In 2013 he published a memoir, Lord of Publishing, to little notice. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, file), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. After serving in the Air Force during World War II, Lord became part owner of the German magazine Weekend, which soon went out of business. Mr. Lord oversaw Kerouacs numerous posthumous releases even as he battled the authors family for control of the estate. Representatives for the former president informed Lord in the late 1960s that Johnson wanted $1 million for the book and that Mr. Lord should accept less than his usual commission for the honor of working with him. I wasnt thinking of it; I was thinking of helping Jack, he said in an interview for this obituary in 2013. Fame magnified a drinking problem that killed him by 1969. Sterling Lord, literary agent who shepherded 'On the Road,' dies at 102 His vast roster of clients included Jack Kerouac, true-crime writer Joe McGinniss, novelist Ken Kesey and journalist. By 1955, Kerouac was ready to give up but Lord was not. One editor wrote to Lord that Kerouac does have enormous talent of a very special kind. Beloved husband of JoAnne and devoted and loving father of Tamara (Raymond). [6], In 2015, the city of Burlington held its first Sterling Lord Writers and Readers Festival to honor him. Sterling Lord, who represented Jimmy Breslin, Art Buchwald, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gordon Parks and most famously, Jack Kerouac, died Saturday in Ocala, FL. Its enabling me to live forever., Sterling Lord, Premier Literary Agent, Is Dead at 102, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/04/books/sterling-lord-dead.html. He was well-spoken and athletic, a most able negotiator who dressed in tweed and avoided most vices. Its the first time Ive ever seen you when you werent in total control, Kesey, for whom Mr. Lord represented his now-classic novel One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, later told him. When the fighting stopped, he helped edit the weekly magazine of the military publication Stars and Stripes; when the Army dropped that publication in 1948, he and a colleague briefly ran it privately, first out of Frankfurt, Germany, and then Paris, where Mr. Lord adopted the dapper dress that became his signature. He negotiated terms between McGinniss and accused killer Jeffrey MacDonald, later convicted, for the true crime classic Fatal Vision. He found a publisher for Nicholas Pileggis mob story Wiseguy and helped arrange the deal for its celebrated film adaptation, Goodfellas., In the early 1960s, Viking had asked Lord to get a blurb from Kerouac for One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Keseys first and most famous novel. Celebration of life will be held at a later date. PA., in 1907, the only daughter of Raymond Sterling Lord and Carrie Little Paul. He also prided himself on his sympathy for writers who lived far more wildly than he did. Thanks to his friendship with Theodore Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, Lord helped launch Stan and Jan Berenstain's multimillion-selling books about an anthropomorphic bear family. In 1957, the book was released, the New York Times raved, and On the Road soon entered the American canon. Sterling Lord, who started his own agency in 1952 and later merged with rival Literistic to form Sterling Lord Literistic Inc., was a failed magazine publisher who became, almost surely, the . [1][3][4], After graduation, Lord joined the U.S. Army during World War II, and was an editor for a weekly magazine supplement of Stars and Stripes. Thanks to his friendship with Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, Lord helped launch Stan and Jan Berenstains multimillion-selling books about an anthropomorphic bear family. (He was married four times in all and had one child, Rebecca.). He just turned 102 years old. A memorial service will take place at 11AM Tuesday February 7, 2023 Read More, Sarah E. Orrender Born: March 13, 1932 in Chilhowie, VA Died: February 1, 2023 in Sterling, IL Sarah E. Orrender, 90 died Wednesday February 1, 2023 at Rock River Hospice & Home in Sterling, IL Sarah (Porter) Orrender was born March 13,1932 in Chilhowie, Virginia to Coy And Read More, Patricia Simester Born: February 17, 1943 in Sterling, IL Died: February 1, 2023 in Rock Falls, IL Patricia S. Simester, 79, of Rock Falls died Wednesday February 1, 2023 at her home surrounded by family. He was the last link to what we can now see not so much as a Golden Age, but as a brief, shining moment when long-form journalism mattered in a way it no longer does and may never again.. Beulah was born on May 3rd, 1934 in Sterling Illinois, Read More, Loren W. Ekquist Born: September 16, 1933 in Drakesville, IA Died: January 26, 2023 in Sterling, IL Loren W. Ekquist, 89 of Sterling, died Thursday, January 26, 2023 at Rock River Hospice and Home in Sterling. The article reported that Lord was living in a Lower Manhattan home for seniors, and he was starting a new literary agency at 99 years old. Mr. Lord was married and divorced four times. But he was attentive to new trends and was the first ambassador of a revolutionary cultural movement: the Beats. The Lord refused them, to their great surprise and anger. [3] Aldo Leopold, a scientist and writer, was his uncle. After an influential career in publishing books for young readers,. When the magazine closed in 1949, he moved to New York. Lord was a fledgling Manhattan literary agent in 1952 when . Sterling Lord, the uniquely enduring literary agent who worked for years to find a publisher for Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" and arranged deals for everyone from true crime writer Joe. "Tony" Avila, 35 of Sterling died Sunday January 15, 2023. [7][8], Lord's four marriages all ended in divorce. Frankly, I didnt want to deal with the situation at home, he told the Des Moines Register in 2015. But this is not a well-made novel, nor a salable one nor even, I think, a good one.. Mr. Lord in 2013. Lord instead found a deal for Quotations from Chairman LBJ, a bestselling parody. But this is not a well-made novel, nor a saleable one nor even, I think, a good one.. He also became a tennis star at Grinnell College, and later a good enough player to compete against Don Budge, among others. Sign the Guest Book . After several years of unsuccessful attempts, in 2012, a screen version of On the Road was released. In 1987, Mr. Lord joined the agent Peter Matson to form Sterling Lord Literistic. He edited his high school newspaper and was a sports stringer around the same time for the Des Moines Register. And they prized his equilibrium, which reassured them when things seemed to be flying apart. His father, a furniture executive, was also an amateur bookbinder and nourished in his son a love of books. Arrangements were completed by McDonald Funeral Read More, Sylvia Rita Krummel Born: April 23, 1940 in Rock Island Died: February 4, 2023 in Rock Falls Sylvia Rita Krummel, 82, of Rock Falls, died Saturday, February 4, 2023 at her home. In the early 1960s, Viking asked Lorde to obtain publicity from Kerouac for One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Keseys first and best-known novel. But Kerouac was a shy and delicate man, Lord wrote. A number of things about this business have really caught me and made it a compelling interest, Mr. Lord told the AP in 2013. And third, Ive been able to meet some extraordinarily interesting people.. He was alert to new trends and an early ambassador for a revolutionary cultural movement: the Beats. Lord would also speak proudly of a project he declined: Lyndon Johnsons memoir. NEW YORK (AP) Sterling Lord, the uniquely enduring literary agent who worked for years to find a publisher for Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" and over the following decades arranged deals for everyone from true crime writer Joe McGinniss to the creators of the Berenstain Bears, has died. He had just turned 102. A number of things about this business have really caught me and made it a compelling interest, Lord told the AP in 2013. Mr. Lords partner at the time, Stanley L. Colbert, later claimed that things went down very differently. In 1952, he launched his literary agency, later merging with another agency, Literistic, to form Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc.[5] Kerouac entrusted him with his novel On the Road, and after more than four years Viking Press bought and published it. He was born in Sterling, Illinois, on April 19, 1936, to Read More, Mark Hamstra Born: September 9, 1958 in Morrison Died: January 16, 2023 in Sterling, IL MARK HAMSTRA, 64, of Sterling, IL, died Monday, January 16, 2023 at Allure of Sterling. Even younger editors who may have related to Kerouacs jazzy celebration of youth and personal freedom turned him down. He had just turned 102. He also became a tennis star at Grinnell College, and later a good enough player to compete against Don Budge, among others. Lord held out for $1,000. He had just turned 102. Share. But this is not a well-made novel, nor a saleable one nor even, I think, a good one.. In 1955, Kerouac was ready to give up, but Lorde was not. Rarely, he boasted, did he scour for clients, let alone steal them as others were increasingly wont to do. Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Lord was married four times, and had one child, Rebecca. Lord died Saturday at a nursing home in Ocala, Florida, according to his daughter, Rebecca Lord. Lord was married four times, and had one child, Rebecca. Another was Rowland Barber, who helped the silent Marx brother write Harpo Speaks!. It began when his mother would read to him after dinner; he went on to edit his high school newspaper and work as a sports stringer around the same time for the Des Moines Register. One editor wrote to Lorde that Kerouac really does possess a tremendous talent of a very special kind. A . Im in a business that is absolutely captivating, Mr. Lord told Publishers Weekly in 2013, 61 years after entering it. Mary Altaffer/AP Photo. Even the customarily wary wiseguys who populate Mr. Pileggis books had faith in him. His upbringing, he would later write, was the kind of pleasant, orderly world the Beats were trampling on in the fifties and sixties.. Lord studied English at Grinnell College, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1942. Lord was born in Burlington, Iowa,[1][2] on September 3, 1920. But Lord had little involvement in the project, directed by Walter Salles and starring Sam Riley and Kristen Stewart. The literary agent Sterling Lord in his office in Manhattan in 2016, surrounded by books whose authors he represented. After years of failed attempts, a filmed version of On the Road was released in 2012. These guys bad guys have unbelievable antennae, Mr. Pileggi said. By 1955, Kerouac was ready to give up but Mr. Lord was not. Johnsons The Vantage Point, ultimately published in 1971, was dismissed by critics as bland and uninformative. Mr. Lord didnt keep his original manuscript of Kerouacs On the Road, nor did he ever procure a signed copy for himself. Honestly, I didnt want to deal with the situation at home, he told the Des Moines Register in 2015. Lord died Saturday in a nursing home in Ocala, Florida, according to his daughter, Rebecca Lord. He was Fiorentina captain Astori found dead aged 31 before match. With rare persistence, he endured the initial unwillingness of publishers to take on Kerouacs unorthodox narrative and was later the longtime agent for poet and playwright Amiri Baraka, novelist Ken Kesey and poet and City Lights bookstore owner Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Subscribe to receive the latest local obituaries delivered to your inbox. Sterling Lord, the uniquely enduring literary agent who worked for years to find a publisher for Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" and over the . Some of the great sports books of the 20th century, from North Dallas Forty to Secretariat, were written by his clients. Dale was born March 11, 1944 in Greenville Township, the son of Delmar and Esther (Schrader) Sugars. Frances was born March 20, 1923 in Harmon to John and Lucy (Peters) Read More, Anthony J. Avila Born: November 23, 1987 in Sterling, IL Died: January 15, 2023 in Sterling, IL Anthony J. FILE - In this Jan. 8 2013 file photo, literary agent Sterling Lord speaks during an interview in his New York office. [3] His father, also named Sterling, was an executive at the Leopold Desk Company in Burlington who also worked as a bookbinder. Lorraine Read More, Mary Ferris's passing has been publicly announced by Schilling Funeral Home - Sterling in Sterling, IL. It also gave him a leg up on snootier agents who may have tossed their newspaper sports sections. In 1957, the book was released, The New York Times raved and On the Road soon entered the American canon. His upbringing, he would later write, was the kind of pleasant, orderly world the Beats were trampling on in the fifties and sixties.. "The Selling of the President 1968," said in an interview for this obituary in 2013, a year before he himself died: "Sterling's career encapsulated the rise and fall of literary . 12:40AM Obituaries His full list of clients produced works about sports, politics, murder and the suffering of illustrated animals. It took Mr. Lord four years to sell the book, for a measly $1,000. Chaney-Reager Funeral Home and Crematory - Sterling . Try our free interactive obituary template. Sterling Lord Death - Sterling Lord, the Uniquely Enduring Literary Agent has sadly passed away at age 102. Sterling Lord, who started his own agency in 1952 and later merged with rival Literistic to form Sterling Lord Literistic Inc., was a failed magazine publisher who became, almost surely, the . Interment will be at the Bountiful City . After serving in the Army Air Force during World War II, Lord co-owned the Germany-based magazine Weekend, which soon folded. Barbara Ehrenreich, the author, journalist and political activist who penned the groundbreaking book on minimum wage Nickel and Dimed, died Thursday. Tell their story, and publish it online for free. Books and tennis were lifelong passions for Lord, born in Burlington, Iowa, in 1920. Whether youre a lifelong resident of D.C. or you just moved here, weve got you covered. The agent eventually sold excerpts to The Paris Review and the periodical New World Writing. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. He had just turned 102. A number of things about this business really caught my eye and got me very interested, Lord told the AP in 2013. John was born on September 17, 1946 in Dixon, Read More, Kyle R. Schultz Born: May 14, 1995 in Sterling, IL Died: February 20, 2023 in Sterling, IL Kyle R. Schultz, 27 died Monday February 20, 2023 in Sterling. He had just turned 102. Lord died Saturday, Sept 3, 2022 in a Skilled Nursing home in Ocala, Florida, according to his daughter, Rebecca Lord. Mr. Lords long string of successes began with Jack Kerouacs novel On the Road, which he sold for $1,000. Sterling Lord, an Iowa native who attended Grinnell College and wrote about sports for the Des Moines Register, died Saturday in a nursing home in Ocala, Florida, his daughter said. Ruth was born on June 24, 1926 in Escanaba, MI, the daughter of Joseph and Edna (Martel) Read More, Michael Hoyle Born: May 9, 1950 in Dixon, IL Died: January 18, 2023 in Rockford, IL STERLING Michael Hoyle, age 72, died Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at Javon Bae Hospital in Rockford. He got Erica Jong $1.2 million for her novel Fanny and Judge John J. Sirica $500,000 for the paperback rights to his Watergate memoir. Americans, including millions of former G.I.s, were suddenly more mobile, less provincial and less interested in escapist fiction than they were in understanding the world around them. Even younger editors who may have related to Kerouacs jazzy celebration of youth and personal freedom turned him down. He had just turned 102. But it took him so long to sell it that a discouraged Kerouac asked him to pull it off the market. Lord even recruited a doctor who unsuccessfully attempted to get Kerouac to clean up, but the businessman eventually backed away since he was his literary agent, not his life agent., Lord attended Kerouacs funeral, sharing a limousine ride with his client Jimmy Breslin and standing by the grave alongside Allen Ginsberg, the sunlight filtering through the trees, the leaves brown after losing their fall colors.. With rare persistence, he endured the initial unwillingness of publishers to take on Kerouacs unorthodox narrative and was later the longtime agent for poet and playwright Amiri Baraka, novelist Ken Kesey and poet and City Lights bookstore owner Lawrence Ferlinghetti. [3], Last edited on 5 September 2022, at 21:13, "The Agent from Iowa Who Found Greatness", "Legendary Literary Agent Sterling Lord on How Jack Kerouac Got His Start", "Sterling Lord, Premier Literary Agent, Is Dead at 102", "Sterling Lord '42, Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters", "A Memoir by Kerouac's Agent, Sterling Lord", "Lawrence Ferlinghetti Celebrates His 100th Birthday With a Novel", "Little Boy by Lawrence Ferlinghetti review unleashing the word-hoard", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sterling_Lord&oldid=1108705940, This page was last edited on 5 September 2022, at 21:13. are running fundraising campaigns to support Turkey and Syria after the deadly earthquake, At least 10 dead as winter storm hits South and Midwest, embrace Kerouacs unconventional narrative. Publisher Alfred A. Knopf announced Wednesday that Brock-Broido died Tuesday at EDMONTON A Edmonton homeless man whose spontaneous piano performance was viewed on theinternetby millions ofpeople has died. She was born on December 12, 1928 in Rock Falls, the daughter of Ernesto and Maria (Bologna) Bellini. In 1976, his book Returning The Serve Intelligently was included in the United States Tennis Instructional Series published by Doubleday. He negotiated the terms between McGinnis and the accused killer Geoffrey McDonald, later convicted, for the true crime classic Fatal Vision. But Mr. Lord proved powerless to halt Kerouacs decline into alcoholism and drugs, during which Mr. Lord would sometimes spring for his groceries. First, Im interested in good writing. After years of failed attempts, a filmed version of On the Road was released in 2012. Some of the great sports books of the 20th century, from North Dallas Forty to Secretariat, were written by his clients. But Kerouac was a shy and fragile man, Lord wrote. Then there was his perfect moniker. For Mr. Lord, who died on Saturday his 102nd birthday in Ocala, Fla., such steadfastness was standard. He married Donna Smith on June Read More, Carla Ullrich Born: December 11, 1965 in Elizabethtown, KY Died: February 13, 2023 in Sterling, IL Carla Ullrich, age 57, of Loretto, KY, died Monday, February 13, 2023 at Rock River Hospice and Home in Sterling. He was well-spoken and athletic, a very capable negotiator, dressed in tweeds, and avoided most vices. Representatives for the former president informed Lord in the late 1960s that Johnson wanted $1 million for the book and that Lord should accept less than his usual commission for the honor of working with him. Dodgers announcer Vin Scully, Queen Elizabeth II, NBA great Bill Russell and country icon Loretta Lynn are among the notable deaths of 2022. Lord held out $1,000. Mr. Lord gradually yielded day-to-day management and eventually sold his stock. Fame increased the problem with alcohol they killed him in 1969. Gordon was born January 26, 1940, the son of Eugene and Mary Ellen Mool of El Paso, Illinois. Sterling Lord, who started his own agency in 1952 and later merged with rival Literistic to form Sterling Lord Literistic Inc., was a failed magazine publisher who became, almost surely, the longest-serving agent in the book business. Lord died Saturday in a nursing home in Ocala, Fla.,his daughter, Rebecca Lord, said. Grief Support. Johnsons The Vantage Point, ultimately published in 1971, was dismissed by critics as bland and uninformative. All rights reserved. He represented former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and Judge John J. Sirica of Watergate fame and worked often with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis during her time as an editor with Doubleday and Viking. Click or call (800) 729-8809. Into his basement-level office on Park Avenue walked a young man wearing "a light weather . Lord was married four times, and had one child, Rebecca. Gordon married Read More, Maurice Sweitzer Born: November 20, 1939 in Freeport, IL Died: January 21, 2023 in Sterling, IL Maurice E. Sweitzer, 83 of Sterling died Saturday January 21, 2023 at CGH Medical Center in Sterling. Find the right funeral home to guide your family through end-of-life planning. Alice was born April 15, 1939 in Dixon, the daughter of Clifford "Bill" and Harriet (Smith) Read More, Marcia Fields Born: February 23, 1946 in Sterling, IL Died: January 30, 2023 in Sterling, IL Marcia L Fields, age 76, passed away peacefully, after a courageous battle with cancer, on January 30th, 2023. He was 102 and his death was. [5] Little Boy, part novel, part memoir, was published by Doubleday in time for Ferlinghetti's 100th birthday. He was born on November 20, 1939 in Freeport, IL the son of Edwin and Ruth (Lynch) Read More, Alan "Al" Wildman Born: November 28, 1942 Died: January 19, 2023 in Sterling, IL Alan D. "Al" Wildman, 80, of Sterling died January 19, 2023 at CGH Medical Center in Sterling. Lord had quick success by selling film rights to two popular sports books, Rocky Grazianos Somebody Up There Likes Me and Jimmy Piersalls Fear Strikes Out. But Lords On the Road quest would prove bumpier. All told, when they toasted Mr. Lord that afternoon, it was for more than two centuries of representation. Terry was born on December 18, 1954 in Princeton, the son of Howard and Patricia Read More, William 'Bill' Janssen Born: April 19, 1936 Died: January 16, 2023 William "Bill" Janssen died on Monday, January 16, 2023, at his home in Haymarket, Virginia, after being diagnosed with lung cancer a few months earlier. Mr. Lord found the book fresh and distinctive. About 10 years ago Sterling Lord invited four long-term clients of his for lunch at the Regency Hotel in New York. After his death, Lord attempted to compete for rights to Kerouac's work against Kerouac's family and lost, and when a posthumous production . Jo enjoyed her employment with Shaw Newspaper for 32 years, working from receptionist Read More, Steven E. Moeller Born: January 3, 1956 in Dixon, IL Died: January 8, 2023 in Sterling, IL Steven E. Moeller, age 67, of Sterling, died Sunday, January 8, 2023 at The Citadel of Sterling. Some of the great sports books of the 20th century, including North Dallas Forty and Secretariat, were written by his clients. Kerouac already had completed a conventional novel, The Town and the City, but had no agent and surely needed one for his next book: On the Road was typed, as Lord was among the first to know, on a 120-foot scroll of architectural tracing paper., Lord believed that Kerouac had a fresh, distinctive voice that should be heard. But the industry was not in the mood. After years of failed attempts, a filmed version of On the Road was released in 2012. Second, I am interested in new and good ideas. Lord had met many agents during his magazine years and believed they failed to understand that the American public was becoming more urban and sophisticated. The agent eventually sold excerpts to the Paris Review and the periodical New World Writing. After graduating with a degree in English from Grinnell College in Iowa, Mr. Lord was drafted into the Army and shipped to Europe near the end of World War II. Fond as I was of Jack, I was only his literary agent, not his life agent, he wrote. He was born on May 14, 1995 in Sterling, the son of Kelly G. and Stephanie L. (Hicks) Schultz. An editor from Viking Press contacted Lord, offering an advance of $900. NEW YORK (AP) Sterling Lord, the uniquely enduring literary agent who worked for years to find a publisher for Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" and over the following decades arranged deals for everyone from true crime writer Joe McGinniss to the creators of the Berenstain Bears, has died. First, Im interested in good writing. NEW YORK (AP) Sterling Lord, the uniquely enduring literary agent who worked for years to find a publisher for Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" and over the following decades arranged deals for everyone from true crime writer Joe McGinniss to the creators of the Berenstain Bears, has died.