Barry Happy to Be Retired

Dave Barry's hiatus from his Miami Herald humor column has become a permanent retirement, according to an Editor & Publisher interview. Which is all the flimsy excuse I need to link to my finger-wounding Q&A with the suspiciously libertarian-sounding funnyman during the 2004 Democratic Convention, and to Glenn Garvin's terrific interview in the magazine's days of yore. (Link via Romenesko.)

Comments

[Rich Ard]

Thank goodness - he (and I am not making this up) ran out of funny some time ago.

[The Man Who Laughs]

Yeah, and Mark Twain eventually ran out of funny as well, but we can still honor his memory and read his books. Thanks for the links. Great stuff.

[ChrisO]

I've enjoyed his work for many years, and it's kinda sad to see him (semi-)retire, but I can imagine it would be difficult to maintain consistently humorous work year after year. Heck, I struggle just to generate a single humorous H&R posting--mostly unsuccessfully.

[Crapper]

I think fondly of Dave Barry every time I have to flush the toilet several times after a healthy bowel movement.

http://www.jimpoz.com/jokes/toiletPolice.html

[Rich Ard]

Sorry - that was unnecessarily snarky, man who laughs - I probably crack open Dave Barry Does Japan once every two months, and it still cracks me up.

[Number 6]

Crapper-You know when I gave up hope? When they mandated those everfucking low-flow showerheads and no one made a peep. The government has seen fit to mandate that we can't take a shower with enough water pressure to get the soap off or skin or the shampoo out of our hair, and we freaking take it!

Anyway-that's when I knew there was no hope. I'll just keep carrying the old-school showerhead I took off the shower in my old place wherever I go.

[Jeff P.]

But will there ever be a Rock Bottom Remainders reunion?

[Number 6]

Jeff-Depends on whether or not Stephen King is able to stand for long enough to play, I imagine.

[Stevo Darkly]

I have enjoyed Dave Barry quite a bit for many years. If he's burned out on the regular column thing, though, he's probably right to retire from it before he degenerates into late-stage Charles Schulz or Garry Trudeau. Or Ernie Bushmiller.

The Glenn Garvin interview of Barry remains one of my favorite Reason pieces of all time.

[Crapper]

Stevo,

Schulz and Trudeau are cartoonists. Barry is a make-believe political pundit. I seriously doubt Barry is running out of material.

WRT cartoonists, second only to Don Martin, Berkeley Breathed is my favorite cartoonist. Breathed came back after a long breather.

We'll see.

[Peter K.]

Yeah, the Garvin interview made me laugh and chuckle a number of times.

[Ruthless]

He's still funny. He's alive. He's much younger than I. So I'm predicting we haven't heard the last of him.
How long has Jerry Seinfeld's hiatus been?
Similar situation?

[Jeff P.]

Stephen King can play guitar sitting, like Robert Fripp.

[peachy]

Wow... I had no idea Virginia Postrel inspired such terror in her subjects - er, subordinates.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

I love Dave Barry. He never fails to amuse--all the way from a smile to spitting coffee all over the computer monitor.