Herbert “Herb” Caen (April 3, 1916 – Feb. 1, 1997) was a San Francisco humorist and journalist whose daily column of local goings-on and insider gossip, social and political happenings, and offbeat puns and anecdotes appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle for almost sixty years (excepting a relatively brief defection to The San Francisco Examiner). He was a household name throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. A special Pulitzer Prize called Caen the “voice and conscience” of San Francisco.
Quote: “I hope I go to Heaven, and when I do, I’m going to do what every San Franciscan does when he gets there. He looks around and says, ‘It ain’t bad, but it ain’t San Francisco.’ ” strong>||| “A city is where you can sign a petition, boo the chief justice, fish off a pier, gaze at a hippopotamus, buy a flower at the corner, or get a good hamburger or a bad girl at 4 A.M. A city is where sirens make white streaks of sound in the sky and foghorns speak in dark grays. San Francisco is such a city.”
Sources: Wikipedia, BrainyQuote
Learn more about Herb Caen on Wikipedia. ►
Read columns by Herb Caen. Click on the titles to go to the full text. ►
Watch “Herb Caen and Fog — iconic San Francisco: Fred Lyon at The Interval at Long Now” [8:53]. The part about Herb Caen starts at 3:50. ►
Watch “Person of Interest — Herb Caen” [5:19]. ►
Photo: The San Francisco Examiner
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