Gettin’ Ecstatican.

Tom Lehrer has passed. I played his records until they were transparent and I could repeat every word. It taught me something essential about satire: it has to be funny. You laugh, then you think.

Please link to articles and such in the comments; I'm writing this on my phone and it's too hard to try to do it myself. I will tell of the time I spoke to Tom Lehrer on the phone. It was 1973, and I was on the Artists and Lectures Series Committee at Eisenhower College, lining up talent. I decided to try for one of my favorites. No agency had him listed, so I looked in the Boston phone book, and there he was. I called and he answered. My first statement was, "Is this the Tom Lehrer who wrote The Vatican Rag?" He confirmed it, and we had a pleasant chat. He insisted that he was retired from performing, although the idea of coming to Eisenhower College appealed to him in a lot of ways. In the end, I thanked him profusely for many hours of entertainment and hung up.

Lehrer recently placed his entire oeuvre in the public domain, which I hope will bring him more attention and appreciation. Ave atque vale, sir.