Louis Rukeyser

LEAP269

As many of you know, Louis Rukeyser died May 2 at his home in Connecticut. We have lost a great man who was an inspiration to millions of investors — and to those of us who had the honor of working with him.


i remember sorting lincoln cents every friday night as a child and wondering what he was talking about while my father watched his show on pbs and helped me with the pennies. if i remember correctly, his show started in 1970. he was considered to be America's most popular economic forcaster. later as i grew, i also enjoyed wall street week with Louis Rukeyser.

do you have any memories of his show or what you were doing then? keep it coin related those of you with dirty minds.

morgannut2

I remember and enjoyed his shows--he always recommended investors keep 5-15% of their assets hedged in gold or silver.

SDCollector

I liked the show too. But I thought it was a little corny how his "secretary" helped his guests find their seats.

(I'm easily distracted but that sort of thing )

RYK

I was a fan of Wall Street Week in the mid-late 1990's through about 2001 or so. During those years, I estimate that I spent about $500 (total) on coins, collecting mid-grade, circulated large and half cents. I spent considerably more money on my mutual fund "collection", which remains a source for much enjoyment and interest today.

saintguru

Marty Zweig literally saying that he thought the stock market could crash one week before it did in Oct. 1987! He was remorseful and ashen when he said it, but make no mistake...he used the word crash. Of course, Elaine Garzarelli took credit too...only she said to sell the day after the crash.

paigowjohnny

I thoroughly enjoyed his show. He never became a doom and gloomer.

Dave99B

I was very saddened when I heard about the loss of Louis Rukeyser.

I loved the way he demanded that the entire show be orchestrated, from A to Z. It was his way, or the highway.

Everybody had their assigned spot on the couches; Louis, of course, got the big leather chair on the end of the table; he always gave his well-written introduction at the start (the guy was virtually an English scholar). I loved the way he jabbed at his panel when their predictions failed to come true. He also made finance very fun.

Great guy…now somebody please tell me he collected coins. He must have!

Dave


R.I.P. Louis

pontiacinf

<< <i>keep it coin related those of you with dirty minds. >>



I remember collecting dirty coins back then

in 1970 I was 6 years old, dont remember much of TV off the top of my head, but do remember Louis Rukeyser and pop watching him on tv

ricardouno

I remeber watching the show quite often in the 1980's on PBS.

I am sure that My Rukeyser was a fine gentleman but, frankly, the advice usually rendered by his panelist "experts" proved, in general, to ultimately be horrific.

Richard

golddustin

I watched his show WSW as often as I could, and still subscribe to "his" newsletter, although I'll be letting that go now.

On coin related subjects - my wife always referred to him as George Washington, because of his rather unique hair cut.

Also, a customer of mine brought me a 1977 Ike that he had received as a bonus for signing up for the newsletter - it was in a square, plastic holder with "Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street" on the holder. He heard I was a collector and gave it to me......I cleaned up the PVC from the coin & submitted it - I'll have to check, but I know that it came back at least MS66, and it may have been a 67!

He will be missed, along with his extended puns during his commentary.

Jaywalker

I used to watch him in the 80s and 90s and until they gave him the heave-ho. I believe I was collecting Morgans at the time.

One thing sticks in my mind from just a few years ago--he used to have his poll of the elves giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down for the next 6 months. One woman was consistently thumbs-down because she thought the market was overvalued. (Maybe it was Gail Dudack. I forget.) Anyway, he used to tease her about it, because the stock market kept going up and all the other elves were always thumbs-up. Finally he got rid of her, I guess because she was wrong for too many months in a row. I remember thinking... uh-oh. When you get rid of the last bear, look out. Sure enough, that was near the beginning of the stock market's long slide, with the NASDAQ going into the toilet.

I think he was a nice Friday night tradition for a lot of people who were looking for some common sense about investing. He had a good run.

RYK

One thing sticks in my mind from just a few years ago--he used to have his poll of the elves giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down for the next 6 months. One woman was consistently thumbs-down because she thought the market was overvalued. (Maybe it was Gail Dudack. I forget.) Anyway, he used to tease her about it, because the stock market kept going up and all the other elves were always thumbs-up. Finally he got rid of her, I guess because she was wrong for too many months in a row. I remember thinking... uh-oh. When you get rid of the last bear, look out. Sure enough, that was near the beginning of the stock market's long slide, with the NASDAQ going into the toilet.

It was Gail Dudack, and her being cut from the elves was the perfect contrary indicator.

BTW, I like your new icon, JayWalker. I think i have seen that coin somewhere before (or one just like it, anyway)...

CarlWohlforth

I hadn't heard. I'm saddened to learn Louis Rukeyser passed. I knew he was ill because he stopped writing the opening in the newsletter that bears his name. I watched his show every week for years and years. I didn't get out of the market when it was bubbling, but I did buy lots of coins and they went up while my stocks went down.

My Uncle was in the same class as LR when they went to college (Princeton).

Jaywalker

<< <i>It was Gail Dudack, and her being cut from the elves was the perfect contrary indicator.

BTW, I like your new icon, JayWalker. I think i have seen that coin somewhere before (or one just like it, anyway)... >>



Thanks! You probably saw it at lunch in Atlanta.

Speaking of gold, Louis was generally down on gold as an investment. He used to point out how the gold bugs still had a loss over the last 10 years or more. He believed in putting your money to work in a productive enterprise. But I wonder what he was thinking lately, with the huge deficits and inflation hanging over our heads.

ziggy29

<< <i>Marty Zweig literally saying that he thought the stock market could crash one week before it did in Oct. 1987! He was remorseful and ashen when he said it, but make no mistake...he used the word crash. Of course, Elaine Garzarelli took credit too...only she said to sell the day after the crash. >>

Elaine Garzarelli has tried to make an entire career out of one "call" to get out before the crash. Well, that and short skirts, anyway.

coinkat

Louis' dad lived a long and full life. He was on WSW once in awhile. I liked the show and watched it often in the 1980's

saintguru

Merle Rukeyser...he was a good guy.

Louis also had Philip Carret on once in a while...he was like 98 years old in his last appearance and sharp as a razor! He died at 102!

"Philip Carret has the best truly long-term investment record of anyone I know" - Warren Buffett

Look him up!

oreville

<< <i>Great guy…now somebody please tell me he collected coins. He must have! >>



YES HE DID!!!!!

In fact, when he tried to start up a new magazine about 15 years or so ago he thought the coolest gift for first issue subscribers would be a slabbed coin! He had an Uncirculated Ike Dollar slabbed in a special stand up plastic holder with the wording: "With the Bullish Best Wishes of Louis Rukeyser. "

I still have that coin and holder and he told me that even he never got to save one for himself! He wanted to buy it from me. I told him that I was such a big fan of his that it would not be fair to let it go or even sell it back to him. He agreed.

I am proud to say that I had numerous conversations (which I could not admit to about his collecting of coins while alive) as he feared that he would be seen as a anti stock market kind of guy. He was very passionate about his coins. More on all this in the future.

RIP LR

Longacre

LEAP269

oreville
we sure would love to hear more about this.

where could one find his promotional IKE to purchase these days?

he had many unique twists to his show like the traditional christmas episode where he would show you the items that would be hottest at christmas and hold up some silk nightie to see if it fits, to the elves giving the consensus view of the next 6 months of the market, to the Louis Rukeyeser hall of fame where once a year a member was inducted. Also, each time he went on vacation the market would tank; upon his return the market rebounded. he called it one of his most reliable technical predictors and was prould he could send it down with his absence.

i always appreciated his sense of humor, intelligence, and ability to give you the information clearly. i have been missing him since he left television and even more lately upon his death.

oreville

LEAP269: I will take a photo of this holder and show it here. By the way, it is NOT a stand up holder but a large 3" x 3" clear plastic holder with a blue cardboard insert with a 1974-D Ike Dollar in it.

At the bottom of it has the inscription:

With the Bullish Best Wishes
of Louis Ruyeyser

on two separate lines.

I have never seen this sealed holder anywhere else in ebay or at a coin show in the past 10 years except the one I have. But the Ike while certainly uncirculated, does not look any higher than MS-65.

Value? Clueless.

mrearlygold

RIP