'Star Gazer' Jack Horkheimer dies

By Nancy Atkinson - August 22, 2010 at 11:33 AM UTC | Stars

The host of Public Television's "Star Gazer'' show, Jack Horkheimer, died on August 20, 2010. Originally called the 'Star Hustler,' the program ran for 30 years and Horkheimer's craggy voice combined with his flamboyant, show-biz style made him a unique and internationally recognized pioneer in popularizing naked-eye astronomy. Horkheimer was 72 and died of a respiratory ailment, according to a spokesman for the Miami Museum of Science and Space Transit Planetarium, where Horkheimer was the executive director for over 35 years.

Museum officials said Horkheimer was the "foremost commentator on all astronomy related happenings nationwide. His show reached millions of people, helping to create a love of the stars for several generations of enthusiasts.''

Above is his final show. Horkheimer took advantage of the internet and made his shows available on You Tube. But the show's original name, "Star Hustler" caused a problem when people did internet searches, as the adult magazine "Hustler" usually showed up at the top of search engines. As a result, the producers renamed the show "Star Gazer" to avoid any confusion or sending any unintended traffic Hustler's way.

Horkheimer's appearances on the show were always marked with his opening line, "Greetings, greetings, fellow star gazers!" and his signature closing line, "Keep looking up!"

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com