RIP David Rakoff

[strummergirl]

His brother Simon confirmed it on Facebook.
http://www.third-beat.com/2012/08/10/david-rakoff-1964-2012/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+third-beat%2FnoEA+%28Third+Beat%29

Loved him on This American Life. Been meaning to pick up his last book, Half-Empty.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/contributors/david-rakoff

This is a pretty beautiful part on a live show of TAL with Rakoff speaking about his cancer and the paralysis of his arm:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/464/invisible-made-visible?act=3

[Addison D.]

Oh my God...

[Addison D.]

I'm totally blind-sided by this. Perhaps it's the experience of seeing my birth-year as the birth year of someone who has just died of "natural" causes. Yikes...

The link is to his last appearance on the Daily Show. John Stewart clearly thought Rakoff was incredibly funny--what more can one say in someone's favor?


Rakoff on the Daily Show

[SonofRobbieJ]

Sweet wounded Christ.

A former boss was friends with David and I got to meet him once or twice. He was incredibly sweet and he gave me an autographed copy of FRAUD. I'll cherish it even more now.

[Addison D.]

'Fresh Air' will be devoted to a remembrance of Rakoff tonight. 8:00PM EST on WNYC AM820 and wnyc.org to stream.

[Addison D.]

'Fresh Air' is on now on WCAI: Cape Cod NPR--capeandislands.org

[PalJoey]

We once worked together, during a very difficult time for me. You can't imagine how much better he made a bad situation.

Actually, he didn't just make a bad situation better. He made it fabulous.

And when he appeared with David and Amy Sedaris, as part of the Talent Family...well, that was truly demented genius.

Farewell, sweet man. Glad you enjoyed the vinyl.

[strummergirl]

Here is Rakoff in a video feed of the live show of TAL, again talking about his cancer. I broke down just hearing Ira's radio description on what Rakoff does after pausing. The video brings even more, but it is a beautiful preservation of a writer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldqjM7x6NhE&feature=player_embedded

[Addison D.]

I am really missing David Rakoff. Not only was he a sweet, smart and funny man, but he had a brilliant and incisive wit which he used without mercy on the hypocritical, the greedy and the self-entitled.

Needless to say, Mitt Romney's campaign for the Presidency was tailor-made for David. He would have said so well what needs to be said.

[Addison D.]

A lovely tribute to David Rakoff in today's NYT.

The Lives They Lived: David Rakoff