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                                                                                     PEOPLE & ARTS Saturday 5 auguSt 2017
                Ex-’Prairie Home’ host Garrison Keillor busy as he nears 75



                                                                                                   oir  about  growing  up  in  gets  wearisome.  Because
                                                                                                   Minnesota.  He’s  also  start-  it doesn’t really add up to
                                                                                                   ed  writing  a  weekly  syndi-  anything.  It’s  all  distrac-
                                                                                                   cated newspaper column.  tion.”
                                                                                                   While  Donald  Trump  has  Keillor  has  survived  heart
                                                                                                   given  the  avowed  Demo-    surgery, a minor stroke and
                                                                                                   crat  some  material  —  a  seizures,  and  recently  had
                                                                                                   recent column opened by  surgery  on  his  left  eye  for
                                                                                                   referring  to  Trump  as  “a  cataracts  and  glaucoma.
                                                                                                   vulgar, unstable yo-yo with  A former chain-smoker, he
                                                                                                   an  attention-deficit  prob-  gave  up  cigarettes  and
                                                                                                   lem,” the humorist said writ-  alcohol  years  ago,  and
                                                                                                   ing  about  the  new  presi-  muses  about  how  modern
                                                                                                   dent  “keeps  going  along  medicine  has  given  him  a
                                                                                                   in  the  same  road,  and  it  second chance.q













            In this July 26, 2017 photo, Garrison Keillor, creator and former host of, “A Prairie Home Compan-
            ion,” talks at his St. Paul, Minn., office.
                                                                                  Associated Press

            By JEFF BAENEN               town  of  Lake  Wobegon  projects, which include fin-
            Associated Press             —  “where  all  the  women  ishing  a  screenplay  about
            ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gar-  are strong, all the men are  Lake  Wobegon.  The  plot
            rison Keillor is not spending  good-looking,  and  all  the  involves a New York weath-
            his  time  in  retirement  bak-  children  are  above  aver-  erman  coming  back  to
            ing  Powdermilk  Biscuits  or  age”  —  in  1974.  He  went  town for his father’s funeral.
            drinking  coffee  down  at  out with a final show at the  It’s  based  on  a  character
            the  Chatterbox  Cafe  now  Hollywood Bowl in July 2016  from  Keillor’s  1997  novel,
            that he’s hung up his micro-  and  turned  the  show  over  “Wobegon Boy.”
            phone as host of his popu-   to  mandolinist  extraordi-  Keillor hopes the movie will
            lar  public  radio  show,  “A  naire Chris Thile, who starts  be  filmed  in  Minnesota.
            Prairie Home Companion.”     his second season as “Prai-  Keillor’s  radio  show  char-
            He turns 75 on Aug. 7 and  rie Home” host on Oct. 7.      acters  were  the  basis  of
            boards a bus the next day  Keillor admits he misses be-   director  Robert  Altman’s
            for  a  28-city  “Prairie  Home  ing on the air and says he  last movie, “A Prairie Home
            Love  &  Comedy  Tour  —  hasn’t  listened  to  “Prairie  Companion.”
            2017,”  which  he  vows  will  Home”  since  Thile  took  “We  just  have  to  find  a
            be his last.                 over.  “I  keep  my  distance  town  that  can  be  Lake
            “I don’t think you should go  because  I  was  given  tre-  Wobegon, and then I think
            out onstage after the age  mendous  freedom  when  we  should  be  all  set  to
            of  76,”  Keillor  told  The  As-  I  did  the  show  and  it  took  go,”  Keillor  said.  “And  we
            sociated Press during a re-  a while for me to even get  have  to  teach  people  to
            cent interview at his St. Paul  a  grasp  of  what  was  in-  talk, you know, we have to
            office. “You don’t want to  volved. Made a lot of mis-    teach  actors  to  talk,  and
            fall  down  out  there  and  takes  in  the  course  of  all  not  talk  as  they  did  in  the
            then  all  of  these  people,  those  years.  So  the  new  movie ‘Fargo,’ which is not
            you know, there’s a sudden  people  really  should  be  quite right.”
            intake of breath. And men  given  the  same  freedom  Humorist  Calvin  Trillin,  who
            in  white  jackets  come  in  and allowed to make their  has  appeared  on  “Prairie
            from the wings and put an  own mistakes,” he said.        Home” about a half-dozen
            oxygen mask on you.”         “I  would  miss  it  too  much,  times,  said  the  stories  Keil-
            “You  don’t  want  that  to  I think. I really would feel a  lor told in his weekly mono-
            happen. It’s too much en-    big loss, I think, if I listened  logue,  “The  News  From
            tertainment for the dollar,”  to it,” he said. “I really have  Lake Wobegon,” are time-
            he adds. “An entertainer is  to turn my back. When the  less tales that anyone can
            supposed to go away and  bishop  steps  down,  the  identify with.
            have a quiet dotage, and  bishop is supposed to leave  “I  think  he’s  captured
            you  know,  lose  your  mar-  town. You’re not supposed  something there,” Trillin told
            bles in private and not do  to,  you  know,  keep  going  the AP. “I always  say  Gar-
            this out where people can  back to the church.”           rison, I think, is some sort of
            see you.”                    Wearing  his  signature  red  genius, and just what sort of
            Keillor  started  his  Satur-  tennis  shoes  without  socks  genius  is  something  we’re
            day-evening  radio  variety  and his gray hair freshly cut  still working on.”
            show  featuring  tales  of  his  as  he  prepares  to  hit  the  Keillor  said  he’s  about
            fictional  Minnesota  home-  road, Keillor talks about his  100,000 words into a mem-
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