Tom Snyder died. I wanted to write a little bit of a personal rememberence of him. Snyder had the show after Letterman for most of the time I was in college. My friend, number 13 and I would joke that we were the only people in that part of Rhode Island watching. But here are three memories of Tom, that proved even then what a Genius he was.

1. Charlie Sheen had just finished his rehab stint, this was probably 95, 96. Snyder has him on to promote his comeback movie. But Snyder doesn't softball him questions about how good he feels now that he is Sober, or what it was like to go back to work. My memory is hazy but three of the questions I remember him asking that made for phenomenal TV were:

1. So what is different about having sex on Coke?
2. Does sex feel different when it's with a prostitute?
3. What do you do after you are finished with a prostitute do you have a
conversation?

And since it was live, there was nothing for Sheen to do but take it and answer.
2. Tom would always start his show with a story. One of my favorites was he once did five minutes on buying gas in Beverly Hills. Moreso than Garrison Keillior or Spalding Gray, or even one of my Hero's Eric Bogosian, if someone wanted to be a storyteller I would have them watch a few hours of those opening stories. He had no studio audience, he would laugh with the stage managers, he would read email forwards. It was compelling televison in a way that we may never see again.
3. Tom would refer to things as short-hand, and in a way when I refer to the field as the field, it is an honor to him, who refered to his lady friend as the companion.

So when I heard the news this morning I was sad, but I know somewhere Tom is having a Colortini with his Dogs and his mother.