The lighter side of Tim Russert
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- June
- 15
In an era in which iconic TV news anchors are becoming less and less common, forgive me if I remain shocked and saddened by the death of Tim Russert. A Sunday-morning staple, “Meet the Press” had become an institution to which he brought his own brand of stability, intelligence and wit.
In the hours after his death, it seemed like everyone reached for comment not only recognized him as someone with journalistic gravitas, but also as someone with a great sense of humor. As Michelle Collins of BestWeekEver.tv noted Friday, Russert routinely showcased his comic prowess on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”
While I never met Russert, I thoroughly enjoyed one of his smaller-scale contributions to a comedy group that hailed from my alma mater, Boston College, from which his son, Luke, just graduated.
Woody Tondorf, now a producer and writer for HBO, had the same duties with Asinine, a BC sketch and improv comedy group. In college, Tondorf was instrumental in producing a wildly successful Web series, a spoof of Fox’s “The OC” called The BC, whose content and fake commercials would sometimes call upon school faculty, staff and alumni to contribute.
One of those fake commercials (really just unrelated sketches) that he cowrote involved Tim and Luke Russert’s desperate attempts to score sold-out tickets to the coveted BC-Duke game. Adding prestige and laughs to the clip were campus Jesuits, sports department personnel and members of BC’s basketball team, including current Charlotte Bobcats forward Jared Dudley.
Tim Russert, of course, is the headliner. He’s hilarious as host of an impromptu and unlikely episode of “Meet the Press.” His grace and comic timing are obvious when Dudley mistakes him for Tom Brokaw. But his funniest material is at the end of the clip (the 3:55 mark), when he’s swaggering his way down the Conte Forum court, nailing a ridiculous basketball shot and playfully taunting “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart:
Tondorf, who granted permission to embed this clip here, said yesterday his thoughts and prayers are with Luke and the rest of Russert’s family.
I’m still shocked and saddened by Mr. Russert’s death; working with him was a privilege and he had a marvelous sense of humor. We really lost one of the greats.
And on a Father’s Day that would normally feature Russert at the helm of “Meet the Press,” that loss feels all the more striking.
(AP Photo/NBC, Virginia Sherwood)
This entry was posted
on Sunday, June 15th, 2008 at 1:00 pm by Chris Serico.
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