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OBITUARIES

'Where the Wild Things Are' Author Maurice Sendak Has Died at 83

by Ethan Anderton
May 8, 2012
Source: NY Times

The music world is still reeling after last week's passing of Adam Yauch, also known as MCA from the Beastie Boys and co-founder of Oscilloscope Laboratories, the company behind films like Exit Through the Gift Shop and We Need to Talk About Kevin. Now the literary world is mourning the loss of one of their own as NY Times reports Where the Wild Things Are author Maurice Sendak has passed away at 83. His classic book was turned into a film in 2009 by Spike Jonze, and the author worked with the director and Lance Bangs on the documentary Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak.

If you want to watch the full-length documentary about Maurice Sendak, it's all on ~~YouTube~~ (pulled):

Ironically enough, that documentary was also distributed by Adam Yauch's Oscilloscope Laboratories. In addition to writing the aforementioned iconic book from 1963, Sendak has also illustrated over 100 other stories over his expansive career in literature, which ironically enough began after he saw Disney's Fantasia in theaters at age 12.. His work had become so iconic that even President Barack Obama read from Where the Wild Things Are at the White House Easter Egg Roll. More recently, Sendak has been on TV messing around with Stephen Colbert on "The Colbert Report" as the political satirist recently wrote his own children's book, I Am a Pole and So Can You! with Sendak's praise, "The sad thing is I like it!"

Sendak's illustrations have informed artists' work for decades, and will resonate for generations to come, in literature, film (especially with Spike Jonze) and beyond. As someone who grew up with Where the Wild Things Are and was fascinated by the peculiar stories and amazing illustrations that came from Sendak's mind, the passing of this literary giant is truly a sad day for me. He will be sorely missed. Rest in peace.

Filed under Feat, Obituaries

From around the web:

Candle_Wick

what a great talent. glad he had such a long life. rest in peace. his books shaped mine, and countless other's, young lives.
tzarinna

Pierre and Chicken Soup with Rice were my favorite, I had the 45s that came with the books. Those were my jam back in the 70s. RIP, Mr. Sendak.
SuicidalOptimist

I saw him kiiinda recently on The Colbert Report in the 'Grim Colberty Tales' segment and he was absolutely hilarious. He was such a character with a great sense of humor. It's kinda weird to find out he passed away after having "just seen him". At least he seemed to have lived a fairly long, happy and successful life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ5hK-D8kRQ Crapola

I think his death seems pretty sweeped over, seems a Beastie Boy had more impact on the folk I know than him. I've watched a couple of short interview with him and really like his attitude. He didn't give a shit about anything else but his work and had quite a lot to say about life. Sad news again.
son_et_lumiere

of course his output was a lot more than just the one book, but i reckon the majority of my friends as kids, like me, had a copy of Where The Wild Things Are somewhere at home (i still do), which usually led to a wider discovery of his work and his worlds. and @SuicidalOptimist:disqus and @0b4f1da6f0d30ffc9bcafbcca817cbb5:disqus are spot on about his attitude to life. RIP, sir.