The UCA Distinguished Lecture series continues Tuesday, Oct. 19, with the “Funniest Man in America” as humorist and best-selling author Dave Barry will make an appearance at the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall at 7:30 p.m. on the University of Central Arkansas campus.
Barry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning work has appeared in more than 500 newspapers in the United States and abroad. He was a humor columnist for The Miami Herald for 25 years.
His work also includes 30 books, including two that were used as the basis for the CBS TV sitcom “Dave’s World.”
It was for all his work that the New York Times gave Barry the title of “Funniest Man in America,” a title that has held steady for more than 25 years while he has made millions of Americans laugh.
Barry’s recent publications include a series of childrens books, the first of which was Peter and the Starcatchers, (2004). The book provides a backstory for the character Peter Pan and serves as a prequel to J. M. Barrie’s novel, Peter and Wendy.
The book is followed by three sequels, also set before the famous adventure with Peter and Wendy: Peter and the Shadow Thieves (2006), Peter and the Secret of Rundoon (2007), and Peter and the Sword of Mercy (2009). A series of Never Land chapter books for younger readers is based on the novels.
Dubbed “class clown” by his high school graduating class, Barry’s work earned him the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1988, “for his consistently effective use of humor as a device for presenting fresh insights into serious concerns.” He is the only humor writer to be awarded the Pulitzer for Commentary.
Besides his skill at writing, Barry’s blend of humor ranges from several mock campaigns he’s attempted for President of the United States to an appearance on national television in which he set fire to a pair of underpants with a Barbie doll.
Tickets, available at the UCA Ticket Central Box Office, are $10 for adults, $5 for students and children, $5 for UCA faculty and staff, and free for UCA students with a current student I.D. (limit of two tickets). For tickets, call (501) 450-3265 or toll free from anywhere in Arkansas at 1-866-810-0012 or visit www.uca.edu/tickets.
