Hentoff was best known for his half century tenure at The Village Voice before he was unceremoniously let go in December 2008. Although mostly liberal in his outlook, Hentoff was ardently pro-life & could not support Barack Obama's presidential bid in 2008 because of it. No doubt this was a factor in the Village Voice dropping him.
In recent years, Hentoff's writing could be found on WorldNetDaily and became a fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute. In 2014, Hentoff called for President Obama's impeachment because of the unconstitutionality of his Executive Orders.
But Hentoff was first and foremost a lover of music, especially jazz. He was friends the likes of Duke Ellington, Charlie Mingus and Miles Davis. Hentoff was also an admirer of country music and an early champion of Bob Dylan writing the liner notes for his second album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. Hentoff wrote of Dylan, "The irrepressible reality of Bob Dylan is a compound of spontaneity, candor, slicing wit and an uncommonly perceptive eye and ear for the way many of us constrict our capacity for living while a few of us don't."
Hentoff's death was disclosed by his son Nick on Twitter who indicated his father was surrounded by family with the music of Billie Holiday playing in the background. I can think of far worse ways to go.
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