Franz Lidz Explained

Birth Name:Franz Ira Lidz
Birth Date:24 September 1951
Birth Place:New York City, U.S.
Notableworks:Unstrung Heroes (1991)
Ghosty Men (2003)
Fairway To Hell (2008)
Spouse:Maggie Lidz (1976–present)
Children:Gogo, Daisy
Alma Mater:Antioch College

Franz Lidz (born September 24, 1951) is an American writer, journalist and pro basketball executive.

A New York Times archaeology, science and film essayist,[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] who originated the archeological column "Lost and Found".[9] [10] He's a former Sports Illustrated senior writer,[11] [12] Smithsonian columnist[13] [14] [15] and a onetime vice president for the Detroit Pistons.[16] [17] His childhood memoir Unstrung Heroes was adapted into a Hollywood film of the same title in 1995.[18] [19] [20] [21]

Early life

Lidz was born in Manhattan, to Sidney, a Jewish electronics engineer who designed the first transistorized portable tape recorder (the Steelman Transitape),[22] [23] and Selma, a homemaker. His father gave him early exposure to authors like Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter and Eugène Ionesco.[24] [25]

At age nine, still named Stephen before later legally taking Franz as his first name, he moved to the Philadelphia suburbs.[26] [27] [28] Lidz attended high school in Cheltenham[29] [30] and college at Antioch College,[31] where he was a theater major.[32]

Career

Lidz was a novice reporter at the weekly Sanford Star, where he wrote a column and covered police and fire beats. He left Maine to become a crime reporter and write a column called "Insect Jazz" for an alternative newspaper in Baltimore.[33] He later became an editor of Johns Hopkins University Magazine.[34]

In 1980, he joined the staff of Sports Illustrated,[35] [36] [37] [38] [39] even though he had never read the magazine[40] and had covered only one sporting event in his life – a pigeon race in Shapleigh, Maine.[41] [42] [25] Lidz remained on the writing staff for 27 years.[43] In 2007 he jumped to the short-lived business monthly Conde Nast Portfolio, and then WSJ. magazine[44] before landing at Smithsonian in 2012. His first feature story in The New York Times, on making the second descent of the Zambezi River, appeared on January 30, 1983.[45] Among his most controversial features are essays on Neanderthals;[46] the effects of climate change on glacial archaeology;[47] the Pacific Northwest barred owl cull;[48] Hannibal;[49] the 2002 Paris-to-Dakar Rally;[50] George Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees' line of succession;[51] [52] [53] [54] [55] the hijinks of onetime Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling;[56] [57] [58] and a S.I. cover story with NBA player Jason Collins in which Collins became the first active male in one of the four major North American team sports to announce he was gay.[59] [60] [61] [62]

Notable works

Unstrung Heroes

Unstrung Heroes is about Lidz's childhood, with his mother, father and his dad's four older brothers.[25] [63] [64] He had previously written about two of the uncles in Sports Illustrated.[65] [66]

In his review of Unstrung Heroes in the The New York Times, Christopher Lehmann-Haupt called the memoir "unusual and affecting ... a melancholy, funny book, a loony tune played with touching disharmony on mournful woodwinds and a noisy klaxon".[67] Jonathan Kirsch of the Los Angeles Times likened the memoir to a "miniature Brothers Karamazov. There's not a false moment in the book, and that is high praise indeed."[68] The Village Voice called Unstrung Heroes: "Astonishing, hilarious, angry, poignant, always pointed."[69]

In 1995, Unstrung Heroes was adapted into a film of the same title.[18] The setting was switched from New York City to Southern California, and the four crazy uncles were reduced to an eccentric odd couple. Asked what he thought of the script, Lidz said: "It's very neatly typed".[70] He was unhappy with the adaptation, but was prevented by his contract from publicly criticizing it. "My initial fear was that Disney would turn my uncles into Grumpy and Dopey", he told New York magazine. "I never imagined my life could be turned into Old Yeller."[71] In a later essay for the The New York Times, he said that the cinematic Selma had died not of cancer, but of 'Old Movie Disease'. "Someday somebody may find a cure for cancer, but the terminal sappiness of cancer movies is probably beyond remedy."[72]

Ghosty Men

Ghosty Men (2003) is the story of the Collyer brothers. Lidz has said that he was inspired by the real-life cautionary tales that his father told him, the most macabre of which was the story of the Collyer brothers, the hermit hoarders of Harlem.[73] The book also recounts the parallel life of Arthur Lidz,[74] the hermit uncle of Unstrung Heroes, who grew up near the Collyer mansion.[75]

In his review for The Washington Post, Adam Bernstein wrote, "The Collyer Brothers made compelling reading then, as they do now in this short, captivatingly detailed book."[76]

Fairway to Hell

Fairway to Hell is a 2008 memoir centering on Lidz' unusual golfing experiences: encountering nudists, llama caddies[40] and celebrities like the heavy metal band Judas Priest.[77] [78] Bill Littlefield reviewed the book on the National Public Radio show Only A Game, saying "His estimable wit is also evident in Fairway To Hell."[79]

Collaborations

Lidz has written numerous essays for The New York Times with novelist and former Sports Illustrated colleague Steve Rushin.[80] [81] [82] Three of them appear under the title Piscopo Agonistes in the 2000 collection Mirth of a Nation: The Best Contemporary Humor.

Lidz has been a commentator for Morning Edition on NPR,[83] and was a guest film critic on the syndicated Siskel & Ebert, following Gene Siskel's passing. The segment did not air.[84] He also appeared on David Letterman's show.[29]

Personal life

Lidz lives in Ojai, California[85] with his wife, Maggie, an author and onetime historian at the Winterthur Museum in Delaware.[86] [87] [88] [89] They have two daughters.[90] [91] [92] [93]

Notes and References

  1. https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/09/movies/film-sorry-uma-there-s-only-one-emma.html "Film; Sorry, Uma, There's Only One Emma"
  2. https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/29/movies/film-the-scenery-though-he-won-t-chew.html?referringSource=articleShare "Film; The Scenery, Though, He Won't Chew"
  3. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/movies/27lidz.html "Biblical Adversity in a '60s Suburb"
  4. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/14/science/pliny-archaeology-skull-vesuvius.html "Here Lies the Skull of Pliny the Elder, Maybe"
  5. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/14/science/pliny-archaeology-skull-vesuvius.html "At the Sourdough Library, With Some Very Old Mothers"
  6. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/18/science/koepcke-diller-panguana-amazon-crash.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage "She Fell Nearly Two Miles And Walked Away"
  7. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/30/science/archaeology-bogs-mummies.html "What The Ancient Bog Bodies Knew"
  8. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/26/science/taxonomy-beetle-insects-hitler.html "What To Do With A Bug Named Hitler"
  9. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/01/science/ancient-romans-coin-drains.html "Ancient Romans Dropped Their Bling Down the Drain, Too"
  10. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/06/science/ancient-egypt-birds.html "Put a Bird on It? Ancient Egypt Was Way Ahead of Us"
  11. https://vault.si.com/author/franz-lidz "Classic Archives: Franz Lidz"
  12. https://www.si.com/vault/2013/05/06/106319488/jason-collins "Jason Collins"
  13. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/dr-nakamats-the-man-with-3300-patents-to-his-name-134571403/ "Dr. NakaMats, the Man With 3300 Patents to His Name"
  14. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/behold-the-blobfish-180956967/#uUVYMJW2MmhTBjEM.99 "Behold The Blobfish"
  15. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/britain-lake-district-immortalized-beatrix-potter-beloved-landscape-180968736/ "Britain's Lake District Was Immortalized by Beatrix Potter, But Is Its Future in Peril?"
  16. http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/.element/media/2.0/teamsites/pistons/files/mg_1617_leadership.pdf "Detroit Pistons Media Guide: Executive Staff"
  17. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/author/franz-lidz/?no-ist "Franz Lidz"
  18. http://articles.philly.com/1995-09-21/entertainment/25718431_1_unstrung-heroes-franz-lidz-andie-macdowell "Lost In Translation"
  19. https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/04/books/books-of-the-times-reality-was-relative-and-the-relatives-were-nuts.html "Books of The Times; Reality Was Relative and the Relatives Were Nuts"
  20. https://www.nytimes.com/search?dropmab=true&query=Franz%20Lidz&sort=newest&types=article Search: Franz Lidz
  21. https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/03/movies/film-not-at-all-unstrung-and-calling-the-shots.html?pagewanted=all "Film: Unstrung And Calling The Shots"
  22. https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/28/obituaries/sidney-lidz.html "Sidney Lidz – Obituary"
  23. , 1959
  24. https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/13/movies/the-new-season-film-beginning-at-the-ending-at-the-bates-motel.html?pagewanted=1&pagewanted=print "Beginning at the Ending at the Bates Motel"
  25. https://www.si.com/vault/1991/04/08/106782578/from-the-editor "From the Editor"
  26. http://articles.philly.com/1991-04-07/news/25779974_1_unstrung-heroes-franz-lidz-brothers "A Writer's Relative Chaos: How Crazy Were Franz Lidz's Uncles? We're Glad You Asked That ..."
  27. http://www.phillymag.com/news/2015/05/17/arn-tellem-franz-lidz-hall-fame/ "Arn Tellem and Franz Lidz Are Going to the Hall of Fame"
  28. http://articles.philly.com/2015-05-27/sports/62677593_1_jason-collins-sports-illustrated-nba-all-stars "Franz Lidz & Arn Tellem entering Hall together"
  29. https://www.si.com/vault/1982/05/10/628355/letter-from-the-publisher "Letter From The Publisher"
  30. https://www.si.com/vault/1987/03/09/106777503/from-the-publisher "Letter From The Publisher"
  31. https://www.si.com/vault/1984/03/26/569038/letter-from-the-publisher "Letter from the Publisher"
  32. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1991-02-19/news/1991050047_1_franz-lidz-uncle-kris-dahl "Lidz weaves a tale of family, life on fringes"
  33. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-09-21/features/1995264017_1_lidz-daisy-daisy-unstrung-heroes "Odds are, these guys are real characters"
  34. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1991-01-23/features/1991023041_1_western-maryland-university-of-maryland-lonesome-dove "Redford movie may be filmed locally"
  35. https://vault.si.com/vault/1985/12/23/good-ol-charlie-schulz "Good Ol' Charlie Schulz"
  36. http://www.si.com/vault/1989/05/01/119810/television-for-1000-the-worlds-toughest-game-show-what-is-jeopardy- "What is Jeopardy!?"
  37. http://www.si.com/vault/1990/12/10/123221/from-hair-to-eternity-you-cant-become-a-sports-immortal-says-don-king-without-folicles-of-fabulous-fecundity "From Hair To Eternity"
  38. https://vault.si.com/vault/1992/05/18/meat-bomb-konishiki-the-quarter-ton-sumo-wrestler-from-hawaii-has-set-off-an-explosion-of-new-interest-and-controversy-in-the-hidebound-national-sport-of-japan "Meat Bomb"
  39. https://vault.si.com/vault/1998/11/02/shes-got-balls-will-jeanie-buss-daughter-of-lakers-owner-jerry-buss-be-the-next-to-rule-her-fathers-sports-kingdom-or-will-one-of-her-brothers-rise-to-power-a-fractured-family-fable "She's Got Balls"
  40. http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-blinq/franz.html "The Sport of Drunken Hairy Scots"
  41. http://www.aarp.org/entertainment/books/info-09-2010/profile-gil-rogin.html "Gil Rogin Resurfaces"
  42. http://observer.com/2010/09/the-virtuoso-of-the-canorama-gil-rogin-ran-si-at-its-peak-but-his-fiction-might-make-him-immortal/ "The Virtuoso of the Canorama: Gil Rogin Ran SI at Its Peak, But His Fiction Might Make Him Immortal"
  43. https://www.si.com/vault/2016/09/14/almost-famous "Almost Famous"
  44. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204449804577068891288906520.html "Upstairs, Downstairs and In Between"
  45. https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/30/travel/the-great-zambezi-river-expedition.html "The Great Zambezi River Expedition"
  46. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/new-research-redefining-what-we-thought-about-neanderthals-180971918/ "What Do We Really Know About Neanderthals?"
  47. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/02/science/climate-change-archaeology.html "As Earth Warms, Old Mayhem and Secrets Emerge From the Ice"
  48. "They Shoot Owls in California, Don’t They?", April 29, 2024 – New York Times
  49. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-hannibal-crossed-the-alps-180963671/ "How (and Where) Did Hannibal Cross the Alps?"
  50. http://www.si.com/vault/2002/01/21/317030/off-road-warriors-need-a-crash-course-in-misery-try-the-paris-to-dakar-rally-which-littered-the-north-african-desert-with-its-usual-quota-of-charred-vehicles-and-scarred-egos "Off-Road Warriors"
  51. http://upstart.bizjournals.com/culture-lifestyle/culture-inc/sports/2007/08/02/Baseball-and-Steinbrenner.html?page=all "Baseball After The Boss"
  52. http://observer.com/2007/08/iportfolioi-diagnoses-steinbrenner-but-inew-york-posti-gives-second-opinion/ "Portfolio Diagnoses Steinbrenner, but New York Post gives a Second Opinion"
  53. https://www.aol.com/2010/07/13/franz-lidz-journalist-revealed-george-steinbrenner-ill/ "The Journalist Who Revealed How Ill George Steinbrenner Was"
  54. http://gothamist.com/2007/08/03/hows_the_boss_s.php "How's the Boss? Steinbrenner Looks Dreadful"
  55. http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2008/12/15/the-nack-great-reporting-vivid-writing/ "The Nack: Great Reporting, Vivid Writing"
  56. https://www.si.com/vault/2000/04/17/278523/up-and-down-in-beverly-hills-eccentric-multimillionaire-donald-sterling-has-been-a-flaming-success-as-an-la-real-estate-mogul-and-a-dismal-failure-as-the-owner-of-the-clippers "Up and Down in Beverly Hills"
  57. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/basketball/bulls/27095763-452/donald-sterling-has-been-lost-in-another-century-for-some-time.html#.U1_-3YUlwvo "Donald Sterling Has Been Lost In Another Century For Some Time"
  58. https://www.si.com/nba/2014/04/30/donald-sterling-clippers-owner-nba-ban "Sterling's offensive behavior was no secret for years"
  59. https://www.si.com/more-sports/2013/04/29/jason-collins-gay-nba-player "Why NBA center Jason Collins is coming out now"
  60. https://www.si.com/more-sports/2013/04/29/jason-collins-reveals-gay-nba-story The story behind Jason Collins' story: How it happened
  61. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/30/business/media/how-sports-illustrated-broke-the-jason-collins-story.html "How Sports Illustrated Broke the Jason Collins Story"
  62. https://www.si.com/nba/2023/04/25/jason-collins-first-pro-league-male-athlete-gay-10-years-later-daily-cover "Jason Collins, 10 Years Later: Progress Made, but There's Work to Be Done for LGBTQ Athletes"
  63. https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/30/movies/summer-films-creature-features-the-ongoing-adventures-of-moose-and-squirrel.html "Summer Films: Creature Features; The Ongoing Adventures of Moose and Squirrel"
  64. https://www.si.com/vault/issue/702993/6/2 "To Our Readers"
  65. https://www.si.com/vault/1987/01/19/113671/my-uncle-the-collector-a-hobbyist-on-a-shoestring "My Uncle, The Collector: A Hobbyist on a Shoestring"
  66. https://www.si.com/vault/1982/12/20/625745/uncle-harry-never-lost-a-fight-but-he-never-really-fought-one-either "Uncle Harry Never Lost A Fight But He Never Really Fought One, Either"
  67. https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/04/books/books-of-the-times-reality-was-relative-and-the-relatives-were-nuts.html?pagewanted=1&pagewanted=print "Books of The Times; Reality Was Relative and the Relatives Were Nuts"
  68. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-02-20-vw-1487-story.html "The Unlikely Heroics of Unstrung Heroes"
  69. https://www.amazon.com/dp/158234311X "Unstrung Heroes"
  70. http://ew.com/article/1995/09/22/star-and-author-unstrung-heroes/ "The star and author of 'Unstrung Heroes'"
  71. New York. Nancy Jo Sales. Undone Heroes. 18 September 1995. New York Media, LLC. 58.
  72. https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/10/movies/film-in-a-higher-state-of-being-that-is-dying.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm&pagewanted=print "In a Higher State of Being (That Is, Dying)"
  73. https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/26/nyregion/the-paper-chase.html?pagewanted=1&pagewanted=all "The Paper Chase"
  74. http://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/a-trashy-read-hoarding-hermits-a-typist-s-true-tale-1.329120 "A Trashy Read / Hoarding hermits? A typist's true tale"
  75. http://articles.philly.com/2004-05-16/news/25382681_1_impossible-uncles-unstrung-heroes-franz-lidz "Author delves into his inner hoarder His eccentric uncle led him to write about the Collyer brothers"
  76. https://web.archive.org/web/20121026132000/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/520943591.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jan+4,+2004&author=Pack+Rats&pub=The+Washington+Post&edition=&startpage=T.14&desc=If+anything+should+inspire+s+ "If Anything Should Inspire ..."
  77. http://olympics.si.com/vault/1986/10/27/106777130/heavy-metal-rockers-find-peace-and-quietand-rock-fanson-the-links "Heavy Metal Rockers Find Peace And Quiet—and Rock Fans—on The Links"
  78. http://www.espnbooks.com/book.cgi?id=28 "Fairway to Hell"
  79. http://onlyagame.wbur.org/2008/05/30/fairway-to-hell "Books In Review"
  80. https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/15/movies/holiday-films-we-know-what-you-ll-see-next-summer.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm&pagewanted=print "We Know What You'll See Next Summer ..."
  81. https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/30/arts/here-a-comic-genius-there-a-comic-genius.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm&pagewanted=print "Here A Comic Genius, There A Comic Genius"
  82. https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/05/movies/how-to-tell-a-bad-movie-from-a-truly-bad-movie.html?pagewanted=all "How to Tell a Bad Movie From a Truly Bad Movie"
  83. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817&dat=19981119&id=EDodAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BqYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2314,3343451 "News Briefs"
  84. https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/16/movies/film-a-shot-at-thumb-wrestling-with-roger.html?pagewanted=print "A Shot at Thumb-Wrestling With Roger"
  85. https://www.ojaihub.com/the-uses-of-irreverence/ "The Uses of Irreverence"
  86. https://mobile.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/movies/21barnes.html Requiem For A Jumble of Artworks
  87. http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_eye/2014/02/18/costumes_of_downton_abbey_at_henry_francis_du_pont_s_winterthur_museum_garden.html "The Amazing Costumes of Downton Abbey"
  88. http://www.delawaretoday.com/core/pagetools.php?url=/Delaware-Today/December-2009/The-Du-PontsHouses-and-Gardens-in-the-Brandywine/&mode=printhe "The duPonts: Houses and Gardens in the Brandywine"
  89. http://www.oprah.com/relationships/finding-the-one-by-chance "Meeting Maggie"
  90. https://www.si.com/vault/2003/06/23/345322/introducing-miss-daisy "Introducing Miss Daisy"
  91. https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-turkeygogo21nov21-story.html "Where the wild things are – inside the tent"
  92. http://www.newsweek.com/authors/gogo-lidz Gogo Lidz: Staff Writer
  93. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/fashion/weddings/25LIDZ.html "Daisy Lidz, Thor Ritz"

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