I used to enjoy him when he was with the National Lampoon in the 70s. After he left, he lived in France where he found the French attraction to Jerry Lewis to be confounding. He wrote an article for NatLamp called "Letter from France." In it, he wrote that he had discovered that Jerry Lewis actually caused MD. It was such an outrageous comment that I never forgot it.
I had never heard of P.J. O’Rourke before his passing, but having read your moving piece about him, I realized: I want to read more of this man’s writing. So now I’ve placed a couple library holds and am waiting my turn (seems other folks had the same idea). Thank you for this wonderful tribute to the man.
PJ O’Rourke was one of my dad’s favorites. I lost him to lung cancer in Sept. 2020. Reading this brought back some of that for me, but reminded me so much of him and his friend Rick, with similar backgrounds and political leanings. Sending this piece to Rick … via snail mail, since I’m pretty sure he’s never bothered to figure out e-mail. This was a great piece that made me smile while thinking about my dad and Rick, railing against the current president while sharing a bottle of home brew and a tin of anchovies on crackers, and me listening and occasionally calling them cranky old f*%@&$s. They’d say, “Yes, things are crazy now, but it’s not 1968!” and (since I don’t have a frame of reference, having not been present at the time) nod sagely at one another before launching into another story about their patients in the Forensic Unit of the state mental hospital. I’d heard them all before. It didn’t matter. I miss my dad. Thank you for opening the door to memories.
Adoption; Sure why not! Never thought about having a sister. Spent too much time terrorizing my younger brother which I still do to thus day.
My brother (not blood) and I are products of adoption. Me a lucky soul from an unwed teenage mom (1963). My brother thru the PA adoption agency (1970). So Doc I am way cool with an adoption. Again. The first one turned out real good.
Loved PJ and read most of his work. I read this quip in an new article on him. I actually think the topic was cars. Bit it shows what you talked about, he could say the deepest things that still made you chuckle. "And you know, one great thing about not being so smart is that at least you know you don't have it all figured out. If you're as smart as Obama is, you're so smart that you may think that you have it all figured out. And, you know, one thing you know when you get over 60 that guys Obama's age don't know yet is: ain't nobody got it figured out." P.J. O’Rourke
Now that's a tribute.
“Let’s Went to Mexico” in National Lampoon still makes me laugh.
Sigh. His Holidays in Hell introduced me to wonderful world of essays. So so sad.
I used to enjoy him when he was with the National Lampoon in the 70s. After he left, he lived in France where he found the French attraction to Jerry Lewis to be confounding. He wrote an article for NatLamp called "Letter from France." In it, he wrote that he had discovered that Jerry Lewis actually caused MD. It was such an outrageous comment that I never forgot it.
I had never heard of P.J. O’Rourke before his passing, but having read your moving piece about him, I realized: I want to read more of this man’s writing. So now I’ve placed a couple library holds and am waiting my turn (seems other folks had the same idea). Thank you for this wonderful tribute to the man.
PJ O’Rourke was one of my dad’s favorites. I lost him to lung cancer in Sept. 2020. Reading this brought back some of that for me, but reminded me so much of him and his friend Rick, with similar backgrounds and political leanings. Sending this piece to Rick … via snail mail, since I’m pretty sure he’s never bothered to figure out e-mail. This was a great piece that made me smile while thinking about my dad and Rick, railing against the current president while sharing a bottle of home brew and a tin of anchovies on crackers, and me listening and occasionally calling them cranky old f*%@&$s. They’d say, “Yes, things are crazy now, but it’s not 1968!” and (since I don’t have a frame of reference, having not been present at the time) nod sagely at one another before launching into another story about their patients in the Forensic Unit of the state mental hospital. I’d heard them all before. It didn’t matter. I miss my dad. Thank you for opening the door to memories.
AMEN
A simply beautiful tribute to a marvelous soul.
He was a true wordsmith- every word chosen cleverly. Together under his pen, they were more than a collection, they were a perfect symphony .
What a beautiful tribute to a beautiful man. RIP.
PJ made me laugh and cry simultaneously, and so does your tribute - well done!
Adoption; Sure why not! Never thought about having a sister. Spent too much time terrorizing my younger brother which I still do to thus day.
My brother (not blood) and I are products of adoption. Me a lucky soul from an unwed teenage mom (1963). My brother thru the PA adoption agency (1970). So Doc I am way cool with an adoption. Again. The first one turned out real good.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your heart on PJ. This was a wonderful tribute to read.
Loved PJ and read most of his work. I read this quip in an new article on him. I actually think the topic was cars. Bit it shows what you talked about, he could say the deepest things that still made you chuckle. "And you know, one great thing about not being so smart is that at least you know you don't have it all figured out. If you're as smart as Obama is, you're so smart that you may think that you have it all figured out. And, you know, one thing you know when you get over 60 that guys Obama's age don't know yet is: ain't nobody got it figured out." P.J. O’Rourke
Just excellent. Thank you.
Thank you for this