We are deeply saddened by the
passing of Jack Horkheimer. For 31 years, Jack's passion was encouraging people
to "keep looking up". He was our original explorer and because of him, many of
us look up often. Somehow, he's made a friendly place out of all that space and
mystery. With all the
Last week, knowing that Jack could
not come to the studio, we decided to invite a guest host to take his place for
September. We taped the new shows on Monday and Tuesday and edited them from
Wednesday through Friday. We finished editing in the early afternoon on Friday;
not knowing that Jack had passed away. After much conversation over the weekend,
we decided to distribute the September shows because that is what Jack would
have wanted. He wants us to explore our night skies and allow our imaginations
to run wild.
Our future plans are quite simple.
We will continue to produce Jack Horkheimer's Star Gazer, with a guest host,
through the end of the year. During this time we will develop a new series, with
a new name, and a new graphics package but one that will stay true to Jack's
passion for astronomy. His spirit will infuse everything we do over the coming
months.
Since the announcement of Jack
Horkheimer’s passing, we have received a number of emails from viewers about
Jack. We thought we’d like to share them with you.
Jon from
I was saddened to read that Jack
died this past Friday. I've watched him for two decades on our local PBS
station and for the last couple of years right here on the web courtesy of
his YouTube segments. The world will be a bit less enjoyable without him. Will
the Stargazer website and weekly broadcast episodes continue on in his absence?
Will you simply rerun past weekly episodes timed to coincide with the seasons?
Or will someone step in and try to replace him? My sincere condolences to his
family and friends....
Matthew
wrote:
I don't know who to send this to,
but I was moved to write after hearing that Mr. Horkheimer has passed away. I
watched Star Hustler and Star Gazer practically since it's inception, and came
to really enjoy whatever followed Claude Debussey's Arabesque #1 late at night.
Like the late Tim Russert, Mr. Horkheimer added something intangible, classy and
positive to the world of Television. It is strange to say, but his happiness,
enthusiasm and sincerity (and lovable unabashed corny nerdiness) educated me,
and gave me a sense of familiar security whenever his show came on late at
night. He made something good happen regularly for many years, which is a rare
feat today. I could go on, but suffice to say that he will be greatly missed. I
plan to look up at the sky tonight and remember.
Adam from
Warmest regards at
this time. I have been watching our beloved Stargazer most recently on WPBT
Miami. But as I’m almost 39 years old I remember watching the Stargazer as a
small child way up in the upper peninsula of
And finally the Wall
Street Journal wrote a touching tribute to Jack which you can read at
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704125604575449873352275464.html?KEYWORDS=horkheimer
Thank You for your decision to continue the show in one form or another. I've watched Jack for almost 30 years and miss him.
Posted by: Dann McDade | September 23, 2010 at 04:32 PM