Cecil "Corky"
1942-2001
Cecil Richmond, Jr. was born in
Public Schooling
Corky lived in Greens Fork,
College
Corky received a music scholarship to attend the University
of Wisconsin School of Music. Although
he was an excellent musician, he decided during his sophomore year that he
really wasn’t cut out for a career in that field. He enrolled at
Early Employment
Corky’s parents, Cecil and Becky, ran a service station in
Greens Fork, but later moved to Economy,
Military Service
The Vietnam War was already heating up by 1964, and the military
draft loomed over young men of college age at the time. In order to be allowed to leave the country
before he graduated, Corky struck a deal with the Navy whereby he agreed to
join the service immediately after graduation if he was allowed to travel in
Travel
Corky always loved to travel. He delayed graduation from
Employment at The
With his interest in travel, music, literature, and the arts, Corky was a natural fit for a position in the Arts and Drama Department of The Indianapolis Star, the state’s largest and most influential newspaper. After fulfilling a mandatory period of service during his first year on the Copy and City Desks, Corky moved fulltime to the Arts and Drama Section. For the first 8 years, he had a weekly column in which he reviewed mainstream pop, rock, jazz, and symphonic musical performances in addition to reviews of the theater. He also wrote book reviews and feature articles during this time. His stories could excite the readers, as seen in personal letters that reflect the reaction of two people who read his review of a Frank Sinatra concert. One called him a “super writer” and said he was delighted to add Corky’s review to his collection of Sinatra memorabilia. However, another took him to task for daring to suggest that Sinatra’s voice was sometimes “frazzled” around the edges. That writer went on to say that despite the criticism, he liked the write-up.
Corky was also an accomplished photographer and many of his
photos appeared in The Star,
including some shots of the
It was in the latter part of his career at The Star that Corky became the travel editor. His philosophy of writing in this area is summed up in a story published in 1992. “In all of the features, writers try to cull from their experiences those things which will be of the most interest and service to our readers. The writers all try to reflect what’s wonderful—as well as what has warts. There is no mandate to be a kinder and gentler travel writer.”4 Corky was very proud of the fact that more than 90 percent of the main travel stories published in The Star at that time featured one or more locally written pieces that could be found in no other newspaper, magazine, on a broadcast, or on a wire service. He even managed to include technology in some of his stories, with titles such as “Travel Information is Available to Your Computer by Several Means,” “Pocket Fax Machine Latest Convenience Available to Travelers,” and “Access Flight Data Without a Modem.” Corky fully embraced the emerging computer technology in the newspaper industry and served as a resource for others in the newspaper business.
Humor, Good Times,
and the Darker Side
Corky loved to have a good time. He created the close-knit and exclusive
“Greek” society Omega Tau Lambda (Out To Lunch) while at IU. At the ceremony celebrating the founding of
that organization in front of Showalter Fountain at IU, Corky proposed a toast,
then promptly whipped out several pieces of toasted bread for the celebrants to
eat. The croquet matches and parties at
the house he owned at
Illness
Corky was a hard drinker and a longtime heavy smoker, two bad habits often associated with musicians, those in the military service, and journalists. It finally caught up with him, and he developed throat cancer. He eventually lost his larynx and was forced to speak with the aid of a mechanical vibrator and to breathe through a hole in his throat. Cancer slowed him down, but it never really defeated his spirits. In the last stages of combating the disease, he volunteered to take experimental drugs that someday might prove effective for other people stricken with cancer. Longtime friend Mary Anne (Gilmer) Butters shared this message shortly after Corky’s death: “I think that as long as his joy resonates in us, our weeping will be calmed, and the darkness can neither envelop nor dismay us. It’s the hellos which count; then, the good memories flow easier, like sharing a sunny day on the front porch of a country farmhouse.”
Corky’s Scholarship
Corky’s mom, Becky, always referred to Gary Wiggins as her
number two son, and he called her his number two mom. He spent many enjoyable times at the
Richmonds. Nevertheless, he was
surprised to learn that Becky had included him in her will. The Wiggins family could think of no better
use of the money than to establish an Informatics undergraduate scholarship in
Corky Richmond’s honor.5
Gary Wiggins
2008
Notes and References
1. “Cecil ‘Corky’ Richmond Jr. was
Star Journalist, Musician.”
2. Wiggins,
It was in 1957 that Gary Wiggins first met Corky Richmond. A writing assignment for his high school senior English class reveals that he was not particularly impressed with Corky at the first meeting.
3. The “monster buoy” was part of the effort to establish an oceanographic “weather bureau.” The buoy was to be anchored in the deepest part of the sea and collect environmental information form the atmosphere, the surface, and the depths of the ocean for long periods of time. Developed by General Dynamics, the monster buoys are described in a report in Time magazine: “Watching the Oceans: A Report from General Dynamics.” Time, v. 89, no. 5, February 3, 1967, pp. 40-41.
4.
5. “Giving: Matching the Promise."