SB Nation: The two Rogers

Enjoy the Series day off with this remarkable piece.

One day, Angell stopped by the studio. He had on a v-neck sweater like he wore in the author photo from his books but he was not the curious and outgoing narrator that he was in print or on film. He sat by himself on a leather couch and didn’t engage anyone on the crew but Burns.

I called my father after work that day and told him that Angell was a disappointment. The Old Man was pleased to hear I’d met him. As a young man Dad had worked as a unit production manager on “The Tonight Show” and he never tired of talking about his encounters with actors, musicians, and writers. He reminded me to separate the artist from the person. “Some hacks are charming,” he said, “and some great artists are ########. It’s nice when somebody you admire turns out to be a good man but the work on the page is what counts, not the personality.”