Lewis Grizzard was a Southern institution. His column ran in the Atlanta Journal and was syndicated across the Southeast in over 400 newspapers. He published forty books; most were best sellers. Appearances on The Tonight Show and Larry King Live and a guest spot on the hit show Designing Women exposed him nationally. He did stand up to sell-out audiences everywhere. “Grizzardisms” became a part of the Southern vernacular.
Here are a few fun facts about the South’s Favorite Son.
-Creative Loafing, an alternative newspaper in Atlanta, had an annual “Best of Atlanta” poll. Grizzard won so handily every year that they created a new category, “Best Columnist That Isn’t Lewis Grizzard.”
-Lewis’s third wife, Kathy, wrote a book in 1986 poking fun at Lewis, entitled “How to Tame A Wild Bore.” The back page of the dust cover includes a quote from Lewis himself. “This might possibly be the best book any of my ex-wives has ever written about me,” Lewis proclaims.
-In college, Lewis won an award for an article he wrote about a “fortune teller” operating illegally in Athens. He claimed the seer put a spell on him that “mean women would always take his money.” He attributed his relationship failures to this curse.
You’ll remember her as Peggy, Andy’s girlfriend on The Andy Griffith Show. Read about the tragic life of Joana Moore here.
-Lewis’s dad, Lewis Grizzard, Sr, was born in Snellville, GA, in 1914. He entered the army as an enlisted man and rose to the rank of Captain, seeing action in multiple campaigns in WWII. He was later deployed to Korea. There he served as a platoon leader. In 1950, he was captured and held as a POW by the North Koreans. He soon escaped and returned to his unit. In his writings, Lewis spoke openly about his dad’s struggles with the residuals of his wartime experiences. Lewis Sr. inspired “My Daddy’s a Pistol and I’m a Son of a Gun.”
-Lewis’s first book, “Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You”, was based on his ex-wife Nancy
-When Lewis was around eight after his parents separated, he spent a month with his Dad during summer vacation. One night, his dad took Lewis to a minor league baseball game in Albany, GA. Having a reputation as a smooth talker, the senior Lewis convinced the Waycross Braves to let him and young Lewis join them. For the next month, they did just that, traveling on the team bus and staying with the team on the road.
-Just before Lewis was to undergo his final surgery, days before his death, the doctors explained the procedure’s high risk. They asked if Lewis had any questions. His reply? “Just one,” he said. “What time is the next bus to Albuquerque? This became the title of the first Grizzard book published posthumously, a collection of his columns.
-Lewis was not afraid to weigh in on political things and had friends in high places. His friend, former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson, jokingly called Grizzard a “smart-assed white boy,” which Lewis relished. In 1979, to poke fun at Atlanta’s upcoming mayoral race, a group of dentists near Emory University launched the “Grizzard for Mayor 81” committee. It is unsure if Lewis received any write-in votes, but his bumper stickers sold well.
Check out the story of another Southern legend, Mr. James Gregory, the funniest man in America. Click here.
And a little bonus Lewis humor…
-Referring to Northern women, Lewis said, “{They} make good cooks if you like to eat things that still have their head and eyes, cooked in a big pot with carrots and asparagus and other houseplants.
-A Lewis golf joke- A golf pro is giving a lesson to one of his club members. “Now, first of all, just take a few swings without hitting the ball,” says the pro.” “Hell, I’ve already mastered that shot,” says the pupil. I’m paying you to teach me how to hit it.”
