For one night, the storyteller becomes the story
A conversation about Paul Grondahl's new Andy Rooney biography kicked off with a rousing ovation for the author
"In 1981 there was a kid on an eastbound train headed across the continent. A kid from Tacoma, Washington... who would land somewhat randomly in Albany, New York, and become the most prodigious teller of its stories..."
So began Writers Institute Assistant Director Mark Koplik's introduction of Paul Grondahl on Tuesday night at Page Hall.
The "kid," who would go on to write several books and more than 9,000 stories for the Times Union and lead the NYS Writers Institute for the past nine years, took center stage for a conversation about Andy Rooney: A Lucky Life, his new biography of the legendary "60 Minutes" commentator.
Reporters are trained to stay behind the scenes, pen and notebook in hand, telling other people's stories. That's what Paul Grondahl has done throughout his career, whether in his Times Union stories or in his Writers Institute conversations with authors, political figures, newsmakers, and other journalists.
There was something especially joyful about seeing the reporter reap the applause. When Mark finished his rousing introduction of Paul, the audience responded with a thunderous ovation.
The conversation that followed, moderated by freelance journalist Jack Rightmyer, offered some remarkable insights into Andy Rooney's career, capped by his decades-long stint delivering cantankerous closing essays on "60 Minutes."
Paul spoke with admiration about Rooney's long career which began during World War II, when he wrote for Stars and Stripes alongside Ernie Pyle and Walter Cronkite. He also noted Rooney's grueling writing schedule: three columns each week on top of his "60 Minutes" essay, seen by an audience of 20 million viewers. Week in and week out, for decades, Rooney wrote. "Writers always write. They don't retire," Paul said. But finally, at 92, with the assistance of his son Brian, Rooney wrote his farewell essay. He died two months later.
Questions from the audience brought out more stories about Rooney's quintessential curmudgeonly behavior and his encounters with local folks who recognized him.
Photos by UAlbany photographer Patrick Dodson. And at the risk of embarrassing Paul a little, we've included an excerpt of Mark's introduction in the slideshow.
