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Jack Horkheimer, 'The Star Hustler,' Dies At 72

Posted by Soulskill on from the keep-looking-up dept.

krswan writes "I'll bet many readers had their interest in astronomy fanned by Jack Horkheimer through his long running 'Star Hustler' (later changed to 'Star Gazer') program on PBS. His joy and enthusiasm for basic naked-eye astronomy was contagious, and more than once got me in big trouble as a kid for sneaking outside when his show ended at 12:05am, trying to find whatever he was presenting that week. Horkheimer passed away on Friday. There's a nice story at Sky and Telescope, including the epitaph he already wrote for himself: 'Keep Looking Up was my life's admonition // I can do little else in my present position.'"

5 of 84 comments (clear)

  1. Keep Looking Up by hakey · · Score: 4, Informative

    queue Première arabesque: I. Andantino con moto (Claude Debussy)

  2. Damn. by fyrewulff · · Score: 3, Informative

    Enjoyed watching him as a kid and into adulthood. He never talked down to the viewer and just had that genuine interest in astronomy that made you want to go out and look at the sky (as best you could inside heavy city light pollution)

    --
    "We need to get over this notion, that, for Apple to win... Microsoft must lose." - Steve Jobs, 1997
  3. I met Jack in 1987, he will be missed by RedMage · · Score: 5, Informative

    Jack was a charismatic person with an infectious personality. He always was genuine, and had a passion for teaching astronomy. I was traveling and visiting various planetariums up and down the East Coast, with a final stop in Miami to visit the Space Transit. Jack made me feel very welcome and gave me a ton of his time explaining what made his planetarium special. Eventually I came to know that it wasn't the equipment (although that draws the public in initially), but the people that make these programs successful. Jack Horkheimer brought the wonder of the universe down to earth for many people, and I'm glad to have known him, even if only for a short while.

    --
    }#q NO CARRIER
  4. Thanks Jack by beet31425 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Every time I hear Debussy's first arabesque, I will always think of the stars.

  5. That show was vital for me in the pre-Internet era by Average_Joe_Sixpack · · Score: 4, Informative

    It was the only "real time" info I and many other American amateur astronomers had for events like the sudden appearance of bright comets.