A Sad Day in Lint Land

by
Curvin O’Rielly, a man who made the world a more tolerable place

Curvin died yesterday. Cancer took him down. Damn cancer. Angels of mercy with a hospice in upstate New York guided him from this world to the next. Today this world feels more empty for the loss of Curvin O’Rielly.

I never met Curvin. Never even spoke to him. But I knew Curvin.

I knew him first by his work. Curvin was one of those gifted admen who wrote campaigns that were intelligent and soulful. He crafted copy for Saab, BMW, NutraSweet, Saturn and many more that spoke truth artfully and persuasively. I knew Curvin because as a young copywriter I strained my eyes to read his words reproduced in ad award show books. Curvin was a hero of mine, a copy god.

I got to know Curvin thanks to a mutual Facebook friend. She thought we’d like one another. We became Facebook friends, and we liked one another immediately.

We traded stories about working for Hal Riney in S.F. Anyone who ever worked for Riney can swap tales. In San Francisco, Riney stories are traded like baseball cards. Curvin had some very valuable cards.

Curvin began reading this blog and quickly became its top commenter. Since March of 2010, Curvin’s wit and wisdom graced many of The Lint Screen posts. Take a look-see. Often his commentary was better than the entry commented upon. Copy gods do such things naturally.

I urged Curvin to write a book. He had so many great stories, so much wisdom to share. He refused the book idea, but he did write a blog, Ace of Admen. There aren’t a ton of entries, but they are all well worth reading.

While regret I never had the chance to meet Curvin or work with him, I feel fortunate for having known him. He will be sorely missed. The world needs the likes of him more than ever.

Rest, Curvin and thanks. You will be missed.

16 thoughts on “A Sad Day in Lint Land”

  1. A lovely tribute. Thanks, Patrick. Your broken-hearted friend with a pet name will always be grateful to have read the witty banter between you and Curvin. He was very fond of you.
    Probably still is.

  3. Curvin was a man I always wanted to hug, but could never quite reach my arms to upstate NY. I will miss his humor, kindness, intelligence, patience, balance, way with words. I hope he hangs out with us for a bit, and whispers a few more good ideas into our heads. The world can not have too many generous spirits, and his will be greatly missed.

  4. Sad news indeed. Like you Patrick, I never met him but traded a few comments and read many more of his as he responded to posts many of my friends (most of whom I did actually meet, often gladly. Ok, sometimes gladly. You’re in the first group!) made over the past few years. Facebook and other social channels will be a little quieter going forward.

    Quieter in the wrong way, not quieter in the way I would prefer.

  7. In 1974, Alex Kroll (then Creative Chief at Young & Rubicam) assigned me to work with Curvin O’Reilly to see if I could expand and improve the sad and anemic portfolio of “spec” creative. The latter had somehow managed to get my foot in the door but it needed work. Curvin was a wonderful mentor, incredibly talented and, above all, a gentleman. I didn’t go into copywriting. Instead, I became an account guy and then a client. But the lessons he taught me–about the trade and about life–stay with me to this day. A great man he. RIP Curvin.

  8. Thanks, Glen, for a firsthand perspective on having worked for Curvin.

    I wish I had crossed his path professionally. The world certainly needs more like Curvin.

  9. Oh my. Sadness with fond memories. I worked for Curvin at O&M in Chicago. One day, he and I were in a meeting when his phone rang. Before his admin could answer, he said “Tell them we already have a potted meat account”. We both laughed our heads off. Years later, I re-connected with him and also encouraged him to write a book. He said “What would I title it?”. I reminded him of that day and suggested “Tell Them We Already Have A Potted Meat Account”. More laughter.

    To his wit and wisdom.

    Margaret Mooney

  10. Thanks, Margaret, for sharing that tale. I don’t believe one can ever get enough potted meat humor. That quote would have been a terrific title. How I wish he’d written more about his adventures.

    Best to you and treasure those memories. I’m glad he lives on in his Lint commentaries here in cyberspace.

  11. Patrick…
    Thanks for your kind comment on “AdScam.” As per my post today, I am sure that right now, Curvin is sat in the billiard room on a cloud somwhere, nursing his martini and wondering what all the fuss is about. By a strange coincidence, the title of my next book will be “Tell Them We Already Have A Potted Meat Account”. It’s what we old AdHo’s call an “Homage.” So much classier in French.
    Cheers/George

  12. Thanks, George. It’s about time we had more books with “potted meat” in the title.

    Because you’re a prince, saint, and jedi king, I’m adding AdScam to the ol’ blogroll. Give a brother a little Lint love, eh?

  13. Thanks, Patrick. I think this is a good example of a lot of good things. Several that immediately come to mind include: this is what is meant by ‘social’ – there’s a kinship if not a friendship borne of respect and exchange. It’s good to have heroes. It’s fun to have stories to swap, weave and write anew. Cancer is a drag. Hospice is a good thing. Well crafted ads (and other things) tend to hold up over time. Speaking of time, it’s still undefeated so try to tilt in favor of good cheer. Last but not least, let’s enjoy copious moderation in all things – even potted meat.

  16. Very wise and sage advice, Eric. True that without this social network thing, I probably would have never established a relationship with this hero. It was certainly fun to hear his prospective on so many subjects.

    Time always does win. It wears us down, plays out the clock.

    As for potted meat, well, moderation is more than enough for me, thank you very much.

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