The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Keillor live show canceled
Promoter nixes event after radio star’s firing
TORRINGTON — One day after Garrison Keillor was fired from Minnesota Public Radio for alleged inappropriate behavior, his appearance at the Warner Theatre, scheduled for tonight, has been canceled.
Lynn Gelormino, executive director of the Warner, said she received the news from Keillor’s promoter Thursday.
“We were notified at about 12:30 today that Garrison Keillor has canceled his appearance tonight at the Warner,” she said. “We are in the process of contacting all of our ticketholders to arrange for a refund.”
Keillor’s appearance at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, Mass., scheduled for Wednesday night, was also canceled.
Keillor, the former host of “A Prairie Home Companion” told the Associated Press he was dropped from MPR over “a story that I think is more interesting and more complicated than the version MPR heard.” Keillor didn’t detail the allegation to AP, but told the Minneapolis Star Tribune he had put his hand on a woman’s bare back when trying to console her.
“I meant to pat her back ... and her shirt was open and my hand went up it ... She recoiled. I apologized.” Garrison Keillor in an email to the Minneapolis Star Tribune
“I meant to pat her back after she told me about her unhappiness, and her shirt was open and my hand went up it about six inches. She recoiled. I apologized,” the news organization reported Keillor said in an email. “I sent her an email of apology later, and she replied that she had forgiven me and not to think about it. We were friends. We continued to be friendly right up until her lawyer called.”
Jack Sheedy, of Harwinton, who has enjoyed the radio show since the mid-1980s, had tickets to the show and was disappointed when he learned of the cancellation and the allegations against Keillor. When asked what he thought of those allegations, he was philosophical.
“It breaks my heart that one icon after another is toppled because of inexcusable behavior or allegations of inexcusable behavior,” he said. “I looked up to Garrison Keillor. I looked up to a lot of men who for the past few months have been disgraced in the eyes of the world. But as humans, we should not look to other humans as gods. There’s no perfect man or perfect woman. We all need to do the best we can and set examples for our children, if we can’t relay on examples of people we looked up to.”
Minnesota Public Radio confirmed it had terminated contracts with Keillor after receiving a single allegation against him last month of “inappropriate behavior.” MPR said the allegation stemmed from Keillor’s conduct when he was producing and hosting “A Prairie Home Companion.”
MPR said it knew of no other allegations but had retained an outside law firm that continues to investigate. Keillor didn’t say when the alleged incident occurred.
Keillor was to perform at the Warner and was to be Robin and Linda Williams, who play bluegrass, folk, old-time and acoustic country and appeared on the Home Companion show in its early years.
In his statement to AP, Keillor said it was “poetic irony to be knocked off the air by a story, having told so many of them myself. But I’m 75 and don’t have any interest in arguing about this. And I cannot in conscience bring danger to a great organization I’ve worked hard for since 1969.”
Keillor retired as host of the long-running public radio variety show in 2016. He hand-picked his successor, mandolinist and frequent musical guest Chris Thile, who is now in his second season as “Prairie Home” host. After Keillor retired, he continued to work with MPR on other projects.
Thile tweeted Wednesday that he was “in shock.” He said he knew nothing about the allegation, adding: “I trust that the proper steps are being taken.”
Sue Scott, a longtime voice actor on the radio show until Keillor stepped down, told the AP she was stunned. She said she saw no evidence of inappropriate behavior by him when she was on the show.
Fans also were shocked by the news. Cindy Dina, of the Minneapolis suburb of Forest Lake, said she frequently listened when Keillor hosted the show and admired Keillor, calling him “iconic.”
The MPR action Wednesday came shortly after Keillor, an avowed Democrat, wrote a syndicated column that ridiculed the idea that Minnesota Sen. Al Franken should resign over allegations of sexual harassment.
MPR said the name of the show, produced and distributed nationwide by American Public Media, would be changed. The show has been named “A Prairie Home Companion” for more than 40 years.
MPR also said it would end distribution of “The Writer’s Almanac,” Keillor’s daily reading of a poem and telling of literary events, and end rebroadcasts of “The Best of A Prairie Home Companion” hosted by Keillor.
Keillor started “A Prairie Home Companion” as a Saturday evening show in 1974, featuring tales of his fictional Minnesota hometown of Lake Wobegon “where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.”