John Randolph Hearst Jr. Dies At 77

John Randolph Hearst Jr.

John Randolph Hearst Jr., a trustee of the Hearst Family Trust and a member of the board of directors of Hearst Corporation and the two Hearst Foundations, died Friday, November 4, in Manhattan. He was 77.

A grandson of William Randolph Hearst, John R. “Bunky” Hearst Jr., as he was called most of his life, served as a member of the company’s board of directors for 44 years. He was appointed a trustee of the Hearst Family Trust in April 1972, the same year he joined the Hearst Foundations as a director.

“John was always very devoted to the company founded by his grandfather,” said Frank A. Bennack Jr., CEO of Hearst Corporation. “He was equally devoted to a number of charitable organizations in the New York area. Those of us who served with him on the various Hearst boards remember his great wit and interest in everything the company and foundations were doing. Bunky will be greatly missed.”

Mr. Hearst enjoyed a long career with the corporation, starting as a news photographer for the Hearst-owned New York Daily Mirror in the 1950s, as well as for the Hearst Newspapers division. In recognition of his interest in photojournalism, Hearst Newspapers commissioned a traveling trophy, the John R. Hearst Jr. Prize for Photo Excellence, awarded to photographers for Hearst Newspapers. An ardent boating enthusiast most of his life, he also served as an editor for Motor Boating & Sailing magazine, which was a Hearst publication. Wanting to be near the water, Mr. Hearst bought a home in Water Mill in the mid-1970s.

Born in New York City on December 8, 1933, to John Randolph Hearst, the third son of William Randolph Hearst, and Gretchen Wilson, Mr. Hearst often spent time in his youth at Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California, and greatly valued his time personally spent with his grandfather, the legendary W.R. Hearst. In 1960, John Hearst wrote an article for Reader’s Digest entitled “Life With Grandfather,” in which he detailed their relationship. The younger Hearst’s uncle, William Randolph Hearst Jr., noted: “The two talked newspapering a lot.” Mr. Hearst said that if he learned one thing from his grandfather, it was the “power of newspapers.”

Known for his sense of humor, he enjoyed telling the story of how he had acquired his unusual nickname. He told The New York Times in 1983 that a cartoon character in his grandfather’s newspaper, the New York Journal-American, was to blame. “I used to wear huge baby bonnets,” Mr. Hearst was quoted as saying. “And my godfather took one look at me and said, ‘He looks like Bunky in the funny papers.’” The name stuck. On his 21st birthday, Mr. Hearst decided that he no longer resembled a Bunky, he told The Times. But it was too late; the nickname was his for life. “I may as well wallow in it,” he said. “Besides, I’d rather be a Bunky than a Junior.”

He is survived by his daughter Lisa Hearst Hagerman and his grandchildren, Tenney Hearst Espy, John Hearst Espy and Henry Hearst Hagerman.

A memorial service will be announced at a later date.