Oberst show on Grizzard today at NHS

By W. WINSTON SKINNER winston@newnan.com The final event in Lewis Grizzard's Hometown Reunion will be a one-man tribute to him at Newnan High School today. Bill Oberst Jr. will be be doing his one-man show, "A Tribute to Lewis Grizzard," at a place Grizzard knew well -- the Newnan High School Auditorium. The performance will start at 2 p.m.
Oberst has done the show in many locations -- including the Fox Theatre in Atlanta and the local Centre for Performing and Visual Arts in Newnan. Dedra Grizzard, the writer's widow, and his former manager, Steve Enoch, created the project which made its premiere at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C. in 2000. Grizzard, who grew up in Moreland and wrote popular books and columns, died of a congenital heart ailment in 1994. "When people see and hear Bill Oberst on stage, they'll feel like they got their best friend back," Dedra Grizzard said in a 2002 interview. Oberst, 49, bears a striking resemblance to Lewis Grizzard on stage. A South Carolina native, Oberst has done one-man shows about Jesus of Nazareth, Mark Twain, John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln. He also has done work based on the 1960s nightclub routines of Rodney Dangerfield, Woody Allen, Moms Mabley and Bob Newhart. "This show is a way to respect Lewis Grizzard and the South he loved so dearly," said Oberst. "He made so many people happy. I just pray each time I go on stage that the Lord will send a little Lewis down, and that somebody's heart in that audience will be made a little brighter."

More Local

'Moms Run' raises $30K for Boston

The bombing at the Boston Marathon shocked all Americans.  But for those who run, it was particularly poignant.  Cowetan Pam Burru ... Read More

Published on Sunday, May 19, 2013

Coweta County Schools

High school graduations start Wednesday

As the Coweta County school year comes to a close, the county’s high schools are preparing for their major year-end events. The last d ... Read More

Published on Sunday, May 19, 2013

Memorial Day event scheduled in Senoia

It’s almost Memorial Day, and that means it’s time for Senoia’s 8th Annual Memorial Day Remembrance and Festival.  Th ... Read More

Published on Sunday, May 19, 2013

Student-Vet Connect

Veterans share memories

Newnan High School’s students got the privilege on Friday to thank the very men and women Armed Forces Day today commemorates. About 1 ... Read More

Published on Saturday, May 18, 2013

Museum opens to public today

A select group of Newnan-Coweta Historical Society members and supporters got a sneak peek at the new McRitchie-Hollis Museum at 74 Jackson ... Read More

Published on Saturday, May 18, 2013