Featured Speaker Series
Humorist and Best-Selling Author, Dave Barry to Speak
Humor columnist and best-selling author, Dave Barry will be the featured speaker at Kent State University at Tuscarawas on April 10. The presentation begins at 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center, with lobby doors opening at 6:30 p.m. Sponsored by the Voices of Distinction Series, Barry will speak on "The Wit and Wisdom of Dave Barry."
The presentation is free and open to the public, however tickets are required and will be available beginning April 3 at the Performing Arts Center Box Office, which is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are limited to four per person and must be picked up in person. They will not be available online.
"This is Dave Barry's second Voices of Distinction appearance at Kent State Tuscarawas," said Pam Patacca, public relations coordinator. "He spoke in April 2005 to a full house. His presentation was so funny and entertaining, we knew we had to bring him back to campus to speak again."
For 25 years, Barry was a syndicated columnist whose work appeared in more than 500 newspapers in the United States and abroad. He was a columnist for the Miami Herald from 1983 to January 2005. In 1988, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.
Barry has also written more than 30 books. The two most recently released are Lunatics, co-written with Alan Zweibel, and a children's book, The Bridge to Never Land, co-written with Ridley Pearson. Among his best-selling books are Dave Barry Talks Back, Dave Barry is from Mars and Venus and Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway. Two of his books, Dave Barry Turns 40 and Dave Barry's Greatest Hits, were used as the basis for the CBS television sitcom "Dave's World," in which Harry Anderson played the role of Barry. He has made many TV appearances, including one on the "Late Show with David Letterman."
In addition to writing, Barry plays lead guitar in a literary rock band, the Rock Bottom Remainders, whose members include Stephen King, Amy Tan, Ridley Pearson and Mitch Albom.
Born and raised in Armonk, NY, Barry now lives in Miami, Fla., with his wife, Michelle, a sportswriter. He has two children.
Previous Speakers in our Voices of Distinction Series
Michael Moriarty March 14, 1996
Pat Choate
Bob Woodward
Marlin Fitzwater
Joe Theismann
Catherine Crier
Mike McCurry
Jack Kemp
Peter Leyden
Greg Gumbel
Ralph Nader
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Peter Bergen
Andrea Mitchell
Lynne Russell
Frank Deford
Terry Bowden
James Earl Jones
Dave Barry
Bob Huggins
Kathleen Parker
Garrison Keillor April 12, 2006
Neal Boortz October 12, 2006
David Baldacci November 7, 2006
Ken Burns April 9, 2007
Clark Kellogg October 10, 2008
Rick Pitino November 5, 2007
Capitol Steps March 6, 2008
Todd Crandell April 8, 2008
Rick Reilly November 20, 2008
George Stephanopoulos March 17, 2009
Kimberly Dozier October 13, 2009
Charlie Spoonhour March 8, 2010
Bob Peterson March 17, 2010
Cal Ripken November 3, 2010
Andre Thornton April 5, 2011
David Eisenhower October 12, 2011