aside for this), the man had an iconic voice. Hell, I just heard one of his 12:05 bits on AFN this afternoon, and I find it quite shocking to hear he's gone. His views were not ones I shared, but I respect the man for being a good storyteller. Some people didn't like his delivery, and yes, it was corny as hell, but he told stories, and told them well. Even if, as the TAL show says, many of the stories were false, I'm not exactly bothered by them. They're stories, and they entertain. How many other story tellers do we have left? Garrison Keillor and? David Sidaris writes well, if narcissisticly, but his voice is... not a radio voice. For being a voice, and a constant voice at that, for all of these years, I respect the guy, and I'll miss knowing that, if I turned on AFN at the right time, I'd get to hear him.
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posted by Ghidorah at 2:13 AM on March 1, 2009
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posted by Ghidorah at 2:13 AM on March 1, 2009
I don't doubt that all these things were true about the man, but still, I'm sad to hear he's gone. He was a fixture of the radio, and he seemed, at least, a lot friendlier than the likes of Limbaugh and O'Reiley.
One of the funniest things the cartoon Freakazoid did was a parody of Paul Harvey, who would occasionally introduce some piece of backstory. When Freakazoid fought the villain Longhorn, they interrupted the action for two minutes just so their Paul Harvey clone could intone his origin. Here it is on YouTube.
posted by JHarris at 5:17 AM on March 1, 2009
One of the funniest things the cartoon Freakazoid did was a parody of Paul Harvey, who would occasionally introduce some piece of backstory. When Freakazoid fought the villain Longhorn, they interrupted the action for two minutes just so their Paul Harvey clone could intone his origin. Here it is on YouTube.
posted by JHarris at 5:17 AM on March 1, 2009
I think it's funny all you city folk think he was just on radio for country rubes in Nebraska. He was syndicated in pretty much every market in the country and in the last 5-10 years was consistently making $30 million/year. And, as has been mentioned upthread, that voice you heard the other day that sounds oddly like Paul Harvey but isn't exactly Paul Harvey, doing the whole Paul Harvey thing? Yeah, that's Paul Harvey, Jr., ready to take over the Harvey money machine starting...today.
posted by billysumday at 5:55 AM on March 1, 2009
posted by billysumday at 5:55 AM on March 1, 2009
I'll miss him too, as he's been a regular fixture throughout my life. I won't miss his endless shilling, however.
posted by drstrangelove at 6:32 AM on March 1, 2009
posted by drstrangelove at 6:32 AM on March 1, 2009
.
Your voice always brings me back to childhood. Rest in peace.
posted by UseyurBrain at 6:36 AM on March 1, 2009
Your voice always brings me back to childhood. Rest in peace.
posted by UseyurBrain at 6:36 AM on March 1, 2009
I'm really disappointed. I initially read this post to mean that some famous news-reader had outed himself on his death as a secret transvestite, Angel, before his mortified family quickly switched his website for a more orthodox homage.
Not the clearest of FPP's, I have to say.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 6:56 AM on March 1, 2009 [1 favorite]
Not the clearest of FPP's, I have to say.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 6:56 AM on March 1, 2009 [1 favorite]
Oh come on, PeterMcDermott, if "1918 - 2009." isn't clear I have to question your reading comprehension. Actually, I will, since I don't see where "transvestite named Angle" comes from.
I should have linked to another biographical page, but one of my pet peeves are FPPs with links to wikipedia in them, or multiple links, or the worst sin, the primary link of substance.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:15 AM on March 1, 2009
I should have linked to another biographical page, but one of my pet peeves are FPPs with links to wikipedia in them, or multiple links, or the worst sin, the primary link of substance.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:15 AM on March 1, 2009
When I was living in Stuttgart, (then West) Germany on my Junior Year Abroad and plumbing the utter depths of homesickness and depression, Paul Harvey on the Voice of America shortwave was a lifeline for me. I listened to him very occasionally in later years, and he always brought a smile to my face -- the politics wasn't the point. He was a real emblem of that think-positive, have-something-nice-to-say, can-do America I grew up loving.
So ...
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posted by Michael Roberts at 8:09 AM on March 1, 2009
So ...
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posted by Michael Roberts at 8:09 AM on March 1, 2009
PETER MCDERMOTT, THANK YOU!
believe it or not, I had the same exact impression. i was very disappointed to find that pic is not of the dude as a transgender woman.
posted by liza at 8:28 AM on March 1, 2009
believe it or not, I had the same exact impression. i was very disappointed to find that pic is not of the dude as a transgender woman.
posted by liza at 8:28 AM on March 1, 2009
The Rest in peace Of The Story.
posted by GrammarMoses at 8:36 AM on March 1, 2009
posted by GrammarMoses at 8:36 AM on March 1, 2009
He was. Like. Wells Lamont Gloves. Stuuuuuuuuuubborn! His delivery completely hypnotic, which worked well for the neo-con crap he spewed forth. He and Reagan seem to me peas in a pod. They both got their start by doing shit work at a radio station, and using that medium to move on to greater things.
Here's the best way to remember him though. Through parody. And careful editing. A side of the man you never knew. And now you know. The Rest of the Story! (FYI: the audio clip in the link is on a repeating loop)
posted by kuppajava at 8:39 AM on March 1, 2009 [1 favorite]
Here's the best way to remember him though. Through parody. And careful editing. A side of the man you never knew. And now you know. The Rest of the Story! (FYI: the audio clip in the link is on a repeating loop)
posted by kuppajava at 8:39 AM on March 1, 2009 [1 favorite]
He was a vivid fixture of my childhood also, I'll not forget his voice ever. Rest in peace, Paul
.
posted by scottymac at 9:01 AM on March 1, 2009
.
posted by scottymac at 9:01 AM on March 1, 2009
Oh come on, PeterMcDermott, if "1918 - 2009." isn't clear I have to question your reading comprehension.
Um, pot-kettle-black:
I initially read this post to mean that some famous news-reader had outed himself on his death
I don't see where "transvestite named Angle" comes from.
It comes from the very first link that you posted. Are you just linking to this stuff and not even bothering to look at it or what?
posted by PeterMcDermott at 9:30 AM on March 1, 2009
Um, pot-kettle-black:
I initially read this post to mean that some famous news-reader had outed himself on his death
I don't see where "transvestite named Angle" comes from.
It comes from the very first link that you posted. Are you just linking to this stuff and not even bothering to look at it or what?
posted by PeterMcDermott at 9:30 AM on March 1, 2009
My sister used to think he was, quite literally, God.
posted by malaprohibita at 3:38 PM on March 1, 2009
posted by malaprohibita at 3:38 PM on March 1, 2009
.
posted by QueerAngel28 at 4:33 PM on March 1, 2009
posted by QueerAngel28 at 4:33 PM on March 1, 2009
Paul Harvey was always on the radio when I was growing up. It seemed like everybody in my family listened to him. Now of course my cousins are scattered to the four corners of this country but I think many of them still listened to him. The lucky ones listened to him on a Bose Wave Radio. Bose... it's fidelity is unmatched by anything else available.
posted by Bonzai at 6:55 PM on March 1, 2009
posted by Bonzai at 6:55 PM on March 1, 2009
I'm a 51 yo ex air force brat. Paul Harvey was a reliable and consistent part of my childhood, no matter where we lived, from Fairbanks to Incrlick Turkey, Noon was Harvey Time on the Armed Forces Radio and Television Network. Obviously way-the-hell-out-there (we didn't know left from right, leave alone the wings associated), It was his goofy delivery combined with his love of stories that had us hooked. How the hell did his secretary snap an unfrozen banana in half like a bread stick??
thanks for the rest of the story Paul.
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posted by djrock3k at 8:50 AM on March 2, 2009
thanks for the rest of the story Paul.
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posted by djrock3k at 8:50 AM on March 2, 2009
PeterMcDermott, Ok, I get it now. Since I went to that site before they updated it, I still had the CSS in my cache, so the layout puts the Angle thing in a sidebar, so I just couldn't see the transvestite jump. Visually, I saw that as a minor page element, not the top element. I couldn't see the joke.
posted by cjorgensen at 9:24 AM on March 2, 2009
posted by cjorgensen at 9:24 AM on March 2, 2009
i've never been a consistent listener of paul harvey, but paul harvey was always consistent, and there was something about hearing his reports that was ... soothing. those damn commercials in the middle of the broadcast always drove me crazy, though.
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posted by msconduct at 9:40 AM on March 2, 2009
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posted by msconduct at 9:40 AM on March 2, 2009
Thank you, Mr. Harvey. I'm still looking for the rest of the story.
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posted by Man with Lantern at 12:35 PM on March 2, 2009
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posted by Man with Lantern at 12:35 PM on March 2, 2009
I used to listen to him via my parents and WBZ. I tuned out his "message" after a while, preferring to just listen to the cadence of his voice.
Then I heard this cut-up when I was older. [warning: turn your volume down]
posted by not_on_display at 8:14 AM on March 3, 2009
Then I heard this cut-up when I was older. [warning: turn your volume down]
posted by not_on_display at 8:14 AM on March 3, 2009
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posted by Auden at 5:50 PM on February 28, 2009 [2 favorites]