Stan Zemanek
July 12th, 2007 at 07:27pm
Dear Stuart,
I just heard the news about Stan Zemanek passing away earlier today. It is very sad to hear that the tumour finally claimed him after such a long battle which seemed to be going well for Stan for so long.
I was just saying to someone the other day how I regret having never spoken to Stan despite being a listener for many years, and today that regret is very strong.
I suppose we can take comfort from the fact that Stan is no longer in pain. I can't imagine what he must have gone through, it really is such a shame that someone as kind and caring as Stan had to go through all that he did.
May he rest in peace, I know we will never forget him.
My most sincere condolences go to Marcella and the rest of Stan's family. I will be sure to send them a letter in the morning.
I hope tonight isn't too hard on you Stuart, for what it's worth you have done a great job filling the shoes of a great man.
Sincerely,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra
Entry Filed under: Talkback Emails
12 Comments
1. John_T | July 12th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
He will be greatly missed. Truly a fantastic man. What a loss for Australian Radio. RIP Stan Zemanek.
2. Pen 15 | July 13th, 2007 at 8:09 am
Condolences to Stans family.
I’d like to think Stan is now somewhere in Hell, telling Janis Joplin to get a job and start looking after her man.
3. John_Barnes | July 13th, 2007 at 8:52 am
I sent an email to Mike Welsh asking him to get somebody to enter my name into the Condolence Book, as it’s too far to drive to the 2CC studios at Mitchell.
John Barnes.
4. Walter | July 13th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Condolences!
5. Samuel | July 13th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
Wherever Stan is Pen 15, I’m sure he’s having an awful lot of fun.
After all the kind things he did for listeners behind the scenes, I think he would be up there in heaven.
It’s amazing that Bruce The Goose and Stan have both passed away within a few weeks of each other. Perhaps the show goes on in the afterlife.
I will post the letter that I am sending to Marcella in a few days. At the moment I’m having trouble finishing it, I broke up in tears a short time ago whilst listening to one of the songs he enjoyed playing.
6. John_Barnes | July 13th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
Don’t break down !
7. Pen 15 | July 15th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
You think Stan would be in Heaven? Interesting.
Unfortunately, as I never spoke to Stan, I can’t comment on any nice things he may have done behind the scenes for people. As I can only comment on the disgustng and boorish way he treated people on air, on both television and radio, I think he would be going straight to Hell.
What nice things did he allegedly do for people? I think it would be interesting to reconcile any rumored stories of niceness with the well-documented history of rudeness.
8. John_T | July 16th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
He was a legend in disguise. All of his on air shannagans was just an act. He was a good samaritan and a gentleman in reality, always willing to shame wrong-doers by utilising the media. Thats the problem, most people only heard his on air behaviour.
9. Samuel | July 17th, 2007 at 6:41 am
Stan did many good things behind the scenes, and I think a lot of people are only finding out about them now that he is gone.
A few things which spring to mind are that Stan helped out “Bruce The Goose” with various bills that he had difficulty paying, Stan would take the time to contact people who had been genuinely offended by something Stan had said and written in about it…Stan wasn’t really out to offend people, the show was an act, and the majority of the callers accepted that and rang in just to be yelled at.
Stan did many good things away from the radio station as well. One thing in particular that springs to mind is that he, when he found out that a neighbour had hired a babysitter, made an effort to let the neighbour know that they didn’t need to spend money on a babysitter as he and Marcella would be more than happy to do the job for free.
Off the air Stan was a gentle, kind soul, and well respected within the media industry as a result.
10. Pen 15 | July 18th, 2007 at 12:11 am
Not buying it, Sam. I’m sure if I passed tomorrow, there would be a few people willing to say nice things about me, regardless of the nasty things I may have done in my time.
Personally, I think that Stans disease was some sort of retribution from a higher Power for him basing a big part of his career on being nasty for no reason.
11. Samuel | July 18th, 2007 at 1:47 am
There’s nothing to buy Pen. Stan’s gruff on-air appearance was an act…in reality he was a nice, kind person.
I’m not going to try and convince you of that…it’s up to you what you want to believe.
12. Pen 15 | July 18th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
But thats my point, Sam. You’ve said that you have never spoken to him, so how do you really know that? All we have to go on are the testimonials of friends and family, who are hardly going to speak ill of him once he was diagnosed with his disease.
I stick by my point. if someone is going to make a living out of being rude (pretend or otherwise), then they can expect retribution.
Looks like we agree to disagree.