No. 1 in U.S. : Want Dull? Madden’s Your Man

For being “maddeningly down to earth,” sports commentator and former football coach John Madden has been given the No. 1 spot on the list of the “10 Dullest Americans” of 1985.

The list that includes Andy Rooney, Joan Collins, Frank Perdue and comic strip character Ziggy was announced today by J. D. (Dull) Stewart, chairman of the bored of the International Dull Folks Unlimited, a 700-member organization based in Rochester.

Stewart defines dull people as “people who know how to relax and enjoy life while at the same time doing an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay” and who are intuitively aware of the Dull Folks motto: “Enthusiasm wanes, but dullness is forever.”

Sports announcer Brent Musburger and Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) were honored for having dull brains, and Halley’s comet and the Geneva summit earned special dullness awards.

In a new award this year, the group selected a “Most Exciting American” of 1985 because “dull people--by virtue of their relaxed, unassuming demeanors--have a much better understanding of what constitutes an exciting person.”

The group picked author and radio personality Garrison Keillor for the honor, which pays tribute to a person who “reflects authentic excitement in contrast to the phony, glitzy, commercialized kind.”