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Don Swaim Interviews

Audio Interviews with Lewis Grizzard

Lewis Grizzard (pronounced grizzARD) couldn't write about anything more emotional than his father. His father's story is what led this sports writer to become a novelist. In My Daddy Was a Pistol: I'm a Son of a Gun, Grizzard reveals the tragedy of an unsung hero.

"My daddy came back from Korea a different man," Grizzard said.

In a time when our society knew little to nothing of the mental and emotional effects of war, Grizzard's father suffered quietly. His father started to drink heavily while serving in the military, and he couldn't sleep. In the end, he was discharged from the military because of unfit duty.

"He was bigger than life to me," Grizzard said. "He was the funniest man I ever met. What hurts me the most is to think about what he could have been. It was so sad to see what war did to him."

His father had already passed away by the time he wrote the book, but he said his book was a special gift for him. To hear more, click on the link below.

Listen to the Lewis Grizzard interview with Don Swaim, October 6, 1986
(30 min. 35 sec.)

MP3 File

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Grizzard was really a renaissance man. He was employed in five full-time jobs at once writing a Sunday column, performing in a night club act, authoring books, writing a humor column and speaking at several conventions.

Through his travels and experiences, Grizzard has become fascinated with differences between people. One of those curiosities came across in the title of his tenth book, which was a collection of columns from the Atlantic Constitution, called When My Lady Returns From the Restroom, Will I Be Too Old to Care?, dedicated to his secretary.

Men, he said, will be in and out of the restroom in 24 seconds. Women, on the other had, spend so much time it's as though "Raul is doing hair styles or having Tupperware parties in there."

He's also been keen to pick up on the differences in northern and southern accents and definitions.

"Naked for a Southern means you ain't got no clothes on. Nekked means you ain't got no clothes on and you up to somethin'."

Grizzard was a humorist at heart. It could be said it's in his blood, as his father was also known as a funny man. But, he said writing humor is hard work. "It's like being married to a nymphomaniac. The first two weeks are fun, after that it's work."

Although Grizzard is a traditionalist and prefers simpler times, he is tolerant and opened minded when it comes to homosexuals and women's rights.

"I have no problem against what they do in private. I just don't like their outrageous public behavior, like sailing down nekked down the Chattahoochee River on a Sunday afternoon. I'm all about women earning as much as males. I just don't think women should be allowed to drive or play golf."

To get a better sense of Grizzard's sense of humor, click on the link below.

Listen to the Lewis Grizzard interview with Don Swaim, October 23, 1987
(34 min. 29 sec.)