Expert: John Miller - 10/27/2005

Question
Hello,
Reading Walter Payton's autobiography, he refers to an erroneous statement made by radio personality Paul Harvey about Payton's fathers death.  Walter states Harvey never apologized.  What did Harvey say about the circumstances surrounding the death and did Harvey ever apologize after the autobiography was published?

Answer
Sorry, Cindy, but I wondered the same thing when I read the book and have never been able to find the answer. I believe that his father was arrested because the local police thought he was drunk when in fact he was having a stroke or heart attack, and he may have died in jail. My guess is that Harvey reported the arrest and that he died in jail but didn't report that he wasn't actually drunk (it was a couple days after his death that the autopsy disclosed what really happened), but that's really only a guess. Sorry I can't give you a better answer.