Studs Terkel spent a lifetime bearing witness to other peoples’ stories — about surviving the Great Depression, fighting in World War II, finding faith, working and just about every other subject within the human condition. But Studs was also a consummate story teller himself. He would even interrupt his own story to tell a different tale — and pick up right where he left off. The 100th anniversary of Studs’ birth is May 16, and we’re observing it by offering a small portion of one of Bob’s many interviews with him.
Studs died more than three years ago, but you can still hear him every week on his home station, WFMT. Click here to find out how.
There’s an entire website dedicated to Studs’ centenary, and you can find it here. Be sure call in with your own stories about Studs and how his work affected you.
For a refresher on all of Studs’ books, click here.
My name is George Malko. I met Studs when I was sixteen years old and he was still living on West Aldine. I lived across the street. It was not long after his wonderful television show, “Studs Place,” had been forced off the air by the blacklist and I’d see him hanging around the corner Rexall Drug Store, looking through magazines. One day I just started talking to him.
Studs and I kept talking, on and off, even after I moved to New York. We kept it up until shortly before he died.
Studs was the first person who ever read something I’d written. He took me and what I was struggling to do seriously enough to give me something of his to read. It was a one-act play adaptation of Nelson Algren’s short story “Stickman’s Laughter,” and it was wonderful.
Studs introduced me to Algren, and to a lot of other people. In the summers before I finished my studies and left Chicago we’d go to the movies, or somewhere to listen to music, or just walk and talk. He introduced me to Haskell Wexler, and Big Bill Broonzy shortly after Bill moved back to the states from England, and when I went to Paris to attend the Sorbonne, Studs gave me a couple of manuscripts to drop off with someone and I went to No. 14 rue Monsieur le Prince, climbed six flights, knocked on a door, and Richard Wright opened it and only in that moment did I realize who I was looking at and barely managed to say that I had something for him from Studs.
Standing on the corner of Aldine and Broadway one morning, I realized that Studs was staring past my shoulder. I turned, and found myself looking at a dapper little man wearing a homburg, tailored jacket over a formal vest, striped trousers dropping to shoes protected by spats, and, on his hands, pale kid gloves. “Hello, Kid,” Studs said, and Yellow Kid Weil, the greatest con man who ever lived, said, “Hello, Louis.” Studs turned to me and said, “Kid, say hello to The Kid.”
One day when I knocked on Stud’s door, which I did a lot and he never seemed to mind, he said he was busy, talking to Nels, who had some things he needed to discuss. Then just as abruptly he invited me in, led me to the corner where a tall man was sitting as best he could in one of Stud’s butterfly chairs, and said, “Nels, this is George.” I was looking at Nelson Algren.
I once asked Studs if Algren was ever going to write another novel. Studs said he’d asked his friend the same thing. Algren said no. When Studs asked why, Algren replied, “I don’t think I can keep up the payments.”
Studs understood what he was talking about, and over the years of my own writing life, I came to understand it, too.
A few months before he died I called Studs because I was going to be in Chicago and wanted to come by and see him. “Don’t kid,” he said, “I’m a mess,” and then cheerfully added, “I’m doing a new book, I’m calling it TOUCH & GO, whattaya think?” I told him I loved it.
Later I wished I’d said something about him never failing to keep up the payments. But by then it was too late.
When Studs passed, I posted a 1948 episode of Destination: Freedom starring Studs, as an excellent example of Studs as radio actor when not playing a gangster. There are also pics of Studs being interviewed by Bob at DC's Politics and Prose back in 2006.
He sure was something…I doubt we'll ever see his like again. I am so pleased to have met him.
Bob,
I became interested in Studs after watching a StoryCorps video featuring an interview with him. I caught a portion of your show while driving home from work yesterday, and while trying to find out if I could listen to the whole thing online, I learned that you did an hour-long retrospective of Studs in November 2008, shortly after his death. The full podcast was once available for download on XM (linked at http://www.bobedwards.info/ftopic812.html), but has since been removed. Would it be possible for this to be uploaded somewhere else? I'd very much like to have a listen.
Thanks.