[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 163 (Tuesday, November 11, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S14450]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        FAREWELL TO IRV KUPCINET

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today the city of Chicago, IL, is marking 
the passing of a legend. Just yesterday, Chicago, and the rest of the 
Nation as well, lost a giant--the famous Chicago Sun Times columnist 
Irv Kupcinet who died at age 91.
  In the city of Chicago, there are few landmarks anyone thinks of, but 
one of the great landmarks was Irv Kupcinet. He was a columnist not 
only known across Chicago but across the Nation.
  A native Chicagoan, Kup, as he was known to millions, said that even 
as a child he knew someday he would be in the newspaper business. But 
it wasn't until a shoulder injury ended his first National Football 
League season with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1935 that he turned to 
journalism, becoming a sports writer for the now defunct Chicago Times.
  In 1948 that paper merged with a cross-town rival to create the Sun-
Times, the newspaper which Kup called home for the remaining 55 years 
of his life. And as any reader of his columns can attest, right up 
until the end, Irv Kupcinet still wrote with passion and wit about the 
subjects on which he built his career--famous people and his native 
Chicago.
  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 of Chicago renamed the Wabash Avenue bridge over the Chicago 
River in his honor in 1986.
  In 1959, Kup became the host for the syndicated television show, ``At 
Random,'' where he interviewed personalities ranging from Nobel Prize 
winners and politicians to starlets and oddballs. Kupcinet estimated he 
interviewed about 6,500 guests on the show, which aired every Saturday 
night for 27 years, including former Presidents Richard M. Nixon, 
Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, and other newsmakers such as Lenny Bruce, 
Senator Robert Kennedy, Yul Brynner and Malcolm X. The show won a 
Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting and more than a dozen 
Emmys.
  His other accomplishments were enough to fill several careers. He 
continued his relationship with football by officiating for the NFL. He 
broadcast Chicago Bears football games on radio, with Jack Brickhouse, 
for 24 years. He appeared in two movies by Otto Preminger, ``Advise and 
Consent'' and ``Anatomy of a Murder.''
  But it was his power as a writer and his integrity as a person that 
set Irv Kupcinet apart. Kup did not dish the dirt that other celebrity 
columnists thrived on. Instead, he often took on subjects not typically 
covered by his counterparts; topics such as race relations and 
veterans' issues. He was also a tireless worker for charities--raising 
funds and lending his name to a host of charitable causes.
  In 1939, Kup married the love of his life, a feisty redheaded 
Northwestern University student named Esther ``Essee'' Solomon. The 
couple had two children, Jerry and Karyn, who was known as ``Cookie.'' 
Cookie was an aspiring actress and moved to Hollywood, where she died 
at the age of 22. Her murder was never solved, and Kup grieved the loss 
of his daughter for the rest of his life. His beloved Essee died just 
two years ago in 2001.
  Today we woke up to a world without Irv Kupcinet, and we are all 
somewhat poorer by that loss. But a little part of Kup will always be 
with us. And his example is one worth noting.
  If an aspiring columnist were to ask my advise on reaching the 
highest levels of that profession, I would offer the following advice: 
study the life of Irv Kupcinet. Try to capture his passion, his 
courage, his style. And never forget those things that came across in 
every column he wrote--a love of story, a love of language, and a 
genuine love of people.
  Thank you Kup. We will miss you.
  I close by saying a few months ago, Kup, who was then in a 
wheelchair, asked me if I would join him at his legendary luncheon he 
had every Saturday at the Drake Hotel. I went to that luncheon. There 
were about 12 gathered there--friends of Kup for a lifetime. I was the 
youngest at the table by at least 20 years.
  I listened as they regaled me with stories of America and Chicago, of 
sports, of horse racing, entertainment--everything that had made Kup's 
life. It was a great lunch, and I will never forget it.
  America is never going to forget Irv Kupcinet. The real question we 
now face in Chicago is whether we can get up in the morning and face a 
day without Kup's column. By standing fast to his memory, standing fast 
to his values, I think we will be able to weather this storm and still 
maintain a warm spot in our heart for the late Irv Kupcinet.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  THE PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

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