Nicholas Von Hoffman

Nicholas von Hoffman, a provocative author, broadcast commentator and syndicated columnist who examined American politics and culture for five decades from a left-wing perspective, died on Thursday in Rockport, Me. He was 88. His son Alexander said the cause was kidney failure. Nicholas von Hoffman, a former columnist for The Washington Post and a former commentator for CBS’ “60 Minutes,” is a regular columnist for The New York Observer. He is the author of numerous books, including “Hoax: Why Americans Are Suckered by White House Lies” and “Capitalist Fools: Tales of American Business From Carnegie to Forbes to the Milken Gang.” His most successful book was “Citizen Cohn,” which was on The Times’ best-seller lists for eight weeks in 1988 and inspired a 1992 movie of the same title starring James Woods. Nicholas von Hoffman was born in New York City on Oct. 16, 1929, to Carl von Hoffman and the former Anna Bruenn. His father was an immigrant Russian cavalry officer. After graduating from Fordham Preparatory School in the Bronx in 1948, Nicholas went to Chicago, intending to enroll at Loyola University. Instead, he took a research job at the University of Chicago, and in 1954 joined Saul Alinsky as a field organizer in black and Hispanic communities on the South Side. His marriage to Ann C. Byrne in 1950 ended in divorce in 1968. She was also a social activist in Chicago and was later a dean at the University of Rhode Island. She died in 2015. Besides Alexander, Mr. von Hoffman is survived by two other sons from his first marriage, Constantine and Aristo, and two grandchildren. A second marriage, to Patricia Bennett, also ended in divorce.