RIP Art Linkletter

[Free For All]

He was 97- I admit I didn't realize he was still around. I grew up watching his show and his interviews w/kids.

Art Linkletter

[Stereojack]

He was a daytime TV staple when I was a kid. Certainly had a long run!

[paul secor]

Remember him from my pre-teenage years. I thought he had passed on years ago.

[Bright Moments]

nice long life

[Larry Kart]

As mentioned on another thread, Sonny Rollins may have been a fan.

[JSngry]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drxihabHA0w

[Dave James]

Many more years ago than most will remember, this guy was huge. The Johnny Carson of daytime television. As you can see from the clip Jim posted, he had an easy, accessible everyman manner about him that endeared him to his audience both on radio and television. Count me among those who thought he'd left us already. From what I've read today, however, I guess he was in excellent health until just a few years ago. Good for him. R.I.P. Mr. Linkletter.

Edited May 27, 2010 by Dave James

[BruceH]

I too was under the vague impression that he had left us some time ago. What a run he had. RIP

[JSngry]

Art Linkletter Interview- April 2009- Overcoming Challenging Times

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=Lafued5Ow7c

Edited May 27, 2010 by JSngry

[Teasing the Korean]

I heartily endorse this game.

[Free For All]

I remember House Party a little, but I definitely remember People Are Funny.

Edited May 27, 2010 by Free For All

[AllenLowe]

also a right-wing Republican whose daughter killed herself under the influence of LSD - strangely, NONE of the news reports mentioned the daughter this morning.

Edited May 27, 2010 by AllenLowe

[Stereojack]

also a right-wing Republican whose daughter killed herself under the influence of LSD - strangely, NONE of the news reports mentioned the daughter this morning.

FWIW, the daughter's death was mentioned in at least one obit that I read. I might add that the role that LSD may have played in her death is questionable.

[catesta]

also a right-wing Republican whose daughter killed herself under the influence of LSD - strangely, NONE of the news reports mentioned the daughter this morning.

I sense a conspiracy!!!

[paul secor]

also a right-wing Republican whose daughter killed herself under the influence of LSD - strangely, NONE of the news reports mentioned the daughter this morning.

I sense a conspiracy!!!

Not to rain on Allen's agenda, but The NY Times obit today mentions his daughter's death and states that an autopsy showed no signs of LSD in her body.

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

whose daughter killed herself under the influence of LSD.....

Nope....wrong-o!

[BruceH]

You look at that clip that Jim posted and it's clear Linkletter wasn't suffering from Alzheimer's. I had no idea he spent some time during the Depression as a hobo.

[AllenLowe]

"Allen's agenda" -

my only agenda is reality - believe me, at the time it happened, EVERYBODY knew it was acid-related. Sorry Weizen. I'm sure she had the best autopsy doctor that money could buy. Family values and all that.

I hope this doesn't make you lock the thread.

Edited May 27, 2010 by AllenLowe

[BruceH]

I remember practically growing up with that story about Art Linkletter's daughter throwing herself out of a building because of acid. I also remember thinking it sounded like an urban-legend, bogeyman type of story, to scare kids away from LSD. Whatever the truth that lay at the bottom of it, the thing took on those characteristics.

[AllenLowe]

the most likely scenario, confirmed by her friends, is that she had been taking the drug on and off for a while prior to the suicide - and that it exacerbated her depression and disorientation and basically created a mental disturbance - if you have any questions about this see the results of the CIA experiments in the 1950s with acid, and its residual effects on subjects who became irrational and depressed.

Edited May 27, 2010 by AllenLowe

[JSngry]

It makes just as much sense, more, actually, to me that she wasn't tripping at the exact moment of her suicide but that Linkletter played it like she was in order to propel his anti-drug campaign (since her mental instability might well have been created/exacerbated by use of the drug) as it does that she actually was tripping at the time of the suicide & they paid a coroner to cover it up.

Oh well, the guy was indeed a pretty hardcore Republican, but I dug his show anyway. He had show-biz skills and used them well. And no matter what, the guy let quite an interesting life before becoming Establishment-ized. Used to be you could be a honest "drifter" in America, see the country, learn some things, and not fall into the traps of homelessness, stigmatization, substance abuse, etc. Far less so today.

I also think he was a sincere believer in self-initiative. Even if I didn't find his politics at all appealing, I can't disagree with that, nor did I ever find him espousing any of the repugnant vales of the right-wing. He just seemed to be a big believer in the old "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps" mentality & didn't seem to be too keen on anything that veered away from that even slightly. And truth be told, that's not a bad thing to instill in people in and of itself. There's not enough of it today, actually, that "take charge of my own destiny and not whine about it" mentality. It's not something I'd recommend as a diet unto itself, but as part of a Well-Balanced Mental Health Breakfast, I think it's a vital ingredient.

[paul secor]

"Allen's agenda" -

my only agenda is reality - believe me, at the time it happened, EVERYBODY knew it was acid-related. Sorry Weizen. I'm sure she had the best autopsy doctor that money could buy. Family values and all that.

I hope this doesn't make you lock the thread.

I was the one who used the word "agenda", not Weizen.

"believe me, at the time it happened, EVERYBODY knew it was acid-related."

Linkletter's daughter died in 1969. How old were you then Allen - 15? Find it hard to accept that a 15 year old knew "everybody".

"I'm sure she had the best autopsy doctor that money could buy. Family values and all that."

What you're saying doesn't make sense to me. If Art Linkletter wanted to cover up drug use by his daughter, why would he pay for a coverup autopsy and then make public statements that LSD use was the cause of his daughter's death? You don't cover something up and then air it out.

Edited May 27, 2010 by paul secor

[BERIGAN]

Everybody knew Richard Gere stuck a gerbil up his butt too!

R.I.P....up to a fer years ago, he was on Larry King quite often.

[AllenLowe]

Paul - I was making two separate references - first - your comment on agenda (which was outta line, implying as it does that I have some secret, long term paranoid social vision which I am determined to impose on the Western world - hey on second thought, not a bad idea) - but if you read above, Weizen launched the second of you guys' two-pronged lets-get-Lowe attack. Nice coordination, fellas.

as for "You don't cover something up and then air it out" - well, of course you do - it's a classic disinformation technique. And it worked, hence your acceptance of the party line - which is the non-party line in disguise. What better situation for Art than to cover up the truth at the same time as he continues his anti-drug self promotion? Common CIA technique as well, and, well, looking at the LSD connection, who would be surprised?

Paul, when you come down from your high, you'll see that I was right. Next time don't mix muscle relaxers with Muscatel. That's what did Weizen in.

Edited May 27, 2010 by AllenLowe

[BruceH]

It makes just as much sense, more, actually, to me that she wasn't tripping at the exact moment of her suicide but that Linkletter played it like she was in order to propel his anti-drug campaign (since her mental instability might well have been created/exacerbated by use of the drug) as it does that she actually was tripping at the time of the suicide & they paid a coroner to cover it up.

Oh well, the guy was indeed a pretty hardcore Republican, but I dug his show anyway. He had show-biz skills and used them well. And no matter what, the guy let quite an interesting life before becoming Establishment-ized. Used to be you could be a honest "drifter" in America, see the country, learn some things, and not fall into the traps of homelessness, stigmatization, substance abuse, etc. Far less so today.

I also think he was a sincere believer in self-initiative. Even if I didn't find his politics at all appealing, I can't disagree with that, nor did I ever find him espousing any of the repugnant vales of the right-wing. He just seemed to be a big believer in the old "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps" mentality & didn't seem to be too keen on anything that veered away from that even slightly. And truth be told, that's not a bad thing to instill in people in and of itself. There's not enough of it today, actually, that "take charge of my own destiny and not whine about it" mentality. It's not something I'd recommend as a diet unto itself, but as part of a Well-Balanced Mental Health Breakfast, I think it's a vital ingredient.

I agree. And I've got to give the guy credit: According to one obit, while he was helping out Nixon with an anti-drug campaign, Linkletter came to the conclusion that marijuana was not all that harmful, and shouldn't be included on any list of "hard" drugs. Now there's an example of thinking for oneself.