Bill Husted, who charmed and inflamed Denver’s elite as a columnist for both The Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News, died at his Denver home in hospice care on Saturday at age 76.
He died from complications related to cancer, according to his wife, Polly Kruse.
The thousands of articles Husted wrote from the early 1980s through 2010s leave an archive of Denver culture that’s nearly unmatched in its detail and nuance, friends and colleagues said, from the foibles of the ultra-rich (some of whom he enraged with his writing) to tender moments at society galas.
“People always got that feeling reading his work that he was our guy, one of us,” said Joe Rassenfoss, who hired Husted away from a server job at Boccalino to write his first column for the Rocky Mountain News in 1983 — for $50 per week. “He wasn’t above us. He was our eyes and ears.”
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Readers of The Denver Post were familiar with Bill Husted’s column.
That included literary quips on society culture and gossip, withering humor and, perhaps most importantly, fierce competitiveness in a town where more people knew each other than they do now.
Time was, Denver was smaller, newspapers were bigger, and Husted was revered and feared as the primary chronicler of the city’s cultural scene, said Sen. John Hickenlooper.
“He was a real Herb Caen figure — a man about town,” Hickenlooper said, referencing the influential San Francisco gossip writer and journalist. “He wrote one of the first articles about the Wynkoop Brewery. He also named one of our events, where we walked pigs down the alley to the Oxford Hotel on 17th and back. He called it The Running of the Pigs, or Pamplona on the Platte, which I’ll always think is an amazing turn of phrase.”
Husted and Hickenlooper stayed friends through Hickenlooper’s political ascension to mayor, governor, and Senator — in part, Hickenlooper thinks, because of Husted’s incredible love of listening to and telling stories, and the bonding that promoted.
“There was no one who did it like he did,” said Kim Christiansen, a 9News anchor who worked with Husted when he appeared on TV to share his work. “Every time he saw you he asked about someone in your world, which is a gift. He remembered people’s lives, which is not always the case in superficial relationships. I think he got a lot of scoops that way.”
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The news media ecosystem then supported more than one of those jobs in town at the time.
“We always had a friendly little competition going,” said Joanne Davidson, The Post’s former society writer. “Our goal every day was to make the other choke on their Cheerios, because inevitably one of us would have something really juicy that the other didn’t have.”
Husted debuted as the society writer for the Rocky in October of 1986 with a story on the Carousel Ball, which Rassenfoss described as “the biggest, baddest bash in Denver in those days, put on by Marvin Davis and his wife, Barbara. Because Marvin owned 20th Century Fox, he got lots of stars, that year ranging from Gary Coleman to Henry Kissinger, to come and mingle.” (One of Husted’s best story ledes, Rassenfoss added, was the 1992 phrase “Geraldo Rivera wants to punch me in the nose.”)
Husted was a familiar presence at those events, but also restaurants and bars, holding his beloved cigar and martini, friends said. His car usually stood out in the parking lot, given his license plate TELL ME. All of that ran parallel to a silliness he was also unafraid to showcase.
“He always made me laugh with these stupid things,” said Nancy Sagar, who was married to Husted for two years in the early 1990s and stayed good friends with him after their divorce. “He would go into the bathroom and come out intentionally with toilet paper hanging off the back of his pants and his shoes. And he would walk through the restaurant like that.”
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Husted was born on Aug. 13, 1948, on the Upper East Side of New York City. At 10 years old, he “was riding subways and cabs, sneaking into clubs, (and) soaking up New York’s last golden age,” according to a biography in his novel “Let Me Tell You About the #VeryRich.”
Husted bounced between Denver, the East Coast and overseas before returning to Denver, where he became a morning fixture for newspaper readers. The Denver Post lured him away from the Rocky in 1996, Husted wrote, where he was the paper’s featured city columnist through 2011.
“He had no journalistic training, but was urbane, well-educated and had such a natural, conversational way of writing that you were immediately engaged,” wrote former Post editor and columnist Suzanne Brown, one of Husted’s first editors, via email.
“Amused, intrigued, you were right there with him as he made his rounds to clubs, parties and hot restaurants,” she wrote. “As an editor, I just had to correct his many misspellings of names and places, as he didn’t let such minor things get in the way of meeting a deadline. He would rarely admit this was the case and thank me for saving his bacon!”
Services are still being planned, according to Kruse.
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Dogs like Bailey — the former Dog of the Week in The Denver Post’s Adventurist newsletter — will be in good company at the first Denver Dog Fair this weekend. (Provided by Barbara Ellis)
Denver Dog Fair
Saturday-Sunday. Woof! If the last few weeks have left you panting, why not surround yourself with unconditional love? The first Denver Dog Fair takes place on Nov. 22 and 23 with the promise of unending poochie goodness. There will be dog adoption booths, “celebrity” dogs, performances and tricks, a dog-fashion show, vendors, a dozen food trucks, kids’ bounce house, crafting, and more.
It takes place indoors at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds, 25690 E. Quincy Ave. in Aurora, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Tickets: $20, good for both days; 5 and under free. $5 per dog. Price includes all entertainment and activities (minus adoption fees and food/drink). denverdogfair.com
Christkindlmarket and the Mile High Tree
Friday. The annual Mile High Tree at Civic Center park has quickly become a modern classic in Denver, with its 110-foot-tall display of 60,000, color-changing LED lights. Its location next to the annual Christkindlmarket and across from the brightly decorated Denver City & County Building makes it a one-stop shop for free family holiday fun.
At the 24th Christkindlmarket you’ll find local vendors plus Glühwein (mulled spiced wine), German biers and hot chocolate, Bavarian-style pretzels, fresh smoked salmon, Knödel, goulash, Nürnberger sausages, pastries, caramels and European chocolates. The tree’s light-and-music shows run from 5 to 10 p.m. nightly.
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The market and tree both open on Friday, Nov. 22, with the market running through Dec. 23. The market is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday; and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. denver.org/milehighholidays/mile-high-tree or christkindlmarketdenver.com
Charlie Fausette, 6, from Tampa, Fla., ice skates with her father Rob at Downtown Denver Rink in Denver on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
Free ice skating downtown
Through Feb. 2, 2025. Whatever the weather, you can get a bit of holiday fun in by stopping by the popular Downtown Denver Rink. The rink, which basically bisects the 16th Street Mall’s Skyline Park (just outside the Daniels and Fisher Clocktower at 16th and Arapahoe streets), is a public rink where you can rent or bring your own skates.
It’s open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Entry is free; skate rentals are $12 for adults and $9 for kids 12 and under. winterindenver.com/rink
Santa and Mrs. Claus will be ready for photos at the Denver Christmas Show, this year moving to the National Western Complex. (Provided by Michelle Ellis)
A very merry Denver Christmas Show
Friday-Sunday. You don’t have to be in the market for gifts to get something out of the Denver Christmas Show at the National Western Complex. It’s a family-friendly affair, with Santa visits (and photos), daily storytime and hot cocoa with Mrs. Claus, live music, dancing, and more.
Of course, if you want to pick up some candy or chocolate, local gifts, or holiday decor, that will be right there too (with free gift wrapping), as well as plenty of other vendors. Tickets for the Friday, Nov. 22-Sunday, Nov. 24, event are $14 for 14-and-up, and free for 13-and-under. It runs 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at 4655 Humboldt St. in Denver. denverchristmasshow.com
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Dallas Mavericks (8-7, 11th in the Western Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (8-5, fifth in the Western Conference)
Denver; Friday, 10 p.m. EST
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BOTTOM LINE: Dallas seeks to keep its three-game win streak alive when the Mavericks take on Denver.
The Nuggets are 4-5 in Western Conference games. Denver is fifth in the league with 46.2 rebounds led by Nikola Jokic averaging 13.7.
The Mavericks have gone 6-6 against Western Conference opponents. Dallas ranks sixth in the Western Conference with 17.2 fast break points per game led by Luka Doncic averaging 4.6.
The Nuggets make 46.8% of their shots from the field this season, which is 2.1 percentage points higher than the Mavericks have allowed to their opponents (44.7%). The Mavericks average 115.6 points per game, 0.5 more than the 115.1 the Nuggets give up to opponents.
TOP PERFORMERS: Michael Porter Jr. is shooting 47.9% and averaging 18.3 points for the Nuggets.
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Kyrie Irving is averaging 24.3 points and 5.2 assists for the Mavericks.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 7-3, averaging 119.7 points, 45.4 rebounds, 30.7 assists, 9.0 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 48.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 116.0 points per game.
Mavericks: 5-5, averaging 118.0 points, 44.3 rebounds, 25.5 assists, 7.7 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 50.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.2 points.
INJURIES: Nuggets: Aaron Gordon: out (calf), DaRon Holmes II: out for season (achilles), Nikola Jokic: day to day (personal).
Mavericks: Dante Exum: out (wrist).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Pop music icon Billie Eilish had a very important request before performing a sold-out show at Denver’s Ball Arena on Tuesday night: She wanted to snuggle with some animals.
Two Front Range shelters were more than happy to bring some furry friends for a backstage meet-and-greet with Eilish and her team, Brighter Days Dog Rescue founder and director Becca Orin said.
Broken Shovels Farm Sanctuary first got the request through the venue, and the Commerce City sanctuary teamed up with Brighter Days in Boulder to bring puppies, kittens and a pony to the arena.
Billie Eilish snuggles with a puppy and pony from Brighter Days Dog Rescue and Broken Shovels Farm Sanctuary before performing at Ball Arena in Denver on Nov. 19, 2024. (Courtesy of Becca Orin)
Eilish, her mom and team were “amazing,” Orin said, and showered the animals with love – particularly Samson the pony, who was overjoyed by all of the attention and cookies.
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Brighter Days shared photos of the visit in a post on Facebook, with Eilish grinning cheek-to-cheek with a puppy and getting a nuzzle from Samson.
“This is not the first time we have brought animals to Ball Arena for the artists ahead of their performance, but this was the first time the artist was kind enough and generous enough to let us take pictures and give us permission to post them on social media,” Orin said.
Eilish is set to perform a second sold-out show at Ball Arena on Wednesday night as part of her Hit Me Hard And Soft Tour.
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