Garrison Keillor is famous for being the host of the live radio variety show “A Prairie Home Companion,” which has been on the air for many years. Keillor is also a well-known author who has written more than 15 books. He writes columns for Time Magazine and Atlantic Monthly and has had stories published in The New Yorker. He still writes for many different magazines and newspapers, and some of his best-selling books are “Lake Wobegon Days,” “Homegrown Democrat,” and “WLT: A Radio Romance.” He has won many awards, like the Peabody Award and the Grammy Award, and is in the Radio Hall of Fame. Many people like Garrison Keillor and call him “a modern-day Mark Twain.” He has become one of the most well-known people in the American entertainment industry. Garrison Keillor is known for his sharp mind, witty comments, and a good sense of humor. He rarely reads a monologue or uses a typical scriptural format. He also wrote the script for the movie “A Prairie Home Companion,” which came out in 2006.
Early years and childhood
Gary Edward Garrison Keillor was born in Anoka, Minnesota, to the postal worker and carpenter John Philip Keillor and Grace Ruth. His family was part of a conservative Christian movement called Evangelicalism.
He got his Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Minnesota in 1966. At the university, he was a member of Radio K, a student-run radio station.
Garrison Keillor’s Career
In 1969, he started working as a radio host for Minnesota Educational Radio, which is now called Minnesota Public Radio. He was in charge of the morning radio show.
His story, “Local Family Keeps Son Happy,” came out in “The New Yorker” on September 19, 1970.
He left Minnesota Educational Radio in 1971 because he didn’t like how they were messing with his music shows. In October of that year, when the radio was renamed “A Prairie Home Companion,” he came back.
On July 6, 1974, “A Prairie Home Companion” had its first live variety show. It was the first of its kind. There were also live musicians, live sound effects, and a group of dancers in the show.
In 1985, he’s funny, made-up story about life in Lake Wobegon, called “Lake Wobegon Days,” came out. The book sold a lot of copies all over the world.
He stopped making “A Prairie Home Companion” in 1987 and moved on to other radio projects, such as “The American Radio Company of the Air.”
In 1991, a book he wrote called “WLT: A Radio Romance” came out. The book was on the best-seller list of “The New York Times” and got good reviews from critics.
In 1993, he brought back “A Prairie Home Companion” and made it again. It was mostly like the original show, but there were a few small changes.
In 2000, he went to Edinburgh, Scotland, where he did two shows at Queens Hall on the re-opened radio show “A Prairie Home Companion.” The BBC radio played these shows.
Homegrown Democrat, a collection of his political essays, came out in 2004. The following year, he started writing a column for salon.com called “The Old Scout.”
The 2006 comedy “A Prairie Home Companion,” which was directed by Robert Atman, was based on a script he wrote.
In 2008, he played at The Oregon Bach Festival, which is held every year to honor the musician Johann Sebastian Bach.
Works of note
He wrote the best-selling book “Lake Wobegon Days,” which has been praised all over the world. In the category “Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Album,” the Grammy Award went to the recording of the book.
Awards & Achievements
In 1980, the radio show “A Prairie Home Companion” won him the Peabody Award.
In 1990, the American Academy of Arts and Letters gave him a medal for “Spoken Language.”
He was put in the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1994.
In 1999, the National Endowment for the Humanities gave him the National Humanities Medal for his work in the field.
He was given the John Steinbeck Award in 2007. It was given to him because of “Steinbeck’s spirit of empathy, dedication to democratic values, and belief in the dignity of the common man.”
Personal History and Legacies
He was married to Mary Guntzel from 1965 to 1976. They had a son named Jason.
After he got divorced, he had a relationship with the producer Margaret Moos.
He got married to Ulla Skaerved in 1985. He had met her at a high school reunion. In 1990, they broke up.
In 1995, he married a violinist named Jenny Lind Nilsson. They have a daughter named Maia and live in Anoka.
In 2001, he had surgery on his heart’s mitral valve.
In 2009, he had a small stroke that forced him to stay in the hospital for a few days.
Estimated Net worth
American humorist, author, and radio host Garrison Keillor has a net worth of $5 million. Garrison Keillor was born in Anoka, Minnesota. He got his degree in English from the University of Minnesota. He started working at the college radio station while he was in college.
Trivia
In 2008, this well-known American radio host who had won a Grammy Award sued his neighbors because they wanted to add on to their house.