Like many folks here, I too used to watch Jack on my local PBS station in San Diego. Remember when they used to play the National Anthem before powering off and going to the "snow screen"? One of many things that stand out for me was that Jack never talked down to his audience. I always felt like he was talking only to me. Think of the millions of viewers that Jack influenced with his knowledge and enthusiasm? After all, isn't that why we are all here; to help and share our enthusiasm of Life with each other? Jack you did your earthly friends a great service by introducing us to ourselves...knowing that we are made of star stuff. Blessing to you Jack, on you way to your next sojourn within the universe. "Keep looking up was my life's admonition; I can do little else in my present position." R.I.P. Jack...and thanks!
@2loveis2behappy The song is Arabesque No. 1 composed by (Claude?) Debussy, and arranged and performed by Isao Tomita in his CD Snowflakes Are Dancing. I have enjoyed that and other Tomita CDs for many years. Jack, you will be remembered.
Thanks Jack for being such a wonderful part of our lives... will miss you dearly... see you in the gumbo.... see you at the "Dead Mans Party" Oingo Boingo reference.. We'll keep looking up!
Star Gazer host dies, Jack Horkheimer Dead At 72. Jack Horkheimer was the host of Public Television's Star Gazer for several decades. A sad day for all of us who love the night sky and want to learn more about the universe. You will be the brightest star shining tonight, Jack. This man will miss you greatly.
JACK HORKHEIMER also could be so funny ! I loved the times he would talk about a star or constellation saying, " Let me show you ! " And then playfully, suggestively undo his jacket with a loud unzipping noise ! LOVE YA, JACK ! R.I.P.
Isao Tomita Snowflakes are dancing song Arabesque#1 like all the others this music was and will always be part if my childhood I agree with what everyone else has said I'll never forget this show and there was something about staying up to watch it right before the channel would go off the air for the night . It signaled the end if my night on weekends as well still puts my mind at peace when I'm angry . I'll definitely miss Jack and his show but I will balance that by doing as he said and "Keep looking up!" 🌛
Rest in peace, honored sir. Some of my oldest memories of PBS are being allowed to sometimes stay up a little late to get to watch this segment, educational and fun as it was. The man always came off a little eccentric, but it was charming and I'm sure it was just him having fun with the show. May you continue on and somehow given the opportunity to explore the cosmos more than you ever could as a mortal human.
Come to watch the final installment of Jack's show. I probably haven't watched it since the mid-90s when it was the end of day bumper on WYIN-56 Gary/Crown Point Indiana. I was watching it some 50 miles away in suburban Chicago on a 13 inch TV with fuzzy reception. Amusing that Debussy's Preludes from "Untitled Goose Game" reminded me of Arabesque No 1, Star Gazer's theme song... and got me to do some research. Sad to hear that Jack has passed but glad to know that his legacy lives on here on RU-vid and that there are hosts carrying on the show. No person is truly dead when there are people that fondly remember them. Godspeed Jack.
Hope you are flying around in the star fields, Jack. So glad i found your show again, i mean your old recorded ones. I will have to check out the new version if it is still being made. : )
Watched his show on the local PBS station growing up as a kid and later on. It helped to spur my interest in Astronomy, which I continue with today. Always looked forward to what he would talk about in each episode. Rest In Peace, Jack Horkheimer. Always remembered.
It's been 6 months and I cannot believe Jack's passing slipped by me. As a kid, I watched Jack's show and he got me interested in astronomy. I used an old star chart and learned ALL of the constellations. He brought astronomy to the masses and made it cool. I showed some of Jack's clips of him jumping off Saturn's rings and my two kids 9 and 4 laughed. Last summer, my kids and I watched the Perseid Meteor shower together late one night. I owe it to Jack. You will me missed. RIP.
yeah i just was watching it today and was wondering why jack was not there. I also found out that he passed away last year in august. he was an inspiration on star gazing that i bought a telescope just to find some of the stars he was mentioning. rip jack and we will always make the stars our own.
I have been crying today every time I've thought of Jack being gone. For 20 years, he has been my interpreter of the starry skies and it's so sad to think there will be no more Star Gazers. What a wonderful, generous man. He felt like a friend. I am going to rename Scorpius 'Jack Horkheimer' because it looks like a 'J'. Jack approved of making the stars your own. I won't ever forget him, and I promise to keep looking up. Fare thee well, friend.
Jack passed away on August 20, 2010, my dad, also named Jack passed away on October 4, 2010. Both men I respected, both named Jack, both passed within two months of each other. I do miss them both.
This show and the theme music was very iconic for me as a child, up until my early or mid teens I tried to make it a habit to catch this late at night before the channel would go off the air. It always filled me with this odd butterfly type feeling in my stomach. I didn't know this guy kept on so long or that he was dead. I finally caught the new hosts tonight by accident watching television (im almost 30 and a dad now). seems now like another part of my childhood passing by. RIP Jack!
haha you probably are not going to see this because it has been 9 years since you commented that. I too watched Jack but i was an adult and it was in the 90s. I love the whistling and the tune and him and his talking and corny jokes. Sorry he had to go but he is probably up there flying around between the stars. :' )
I can't believe I missed that he died!!! Man, I'm late. I used to remember watching this late at night growing up in South Florida. Used to love when he walked away after saluting the screen and disappeared... rest in peace, Jack! Thanks for showing us to appreciate the stars!
When I first moved to Northeastern Pennsylvania, my Saturday nights consisted of getting to know the area better, occasional dirt track race or just a plain quiet evening home. One night channel surfing, I reconnected with Jack, as I had seen him growing up on New Jersey PBS stations. I made it a point when I found WVIA had Jack's show on to record the episodes. I sadly lost my VHS tapes due to a house fire but am happy to see his episodes on RU-vid.
Jack will certainly be missed. I teach a high school astronomy class and we would start every week by watching Star Gazer on Mondays. The kids really enjoyed it, and would enthusiastically come in each day telling me that they saw the same thing the video showed them. There will be lots of future stargazers because of jack. Keep looking up!
Yes, I agree, RIP Jack. This won't make the fans of the stars and Jack happy but I never was a fan of the stars or stargazing. You know what I will miss? That theme music! I think it's the coolest! Does it have a composer? Was it composed only for his Stargazer program? Whatever it is, it is the thing that got me to tune and see a little bit about the stars. Forgive this music major...I respect the many years of passion that Jack had for the stars. That kind of passion is what I bring to music!
Greetings, Greetings, Greetings fellow star gazers! It is with a sad heart today that I report Jack Horkheimer passed away yesterday morning. I'd like to think that he is flying around the heavens right now looking at our most awesome universe.Thank you Jack for making star gazing fun. And we'll never forget to keep looking up...
Today, August 20, 2010. - Jack Horkheimer passed away. I'll miss him very much. It was because of his show that inspired me to continue exploring the Universe. I'm sure we all remembered him as the "Star Hustler" back in the 1970s. Each Friday night on PBS, just 5 minutes before the station signed off at midnight - Jack appeared, (like an old pal) to tell us what to expect in the night sky for the following week. Young and old, pros or amateurs - Jack was an inspiration to us all.
@aubondo2 I think it is. I literally just found the news minutes ago when I decided to watch the 9/27-10/3 show I got from his Podcast on iTunes and they had a young man on it and from what I sensed, I don't think they are planning to cut it anytime soon. He even said Jack would want us to keep looking up and know what's in the sky which I plan to ALWAYS do regardless. :(
Rest in peace, Jack. Thanks so much for making the wonders and beauty of astronomy available to everyone. We'll miss you and the way you made science accessable and fun!
Dam, I used to love watching Jack back in the day; I was in 6th till about the 12th or older and I used to watch him before channel 8 (KUHT Houston) would go off the air! DAM, he was real talk!
This was one of my favorite shows as a little kid in the 80s and early 90s. I never knew it aired for so long. So sad to hear he's gone:( I think NASA should name a star "Horkheimer" in his memory:)
Jack went out probably the way he wanted to....informing everyone how cool things outside our world can be. You did good, Jack. You did good. Thank you! =)
I once spoke to Jack in Miami about the phrase " keep looking up", and he said he used it because it was a literal ( looking at the stars ) and metaphorical ( being positive about life ) kind of phrase. Jack would be very happy to know it that kind of effect on you.
Jack is indeed missed. I grew up watching him on the then-PBS station, KCET in Los Angeles and later on WITF in Pennsylvania when I moved from LA in early 2006. On the night I saw this episode of 'Star Gazer' with my brother, I was not aware that it would be Mr. Horkheimer's final taping until I was told by my father less than a couple of days later that he passed away. When I saw the show in later years and it when it became 'Star Gazers', I felt that the show wasn't the same and I soon stopped watching. May he Rest in Peace.
I remember Jack would come on every Saturday night after "Dr. Who" (that would be between midnight and 1:30 am) on our PBS station. The theme song ("1ere arabesque" by Isao Tamita... it can be found in the I-tunes store) still gives me goose bumps. I remember when he was the "the Star Hustler" before they went all "politically correct" on us. We loved ya Jack... God bless you.... we'll keep looking up.
My favorite part about this is that the info in this episode wasn't a once-in-a-lifetime event. Jack left us with a present that we can use every Labor Day weekend to remember him by.
