obituaries | Chris Aldrich

Rest in Peace: Typewriter Repair Legend Duane Jensen (August 21, 1961-January 25,2026)

Just a few hours ago, Faye shared some sad news.

Most of us might only be able to recognize his voice, his patient hands, and his preference for lacquer thinner, but all of us are richer in typewriter knowledge because of Duane Jensen’s kind sharing of his craft by way of his spectacularly helpful Phoenix Typewriter YouTube channel.

A bunch of us both watch and provide links to his library of typewriter repair videos on a daily basis. Many of us know how to tear down and build up a typewriter because of his tutorials and years of work. Once you attempt to repair a typewriter for yourself, you’ll realize how skilled he was to be able to simultaneously film his work while he did it. (I swear he had six hands….) He also patiently dispensed (and still asked for his own repair advice) on a regular basis on Facebook.

Thousands of his repaired machines will continue to give people joy every day. He’ll be missed terribly in the typewriter community, but fortunately some of his work and his spirit will continue live on online.

For those who don’t know him as well (yet), here’s an article about Duane from last year: Meet one of the few people in America who knows how to fix manual typewriters, and an excellent podcast from September 2024: Charm Type Repair podcast w/ Duane Jensen of Phoenix Typewriter.

Because it was his usual sign off, I feel obligated to quote him:

Phoenix Typewriter, Good Day!
—Duane Jensen

Read Peter Elbow, Professor Who Transformed Freshman Comp, Dies at 89 by

Michael S. Rosenwald (New York Times)

His struggles with writer’s block led him to create a process that favored an expressive, personal approach over rigid academic conventions that often stifled students.

For those interested in writing methods, Peter Elbow’s work can be seen as an interesting shift in pedagogy from the 1970s. Interestingly it relies on pieces of practices pre-dating him which inform commonplace book and related zettelkasten methods.

For my own files, from the obituary, it looks like he was using an IBM Selectric I in some of his early work.

Read Regis Philbin, TV Host With the Most Congenial Demeanor, Dies at 88 (The Hollywood Reporter)

He presided over live morning shows for four decades, emceed 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' and served as Joey Bishop's late-night sidekick.

Now that Regis and Hugh Downs have both passed away within weeks of each other, I’m wondering which living person now has the record for most time in front of a camera?