Nat Hentoff, Iconic Columnist and Civil Liberties Advocate, Dies at 91
Jan 7, 2017(Updated 6 h ago)Cato Institute

Nat Hentoff, the civil liberties advocate and columnist who wrote about jazz and politics everything in between during a career spanning seven decades, died Saturday at 91, his son said.

Sad to report the death of my father #NatHentoff tonight at the age of 91. He died surrounded by family listening to Billie Holiday. pic.twitter.com/15LEtUqBGh Nick Hentoff (@Nick_Hentoff) January 8, 2017

Hentoff started his career in the closing days of World War II and continued to write until his death.

He was best known as a civil liberties advocate and political commentator and wrote a regular weekly column for years in New Yorks liberal Village Voice. After being laid off by the Voice in 2008, he became a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.

Hentoff was also a renowned jazz critic and a major figure in the jazz industry who was named an NEA Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts.