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 Two
National Headliner Awards. Two Emmys. Dedicated fans from sea to shining
sea. It was all just a dream when Rick Horowitz was born in a small
but tasteful log cabin in Brooklyn, NY. But it was...an American dream.
Rick was published for the first time at age 7 -- a
deeply moving poem (key rhyme: "beach" and "screech") about wanting
to be a lifeguard when he grew up. The poem appeared in the monthly
newsletter of a local bank, giving Rick the totally erroneous impression
that writing and money were somehow related.
By the time he reached third grade, Rick's work was
receiving Mrs. Domsky's ultimate compliment: "Who helped you?" (Nobody.)
In most other respects, though, his childhood and adolescence were practically
normal.
Rick spent his college days at Brandeis University,
dividing his time among the varsity baseball team, the varsity snack
bar and the varsity newspaper, where The Rick Horowitz Column made its
debut. He also graduated from NYU Law School, and actually worked as
a lawyer in a Washington law firm and as a legislative assistant on
Capitol Hill, where he saw democracy -- and occasionally interns --
in action.
After proving that legal practice, at least, doesn't
make perfect, Rick began writing full time; his twice-weekly mix of
political satire and offbeat social commentary soon won him a fiercely
loyal following of copy-shop clerks and mail carriers. He also served
a stint as a commentator for National Public Radio's "All Things
Considered."
When the Midwest beckoned, Rick was ready, and his
well-honed outsider's perspective guaranteed there'd be plenty of life
beyond the Beltway, too. Rick celebrated the latest millennium by snagging
his second National Headliner Award, another in a string of accolades
that includes awards from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists
and statewide honors for magazine writing and sports(!) columns.
Rick's foray into television commentary, meanwhile,
has already captured seven Emmy nominations and a pair of actual statuettes,
while his "Getting Your Words' Worth" writing workshops
have received rave reviews at American Press Institute seminars and
other places where journalists gather to goose their gerunds and pump
up their participles.
Rick-in-a-Phrase? An editor who knows the business
puts it this way: "One of the funniest and most insightful people in
America today." And from those National Headliner judges? "He's unique:
a serious humorist."
That lifeguard job will just have to wait.
©2008 Rick Horowitz. All rights reserved.
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