Studs Terkel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Studs Terkel
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Terkel in 1979
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| Born | Louis Terkel May 16, 1912 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 31, 2008 (aged 96) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Pen name | Studs Terkel |
| Occupation |
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| Alma mater | University of Chicago (Ph.B., 1932; J.D., 1934) |
| Notable awards | Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction, 1985 |
| Spouse |
Ida Goldberg
(m. 1939; |
| Children | 1 |
Louis "Studs" Terkel (born May 16, 1912 – died October 31, 2008) was an American writer, historian, actor, and radio host. He was famous for his "oral histories." These are books where he collected stories from everyday Americans. He also hosted a popular radio show in Chicago for many years. In 1985, he won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for his book The Good War.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Studs Terkel was born in New York City. His parents, Samuel and Anna, were immigrants from Russia. When he was eight years old, his family moved to Chicago, Illinois. He lived most of his life there. He had two older brothers, Meyer and Ben. Studs went to McKinley High School.
From 1926 to 1936, his parents ran a rooming house. This was a place where people could rent rooms to live. It became a meeting spot for many different kinds of people. Terkel believed that talking with these tenants and visitors helped him understand people better. He also learned a lot from people who gathered in nearby Bughouse Square.
In 1939, he married Ida Goldberg. They had one son together. Studs studied at the University of Chicago. He earned a degree in 1932 and a law degree in 1934. He was allowed to practice law in Illinois. However, he decided not to become a lawyer. Instead, he joined a theater group.
A Career in Radio and TV
Studs Terkel was interested in social issues. He joined the Works Progress Administration's Federal Writers' Project. This was a government program that helped people find jobs during the Great Depression. He worked in radio, doing many different things. He acted in radio soap operas. He announced news and sports. He also played music and wrote radio scripts.
In the late 1940s, he acted in the Destination Freedom radio series. His own famous radio show was called The Studs Terkel Program. It was on 98.7 WFMT Chicago. The show aired every weekday for 45 years, from 1952 to 1997. On his show, he interviewed many interesting people. These included Martin Luther King Jr., Bob Dylan, and Frank Zappa.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Terkel also starred in a TV show. It was called Studs' Place. It was a drama about a diner owner in Chicago. Many famous and interesting people visited the diner. This show was known for its unique style of television.
Becoming a Famous Author
Studs Terkel published his first book, Giants of Jazz, in 1956. In 1967, he released his first collection of oral histories. It was called Division Street America. For this book, 70 people shared their stories. They talked about what it was like to live in a big American city.
Terkel was praised for collecting and saving American oral history. His 1985 book, "The Good War": An Oral History of World War Two, won the Pulitzer Prize. This book shared stories from ordinary people about World War II.
Another important book was Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression. In it, Terkel gathered memories of the Great Depression. These stories came from people of all backgrounds. His 1974 book, Working, was also very popular. Its subtitle was People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do. Working was even turned into a Broadway musical and a TV show.
Studs Terkel got his nickname while acting in a play. There was another actor named Louis. To tell them apart, the director called Terkel "Studs." This was after a character he was reading about at the time.
He also worked as a scholar at the Chicago History Museum. He even acted in a movie called Eight Men Out. In the film, he played a newspaper reporter. This reporter tried to uncover a baseball scandal. Terkel loved playing this role because he was a big fan of the Chicago White Sox.
Later Years and Legacy
In 2004, Studs Terkel received the Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award. He also got an honorary law degree from Colby College. In 2005, at 93 years old, he had successful heart surgery. Doctors were amazed at how well he recovered.
In 2007, Terkel published a new book about his life called Touch and Go. He described himself as an agnostic. This means he wasn't sure if God existed. He jokingly called it "a cowardly atheist."
One of his last interviews was for a documentary called Soul of a People. He talked about his time working for the Works Progress Administration. In 2007, at his last public appearance, he said he was "still in touch—but ready to go." He passed away at his Chicago home on October 31, 2008, at the age of 96. He had been ill after a fall earlier that month.
Preserving His Work
In 1998, Studs Terkel and radio station WFMT donated about 7,000 tape recordings. These were recordings of his interviews and radio shows. They were given to the Chicago History Museum.
In 2010, the Chicago History Museum and the Library of Congress worked together. They decided to save these recordings digitally. They wanted to make them available to everyone. The Library of Congress called them "a remarkably rich history." They said the recordings showed the ideas of both ordinary and famous people from the second half of the 20th century.
In 2014, a website was created, Studsterkel.org. This website holds the entire collection of Studs Terkel's interviews. It helps make sure his important work is remembered.
Awards and Honors
Studs Terkel received many awards and honors throughout his life:
- In 1982, he received an honorary degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
- In 1985, he won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for his book The Good War.
- President Clinton gave him the National Humanities Medal in 1997.
- The National Book Foundation honored him in 1997 for his great contribution to American writing.
- In 2001, he received another honorary degree from Northwestern University.
- He was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 2001.
- In 2004, he received the Order of Lincoln. This is the highest honor given by the Governor of Illinois.
- In 2006, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.
- In 2010, Terkel was inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame.
- He also received the George Polk Career Award.
Selected Books by Studs Terkel
- Giants of Jazz (1957)
- Division Street: America (1967)
- Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression (1970)
- Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do (1974)
- Talking to Myself: A Memoir of My Times (1973)
- American Dreams: Lost and Found (1983)
- The Good War (1984)
- Chicago (1986)
- Race: What Blacks and Whites Think and Feel About the American Obsession (1992)
- Coming of Age: The Story of Our Century by Those Who've Lived It (1995)
- Hope Dies Last: Keeping the Faith in Difficult Times (2003)
- Touch and Go (2007)
Images for kids
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Terkel in 1979
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Studs Terkel before his 95th birthday party
See also
In Spanish: Studs Terkel para niños
