ART BUCHWALD, the Pulitzer Prize-winning political satirist, columnist and author of more than 30 books who built deceptively simple spoofs of modern life on foundations of indignation, has died. He was 81.
Buchwald, who had seemed to literally laugh in the face of death over the last year, succumbed to kidney failure Wednesday while surrounded by family members at his home in Washington, D.C., according to his son, Joel.
After his right leg was amputated in February as a result of diabetes, Buchwald decided to accept the inevitability of death over the prospect of dialysis for the rest of his life.
As his kidneys started to fail, he entered a Washington hospice for what his doctors expected would be a two- or three-week stay. But as word of his condition emerged, scores of politicians and celebrities that he had known over his decades as a writer rushed to his bedside. The two- or three-week stay turned into months.
Buchwald told Times columnist Al Martinez that "I've put heaven on hold," and laughed at his own joke.
The New York Times wrote that Buchwald's deathbed had become the "hottest salon" in Washington.
The lead of one Associated Press story summed it up best:
"Art Buchwald is dying and enjoying every minute of it."
He continued to write his column and hold court with visitors that included members of the Kennedy family, former CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite, singer Carly Simon, former Washington Post Executive Editor Benjamin C. Bradlee, former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and television host Phil Donahue.
Through it all, his health inexplicably stabilized. Before being discharged from the hospice July 1, he finished his final book, a reflection on his time in hospice care: "Too Soon to Say Goodbye," which was released in November.
He complained in print last year that living meant he had to scrap "all the plans for my funeral" and "start worrying about Bush again."
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) reflected the thoughts of many of Buchwald's fans Thursday when he noted: "For decades, there was no better way to start the day than to open the morning paper to Art's column, laugh out loud and learn all over again to take the issues seriously in the world of politics, but not take yourself too seriously."
"As Art said, 'Whether it's the best of times or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got.' The special art of Art Buchwald was to make even the worst of times better," Kennedy said in a statement.
