Mike Royko

Pulitzer Prize Journalist. He was a Pulitzer Prize newspaper columnist who was known for his sarcastic yet blunt witty truth and colorful stories of life in Chicago, Illinois. He earned the 1972 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for his January 22, 1971 column published in the "Chicago Daily News", which was entitled "New in Town? Here's How Things Work, Bub." The son of a Ukrainian immigrant cab driver, he made a name for himself working first for the "Chicago Daily News," then the "Chicago Sun-Times," then finally the "Chicago Tribune," putting into print more than 7,500 daily columns that were syndicated to another 500 newspapers. He quit the "Sun-Times" a day after Australian press baron Rupert Murdoch bought the newspaper in 1984, giving his reason for quitting that he believed Murdoch would rather have sensational journalism than quality journalism. He expressed little use for politicians, but wrote about them frequently. His book, "The Boss," depicts Richard J. Daley's tenure as Mayor of Chicago during the 1960s and 1970s and the inner workings of a giant political machine. This book sold over a million copies. During his lifetime, he published seven books, and four more were published posthumously. A devoted baseball fan, after Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Carey's death from a heart attack in the late 1980s, he took a turn in the team's booth as guest announcer. Besides the Pulitzer Prize, he received the National Press Club Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990 and in 1995 received the Damon Runyon Award, given annually to the journalist who best exemplifies the style that made Runyon one of the best columnists of his day. Posthumously, in 2011, he was inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame. After attending a community college for a short time, he enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1952, served in the Korean Conflict, and began his journalism career in 1955 for an Air Force newspaper. He married his childhood sweetheart, Carol Duckman, and had two sons. His wife's sudden 1979 death impacted his career for over a year. In 2010, "Royko in Love: Mike's Letters to Carol" was published. As a widower, he remarried, and the couple had a son and a daughter. According to his obituary, he had a stroke in early April while enjoying a Florida vacation. He then developed the complication of heart failure following surgery for a brain aneurysm. He was buried with his first wife.