He gave dignity and high profile to people who live in small towns. It would be terribly sad if this tarnished what he’s done. Katy Sewall, 40, a Seattle-based public radio producer who considers Keillor a friend and mentor, expressed hope his work would endure. Keillor, married three times, once called marriage the “deathbed of romance”. Detractors found Keillor’s style syrupy and affected but colleagues like Ira Glass called it richly emotional and contemporary, by turns quirky, heartbreaking and funny. Its popularity peaked a decade ago, with 4.1 million listeners. The New Yorker magazine published one of his short stories, which led to a journalistic assignment in Nashville in 1974 covering the Grand Ole Opry, a country music event which inspired the young writer to create a variety show that became A Prairie Home Companion. He wrote for the local paper, majored in English in college and started in radio in 1969 as a classical music announcer. Keillor grew up in Anoka, Minnesota, the third of six children, to parents who were part of the Plymouth Brethren, a fundamentalist Christian sect that forbade dancing and cinema outings. We continued to be friendly right up until her lawyer called.” I sent her an email of apology later and she replied that she had forgiven me and not to think about it. I meant to pat her back after she told me about her unhappiness and her shirt was open and my hand went up it about six inches.

He told a local newspaper he had been accused of inappropriate touching. And I cannot in conscience bring danger to a great organization I’ve worked hard for since 1969.” It’s some sort of poetic irony to be knocked off the air by a story, having told so many of them myself, but I’m 75 and don’t have any interest in arguing about this. “I’ve been fired over a story that I think is more interesting and more complicated than the version MPR heard. In a statement Keillor expressed gratitude for a long, rich career. “The point of all this – so obvious that you don’t even need to point it out – is that we are one country, and this is the basis of everything.”īut now this voice from a semi-rural and mythical America between the coasts joins Harvey Weinstein, Brett Ratner, Donald Trump, Matt Lauer, Al Franken and other prominent figures accused of wrongdoing. It’s just people’s voices around you, in the dark,” he told the Guardian in 2015. “They’re singing it a cappella, there’s no band playing. The tall, stooped broadcaster is not only respected but beloved, a seeming emissary from a kinder, gentler America who criss-crossed the nation recording shows with audiences who joined him in singing hymns, pop ballads and the national anthem. Of all the recent sexual misconduct cases this is one of the most incongruous and discordant. MPR said it learned of the allegation last month and contracted an outside law firm to investigate, which it continues to do. “We believe this decision is the right thing to do and is necessary to continue to earn the trust of our audiences, employees and supporters of our public service.” The allegations related to his conduct while making A Prairie Home Companion, leaving the network “saddened”, its president, Jon McTaggart, said in a statement. Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) fired Keillor, 75, over allegations of “inappropriate behavior with an individual who worked with him”. On Wednesday a shard from his private life punctured the enigma. “It was never about self-expression, never,” he told the New York Times last year. His shows reflected his fascinations, not his inner life. He avoided eye contact and didn’t much like talking about himself, or talking at all. Off stage, away from the mic, Keillor was shy, melancholy and distant.

Keillor sang, performed skits and ended each show with a monologue about his fictional hometown, Lake Wobegon, “where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking and all the children are above-average”, weekly broadcasts which made listeners feel they knew him.

Garrison keillor