(CelebrityAccess) — Patrick Jake O’Rourke, the noted libertarian satirist, author, and regular contributor to publications such as the Atlantic Monthly, and The Weekly Standard, has died. He was 74.
His publisher, Grove Atlantic, announced his passing on social media, stating that he died from complications of lung cancer.
“P.J. was one of the major voices of his generation. He was also a close friend and partner for more than 40 years. P.J.’s loyalty and commitment to first Atlantic Monthly Press and then Grove Atlantic enabled me to keep the company independent. For that I will forever be in his debt,” said Morgan Entrekin, CEO and Publisher of Grove Atlantic in a statement published after O’Rourke’s death.
“His insightful reporting, verbal acuity and gift at writing laugh-out-loud prose were unparalleled. From his classics Modern Manners and Parliament of Whores to How The Hell Did This Happen, a result of his dismay at the 2016 election – P.J. kept providing fierce, smart, always amusing reports on the American condition. My thoughts and prayers are with Tina and their children,” Entrekin added.
Born in Toledo in 1947, O’Rourke attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and then attended graduate school as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow at John Hopkins.
After graduating with an M.A. in English, O’Rourke wrote for several small outlets in Baltimore and New York, including Harry and the New York Ace before landing a role as Editor-In-Chief at the humor magazine National Lampoon in 1973.
O’Rourke next landed at Rolling Stone, where as the magazine’s head of foreign affairs, he covered international politics. He also wrote for publications such as Vanity Fair, Esquire, Atlantic Monthly, and The Weekly Standard.
In the 1990s, O’Rourke relocated from Washington D.C. to New Hampshire and became the H.L. Mencken Research Fellow at the Cato Institute and focused on writing humorous examinations of American life through the libertarian lens.
O’Rourke was also a regular on television and radio, appearing frequently on the panel for NPR’s comedy quiz show “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” as well as on late-night panels shows such as Real Time with Bill Maher.
O’Rourke is survived by his wife Tina, and three children.
