CHICAGO (AP) – Irv Kupcinet, newspaper columnist and television personality who brought news of Hollywood stars, Chicago insiders, foreign princes and political leaders to readers and viewers for more than six decades, has died at age 91.

Kupcinet died Monday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was admitted on Sunday with respiratory complications from pneumonia, a hospital spokeswoman said.

His was still writing his Sun-Times column last week, and in its obituary Tuesday, the paper said 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.”

Said Mayor Richard Daley: “Irv Kupcinet was as closely identified with Chicago as the Picasso (sculpture), the Hancock Building and the Sears Tower – and he was an important part of this city long before they were.”

His gossip column, called “Kup’s Column,” started appearing in 1943 and at one point was syndicated in 100 newspapers. He also had a syndicated television talk show.

“Irv Kupcinet is probably the most significant media personality in the history of Chicago because his impact was not only through his daily newspaper column, but also on television for 25 years,” said Bruce DuMont, founder and president of the Museum of Broadcast Communications.

“There was no way of proving to anybody that you were somebody in Chicago without having your name in boldface in Kup’s column,” said Rick Kogan, a Chicago Tribune reporter who knew him well.

His last column ran on Thursday and included items on a local news broadcaster and former Sen. Paul Simon.

Kupcinet helped establish the late-night talk-show genre with his award-winning “At Random.” The program, later called “Kup’s Show,” aired on Saturday nights for 27 years, 1959 to 1986.

The live program was always introduced by Kupcinet’s trademark phrase, “the lively art of conversation.” It began at midnight and ended when conversation lagged, sometimes at 5:30 a.m.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson hailed Kupcinet as “a true trailblazer” whose show featured such black leaders as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, along with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.

Kupcinet estimated he interviewed about 6,500 guests on the show, including Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter, Sen. Robert Kennedy, Yul Brynner and Liberace.

A native of Chicago’s West Side, Kupcinet once said he knew as a child he would be in the newspaper business. His first job was as a sports writer for the Chicago Times, where he went to work after a shoulder injury cut short his first NFL season with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1935. The Times later merged with the Chicago Sun to create the Sun-Times.

“Kup’s Column” was born after an editor encouraged him to expand on his habit of ending stories with a series of short human interest items about the sports figures he was covering.

Kupcinet continued his relationship with football by officiating for the NFL. Later he did radio broadcasts of Chicago Bears games alongside Jack Brickhouse.

After movie columnist Hedda Hopper died in 1966, Kupcinet was invited to move to Los Angeles to replace her. But he said he chose to stay in Chicago because he and his wife, Essee, could not face living in the same city where their daughter Karyn, an actress, had recently been killed. The crime was never solved.

His wife of more than 60 years died in 2001. He is survived by his son, Jerry, and two grandchildren.

AP-ES-11-11-03 0947EST

Copy the Story Link