March 1, 2005

UCSB Arts & Lectures presents writer/columnist Dave Barry in a hilarious afternoon of stories and jokes at the Arlington Theatre

Summary Facts:

• Dave Barry
• An Afternoon with the Humorist
• Barry is the only humor columnist to win a Pulitzer Prize for commentary
• More than 500 newspapers syndicated his column at the time of his sabbatical in January 2005
• Sunday, April 3
• 3 pm / Arlington Theatre
• General public $35 / UCSB students $20
• Tickets/Information: UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or the Arlington Ticket Agency at (805) 963-4408

Zany humorist Dave Barry—the only humor columnist to win a Pulitzer Prize for commentary—will share his outrageous stories, ruminate on current events and be his generally whacky self for a hilarious afternoon on Sunday, April 3 at 3 pm at the Arlington Theatre, 1317 State Street, Santa Barbara. In January 2005 when Barry began a sabbatical after thirty years of weekly columns, his work was syndicated in over 500 newspapers. At that time Steve Martin wrote in the Washington Post: “I will miss Dave. I’m going to miss every Sunday morning when I would run outside and get the paper and read his column and laugh out loud and feel sick with envy because he’s so funny. Now I’m just going to have to settle for knowing that he’s still there, in Florida, being funnier than all of us put together, but that the rat is keeping it to himself.”

Dave Barry has written over 25 best-selling books including Babies and Other Hazards of Sex, Dave Barry Slept Here: A Short of History of the United States, Dave Barry Turns 50, Dave Barry is from Mars AND Venus, Dave Barry’s Book of Bad Songs, Dave Barry in Cyberspace, Dave Barry’s Complete Guide to Guys and Boogers Are My Beat. The Boston Globe writes, “Barry’s humor draws on what might best be described as a wacko-everyman persona: part goofball, all guy.” That same Globe article goes on to quote a Washington Post story about Barry in which he describes his process: “By the time I’m done writing, I think, ‘Boy, is this stupid.’ The idea is to make it look like it took me 15 minutes and I was drunk. But that’s all a lie. Actually, it took me a long time, and it’s drudgery.”

Barry’s website www.davebarry.com offers the following biographical paragraphs: “Barry went to Haverford College, where he was an English major and wrote lengthy scholarly papers filled with sentences that even he did not understand. He graduated in 1969 and eventually got a job with a newspaper named—this is a real name—the Daily Local News, in West Chester, PA, where he covered a series of incredibly dull municipal meetings, some of which are still going on.

“In 1975 Barry joined Burger Associates, a consulting firm that teaches effective writing to businesspersons. He spent nearly eight years trying to get various businesspersons to for God’s sake stop writing things like ‘Enclosed please find the enclosed enclosure,’ but he eventually realized that it was hopeless. So in 1983 he took a job at The Miami Herald, and he has been there ever since, although he never answers the phone. In 1988 he won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary, pending a recount. His column appears in several hundred newspapers, yet another indication of the worsening drug crisis.”

Dave Barry also has the honor of being the first humor columnist to inspire a prime-time television sitcom. CBS aired the show Dave’s World, starring Harry Anderson, from 1993-1997.

In a second biography on his website, he claims: “Dave plays lead guitar in a literary rock band called the Rock Bottom Remainders, whose other members include Stephen King, Amy Tan, Ridley Pearson and Mitch Albom. They are not musically skilled, but they are extremely loud. Dave has also made many TV appearances, including one on the David Letterman show where he proved that it is possible to set fire to a pair of men’s underpants with a Barbie doll.”

Courtesy of Borders, books by Dave Barry will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

Dave Barry is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures and sponsored by the Inn of the Spanish Garden. Tickets for the event are $35 for the general public and $20 for UCSB students, who must show valid ID when purchasing tickets and at the door. Tickets are on sale now and can also be purchased at the door, if still available.

For tickets or more information,
call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or
the Arlington Ticket Agency at (805) 963-4408.

Editor: For photos, please call
George Yatchisin at (805) 893-3494.