News Release

James Kilpatrick- The Journalist Who Made "Curmudgeons" Chic

Kansas City, MO  (06/09/2006)  James Kilpatrick came to Universal Press Syndicate in 1979, after UPS acquired the Washington Star Syndicate. At that time he wrote a thrice-weekly political commentary column called “A Conservative View.” In 1993, he switched from three-times-a-week general political commentary to a weekly column on the Supreme Court, called “Covering the Courts.” His second column with Universal Press Syndicate, “The Writer’s Art,” is a weekly column that entertains and informs readers on the use and abuse of the English language.

Kilpatrick became the most widely syndicated political columnist in the country when he began “A Conservative View,” in 1964, which he continued for 28 years. For nine years he served as a debater on 60 Minutes, making the Point/Counterpoint segments famous. He also appeared on various television programs including Meet the Press and Inside Washington. He has written seven books, two of them on his favorite personal diversion -- the written word -- and he has submitted various articles for magazines including National Business and National Review. He began his career at the Richmond, Va. News Leader, serving as editor for 17 years. Kilpatrick was born on Nov. 1, 1920 in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Q& A with James Kilpatrick:

Q. Can you share some insight on how you became involved in the syndication business and how you came to call Universal Press your home?

A. My life as a syndicated columnist began in 1970 or thereabouts. I was then in Richmond, Va., as editor of the afternoon News Leader. I had a regional reputation as a sassy fellow. Up on Long Island, Newsday was developing its own stable for syndication. The editors had 10 liberals lined up and needed one conservative for balance. They offered me a contract. I signed on for one year. Then Harry Elmlark came along, God rest him, lured me away. He was the most demonic syndicate salesman I ever met, and I had met a goodly number of them. He wrote up a contract for me to sign. It was ridiculous -- everything for Elmlark, pittances for me. I was ready to sign it, but he seized the pen and put it away. Only a pure-blue innocent would have signed the thing. He figured I needed a keeper or a nanny. Eventually he steered me to Universal Press and remained my guiding light until he died and John McMeel ensorcelled me.

Q. What do you like best about writing a column?

A. The best? The reader feedback. And arguing with Alan McDermott (Kilpatrick's longtime editor at Universal Press Syndicate.)

Q. Which grammar mistake irks you the most?

A. Hard to say. Try, "Does everyone have their drink?" "He scolded John and I."

Q. Which grammar questions are asked the most frequently?

A. Remarkably, it is to distinguish "take" and "bring." It is the easiest distinction of them all. We bring to and we take from. And many times the choice doesn't matter. As we head for a picnic, Jennifer will take the gin and I'll bring the vermouth. Nothing to it.

Q. Grammar and the Supreme Court are two distinct column topics. How did your choice of both come about?

A. Grammar and the court. I fell in love with the writing art when I was 6 and wrote a published verse about Lindbergh's flight to Paris. A child's magazine paid me a dime and I was done for. I have been a pro ever since. As a cub reporter in Richmond, I was assigned to cover both civil and criminal (and appellate) courts, and after years of covering politics and everything else, I went back to my first love -- the law.

Q. In your opinion, what do you believe have been the most significant rulings of the Supreme Court since you began covering it?

A. In my life as a newspaperman, the two most influential opinions of the Supreme Court came just five months apart in 1954. Brown v. Board of Education in May, and Bernard v. Parker in October. Everybody knows Brown. The Bernard case, involving slum clearance in Washington, D.C., opened the floodgates for abuse of the power of eminent domain.

Q. In what ways have you seen the Supreme Court change throughout the course of your career?

A. Twenty or 30 years ago the court produced 120 to 150 opinions a year. Now their eminences labor to produce 80.

Q. Do you miss your years as a reporter?

A. Yes, but I was always a reporter when I was an editorial writer or columnist. It's been a wonderful life.

Q. For the majority of your journalism career you have written a weekly column, mostly juggling two per week. Have you ever counted just how many columns you have written during your syndication career?

A. Since I began writing for Universal, I've written maybe 5,000 columns amounting to maybe 4 million words.

Q. On a lighter note, what is your opinion of Dan Aykroyd's portrayal of you on Saturday Night Live?

A. Saturday Night Live? I am an early-to-bedder and rarely saw Dan Aykroyd's parodies, but I liked what I heard about them. Shana Alexander taped all of them for occasional use at her dinner parties. Great girl, Shana.

Q. Throughout your career, you have met various (to quote your bio) "presidents, prime ministers, ambassadors, con artists, senators, diplomats and medical quacks." Whom among those did you find the most intriguing (good or bad) or inspiring?

A. Most unforgettable character? Lyndon Johnson. No contest.

Q. What do you consider your most notable accomplishment?

A. My most notable accomplishment? I persuaded two lovely, talented, beautiful, wrong-headed women to marry me -- sculptor Marie Pietri for 55 years (1942-1997) and columnist Marianne Means for the past blissful six.

Q. You've had many professional milestones in your career—are there any that are particularly meaningful to you?

A. The first one came along in 1949, when Tennant Bryan named me to succeed (not to replace) the retiring Douglas Southall Freeman as editor of the Richmond News Leader. Plaques and bottle caps came later. As one of my journalist friends told me long ago, "A reporter has to live a very careful life to avoid getting an award for writing."

Creator(s): James J. Kilpatrick

Contact(s): Kathie Kerr

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