My Tribute to Pat Conroy
Alan Brown
Sr. Advisor, groco.com, Partner, B&Z Bus. Consulting, Llc Veritone Gov. Advisory Board, (2021-23)(NASDAQ: VERI); Sr Advisor, Cambridge Wilkinson Investment Bank; Advisory Board, FMW Media Works Corp; MES Sr. Editor,
When I heard the news that Pat passed away last night, I felt a deep sadness. My heart is with his family, his friends, his readers, Marly Rusoff, and Nan, his publisher.
Pat Conroy was the bow of the Southern fiction writers' ship during the late twentieth century. Last night, a Southern writer that changed the American literature world left us.
I worked closely with Pat on Beach Music. I was his Producer, and represented the motion picture rights in Pat's behalf to Hollywood. We worked together closely during the Beach Music saga. He changed my life for the better, and in some ways, his bigger-than-life persona stirred me on to do things I didn't know I was capable of doing. He stuck by me when CAA agents were literally chasing him on Fripp Island to dump me, and The Hollywood Reporter called me a Svengali. To Pat's credit, he kept his word and weathered the storm, never faulting in his loyalty. We had nothing in writing during the process, just one man's belief in another. When we finally closed the Beach Music deal, he gave me a first edition hardbound copy of Beach Music and wrote this:
"To Alan Brown, Movie man who showed the Hollywood boys how it was supposed to work. You were magnificent under fire, Braveheart. The assault came again and again, but they did not pass. All love and praise and thanks to you."Pat Conroy, June 28, 1995.
Thank you, Pat. It was because of you, not me. I will remember you always. Even though it has been many years since we last spoke, I will miss you. Your fans will miss you, and the world has lost a brilliant light whose works will last an eternity. May your soul rest in peace, Conrack.
Alan
Owner, Southern Charm
7 年As a (displaced) Southerner and a (sometimes) writer.....thank you for a graceful farewell to Pat.
End Alzheimer’s. ?? Optioned Screenwriter, Options Trader, and author of ??Chickie And The Great Barnyard Benefit.?? Studying And searching for a cure for Multiple Chemical Sensitivities.
7 年Alan Brown, movie man. What a lovely post, my friend. Pat had a treasure in you and knew it! It is an honor to work with you. You make every meeting a pleasure. You truly are a Braveheart. Pat knew it. Now, so do I.
ACTIVE ARTS ADVOCATE. Writer, Director, Producer. Broadway. Off-Broadway. Author. Journalist. Interviewer. Artistic Director. London-Published Playwright. Writing Instructor to Young People.
8 年I admire 'The Great Santini', the novel and film. Wonderful writer.
Invest in Love? Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass..It's about learning to Dance in the rain.?Vivian Greene
8 年Writers never die. Look what I just heard him say, “No story is a straight line. The geometry of a human life is too imperfect and complex, too distorted by the laughter of time and the bewildering intricacies of fate to admit the straight line into its system of laws.” ― Pat Conroy, Beach Music Lovely post, Alan Brown.
Works as Actress/ Model Freelance or through Explore Talent Agency and Miami Talent Casting.Jewelry designer, creator..
8 年Saddening..his intricately woven stories and characters are a bequest to literary history...