Norman Theodoor Augustinus Jr is an American writer.

Early life

Augustinus was born in the Hutzel Women's Hospital in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, Michigan. He is the son of Levontina Melnyk and Norman Augustinus Sr. His grandfather Bart Theodoor Augustinus was born in Amsterdam, but left the Netherlands in 1922 entering the US by way of the Vermont, St. Albans Canadian Crossing. Augustinus never met his biological father, but at the age of ten his mother remarried. Augustinus credits his stepfather for much of his success. Augustinus's mother gave birth to twins but the other child was stillborn.

Biography

Known widely for writing humor, Augustinus studied Journalism and Communications at

Ferris State University Ferris State University (FSU or Ferris) is a public university with its main campus in Big Rapids, Michigan. It was founded in 1884 and became a public institution in 1950. Ferris is the ninth-largest institutions of higher education by enroll ...

in Big Rapids, Michigan where he was an editor of the university newspaper the (Ferris Torch) and writer/producer of the then popular radio show, ''The Adventures of E-Man.'' While a freshman at Ferris State University Augustinus published LEONARD. During his senior year at Ferris State University Augustinus placed in an invention contest and won a cash award for a mailbox transmitter device. A certificate and cash prize was presented to Augustinus during the dedication and open house of the Manufacturing Resource and Productivity Center. An inventor, his gadgets have been featured in numerous publications and television shows. Augustinus' highly viewed 'iPhone Colon Exam' invention/video was an inspiration to Patrick O'Neil the inventor of the iPhone olloclip which has sold over 75 million units worldwide. Augustinus is cited in the olloclip US patent. He has been a copywriter, run for political office hunted for treasure, appeared in over three dozen television commercials, and worked toward a private pilot license. In 1991 Augustinus developed the story-line and dialogue for place mats used in over 300 McDonald's restaurants throughout Michigan, The Adventures of Tizzie Bean. Additionally, Augustinus landed a bit part (under five lines) in the movie Hoffa starring Jack Nicholson (Shot in Cobo Hall Arena, Detroit). Augustinus is listed in the 2003 & 2004 Edition of Marquis Who's Who in America and was nominated for the Ferris State University Distinguished Alumni Award two consecutive years in a row. In 1999 he was accepted into the prestigious Powerhouse Theatre Program at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

in Poughkeepsie, New York. He has written for newspapers and online publications such as McSweeney's Internet Tendency and he is a member of the

Society of Professional Journalists The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...

, Screen Actor's Guild/American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (

SAG SAG, SAg, or sag may refer to: Land formations * Sag (geology), or ''trough'', a depressed, persistent, low area * Sag pond, a body of water collected in the lowest parts of a depression People * Ivan Sag (1949–2013), American linguist ...

- AFTRA) and

Actors' Equity The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a book ...

(AEA). In March 2013

Roll Call ''Roll Call'' is a newspaper and website published in Washington, D.C., United States, when the United States Congress is in session, reporting news of legislative and political maneuverings on Capitol Hill, as well as political coverage of c ...

and a dozen other publications worldwide, published a story about an animated cartoon Augustinus created and posted on his website with regards to the Obama administration. The cartoon depicted several high-ranking members of the Obama administration being laser beamed into nonexistence by a drone. The cartoon prompted a visit from the

United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...

. Highly controversial, the cartoon was viewed over 11 million times, and made Augustinus the first cartoonist in the United States to be investigated by a government agency because of a cartoon. In 2014 and 2015 Augustinus stood in

Columbus Circle Columbus Circle is a traffic circle and heavily trafficked intersection in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park South ( West 59th Street), and Central Park West, at the so ...

Manhattan for hundreds of hours holding large, creatively worded banners in support of the New York City horse carriage industry, which de Blasio vowed to end immediately upon being elected NYC mayor. Augustinus was thanked by the Teamsters for his support in a full page notice/ad published in the New York Daily News on January 1, 2016. Norm Augustinus Literary Walk Central Park June 2014

Norm Augustinus Literary Walk Central Park June 2014

Internet

Augustinus is one of the earliest podcasters. In 1992 he broadcast his offbeat stories and poems (via the internet) using large uncompressed

wav Waveform Audio File Format (WAVE, or WAV due to its filename extension; pronounced "wave") is an audio file format standard, developed by IBM and Microsoft, for storing an audio bitstream on PCs. It is the main format used on Microsoft Wind ...

(wave) files. In 1995 Augustinus began using

RealAudio RealAudio, or also spelled as Real Audio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fid ...

due largely to the dramatic increase in speed, eventually shifting his focus to the

mp3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

format and

Podcasting A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

in late 2004. During 2006 comical bits produced by Augustinus were broadcast weekly on

Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings. Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Sirius ...

Influences

His stepfather was a seasoned storyteller and involved with the Tool & Die industry in Detroit and (as a boy) Augustinus often accompanied him when calling on clients. According to Augustinus, it was during these times that he "learned how to tell a story."

Personal life

In 2012 his sister Sandra committed suicide after being diagnosed with bone cancer after being treated for breast cancer. Augustinus writes daily and performs his popular stand-up comedy routine regularly. His novel, 'Cats and Dogs' () was an Amazon Humor Best Seller (#8), in February 2013. His novel 'Bedbadger' () was released January 21, 2013 and was also featured on the Amazon Humor Best Seller list. On August 26, 2015, while driving through Michigan, Augustinus saw a Jeep Cherokee lose control and roll over several times off I-75. Augustinus ran to the car and pulled two children from the smoking, overturned vehicle.Devereaux, B: "Man pulls kids out of SUV that flips '10 times' on I-75 in Bay County," M Live, 2015. On October 9, 2015, Augustinus was nominated for the prestigious Carnegie Hero Medal.

References

External links

McSweeney's The Great PumpkinDetroit Free Press Sunday Magazine ArticleDetroit Free Press Cult IconDetroit Free Press Article Norm Augustinus Science FairDetroit Free Press Article 'Line is Fine Between Oddball and True Genius' by Rick RatliffVillage Voice 'A Chat with Norm Augustinus' by Anna Merlan
* ttp://m.nydailynews.com/news/national/nyc-man-pulls-kids-flipped-suv-michigan-interstate-article-1.2340517 New York Daily News 'NYC Man Pulls Kids From Flipped SUV On Michigan Interstate'br>Reference 23 Non-Patent Citations Optical Component (olloclip) US D763340 S1'Thank You From The Original Teamsters of New York' January 1, 2016 New York Daily News'Satirist Spooked By Would-Be Watchdog' 2013 Roll Call'Augustinus 2013 Drone Cartoon' Norm Augustinus Drone Cartoon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Augustinus, Norman Theodore American satirists American short story writers American podcasters Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Ferris State University alumni Writers from Detroit People from Warren, Michigan Articles containing video clips Comedians from Detroit American people of Dutch descent Vassar College alumni