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Shep gave an
approximately one hour talk to the students of Muhlenberg College in
Allentown, Pa on the morning of February 3, 1967. He referred to
Muhlenberg College as "that great appendage to Manhattan Island"
He also attacked "small time hypocrites who think Philadelphia is
anything more than Allentown to the third power!" He did a book
signing in the cafeteria for his book "In God We Trust, All Others
Pay Cash."
Lowell |
Here is Shep in the Muhlenberg College cafeteria
just after his 1 hour talk to the students in Memorial Hall on
February 3, 1967. Taken from the Muhlenberg College 1967
Yearbook |
Muhlenberg
Weekly
Vol. 87 Number 15
Friday February 10, 1967
Muhlenberg College Allentown, Pa.
SHEPHERD LAUDS MANHATTAN, POSTULATES
"AMERICAN DREAM"
by Aaron Boxer
Jean Shepherd, hailed by many as the "leading Satirist of the
Underground," gave some personal observations last Friday
[February 3rd] of "that great appendage to Manhattan
Island:" Muhlenberg College. Before a packed student assembly
in Memorial Hall, he calculated, then diagnosed his listeners from
the vantage point of a "native to civilization," a
sojourner from a sublime place (New York City) where society and God
pay daily public avowal.
If he seemed extremely biased to Manhattan
Island during his brief
appearance, it was because he wanted to master that expression at
the time. Shepherd spoke extemporaneously, gathering little morsels
of satire while en route to Muhlenberg.
Graceful Crud
When he spoke of the crud settling gently
"over the merry swamps" of New Jersey, we cannot question
him further. The character analogous to "Shep" saw it. And
when he envisioned dead birds gliding aimlessly above the
Garden State amidst the "sultry crud," we graciously
accepted it.
Shepherd exudes more than fun. Behind the facade of savage wit that
attracts a devoted 27-state audience each night over WOR
Manhattan radio, bubbles a warm medium of thought, true purpose and
"serious" analyzation.
As Mr. Shepherd is carefully scrutinized by
the observer during a casual conversation, the first impression we
receive is the entertainer's
provocative sincerity and honesty. Through his close association
with
publisher Hugh Hefner and Playboy magazine, Shepherd articulated the
difference between "Hefner's Empire" and other magazines
that have long endured the tag of "socially acceptable"
and the "Good Housekeeping seal" in American society.
"I have never known Hef' to write anything in Playboy that he
didn't honestly believe in."
Knits doilies
His comments on Vogue and The New Yorker
ran somewhat different to the above statement. "Those guys on
The New Yorker sound like they're knitting little doilies for
their readers. It's a big joke. John O'Hara told me he submitted one
article eight times and each time they sent it back for
revision." He went on to say that the author finally gave up
and told them to write it themselves. Several weeks later, O'Hara
saw a text that faintly resembled a topic he had written previously,
lacking all the forceful elements of its original being.
Shepherd's biting satire, then, must be
seen through the spectrum of
sincere desires and unpretentious passions. He stands for the
crusaders of truth, "the saying-something crowd," and
attacks the small-time hypocrites that think culturally depraved
Philadelphia is anything more than Allentown to the third power.
Shepherd remarked that he prefers Al Capp
humor to that of his close associate Jules Feiffer. This is pure
honesty, a common trademark to all those who know Mr. Shepherd.
Unlike so many in his field, he isn't satirical for the sake of
comedy. There is an underlying purpose, a motive, always, behind his
hilarious glimpses of the world. |
