2019 Hall of Fame Tribute -- Lewis Grizzard

[Music] some people have the audacity to ruin my name and call me Grizzard he captured in words imprinted and spoken words mostly humorous sometimes poignant often provocative words always powerful words of personal truths he captured what it was like to be just who he was Lewis Grizzard experiencing and observing the second half of the 20th century if you will event for my small town you'll always be the same you'll always kind of look at things kind of sideways like a bulb looking at you sometimes you know Lewis Brizard and his words captured hearts of millions who saw in him their own struggles in their own souls coming to terms with the changing south the changing nation it was Jim mentor and executive editor of the Atlanta Journal who hired Brizard in 1968 when grizzard was barely 22 years old and still wone course shy of earning his journalism degree from the University of Georgia hired him to be a sports editor and writer it was amazing I mean he turns out he's a genius and in no time he knew more about the sports department and what in my job did I did people always angry to paper pick on me all the time say why can't newspapers be more truthful inaccurate it don't cost but a quarter for God's sake Minter would always say Lewis Grizzard could have become one of journalism's greatest newspaper editors except those words were calling Grizzard to write about all of life it was grizzard 'he's mother Christine a schoolteacher in the town of Moreland southwest of Atlanta who opened his young eyes and heart to the power born in him she taught a love of words he once wrote of how they should be used and how they can fill a creative soul with a passion and lead it to a life's work so it was fresh out of college working in Atlanta Brizard was immediately amazing everyone at the age of 23 he was promoted to executive sports editor of the journal the youngest ever at the paper for the next six years Grizzard helped lead the papers coverage of historic sports events such as the Atlanta Braves own Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's home run record in 1974 was a very serious newspaperman best person to work with that I ever worked with but then Grizzard accepted an offer from the Chicago sun-times and famously regretted leaving his south so in 1977 Jim mentor rehired him and Grizzard amazed him again and I was looking for you use page columnist and he said would give me a shot at finding the size PDF I said release you've never written a column he said would give me a give me a shot and I said would like me three columns and send them to it to me and and he did and they were actually never get back to Georgia when we play on my fig to the ground and his column took off like a rocket Lewis Grizzard the star was born and for the next 16 years he wrote about everything southern and Beyond attracting a national audience in syndication and in books and on the stage with his monologues one of the most popular columnist in AJC history expressing his deeply personal and always unapologetic observations about the speed of the nation's late 20th century transformation into 21st century norms of inclusivity and diversity it was a real interesting experience working with Lewis in the newsroom Alexis Scott one of the AJC's first African American reporters remembers the tensions grizzard work could provide his own attitudes toward minorities and women struggling to evolve but the arc of his work slowly transcending his own roots and mortality and that's how he gained his national reputation with his colors are fabulous and they were wonderful he was just such a brilliant writer that you could not deny his brilliance but he gave the South kind of a voice beyond the stereotype of southern people that other people in other regions have and southerners he told great stories kind of eye-opening details about the South that people hadn't really seen all right as any bulldogs another and Grizzard never straight far from reporting on his Bulldogs one of his most memorable columns in 1984 after the dogs lost a football game to in-state rival Georgia Tech just eight words followed by several column inches of no words at all summarizing the emptiness of a grieving Bulldog Nation always writing from a sometimes troubled heart that would ultimately fail him physically at the age of 47 but never spiritually some of you I realize have not had your heart surgery yet a lot of country clubs you can't get into it even had your heart surgery yeah it was very courageous Randy Martin his heart doctor says he was the most courageous patient he ever had and I miss him and a lot of other people do too Lewis Grizzard reporter editor columnist author the Atlanta Press Club recognizes and honors Lewis Grizzard with induction into the Atlanta Press Club Hall of Fame [Music]

Channel: Atlanta Press Club

Views: 1,099

Rating: 5 out of 5

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Id: Y02Cpobvqxk

Length: 6min 12sec (372 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 12 2019