Kempton, Murray, 1917-1997

BIOGHIST REQUIRED James Murray Kempton was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1917. He became an influential American journalist, working for over 45 years in the field. Kempton wrote for the New York Post, the New York Review of Books, the World Telegram and World Sun, and finally with Newsday . He was a radio commentator for CBS as well. Kempton was a prolific writer, producing often times four columns a week, totaling more than 10,000 over the course of his career. Additionally, he was the author of three books. Kempton was known as a liberal, but had many friends of differing political views, including William F. Buckley Jr. and Richard Nixon. Kempton was married twice, with three sons and one daughter. He lived his later life with New York Review of Books founding co-editor Barbara Epstein. Producing columns through to the end, Kempton died at the age of 79 in 1997.

From the guide to the Murray Kempton Papers, 1940-1997, [Bulk Dates: 1954-1997], (Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library, )