Alden Whitman; Former N.Y. Times Obituary Writer
Alden Whitman, who profiled the world’s major political and cultural figures as the New York Times’ chief obituary writer during the 1960s and ‘70s, has died. He was 76.
Whitman, of Southampton, died Tuesday in Monte Carlo.
Whitman’s obituaries were marked by an elegant writing style and illuminated by comments and reminiscences gathered in confidential interviews with his subjects.
The Polk Memorial Awards of 1980 included a special award to Whitman for setting “new standards of excellence at what had been considered a routine assignment.”
He began writing obituaries in 1964 and traveled the world to speak with such figures as Pablo Casals, Helen Keller, Charles Lindbergh, Ho Chi Minh, Pablo Picasso, Haile Selassie, Charlie Chaplin, Anthony Eden and Earl Warren.
After leaving the Times, Whitman wrote book reviews that appeared in a number of publications.
In addition to his wife, Joan, a former Times editor who married Whitman in 1960, survivors include two sons and two daughters from a previous marriage.
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