Garrison Keillor brings prairie to Pitt

Garrison Keillor, the American writer and radio personality known for his satirical sense of… Garrison Keillor, the American writer and radio personality known for his satirical sense of humor, will speak this evening at Heinz Hall as part of Robert Morris University’s Pittsburgh Speaker Series. As a freshman at the University of Minnesota in the 1960s, Keillor began his radio career. He ventured through various shows while simultaneously working on his writing. In 1974 he began ‘A Prairie Home Companion,’ a variety show now played on NPR featuring musicians and comedy skits. With 12 books under his belt, an advice column on Salon.com and writing published in The New Yorker and The Atlantic Monthly, Keillor has managed to leave his mark on just about every medium. Keillor is much more than an author or radio host ‘mdash; he’s a cultural icon. His deep voice is frequently used in Honda UK commercials and parodied on ‘The Simpsons.’ They Might Be Giants credits him as the inspiration for its first venue song, while Pennsylvania-based singer Tom Flannery wrote a song titled, ‘I Want a Job Like Garrison Keillor’s.’ ‘Sometimes we include in a season’s lineup an evening of humor, particularly when we feel the person’s humor is brilliant and enduring, such as in the case with Garrison Keillor,’ said Bill Conrow, president of Cambridge Speaker Series and the organizer of the series here in Pittsburgh. This year’s series will also feature distinguished lecturers like investigative journalist Bob Woodward and environmental researcher Jane Goodall. Conrow explained that Cambridge Speaker Series works with agencies about a year in advance to book the following season’s lineup. ‘The Pittsburgh Speaker Series, now in its seventh season, is an intellectual cultural event, the intellectual counterpart of Pittsburgh’s music, theater and dance,’ said Conrow. ‘Some people enjoy an elegant evening of music. Our subscribers enjoy an elegant evening of intellectual entertainment [with some of] the brightest and most brilliant people alive.’ ‘We want to provide a broad spectrum of knowledge. It’s like an elite masters of arts liberal education with visiting professors,’ said Conrow of the goal for the series. Those looking for a night of wit and satire should venture over to Heinz Hall this evening to catch Keillor’s musings. Conrow said of Keillor, ‘He’s brilliant. No one else can take a stage and create his unique style of humor.’