The life of the recently deceased Jerry Holtzman had its up and downs:
“Like so many who worked with him, I respected and loved Jerry Holtzman,” Michael Davis writes. “That may explain the pain of awakening Tuesday morning to read his obituary posted on the Tribune’s Web site. The story suggested Jerry had been run out of the Sun-Times in 1981, into the welcoming arms of the Tribune. It implied he had been a victim of neglect at the hands of know-nothing editors on Wabash Avenue.
“While it’s true Jerry was shunted aside in the mid-1970s by sports editor Lewis Grizzard, within a few years his career bounced back as if he had Flubber on his heels.”
Grizzard was a perfectionist as to writing style, the story goes, and got after Holtzman for using cliches. Holtzman told him they were cliches he had invented.
Blithe Spirit 