I’m in the midst of my annual re-reading of Jean Shepherd’s A Christmas Story. If I’m not mistaken, this is the 10th-straight December I’ve reviewed the collection of short stories that much of the movie was based on.
Every year I think, “I should go back and listen to some of Shepherd’s radio shows or read a biography of him.” Sometime this past year I actually took a look at the one biography there is of Shepherd. It’s surprisingly massive, and seemed a little over-the-top for what I was seeking. I did some searching and found a couple articles about Shepherd that I saved and just read this week.
One is written by Steely Dan member Donald Fagan, who was greatly influenced by Shepherd’s radio show in his teen age years. The other piece contains some clips of a few of his radio bits.
Maybe it’s just me, but it was interesting to hear more beyond the ultra-familiar scenes with Raphie, Flick, and Schwartz.
The Man Who Told A Christmas Story
More Than ‘A Christmas Story’: Remembering Jean Shepherd, Radio’s Great Teller of Tales