WGN Morning News is remembering a longtime friend who has died.
Bill Zehme was everyone’s friend, including some of the biggest names in show business.
A frequent and favorite guest on WGN, Zehme died Sunday succumbing to his 10-year battle with colorectal cancer.
A brilliant writer and even better friend, Zehme was a kid from the South Side who was able to get interviews no one else could get, but every time, bringing sides of his interview subjects out that no one else could do.
He wrote for Esquire, Playboy, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Chicago magazine and the Chicago Tribune. He wrote a great Chicago Tribune Magazine piece on the retirement of Bob Bell as WGN’s Bozo. He was a big fan.
Some of his crowning achievements included scoring a rare interview with Frank Sinatra and writing the book “The Way You Wear Your Hat.” He did pieces on David Letterman and books on comedian Andy Kaufman, Regis Philbin and Jay Leno.
He also got the only post-Tonight Show interview with Johnny Carson that lead to an incredible Esquire article. He had signed a deal to write a book and develop a tv mini-series on Carson but cancer got in the way.
He also wrote about his own cancer battle in 2016.
A memorial service is being planned.
