Thursday, December 13, 2007

Book signing in Sarasota Jan 17

I will be signing books at Circle Books, St. Armands Circle, Longboat Key, Sarasota Florida, Jan 17 2008. To get the media interested I wrote the following cover letter for the publicity.

Screamer: The Forgotten Voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers is a book that had to be written. The subject should have written it, but he past away in 1986 leaving notes for me, his son, to parcel through to a coherent tome. I chose to write the book in the first person as this is the way he would have written it. It is to you, the reader, to determine if this approach is appropriate.

I had a lot of fun delving into my late father’s closet and coming up with what others have referred to as “extraordinary,” “fascinating,” “fantastic,” “read it with great pleasure.” In the first 45 days that the book has been available nearly 200 books have been sold. (Go to the website, www.murraytuckerwriter.com, to see what others have said).

Aside from the early and mostly unknown stories behind the generally lackluster Pittsburgh sports teams chronicled in the book, there is humor, romance and a little bit of R-rated material. Sales have gone to people scattered throughout the U.S., Canada, and even to Hong Kong.

While chock full of interesting anecdotes, you will find the story of Joe Tucker’s life an easy read. I dare say, several people, mainly women, have written to tell me that they could not put it down. One decided to read under the hairdryer and became so engrossed that she nearly burned off her coiffure.

The humor begins with several stories of legendary clown, Bill Cullen. My father “discovered” Bill working in his father’s garage. The stories with renowned Pirate announcer, Bob Prince, continue the saga. Then there are those tales of how do you take care of nature when there is no bathroom handy.

But Screamer is the story of a man, a man who persisted against overwhelming odds to become the dean of pro football announcers, only to be thrown on the dung heap of celebrity and forgotten with the passage of time. His fans endure to this day, although most are over 60.

If you have an interest in reviewing my work, or in discussing (interviewing) me, you can contact me at (phone #) or email murtuc2@juno.com. I will be in Sarasota during the month of January and the above numbers are for our cell phones.

Sincerely,

Murray Tucker

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Art Runs in the Family

I hunch that art runs in my veins. My grandfather painted and my sister is an artist. I treated myself to my first formal art class five years ago at age 60 and now am serious about painting and pleased to have been accepted in six juried shows.

My mom, Janet Klineman, had some interest in art when she was growing up. It wasn’t until she was visiting four and a half years ago that she got back into art. Seeing a still life set up that I was working on she became very interested. I suggested that she join me and gave her some charcoal and paper. She enjoyed drawing and began taking lessons when she returned to her home in Sarasota. She now is very serious, taking watercolor classes on a regular basis and exhibiting her work.

This fall she had two pieces on display at the Gulf Gate Branch, Selby Library as part of the Sarasota Adult and Community Education Center’s advanced watercolor class taught by Mary Lou Ringers. Here’s a photo of Mom and her painting of a sheep.

Mom’s portrait of her niece was accepted into the Arts Center Sarasota juried members’ exhibition. All works are “Twelve Inch by Twelve Inch.” This show is currently running until December 29th

Mom particularly enjoys painting animals and is often commissioned to paint watercolor portraits of pets. You can see more of her artistry by visiting: http://www.joannetuckerart.com/galleryjanet_klineman.html

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Book signing


My biography of my father, Screamer: The Forgotten Voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers, literally flew off the shelf at Off the Beaten Path, a small independent bookstore in Steamboat Springs, Colorado on Thursday. Steamboat is a town of 10,000 permanent residents, and many skiers. Weather was threatening, but a group of over twenty braved the potential of heavy snow to listen to my presentation and to have me sign their books. Surprising to me was the number of twenty and thirty-somethings who never lived in Pittsburgh who bought the book.

I talked for thirty-minutes using excerpts from the book along with a discussion of my father’s philosophy a full version of which can be found by visiting: www.staatalent.com/Pages-News/Tucker.htm

I focused on the subject of early sports broadcasting, some of the people my father worked with such as Bob Prince, Rosey Rosewell, Bill Cullen and his philosophy of being prepared based on his first experience interviewing. You can hear a reading on Bill Cullen by visiting: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjPVP-6hcC8.

Read more about the book, including excerpts by visiting my website: www.murraytuckerwriter.com

Monday, December 3, 2007

Recent paintings

Yesterday we went snowshoeing on a trail across the street from our home in Steamboat Springs. The fresh snow, referred to here as powder, decorated the trees creating a winter wonderland. Six weeks ago, when we had the a similar snow, I painted a view of the trees from my studio window. It is now in a Holiday exhibit at the Mountain Leisure Gallery in Yampa, Colorado. I call it First Snow – 2007! It is a soft pastel, 12” by 16”.

On Saturday I finished an oil painting that I had been working on for several weeks. It was inspired by a picture taken by Murray at the Steamboat Botanic Garden. I am fascinated by the amazing uniqueness of each rose and strive to find the rhythmic pattern of the petals! This piece is 30” by 30” on 1 ½” wrapped canvas. To see more of my art work and to contact me if you are interested in buying any of my work please visit www.joannetuckerart.com!