Re: Chicago Icon Irv Kupcinet dies

I'm 39 years old, live in a major U.S. city (bigger than Chicago), and
never heard of this "Irv Kupcinet". Much ado about nothing.


"Phil from Chicago" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> BY NEIL STEINBERG STAFF REPORTER (Chicago Sun-Times)
>
> Irv Kupcinet knew everybody before they were anybody. He knew CBS's
Mike
> Wallace when he was still Myron Wallace, an obscure announcer on a
Chicago
> variety show. He reported from Israel when it was still British
Palestine. And
> when he met Marilyn Monroe, she was still a brunette.
>
> He even knew this newspaper before it was the Sun-Times, back when it
was just
> the Times and had yet to have its 1948 union with the Chicago Sun.
>
> Mr. Kupcinet -- Kup, as he was known to one and all -- wrote his
column so well
> and so long that he seemed connected to every celebrity around. Kup
had the
> phone numbers nobody had; stars who weren't taking calls took a call
from Kup.
>
> Kup died Monday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was
admitted Sunday
> with respiratory complications from pneumonia. He was 91.
>
> "He was the best of the best in the business,'' said Stella Foster,
his
> assistant for 34 years. "There will never be another. Never.''
>
> Kup was friendly with presidents, barbers and the top A-list of
Hollywood. It
> wasn't a press agentish, fake kind of friendship. He stayed at their
homes --
> at Jack Benny's, at Danny Thomas', at Joan Crawford's. When he went on
> vacation, Bing Crosby might pitch in to write his column, or Mike
Todd, or
> Betty Grable. Bob Hope spoke at the 1968 dinner honoring Kup's 25th
anniversary
> as a columnist.
>
> He was known for nightclubbing, but he also gave dinners, and John
Wayne might
> show up. Or Frank Sinatra, with Ava Gardner in tow, or Cary Grant, or
Clark
> Gable, or too many others to mention.
>
> But he was no relic. Kup survived the changing times, on sheer
determination,
> hard work and good contacts. He never retired. He never slowed down
except
> under a doctor's orders. While his health deteriorated over recent
years, Kup
> insisted on coming in to the office to write his column, always
quipping that
> he wanted to be "terminal at the terminal," and he nearly was. His
last column
> ran Nov. 6.
>
> Nobody could match Kup. He was a Chicago institution, the link between
local
> celebrity and international fame.
>
> "Irv Kupcinet was as closely identified with Chicago as the Picasso,
the
> Hancock Building and the Sears Tower -- and he was an important part
of this
> city long before they were,'' said Mayor Daley. "In six decades of
columns, he
> had thousands of scoops -- and when something was in Kup's Column, you
knew it
> was true ... Chicago won't be quite the same without him."
>
> His passing "marks the end of an era,'' said Gov. Blagojevich, who
offered
> condolences to readers of his column along with Kup's family. Kup's
Column "was
> the source of information for all Chicagoans,'' the governor said.
"Kup was a
> part of the fabric of Chicago. With his passing, he has now joined the
pantheon
> of Chicago legends: Harry Caray; Walter Payton; Jack Brickhouse; Mayor
Richard
> J. Daley; Mike Royko and Ann Landers.''
>
> He "was a great colleague and a great friend,'' said John Cruickshank,
> Sun-Times vice president of editorial. As "Mr. Chicago,'' he helped
solidify
> the reputation of the paper, which takes "enormous pride'' in his
career,
> Cruickshank said. "Kup's greatness was as a connector of the disparate
> communities that make up Chicago,'' Cruickshank said.
>
> Indeed, when Cruickshank and Editor in Chief Michael Cooke arrived to
lead the
> Sun-Times, Kup welcomed them to the city, Cooke said.
>
> "He had a work ethic that was staggering, but he also had the good
sense to
> have the fun that journalism can give,'' Cooke said.
>
> He was the man in Booth One at the Pump Room, chatting easily with
stars making
> the layover on the Super Chief and the California Zephyr. (A.J.
Liebling, in
> his classic essay on Chicago, pointed out that the stars frequently
stopped in
> Chicago specifically to talk to Kup; otherwise, they'd take the
express).
>
> "He was unique because he represented an era of the gossip columnist,
the
> sportswriter and the political columnist all rolled into one,'' said
Ald.
> Bernard Stone (50th). "What I remember best was that Kup never printed
a story
> about me where he didn't call me first and check with me to make sure
it was
> true."
>
> Kup lunched with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall at the Pump Room
the day
> after they married in 1945. Harry Truman would phone to remind him to
look
> after his daughter, Margaret, when she was in town.
>
> Kup covered every Academy Awards ceremony from 1945 to 1986. He went
to London
> for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and crashed the dress
rehearsal by
> flashing his Chicago police press card.
>
> Over the years, Kup's Column was distributed to more than 100
newspapers around
> the world and its author showered with innumerable awards. In 1982, he
was
> elected to Chicago's Journalism Hall of Fame. The city renamed the
Wabash
> Avenue bridge over the Chicago River in his honor in 1986.
>
> His other accomplishments were enough to fill several careers. He
broadcast
> Chicago Bears football games, with Jack Brickhouse, for 24 years. He
appeared
> in two movies, produced by friend Otto Preminger, "Advise and Consent"
and
> "Anatomy of a Murder."
>
> He appeared on television as early as 1945 and was a pioneering
television talk
> show host -- he started on CBS in 1952 with a late-night
news/interview
> program. In 1957, he replaced Jack Paar on NBC's "America After the
Dark,"
> which eventually became "The Tonight Show." His own television program
ran from
> 1959 to 1986, syndicated at one point to 70 stations nationwide, and
featured
> newsmakers from Richard Nixon to Alger Hiss to Malcolm X -- with whom
he forged
> an improbable friendship.
>
> The show was known for its spontaneity. Carl Sandburg once walked off
the set
> in mid-broadcast, declaring he had to "wee-wee." Radical Abbie Hoffman
lit up a
> joint on the air and was asked by Kup to leave.
>
> Ann Landers shocked the audience -- and Kup -- when, on a show that
paired her
> with porn star Linda Lovelace, the advice columnist described in
precise detail
> the act Lovelace was famous for.
>
> The show won 15 local Emmys and the prestigious Peabody Award.
>
> He was a close friend of Truman, who gave Kup and his family a
personal tour of
> the White House while he was president. Eight years out of office,
when Truman
> finally revealed why he had fired Gen. Douglas MacArthur during the
Korean War,
> he gave the scoop to Kup: The general had been chaffing to attack
Communist
> China with atomic bombs.
>
> A sign of Kup's lasting influence was that, decades later, when Nation
of Islam
> leader Louis Farrakhan wanted to make a public relations gesture
toward the
> Jewish community, he did so by having dinner with Kup.
>
> (you can read the rest of the tributes at Suntimes.com)
>
>
> Phil is RAT's Pro Wrestling Ambassador
>
> Homer's travel plans: "I want to shoot a lion in the face, box
Muhammad Ali and
> ride in a convertible with 2 happy zebras"
>
>