R.I.P. Louis Rukeyser

Rukeyser died yesterday at age 73 of bone cancer.

PBS's Wall Street Week, was a staple of Friday nights around the home of Robbo's youth. I could not for the life of me now tell you anything specific about what was said. Instead, I'm left with the memory of the cushy sets, the horrible puns and the general sense of elegant, good humoured courtliness that Rukeyser radiated.

Oh, and the theme music. What WSW fan could forget that? In fact, I remember it even had a title that appeared in the credits - "[Something] in Twelve Bars" or the like. Even now, it's going through my head - indeed, I'll probably go on hearing it all day.

UPDATE: "TWX in Twelve Bars" was the name of the theme. And for you young'uns, I must emphasize that I'm talking about the original that was used in the 70's and early 80's. I gather it was revamped at some point, but never heard the updated version.

YIPS from Steve: Well, that sucks. WSW was a staple at our house too, and it was a regular Friday night thing after getting hitched, particularly since it came on just before the X-Files. (Talk about your jarring disconnect)

I learned so much from that show, mainly in terms of keeping things relatively simple and recognizing that there are a whole range of styles of investing, and the key is to find what you are comfortable with and keep at it over time. The monologue at the beginning was always hilarious, but the panel was usually the best part. What was always funny would be when they'd get some young turk on there and, with an absolute twinkle in his eye, Looie and the panel would quite graciously and with good cheer pick his pocket, clean his clock, and hand him his freshly pressed suit jacket. Flash was not the point.

My favorite would always be the pre-Christmas episode in October-ish where he would give the new toy preview, who was making what and how retail sales were looking.

The man could do deadpan better than anyone I've ever seen.

It's sad too because it represents the passing of an age in broadcasting. WSW with Louis Rukeyser was kind of like Mel Allen's This Week in Baseball, which also had a very catchy 70s theme song. They were products of a time where you'd get your sports/markets roundup and highlight reels once a week, rather than hourly, and therefore had the ability to digest them with some aplomb. Not that I have any problem with Chris Berman and Maria Bartiromo, but there is some virtue in a life lived more slowly.

One wonders if we had had Maria Bartiromo as a serving wench/financial analyst at Karl Marx's London coffe house, perhaps we could have been spared all that subsequent silliness. Maybe he would have titled his seminal work "Das Kapital!" instead.