Arthur Watterson Hoppe (April 23, 1925 – February 1, 2000) was a popular columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle for more than 40 years. He was known for satirical and allegorical columns that skewered the self-important. Many columns featured whimsical characters such as expert-in-all-things Homer T. Pettibone and a presidential candidate named Nobody. Occasionally, Hoppe reined in his humor for poignant columns on serious topics, such as "To Root Against Your Country," a noted 1971 column against the Vietnam War.

Career

Hoppe began at the Chronicle as a copy boy in 1949 and was promoted to reporter before beginning his own column. As a reporter, he scooped other papers by skiing out with a photographer to the City of San Francisco train when it became snowbound in the Sierra in January 1952. At the peak of its popularity, Hoppe's column appeared in the Chronicle five days a week and was syndicated in more than 100 newspapers nationwide. His close friends included fellow columnists Russell Baker and Art Buchwald. Hoppe received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists in 1996. On his own initiative, he released fellow Chronicle columnist Herb Caen from a mutual vow to accept a special 1996 Pulitzer Prize. He died from complications of lung cancer in February 2000, aged 74, survived by his wife Gloria and four children.

Publications

According to an obituary he also wrote two plays, including The Endless Autumn.