Maury Henry Biddle Paul (April 14, 1890 – July 17, 1942) was an American journalist who became famous as a society columnist for the ''

New York American :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 t ...

'' (which became the ''

New York Journal-American :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 t ...

'' when it merged with the ''

New York Evening Journal :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 t ...

''). Writing under the pseudonym "Cholly Knickerbocker", he coined the term "

Café Society Café society was the description of the "Beautiful People" and "Bright Young Things" who gathered in fashionable cafés and restaurants in New York, Paris and London beginning in the late 19th century. Maury Henry Biddle Paul is credited with ...

". The name "Cholly Knickerbocker" was owned by the Hearst Newspaper Syndicate, and Paul was the first, writing under the ''nom de plume'' from 1917 until his death in 1942.

Early years and career

Paul was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

to William Henry Paul and the former Eleanor Virginia Biddle, who were members of the

Social Register The ''Social Register'' is a semi-annual publication in the United States that indexes the members of American high society. First published in the 1880s by newspaper columnist Louis Keller, it was later acquired by Malcolm Forbes. Since 2014, ...

. He was a member of the Sons of the Revolution and the Society of the War of 1812. He attended the

Episcopal Academy The Episcopal Academy, founded in 1785, is a private, co-educational school for grades Pre-K through 12 based in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Prior to 2008, the main campus was located in Merion Station and the satellite campus was located in D ...

and later graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. In 1914, he began his career as a newspaperman at the ''

Philadelphia Times ''The Times'' was a daily newspaper published from March 13, 1875, to August 11, 1902, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The paper was founded by Alexander McClure and Frank McLaughlin as an independent voice against party machine politics and corru ...

''. His apprenticeship was brief, and he was soon hired by the ''

New York Press ''New York Press'' was a free alternative weekly in New York City, which was published from 1988 to 2011. The ''Press'' strove to create a rivalry with the ''Village Voice''. ''Press'' editors claimed to have tried to hire away writer Nat Hent ...

'' as society editor. In 1917, he moved to Hearst's ''New York American'', where he took over the "Cholly Knickerbocker" gossip column that focused on members of

high society High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...

. In addition to coining the phrase "Cafe Society" to describe the people who frequented tony night clubs and expensive restaurants, he also invented the expression "The Old Guard" (frequently known as " the Four Hundred") for the venerable New York families. Paul focused on the very well-born and extremely rich. In addition to his daily column, each week he wrote three features for the Sunday edition of the ''American''. The column and features were carried by the over 60 newspapers of the Hearst syndicate.

Death

On July 17, 1942, Paul died of an illness caused by a heart condition at his New York City home. He was 52 years old. He was succeeded as Cholly Knickerbocker by

Igor Cassini Count Igor Cassini Loiewski (September 15, 1915 – January 5, 2002) was a Russian-American syndicated gossip columnist for the Hearst newspaper chain. He was the second journalist to write the '' Cholly Knickerbocker'' column. Career He was b ...

. His funeral was held on July 20 at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. His remains were later shipped to Florida and interred at the Caballero Rivero Woodlawn Park North Cemetery and Mausoleum in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

where Paul owned a summer home. His biography, ''Champagne Cholly,'' was written by his secretary, Eve Brown.Brown, Eve. ''Champagne Cholly.'' E.P. Dutton (1947)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Maury Henry Biddle 1890 births 1942 deaths American male journalists 20th-century American journalists Burials in Florida American gossip columnists University of Pennsylvania alumni Writers from Philadelphia Episcopal Academy alumni

Early years and career

Death

See also

References