He was neither a polished writer nor a knowing crystal-gazer. But brawny Irving Kupcinet (pronounced CUP-senate) had proved, to the satisfaction of Marshall Field's Chicago Sun-Times, that one good local columnist will outsell all the syndicated canned goods on the market. "Kup's Column," a casually tossed salad of chitchat and nightclub gossip with a Leonard Lyons-like flavor, is easily the most widely read feature in Chicago.
This week, when its author returned from vacation, he had a new contract with the Sun-Times at $22,500 a year, a 50% raise. That made Irv Kupcinet...