Media Museum committee member George Powell recalls the late satirist Paul Krassner with affection and respect for what he calls a “razor-sharp sense of the absurd.” That is perhaps too diplomatic. In the title of his memoir, Krassner characterized himself as a “raving, unconfined nut.”

By George Powell

Paul Krassner died July 21 at age 87. I was a big fan of his razor-sharp satire, his humor and the way he chronicled the events of his tumultuous times, through his actual presence or his writing.

He was the first practicing and self-proclaimed investigative satirist, a term that could fit in a tweet with characters to spare.

He could be termed one of the fathers of gonzo-style journalism, made famous by author Hunter S. Thompson in the 1970s. For the uninitiated, it’s a style of writing where the reporter/writer becomes a protagonist in the story being reported.

Krassner’s unique contributions to the profession began in the 1958, when he founded The Realist magazine, which he published on a regular sporadic schedule until 1974, then tried to restart it as a newsletter in 1985. A final issue appeared in the spring of 2001.

When People magazine called him “father of the underground press,” Krassner demanded a paternity test. Krassner’s genius was to be able to report on, make fun of and be a part of many of the seminal events of the 1960s, yet never lose sight of his unique position, reporting and participating at the same time.

No event of the 1960s was more traumatic, saddening and stunning that the assassination of John Kennedy in 1963.

In his brilliance, Krassner was able to publish in the Realist issue of May 1967 a satire so clever, yet so offensive that it truly tested the limits of press freedom.

In short, Krassner made up parts that were left out of author William Manchester’s book “The Death of a President” in a way only a clever investigative satirist could imagine. That satire still has the power to shock and offend nearly 52 years after the initial uproar. It’s all available for inspection on paulkrassner.com.

There you can find links to the online archive of The Realist, the infamous Disneyland Memorial Orgy poster and more — his books, some videos, CDs of his infrequent standup comedy acts, all dusted with an impish twinkle of knowledge, humor and, above everything, a razor-sharp sense of the absurd.