Will Shortz, the New York Times crossword editor and NPR’s “puzzle master” for more than three decades, suffered a stroke last month and has spent the past few weeks in rehabilitation.
Shortz revealed the injury in a recorded message that aired on NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday” on March 5. He’s been absent from the show in recent weeks, and at the end of today’s mystery segment, “Weekend Edition Sunday” host Aisha Rascoe shared an audio clip of Shortz updating fans on the situation.
“Guys, this is Will Shortz. Sorry I’ve been out 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 (hear it at this link at at 6:20). “I look forward to coming back with new puzzles soon.”
After Shortz’s message, Rasco said: “We here at Weekend Edition love Will, and I know everyone at home loves him, too. We support him, we feel hope, and we know 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 editor since 1993, only the fourth person to hold that title in the paper’s history. Shortz is also the former editor of Games magazine and founded and served as director of the American Crossword Championship since 1978 (the focus of the 2006 documentary “Wordplay”).
The Indiana native sold his first puzzle when he was just 14 years old, and at 16 he became a regular contributor to Dell Puzzle Publications. He is said to be the only person in the world to have a degree in “puzzleology”, the study of puzzles, a major he designed and obtained from Indiana University in 1974.