Patrick Jake ‘P. J.’ O’Rourke is a political humorist, journalist, and author from the United States. His most recent publications include ‘Don’t Vote! – It Just Encourages the Bastards,’ ‘Holidays in Hell,’ and ‘The Baby Boom: How It Got That Way (And It Wasn’t My Fault) (And I’ll Never Do It Again).’ ‘Parliament of Whores’ and ‘Give War a Chance,’ both published in the 1990s, made the New York Times Best Seller List. He was raised in a middle-class family and was a lefty in his political views as a child, but he underwent a profound transformation in his political orientation as an adult, emerging as a political observer and comedian with libertarian ideas. He began his career with the National Lampoon, an underground satirical magazine, and is recognized for his forthright and dark-satirical take on America’s political and cultural landscape. O’Rourke is a regular contributor for The Atlantic Monthly, The American Spectator, and The Weekly Standard, as well as a frequent panelist on National Public Radio’s game show ‘Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!’
Childhood and Adolescence
P. J. O’Rourke was born into a middle-class household in Toledo, Ohio, to a car dealer and a housewife. He attended Miami University in Ohio for his undergraduate studies and went on to John Hopkins University for his master’s degree in English, where he was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi Literary Society. When he was younger, O’Rourke held leftist political views, but as he grew older, he underwent a profound shift in his political views, emerging as a political observer and satire with libertarian ideas.
Career of O’Rourke
In 1972, O’Rourke began his career by contributing pieces to a variety of American magazines, including The Rip Off Review of Western Culture, an underground magazine and comic book. After working for magazines such as Harry (a Baltimore underground daily) and the New York Ace, he joined National Lampoon in 1973. He was the managing editor of National Lampoon. For the National Lampoon, he wrote stories like ‘Foreigners Around the World’ and ‘How to Drive Fast on Drugs While Getting Your Wing-Wang Squeezed and Not Spill Your Drink.’
In 1973, he received a writing award for his work on National Lampoon’s Lemmings, a spinoff of the National Lampoon humor magazine. It was a theater production that catapulted John Belushi, Chevy Chase, and Christopher Guest into stardom. O’Rourke also collaborated with writer Douglas Kenney on National Lampoon’s 1964 High School Yearbook. The novel was a year’s best-seller, with many of its themes translated into the film ‘Animal House.’
In 1981, he quit the National Lampoon and began freelance work. Playboy, Vanity Fair, Car and Driver, and Rolling Stone were among the periodicals to which he contributed his work. He quickly rose through the ranks of the Rolling Stone’s foreign-affairs desk chief.
In 1996, O’Rourke was a conservative commentator on the CBS television newsmagazine show “60 Minutes,” which featured a point-counterpoint section. He’s written 17 books, three of which were New York Times bestsellers. The New York Times Best Seller List included Parliament of Whores (1991) and Give War a Chance (1992). O’Rourke covered the 2008 presidential election for Real Time with Bill Maher as a “Real Time Real Reporter.” ‘On the Wealth of Nations: Books That Changed the World (2007)’ and ‘Driving Like Crazy (2009)’ are two of his other works. ‘Don’t Vote! –It Just Encourages the Bastards (2010)’ and ‘Holidays in Heck (2011)’ are two of his most recent books. ‘The Baby Boom: How It Got That Way (And It Wasn’t My Fault) (And I’ll Never Do It Again) (2014)’ and ‘The Baby Boom: How It Got That Way (And It Wasn’t My Fault) (And I’ll Never Do It Again)’
Major Projects of O’Rourke
O’Rourke’s 16 sarcastic and politically incorrect novels on politics and culture are often regarded as his most notable work. His books ‘Parliament of Whores (1991)’ and ‘Give War a Chance (1992)’ both reached the top of the New York Times Best Seller List.
Personal History and Legacy
From 1990 to 1993, O’Rourke was married to Amy Lumet, the daughter of film director Sidney Lumet and granddaughter of Lena Horne. In 1995, he married his second wife, Tina, and they have two daughters and a son: Elizabeth, Olivia, and Clifford. He lives in the small New Hampshire town of Sharon and works in Washington, D.C.
He was diagnosed with curable anal cancer in 2008, with a 95 percent chance of survival. He made the announcement in his trademark witty and sardonic style.
Estimated Net Worth
In the years 2020-2021, his net worth increased dramatically. So, at the age of 74, how much is P.J. O’Rourke worth? P.J. O’Rourke’s main source of income is as a successful actor. He is from the United States of America. P.J. O’Rourke’s net worth is believed to be $5 million.
Trivia
In 2008, he labeled Barack Obama’s presidency as “the Carter administration in better sweaters.” ‘How to Drive Fast on Drugs While Getting Your Wing-Wang Squeezed and Not Spill Your Drink,’ a National Lampoon story, was reprinted in two of his books, ‘Republican Party Reptile (1987)’ and ‘Driving Like Crazy (2009).’ His best-selling book, ‘Parliament of Whores,’ subtitled ‘A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire United States Government,’ discusses how politics is dull to the average person. He writes his manuscripts on an IBM Selectric typewriter and claims that writing on a computer is tough for him due to his short attention span issues.
He is a regular correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, The American Spectator, and The Weekly Standard, as well as a frequent panelist on National Public Radio’s game show “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” He is the H. L. Mencken Research Fellow at the Cato Institute and a regular correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, The American Spectator, and The Weekly Standard. In the 1990s, he was the face of a long-running series of British Airways television commercials in England.