News Organizations and Titles: He spent 44 years (1942-86) with The New York Times. From 1966-86, he chronicled Madison Avenue and the advertising business in his five-day-a-week column, "Advertising."
Legacy: Mr. Dougherty is one of those rare journalists who so dominates a beat, they operate without peer and attract a broad following that extends well beyond their target audience. A sharp dresser (dark suits, sometimes florid ties, tartan vests) and a witty storyteller with a gentle prose style, Mr. Dougherty spun tales of a zany business and its frequently zany people with style and flair. In a field where lunching was an art form, Mr. Dougherty got his information over the telephone and regarded himself as a reporter, never a power in the industry he covered.
Journalistic Progeny: All subsequent advertising columnists for The New York Times, as well as many advertising beat writers at The Wall Street Journal and the advertising trade magazines.
Personal: Born Dec. 21, 1923, in New York City; died Sept. 27, 1988, in New York City.
Family: Wife Dorothy; sons Paul John and Peter Dyer, and daughter Margaret Dru Dougherty.
Awards: Elected posthumously to the American Advertising Federation's Advertising Hall of Fame, 1991; one of the first men to be named an honorary member of the Advertising Women of New York, early 1980s.
Education: Dwight School; night studies at Columbia University School of General Studies.
What others said about him: John O'Toole, president of the American Federation of Advertising Agencies: "I would find myself waiting with sweaty palms for his column, knowing that if I had been pretentious, it would come out."