Garrison Keillor

Despite being born into a Christian fundamentalist sect that looked down its nose on entertainment, satirical author and radio host Garrison Keillor developed into one of America's most beloved and misunderstood comic forces. His folksy, tongue-in-cheek demeanor barely masked a biting comic undertone, making him at once identifiable to regular Midwestern folks and a scourge to those his humor hit hardest - namely, conservative Republicans. Keillor was best known for his long-running radio show, "A Prairie Home Companion," a Saturday evening program that featured an unusual array of sketches, poems, live music and a 20-minute monologue with news from the fictional town of Lake Wobegon, a place "where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average." Thanks to his show, Keillor became a best-selling author, regular columnist and essayist for large newspapers and magazines. He was even given the opportunity by director Robert Altman to star in a film version of the radio show, starring some of Hollywood's most respected actors. Not bad for a Midwestern boy who grew up without so much as a television. After Keillor retired from "A Prairie Home Companion" in 2016, he continued hosting and producing the radio show "The Writer's Almanac," but in December 2017 after multiple allegations of sexual harassment were reported on by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota Public Radio severed all ties with Keillor, even going so far as to change the name of "Prairie Home Companion," which had continued with new host Chris Thile, to "Live from Here."