born Aug. 7, 1942, Anoka, Minn., U.S.
U.S. radio entertainer and writer.
He began writing for The New Yorker in college and worked as a staff writer there until 1992. In 1974 he created and hosted the public-radio humour and variety show A Prairie Home Companion , about the fictional Minnesota town Lake Wobegon. He then created a new program, The American Radio Company (1987–91), but revived A Praire Home Companion in 1993. His books include Lake Wobegon Days (1985), Leaving Home (1987), The Sandy Bottom Orchestra (1996), and Me (1999).