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Will Shortzthe veteran crossword editor of the New York Times and NPR’s “puzzle master” for more than three decades, suffered a stroke last month and has spent the last few weeks in rehabilitation.
Shortz revealed his health status in a recorded message broadcast on NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday” on March 3. He has been absent from the program in recent weeks and in the end today’s puzzle segment“Weekend Edition Sunday” host Ayesha Rascoe shared an audio clip of Shortz to update fans on the situation.
“Hi guys, I’m Will Shortz. Sorry, I’ve been away the last few weeks. I had a stroke on February 4th and have been in rehab ever since. but I’m making progress,” Shortz said in the message (listen to it on this link, at minute 6:20). “I’m looking forward to coming back soon with new puzzles.”
Following Shortz’s message, Rascoe said: “We here at ‘Weekend Edition’ love Will and I know everyone at home loves him too. And we support him, we are very hopeful and we know that he will feel better soon.”
Shortz, 71, has appeared on NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday” since the show’s debut in 1987. He has served as the Times’ crossword puzzle editor since 1993, only the fourth person to hold the title in the newspaper’s history. . Shortz was also editor of Games magazine and founded and has served as director of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament since 1978 (a focus of the 2006 documentary “Word Game”).
The Indiana native sold his first puzzle when he was just 14 years old, and at 16 he became a regular contributor to Dell’s puzzle publications. He is said to be the only person in the world to have a college degree in “enigmatology,” the study of puzzles, a specialization he himself designed and earned at Indiana University in 1974.