Garrison Keillor (born Gary Edward Keillor on August 7, 1942 in Anoka, Minnesota) is an American author, humorist, columnist, musician, satirist, and radio personality.After years of submitting stories to the New Yorker, Keillor finally began contributing to the magazine in 1969. In 1974, while researching a story about the Grand Ole Opry, he struck upon the idea for a folksy and humorous radio program. He launched the show, A Prairie Home Companion-named after the Prairie Home cemetery in Moorhead, Minnesota., on Minnesota Public Radio in 1974.
On July 6, 1974,Keillor hosted the first live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion at the Janet Wallace Auditorium at Macalester College, Saint Paul. Producer Margaret Moos sold tickets for $1 for adults (50 cents for children), and the audience of 12 produced a total gate of something less than $8.
Today, A Prairie Home Companion is heard by over 4 million listeners each week on over 580 public radio stations, and is heard abroad on America One and the Armed Forces Networks In Europe and the Far East. Keillor remembers, "When the show started, it was something funny to do with my friends, and then it became an achievement that I hoped would be successful, and now it's a good way of life."
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