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Will ShortzFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Will Shortz (born 26 August 1952 in Crawfordsville, Indiana) is an American puzzle creator and editor.
Early life and educationWill Shortz was born and raised on an Arabian horse farm in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Graduating from Indiana University in 1974,[1] he is the only person known to hold a college degree in enigmatology,[2] the study of puzzles. Shortz achieved this exceptional feat by designing his own curriculum through Indiana University's Individualized Major Program.[3] While at IU, Shortz pledged and was initiated into the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. He also earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law (1977), though he forwent the bar exam and began a career in puzzles instead. CareerShortz began his career at Penny Press Magazines,[4] then moved to Games magazine for 15 years, serving as its editor from 1989–1993. He has been the crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times since 1993 (the fourth in the paper's history, following Eugene Thomas Maleska), and has been the puzzle master on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday since the program was started in 1987. He is the founder of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (1978), and has served as its director since that time. He founded the World Puzzle Championship in 1992 and is a director of the U.S. Puzzle Team. Shortz is the author or editor of more than 100 books and owns over 20,000 puzzle books and magazines dating back to 1545, reportedly the world's largest private library on the subject.[5] Shortz is a member of the National Puzzlers' League. He is currently the league historian. Shortz provided the puzzle clues which The Riddler (Jim Carrey) leaves for Batman (Val Kilmer) in the film Batman Forever.[6] On his 50th birthday, Shortz received a personal note from former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who is a fan of The New York Times crossword puzzle.[5] He says that his favorite crossword of all time is the Election Day crossword of 5 November 1996, designed by Jeremiah Farrell. It had two correct solutions with the same set of clues, one saying that the "Lead story in tomorrow's newspaper (!)" would be "BOB DOLE ELECTED", and the other correct solution saying "CLINTON ELECTED".[7][8] His favorite crossword clue of all-time is "it might turn into a different story," with the solution being "SPIRALSTAIRCASE". [9] Shortz currently resides in Pleasantville, New York, where he works from home. In February 2009, Shortz helped introduce the KenKen puzzle into The New York Times.[10] PublicityThe 2006 documentary Wordplay by Patrick Creadon focuses on Shortz and the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Various famous fans of his puzzles such as Bill Clinton, Ken Burns, Jon Stewart, The Indigo Girls and Mike Mussina appear in the film. Shortz has been a guest on a number of TV shows, including Martha Stewart Living, Oprah,[11] The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report. He has also appeared on Millionaire as an expert for the "Ask the Expert" lifeline.[12] He appeared on an episode of The Simpsons titled "Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words", which first aired on 16 November 2008. He appeared in Dinner: Impossible as himself, challenging the chef to create dishes that mimic common English idioms at the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. The episode aired on 6 May 2009 (the tournament ran 27 February through 1 March of that year). He also appeared on an episode of How I Met Your Mother titled Robots Versus Wrestlers, which first aired on 10 May 2010 during season 5. He appeared as himself at an upscale dinner party that included Arianna Huffington and Peter Bogdanovich, also playing themselves.[13] Honors and awardsShortz gave the commencement address at his alma mater, Indiana University, in May 2008. In May 2010, Shortz was given an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Wabash College in Indiana.[14] References
External links
Categories: 1952 births | Living people | Crossword compilers | National Public Radio personalities | New York Times people | Indiana University alumni | People from Westchester County, New York | Puzzle designers | University of Virginia School of Law alumni | People from Montgomery County, Indiana |
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