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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If you have an event taking place in the Denver area, email information to carlotta.olson@gazette.com at least two weeks in advance. All events are listed in the calendar on space availability.
Lo Moon — 7 p.m., Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St., Denver, $35 and up. Tickets: marquisdenver.com.
Full Sail — 7 p.m., Dazzle at Baur’s, 1080 14th St., Denver, go online for prices. Tickets: dazzledenver.com/#/events.
Your Friend Did What? — 7:30 p.m., Comedy Works Downtown in Larimer Square, 1226 15th St., Denver, $14. Tickets: comedyworks.com.
Graduate Woodwind Quintet – Juniper Winds — 7:30 p.m., Grusin Music Hall, Imig Music Building, 1020 18th St., Boulder, pay what you can. Online streaming available; cupresents.org.
Marty Friedman — With Nikki Stringfield & Patrick Kennison, 8 p.m., HQ, 60 S. Broadway, Denver, $30 and up. Tickets: hqdenver.com.
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“Heart Strings” — Works by Lilian Lara and MCA Denver teens, through Feb. 2, MCA Denver, 1485 Delgany St., Denver, go online for admission prices; mcadenver.org.
“Dawoud Bey: Street Portraits” — Through May 11, Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Ave. Parkway, Denver, go online for prices: denverartmuseum.org.
“De la Tierra: Reflections of Place in the Upper Río Grande” — Through May 23, History Colorado Center, 1200 Broadway, Denver, go online for prices: historycolorado.org/exhibit/de-la-tierra.
“Seeds of Inspiration” — Through May 26, Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York St., Denver, go online for prices; botanicgardens.org.
“Vanity & Vice: American Art Deco” — Through June 1, Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art, 1201 Bannock St., Denver. Go online for prices. Tickets: kirklandmuseum.org.
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“SUSTAINED! The Persistent Genius of Indigenous Art” — Through Dec. 31, Denver Art Museum, Denver, go online for prices: denverartmuseum.org.
Federal agents interrupted a party at a “makeshift nightclub” in north Denver early Sunday morning and arrested almost 50 people of undetermined immigration status, a large number of whom are reportedly affiliated with the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang.
A spokesperson with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Division told CBS Colorado that the immigration status of all the arrestees was “questionable” and being examined.
DEA agents, along with others from the Denver offices of Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, conducted an early morning raid. They entered a building at 6600 block of North Federal Boulevard when had been coverted into a “makeshift nightclub,” as described by the DEA in a social media post.
Federal and local law enforcement personnel enter a building early Sunday morning located at 6600 block of North Federal Boulevard. The operation targeted drug traffickers and members of the Tren de Aragua gang originating from Venezuela. Approximately 50 people were arrested, all of whom are having their immigration status examined, per a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spokesperson.
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U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration/X
Drugs, weapons and cash were seized.
The operation targeted drug trafficking and members of the TdA gang, the DEA stated.
After those 50 undocumented immigrants were taken into custody by the DEA, they were handed over to ICE, according to Steffan Tubbs of the DEA-Rocky Mountain Division.
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An ICE spokesperson contacted Sunday morning did not want to comment on the specifics of its role in the bust or speculate on how many of the arrestees would be held locally on criminal charges or immediately deported. A spokesperson with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado also declined to comment Sunday morning about potential federal charges against the arrestees.
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration/X
TdA gang activity partly to blame for unsafe conditions at several apartment buildings in Aurora. City officials there announced last week their intent to seek closure of the five remaining buildings in the Edge of Lowry complex at Dallas Street and East 12th Avenue. Residents have already been asked to vacate a sixth building in which a migrant couple was taken captive and beaten by alleged gang members late last year.
Nineteen people were arrested last month by Aurora Police Department officers in December as a result of their investigation into that incident. Sixteen of the 19 arrestees were at that time believed to be TdA members.
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A door at the rear of the building raided early Sunday morning by federal agents.
CBS
Aurora officials took over management of the buildings from CBZ Management. A judge appointed a new manager to oversee the sixth building as tenants seek new housing. They’ve been given a Feb. 18 deadline to be out of the Edge of Lowry apartments.
The City of Denver announced Friday its own closure of a CBZ managed apartment building, also for reported unsafe living conditions.
Police tape still surrounds the building at 6600 North Federal Boulevard mid-morning Sunday following a raid by federal agents hours earlier. The building is located in unincorporated Adams County.
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An undisclosed number of officers from local police agencies supported the federal raid.
Logan Smith
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Logan Smith is an assignment desk editor at CBS Colorado in Denver with more than 30 years of journalism experience in digital, television and print media.
The Denver Broncos have played in 10 AFC Championship Games.
That sits fourth in NFL history behind the Pittsburgh Steelers (16), New England Patriots (15) and Las Vegas Raiders (11). Of those teams, only the Patriots have a better record in AFC title games than Denver. New England is 11-4, and the Broncos are 8-2.
The Broncos haven’t been to an AFC title game since the 2015 season but seem to have the path back. As the AFC Championship Game kicks off today from Arrowhead Stadium, these two teams give us a glimpse of the competition the Broncos have and what it’ll take for Denver to return to their 11th AFC title game.
Based on the results against the Bills and Baltimore Ravens this season, the Broncos aren’t close. But moves this offseason to give Bo Nix offensive weapons and shoring up the defense that dropped off the last month or so of the season will be huge. The first step was made getting into the AFC Playoffs. Now the franchise needs to take the next steps to reach the level of the Bills and the Chiefs.
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For the last nine years, when the AFC title game has been played, Denver has seemed so far away from returning that you start to wonder if it ever will. For the first time since winning Super Bowl 50 and Peyton Manning retired, there’s hope. There’s a plan. There’s a quarterback, head coach, general manager, and ownership all aligned to get the Broncos back to competing for and winning the AFC Championship.
If all goes well this offseason, playing in Denver’s 11th AFC title game isn’t so far off after all.
And FUKC. Go Bills!
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Denver Broncos offseason positional outlook: Outside linebackers | 9news.com Bonitto has made this a position of strength. He’s also in position to strike it rich.
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How Dan Snyder views Commanders’ title run: ‘He … hates it’ – ESPN Sources close to the ex-Commanders owner say he remains in denial over what led to his ouster from the NFL.
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NFL playoffs conference championships: Picks, schedule, odds, injuries – ESPN Commanders-Eagles and Bills-Chiefs are on deck Sunday. We preview both matchups, including game picks.
Source: Titans, Browns, Giants asked Shedeur Sanders to not practice at Shrine Bowl – Yahoo Sports Sanders is widely viewed as one of the top two quarterback prospects in this upcoming draft.
NFL conference title game predictions: Who decides Super Bowl matchup? The Super Bowl 59 matchup is almost set. Who will be the key figures who help determine the winners of the AFC and NFC title games?
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