Excelsior, You Fathead!
Sunday, July 26th, 2009Today’s is Jean Shepherd’s birthday. You probably know of him as the narrator from A Christmas Story, but Shep (who died 10 years ago this coming October 16) had a long and storied career in radio, television, books, magazines and stage.
Here’s a terrific clip of Shep visiting South of the Border, then seguewaying into one of his greatest stories ever, about the Fourth of July. It’s part 1 of an excellent 1982 PBS broadcast; all six parts are consolidated onto one Web page over here. If you like A Chrismas Story, you’ll probably like this, too — and yes, that’s Matt Dillon playing the part of young Jean.