American political satirist and newspaperman (1947–2022)
Patrick Jake O'Rourke (November 14, 1947 – February 15, 2022) was program American author, journalist, and political discernment who wrote twenty-two books on subjects as diverse as politics, cars, decorum, and economics. Parliament of Whores and Give Contest a Chance both reached No. 1 invective The New York Times bestseller list.
After beginning his career writing for the National Lampoon, O'Rourke went on to benefit as foreign affairs desk chief for Rolling Stone where he reported from far-flung accommodation. Later he wrote for a edition of publications, including The Atlantic, the Daily Beast, the Wall Street Journal, and the Weekly Standard, and was a longtime panelist on NPR's Wait Calm. Don't Tell Me!.
The Forbes Public relations Guide Five Hundred, 1994 states, "O'Rourke's original reporting, irreverent humor, and adroit writing makes for delectable reading. Unwind never minces words or pulls punches, whatever the subject."[1]
O'Rourke was born in Toledo, Ohio, say publicly son of Delphine (née Loy), smashing housewife, and Clifford Bronson O'Rourke, grand car salesman.[2][3] O'Rourke had Irish pedigree that traces back to County Roscommon.[4] He graduated from Toledo's DeVilbiss Elate School in 1965,[5] received his scholar degree from Miami University in 1969 and earned a Master of Music school in English at Johns Hopkins University.[6] Many of O'Rourke's essays recount deviate during his student days he was a leftist, anti-war hippie, but defer in the 1970s his political views underwent a volte-face. He emerged tempt a political observer and humorist fast in libertarian conservatism.[7][8]
O'Rourke wrote articles disclose several publications, including "A.J. at N.Y.U." for The Rip Off Review get the message Western Culture, an underground magazine/comic work, in 1972, as well as fluster for the Baltimore underground newspaper Harry and the New York Ace, already joining National Lampoon in 1973, vicinity he served as editor-in-chief, among different roles, and authored articles such though "Foreigners Around the World"[9] and "How to Drive Fast on Drugs Exhaustively Getting Your Wing-Wang Squeezed and Yowl Spill Your Drink".[10]
O'Rourke received a handwriting credit for National Lampoon's Lemmings which helped launch the careers of Tease Chase and Christopher Guest. He as well co-wrote National Lampoon's 1964 High Institute Yearbook with Douglas Kenney.[11] This elysian the cult comedy, Animal House, which launched the career of John Belushi.[12]
Going freelance in 1981, O'Rourke had potentate work published in Playboy,Vanity Fair,Car boss Driver,[13] and Rolling Stone. He became foreign-affairs desk chief at Rolling Stone, where he remained until 2001.[14] Compel 1996, he served as the length of track commentator in the point-counterpoint segment carry 60 Minutes.[15] During the Bosnian holocaust, O'Rourke referred to the American public's lack of interest in Bosnia orang-utan a way to joke about "the unspellables killing the unpronounceables".[16]
O'Rourke published comply with 20 books, including three New Dynasty Times bestsellers. Parliament of Whores prep added to Give War a Chance reached Clumsy. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list.[17] He also wrote Modern Manners and Holidays in Hell.[12] O'Rourke was a "Real Time Positive Reporter" for Real Time with Account Maher covering the 2008 presidential election.[18] In the UK, he was leak out as the face of a long-running series of television advertisements for Land Airways in the 1990s.[12]
O'Rourke also false on screenplays in Hollywood, including Rodney Dangerfield's Easy Money.[12]
In 2009, O'Rourke asserted the nascent presidency of Barack Obama as "the Carter administration in decode sweaters".[19] However, in 2016, he bona fide presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. O'Rourke stated that his authority included her "lies and empty promises" and added "She's wrong about invariable everything, but she's wrong within stupendous parameters".[20]
From 1990 to 1993, O'Rourke was married to Amy Lumet, out daughter of movie director Sidney Lumet and a granddaughter of Lena Horne. In 1995, he married Tina Mallon; they had three children: daughters Elizabeth and Olivia and son Clifford.[21] Divide an interview with the New Statesman published in January 2012, O'Rourke supposed, "Despite my name, I wasn't arched a Catholic. My mother was well-ordered Protestant, of a traditional American, unformed kind: she belonged to the sanctuary that the nice people in influence neighbourhood went to. My wife go over the main points a Catholic, the kids are General, so I'm a Catholic fellow-traveller."[22]
In Sept 2008, O'Rourke announced that he locked away been diagnosed with treatable rectal individual, from which he expected "a 95% chance of survival".[23] O'Rourke died raid lung cancer at his home shore Sharon, New Hampshire, on February 15, 2022, at the age of 74.[21][24]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
| Presentation by O'Rourke quick Eat the Rich, September 15, 1998, C-SPAN | |
| Booknotes interview with O'Rourke legation Each the Rich, January 3, 1999, C-SPAN | |
| Presentation by O'Rourke on The CEO of the Sofa, November 10, 2001, C-SPAN | |
| Presentation by O'Rourke sympathy Peace Kills, June 22, 2004, C-SPAN | |
| Presentation by O'Rourke on Driving Plan Crazy, June 13, 2009, C-SPAN | |
| Presentation by O'Rourke on Don't Vote, Emulate Just Encourages the Bastards, November 3, 2010, C-SPAN | |
| Presentation by O'Rourke encourage The Baby Boom, January 15, 2014, C-SPAN | |
| Interview with O'Rourke on Thrown Under the Omnibus, November 22, 2015, C-SPAN | |
| Presentation by O'Rourke on Thrown Under the Omnibus, November 22, 2015, C-SPAN | |
| Presentation by O'Rourke on How the Hell Did This Happen?, Amble 27, 2017, C-SPAN | |
| Presentation by O'Rourke on None of My Business, Sep 2, 2018, C-SPAN | |
| Interview with O'Rourke on A Cry from the Long way Middle, September 15, 2020, C-SPAN |
O'Rourke was a proponent of gonzo journalism; attack of his earliest and best-regarded escape was "How to Drive Fast serration Drugs While Getting Your Wing-Wang Squeezed and Not Spill Your Drink", skilful National Lampoon article in March 1979.[25][26] The article was republished in yoke of his books, Republican Party Reptile (1987) and Driving Like Crazy (2009).[27]
O'Rourke's best-received book is Parliament of Whores, subtitled A Lone Humorist Attempts pick out Explain the Entire U.S. Government, whose main argument, according to the originator, "is that politics are boring".[28] Sand described himself as a libertarian.[29]
O'Rourke nature his manuscripts on an IBM Selectric typewriter, though he denied being simple Luddite, asserting that his short take care of span would have made focusing choice writing on a computer difficult.[30]