Rick Kogan
Encyclopedia
Rick Kogan is a Chicago newspaperman, a Chicago radio personality and a noted author.
neighborhood, Kogan was born the son of longtime Chicago newspaperman Herman Kogan
(1914–1989) and longtime Chicago literary and journalism fixture Marilew Kogan (1919–2007). His parents named him Rick and not Richard as a tribute to Riccardo's, a legendary Chicago restaurant and watering hole that now is known as Stefani's. On the night that Kogan was born, noted author, historian and broadcaster Studs Terkel
came over and took Kogan's father, Herman, out for a celebratory drink.
Kogan's first home was in an apartment on the second floor of an old graystone at 1444 N. State Parkway on Chicago's Gold Coast, a building that was demolished in 1959. When Kogan's brother Mark was born several years later, the family relocated to an apartment in Old Town
.
Kogan attended LaSalle Elementary School in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood. and The Latin School of Chicago
, Class of 1969. He did not earn a college degree, and worked a variety of jobs in his late teens and early twenties, including as a cab driver.
at age 16. Although he did not attend college, Kogan continued to write for the Sun-Times, the Chicago Daily News
, and then, after the Daily News ceased publication in 1978, returning to the Sun-Times, where he specialized in writing about Chicago's nightlife.
In 1985, Kogan joined the Chicago Tribune
, eventually becoming the paper's TV critic and later serving as editor of the Tribune's Tempo section. He currently is on the staff of the Chicago Tribune Magazine, and he also typically writes front-page obituaries of notable Chicago figures, particularly those who have worked in the news media or literature. Among those whom Kogan has memorialized with front-page tributes are Mike Royko
(with Jerry Crimmins), Irv Kupcinet
, Ann Landers, Gene Siskel
, Charles M. Schulz
, Studs Terkel
, Jeff MacNelly
and Abraham Lincoln Marovitz
(with Noah Isackson).
Kogan has had more than 4,500 bylines in the Tribune since 1985. One of his most popular features, "Sidewalks," is a weekly feature in the magazine that he produced with longtime Tribune photographer Charles Osgood, who retired in 2008.
Kogan is also currently the host/producer of Chicago Live!, a radio show produced by the Chicago Tribune and broadcast on WGN Radio.
Kogan worked in the late 1980s as a part-time entertainment reporter for WBBM-TV
and has worked for WBBM
radio as well.
From the fall of 1994 until the fall of 1995, Kogan hosted a Sunday morning talk show called "The Sunday Papers" on Chicago's WLUP-FM. From March 1998 until September 1998, Kogan teamed up with Chicago Sun-Times columnist and noted movie critic Richard Roeper
to co-host a daily radio show called "Media Creatures" on Chicago's WMVP-AM. Currently, Kogan again hosts a Sunday morning talk show called "The Sunday Papers" on Chicago's WGN-AM. He is widely known among Chicago radio listeners for his distinctive, gravely voice, which once was named the best voice in the city by Chicago's alternative Newcity
.
Kogan has authored eight books, including: Yesterday's Chicago (co-authored with his father, Herman); Everybody Pays (co-authored with Maurice Possley), about the Chicago mob and the retrial of mob hit man Harry Aleman
; America's Mom: The Life, Lessons and Legacy of Ann Landers; A Chicago Tavern: A Goat, a curse And the American Dream, about Chicago's fabled Billy Goat Tavern
; Dr. Night Life, Sidewalks: Portraits of Chicago; and Brunswick: The Story of an American Company from 1845 to 1985.
Early life and education
A native of Chicago's Old TownOld Town, Chicago
Old Town is a neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, bounded by the Ogden Ave. right-of-way on the northwest, Larrabee Street on the west, Clybourn Avenue on the southwest and Division Street on the south and Clark Street on the east and northeast. It spans across eastern parts of the community areas...
neighborhood, Kogan was born the son of longtime Chicago newspaperman Herman Kogan
Herman Kogan
Herman Kogan spent fifty years covering Chicago, many with the Chicago Sun-Times. He is the author of Yesterday's Chicago Herman Kogan (November 6, 1914 - March 8, 1989) spent fifty years covering Chicago, many with the Chicago Sun-Times. He is the author of Yesterday's Chicago Herman Kogan...
(1914–1989) and longtime Chicago literary and journalism fixture Marilew Kogan (1919–2007). His parents named him Rick and not Richard as a tribute to Riccardo's, a legendary Chicago restaurant and watering hole that now is known as Stefani's. On the night that Kogan was born, noted author, historian and broadcaster Studs Terkel
Studs Terkel
Louis "Studs" Terkel was an American author, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for The Good War, and is best remembered for his oral histories of common Americans, and for hosting a long-running radio show in Chicago.-Early...
came over and took Kogan's father, Herman, out for a celebratory drink.
Kogan's first home was in an apartment on the second floor of an old graystone at 1444 N. State Parkway on Chicago's Gold Coast, a building that was demolished in 1959. When Kogan's brother Mark was born several years later, the family relocated to an apartment in Old Town
Old Town, Chicago
Old Town is a neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, bounded by the Ogden Ave. right-of-way on the northwest, Larrabee Street on the west, Clybourn Avenue on the southwest and Division Street on the south and Clark Street on the east and northeast. It spans across eastern parts of the community areas...
.
Kogan attended LaSalle Elementary School in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood. and The Latin School of Chicago
The Latin School of Chicago
The Latin School of Chicago is a private elementary, middle and high school in the Gold Coast neighborhood in Chicago. The school was founded in 1888 by Mabel Slade Vickery.- History :...
, Class of 1969. He did not earn a college degree, and worked a variety of jobs in his late teens and early twenties, including as a cab driver.
Professional career
Kogan earned his first byline in the Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
at age 16. Although he did not attend college, Kogan continued to write for the Sun-Times, the Chicago Daily News
Chicago Daily News
The Chicago Daily News was an afternoon daily newspaper published between 1876 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois.-History:The Daily News was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty in 1875 and began publishing early the next year...
, and then, after the Daily News ceased publication in 1978, returning to the Sun-Times, where he specialized in writing about Chicago's nightlife.
In 1985, Kogan joined the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, eventually becoming the paper's TV critic and later serving as editor of the Tribune's Tempo section. He currently is on the staff of the Chicago Tribune Magazine, and he also typically writes front-page obituaries of notable Chicago figures, particularly those who have worked in the news media or literature. Among those whom Kogan has memorialized with front-page tributes are Mike Royko
Mike Royko
Michael "Mike" Royko was a newspaper columnist in Chicago, who won the 1972 Pulitzer Prize for commentary...
(with Jerry Crimmins), Irv Kupcinet
Irv Kupcinet
Irv Kupcinet was an American newspaper columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and a broadcast personality based in Chicago, Illinois...
, Ann Landers, Gene Siskel
Gene Siskel
Eugene Kal "Gene" Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted the popular review show Siskel & Ebert At the Movies from 1975 until his death....
, Charles M. Schulz
Charles M. Schulz
Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz was an American cartoonist, whose comic strip Peanuts proved one of the most popular and influential in the history of the medium, and is still widely reprinted on a daily basis.-Early life and education:Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Schulz grew up in Saint Paul...
, Studs Terkel
Studs Terkel
Louis "Studs" Terkel was an American author, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for The Good War, and is best remembered for his oral histories of common Americans, and for hosting a long-running radio show in Chicago.-Early...
, Jeff MacNelly
Jeff MacNelly
Jeffrey Kenneth MacNelly was a three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist and the creator of the popular comic strip Shoe.-Early life:...
and Abraham Lincoln Marovitz
Abraham Lincoln Marovitz
Abraham Lincoln Marovitz was a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.- Early life and education :...
(with Noah Isackson).
Kogan has had more than 4,500 bylines in the Tribune since 1985. One of his most popular features, "Sidewalks," is a weekly feature in the magazine that he produced with longtime Tribune photographer Charles Osgood, who retired in 2008.
Kogan is also currently the host/producer of Chicago Live!, a radio show produced by the Chicago Tribune and broadcast on WGN Radio.
Kogan worked in the late 1980s as a part-time entertainment reporter for WBBM-TV
WBBM-TV
WBBM-TV, virtual channel 2 , is the CBS owned-and-operated television station in Chicago, Illinois. WBBM-TV's main studios and offices are located in The Loop section of Chicago, as part of the development at Block 37, and its transmitter is atop the Willis Tower.-History:WBBM-TV traces its history...
and has worked for WBBM
WBBM (AM)
WBBM is an all-news CBS radio station in Chicago, Illinois broadcasting on the AM dial at 780 kHz. It is owned by CBS along with WBBM-TV....
radio as well.
From the fall of 1994 until the fall of 1995, Kogan hosted a Sunday morning talk show called "The Sunday Papers" on Chicago's WLUP-FM. From March 1998 until September 1998, Kogan teamed up with Chicago Sun-Times columnist and noted movie critic Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
to co-host a daily radio show called "Media Creatures" on Chicago's WMVP-AM. Currently, Kogan again hosts a Sunday morning talk show called "The Sunday Papers" on Chicago's WGN-AM. He is widely known among Chicago radio listeners for his distinctive, gravely voice, which once was named the best voice in the city by Chicago's alternative Newcity
Newcity
Newcity is an independent, free weekly newspaper in Chicago that specializes in music, stage, film and art and is notable for launching the careers of numerous cartoonists and writers and art critics. The publication was described by the Chicago Tribune as "sophisticated" and as an "alternative...
.
Kogan has authored eight books, including: Yesterday's Chicago (co-authored with his father, Herman); Everybody Pays (co-authored with Maurice Possley), about the Chicago mob and the retrial of mob hit man Harry Aleman
Harry Aleman
Harry "The Hook" Aleman was a Chicago mobster who was one of most feared enforcers for the Chicago Outfit during the 1970s. Aleman got the nickname "Hook" from his boxing career in high school.-Early life:...
; America's Mom: The Life, Lessons and Legacy of Ann Landers; A Chicago Tavern: A Goat, a curse And the American Dream, about Chicago's fabled Billy Goat Tavern
Billy Goat Tavern
The Billy Goat Tavern is a chain of taverns located in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1937 by Billy Sianis, a Greek immigrant. It achieved fame primarily through newspaper columns by Mike Royko, a supposed curse on the Chicago Cubs, and the Olympia Cafe sketch on Saturday Night Live.It now has...
; Dr. Night Life, Sidewalks: Portraits of Chicago; and Brunswick: The Story of an American Company from 1845 to 1985.
Personal
Kogan has a daughter, Fiona, who lives in Hyde Park with her mother. Kogan lives downtown.External links
- http://wgnradio.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=102&Itemid=177