Leigh Brown was an unseen force behind Shep. She was the producer for his nightly radio show on WOR in New York. He dictated his books and manuscripts to her. They were constant companions and on March 2, 1977 were married until Leigh's death in on July 16,1998. She was an author in her own right writing "The Show Gypsies" which was published in 1975.
Note: According to the Florida Death Certificate, Leigh's first name was listed as Nancy, her middle name as Leigh, and her last name as Shepherd. Her parents are listed as Edward V. Prescott and Dorothy Mears. She was born in Newark, NJ, on May 1, 1939.
She was married to Robert Siroka from January 4, 1958 - 1964 with whom she had a daughter - Elizabeth.
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Shep "interviews" Leigh
There was a special on WNET channel 13 New York sometime in '68-'69. It was called "The Three Worlds of Jean Shepherd".
The show was 30 minutes long and there were three ten minute segments covering radio, live performances (Limelight Shows), and writing books. It was narrated by "John" (Gambling?) who also interviews Shep for each segment. In the last segment interview about writing, Shep tells John about how he writes late at night after the radio show and uses Leigh as a sounding board. He then turns to Leigh and 'interviews' her as you hear.
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Further information:
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Phantom of the Open Hearth - "Lovely Arlita"
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A Christmas Story
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Girl being sketched by Shep - Jean Shepherd's America - New Orleans
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Autograph - Courtesy Pete Delaney
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Photo Credits |
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