For Mr. Lord, who died on Saturday his 102nd birthday in Ocala, Fla., such steadfastness was standard. He negotiated the terms between McGinnis and the accused killer Geoffrey McDonald, later convicted, for the true crime classic Fatal Vision. Some of the great sports books of the 20th century, from North Dallas Forty to Secretariat, were written by his clients. Sterling Lords roster of clients produced works about sports, politics, murder and the travails of illustrated animals. 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. Ports Born: April 15, 1939 in Dixon, IL Died: February 6, 2023 in Sterling, IL Alice B. But this is not a well-made novel, nor a saleable one nor even, I think, a good one.. When Kerouac died in October 1969, Mr. Lord was at his funeral, both incongruous natty as ever in his blue shirt with the white collar and a dark necktie, as the Beat writer and historian John Clellon Holmes later wrote and at home amid the aging Beats, youthful acolytes and assorted locals gathered at a Roman Catholic church in Lowell, Mass. He had just turned 102. His father, a furniture executive, was also an amateur bookbinder and nourished in his son a love of books. Kerouac already had completed a conventional novel, The Town and the City, but had no agent and 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. All told, when they toasted Mr. Lord that afternoon, it was for more than two centuries of representation. [3] A magazine called Weekend which he bought with a partner, Evan Jones, failed, and he was fired from Cosmopolitan magazine. The New York Times reported that although the list of well-known writers he represented is long, "his success began with an unknown named Jack Kerouac and his hard-to-sell novel On the Road.". In 2013 he published a memoir, Lord of Publishing, to little notice. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, file) 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 . Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Kerouac was a rough-hewed, hard-drinking New Englander who hung around with the Beats. In his 2013 memoir, Lord of Publishing, Mr. Lord remembered meeting Kerouac in 1952. The agent eventually sold excerpts to The Paris Review and the periodical New World Writing. He was well-spoken and athletic, a very capable negotiator, dressed in tweeds, and avoided most vices. Sterling Lord, who started his own agency in 1952, was a failed magazine publisher who became, almost surely, the longest-serving agent in the book business. It was a passion that Mr. Lord sated vicariously, for he was no writer: For years, his only book was on tennis, Returning the Serve Intelligently. (His own tennis serve was said to resemble a knuckleball, and to be just as hard to hit.) Books and tennis were lifelong passions. The legend of Sterling Lord dates back to 1952, when he was just getting started as a literary agent. Mr. Lord in 2013. Sterling Lord Dead: Agent For Jack Kerouac's 'On The Road' Was 102 His first marriage, he would acknowledge, helped inspire him to go into business for himself. Even younger editors who may have related to Kerouacs jazzy celebration of youth and personal freedom turned him down. Honestly, I didnt want to deal with the situation at home, he told the Des Moines Register in 2015. Sterling Lord, uniquely enduring literary agent, dies at 102 Anne was born July 26, 1927 in Gary, IN. 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.. She married Read More, Jo Anne Mills Born: May 20, 1946 in Hinsdale, IL Died: January 15, 2023 in Sterling, IL Jo Anne Mills, 76, of Dixon, passed away on Sunday, January 15, 2023, surrounded by her family and friends. Lord was born in Burlington, Iowa,[1][2] on September 3, 1920. Celebrating Literary Agent Sterling Lord and His Star-Studded Brands 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. Mr. Lords partner at the time, Stanley L. Colbert, later claimed that things went down very differently. Born to missionary parents in the West Indies, she loved the diversity of the world, believed in Read More, Alice B. Sterling Lord, uniquely enduring literary agent, dies at 102 Steven was born January 3, 1956 in Dixon, IL, the son of Alvin and Mary (Davis) Moeller. Read More, Duane Scholl Born: December 16, 1950 in Dixon, Illinois Died: January 14, 2023 in Polo, Illinois Duane Scholl, 72, of Polo died Saturday January 14, 2023 at his farm surrounded by family. His daughter, Rebecca Lord, confirmed the death but did not provide a specific cause. Local obituaries for Sterling, Colorado 342 Results Thursday, March 2, 2023 Add Photos Add a Memory Leo Stieb Leo Jerome Stieb Sr., "Shorty", age 84, was a long-time resident of Iliff,. Mr. Lord found the book fresh and distinctive. NEW YORK Lucie Brock-Broido, a prize-winning poet and educator, has died at age 61. Menu. 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. The list of well-known writers he represented is long. Lord died Saturday in a nursing home in Ocala, Florida, according to his daughter, Rebecca. He didnt bother to attend a special screening, citing mixed early reviews, and didnt show up to a private party to screen the film. Fond as I was of Jack, I was only his literary agent, not his life agent, he wrote. Visiting Ken Keseys farm just outside Eugene, Ore., Mr. Lord fell off a wagon while tossing hay. NEW YORK (AP) Sterling Lord, the uniquely enduring literary agent who worked for years to find a publisher for Jack Kerouacs 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. Sterling Lord, literary agent who shepherded On the Road, dies at 102, Kyle Kuzma, Wizards start fast and dont look back in win over Raptors, Nationals relievers see benefit in tinkering with new pitches, Roger Goodell, Muriel Bowser discussed future of RFK site in December call. Many of Mr. Lords biggest books Peter Gents North Dallas Forty, Bill Nacks Secretariat, Pete Axthelms The City Game grew out of that sports world. But he quickly added a caveat: Never, he said, could he have sold it. Sterling Lord, Jack Kerouac's Literary Agent, Dies at 102 Kerouac declined, but Lord was so impressed by the book that he ended up representing Kesey for his next work, Sometimes a Great Notion.. When, how and why music should be incorporated into a funeral service, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J.P. Richardson "The Big Bopper" and Roger Peterson, Making the holiday season bearable during grief. 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. He would later write that his upbringing was the kind of nice, orderly world that beatniks trampled on in the 50s and 60s.. Cynthia L. Dale Born: June 20, 1954 in Louisville, KY Died: March 2, 2023 in Sterling, IL Cynthia L. Dale, age 68, of Sterling, died Thursday, March 2, 2023 at her home. 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. A number of things about this business have really caught me and made it a compelling interest, Lord said in 2013. [1] While in high school, Lord was the school's newspaper editor. It took Mr. Lord four years to sell the book, for a measly $1,000. Gordon was born January 26, 1940, the son of Eugene and Mary Ellen Mool of El Paso, Illinois. Lord instead found a deal for Quotations from Chairman LBJ, a bestselling parody. Sterling Lord obituary Leading literary agent who saw the talent of an unknown writer called Jack Kerouac and doggedly pursued a publisher for On the Road Monday September 19 2022, 12.01am BST,. 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. Sterling Lord, who opened 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 certainly the longest-running agent in the book business. Fill in some information about your loved one, and we'll generate some text that you can use as a starting point for your online memorial. Thanks to his friendship with Theodore Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, Lord helped launch Stan and Jan Berenstains multimillion-selling books about an anthropomorphic bear family. Mr. Lords tennis skills he had played since he was 5 years old, was nationally ranked as a teenager and in 1949 took the French national champion Marcel Bernard to five sets proved a great asset, bestowing on a small-town Iowan a confidence that he might otherwise have lacked. A number of things about this business have really caught me and made it a compelling interest, Mr. Lord told the AP in 2013. Preston-Schilling Funeral Home, Ltd. - Dixon, Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens and Funeral Home. 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. 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. His first marriage, he would acknowledge, helped inspire him to go into business for himself. He was 102 and his death was. He also became a tennis star at Grinnell College and later became a good enough player to compete with Don Budge, among others. 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. 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. 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. Mr. Lord attended Kerouacs funeral, sharing a limousine ride with his client Jimmy Breslin and standing by the grave alongside poet Allen Ginsberg. [1] Five years later, during the coronavirus pandemic, Lord was profiled among other senior New Yorkers in The New York Times. Funeral services will be held 11:00 am, February 22, 2022 at the Val Verda 1st Ward Chapel, 2633 S. 50 W., Bountiful, UT. Grief Support. Thanks to his friendship with Theodore Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, Lord helped launch Stan and Jan Berenstains multimillion-selling books about an anthropomorphic bear family. Sterling Lord, Unique Literary Agent, Dies at 102 Obituary Elijah W. Sterling of Dover, DE, went home to be with the Lord on November 21, 2019. Celebration of life will be held at a later date. 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 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. Anyone can read what you share. (He was married four times in all and had one child, Rebecca.). Went to heaven on 12/18/03. Theodore Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. 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. Click or call (800) 729-8809. He was born on May 14, 1995 in Sterling, the son of Kelly G. and Stephanie L. (Hicks) Schultz. Browse Journal Advocate obituaries, conduct other obituary searches, offer condolences/tributes, send flowers or create an online memorial. 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.