Trump Biographer, Jerome Tuccille Dies at 79

Jerome Tuccille, author of more than 25 books, the first biographer of Donald Trump, and one of the early leaders of the U.S. libertarian movement, died at 79. For the past five years, Mr. Tuccille had been battling multiple myeloma, a bone-marrow cancer. He succumbed on February 16, 2017.

Tuccille was the author of the libertarian satire, "It Usually Begins With Ayn Rand," and other best-selling, well-received books. His biographies include: "Hemingway and Gellhorn"; the award-winning "Gallo Be Thy Name"; "Trump"; "Rupert Murdoch; King of Media"; "Kingdom: The Story of the Hunts of Texas"; and "Alan Shrugged: The Life of Alan Greenspan." "Trump," published in 1985, was the first biography of the controversial real estate magnate elected president last year.

"The Roughest Riders," the story of African-American soldiers at the battle of San Juan Hill, was published in 2015, and his last book, on the Depression-era Bonus Army, is forthcoming.

Tuccille also authored or co-authored several novels: "Wall Street Blues," "The Werewolf of Wall Street," and "The Double: Churchill, Hitler, and the Duel Over Rudolf Hess."

Two of his books, "Kingdom" and "Gallery of Fools," his memoir dealing with an art heist from a Manhattan art gallery, were optioned for feature films.

In 1974, Tuccille ran for Governor of New York as the candidate of the Free Libertarian Party, and he was instrumental in breaking libertarians away from traditional conservatives in the late 1960s, primarily because of differences over the war in Vietnam. He was prominent in the early days of libertarianism along with his colleagues, economist Murray Rothbard, and former speechwriter for Barry Goldwater, Karl Hess.

Tuccille taught a course on anarchism at the New School for Social Research in the early 1970s and went to work on Wall Street in 1975 as a stockbroker with Merrill Lynch. At the time of his death, Tuccille had retired as a vice president and senior financial writer at financial services firm T. Rowe Price in Baltimore. He was a member of both the Authors Guild and the American Society of Journalists and Authors.

Surviving him are his wife of 52 years, Marie Winkler Tuccille of Severna Park, MD; his son Jerome D. Tuccille and daughter-in-law Wendy Katzenstein Tuccille of Cottonwood, AZ; his daughter Christine Tuccille Merry and son-in-law James Merry of Frederick, MD; his grandsons Jasper Tuccille Merry, Hugo Marius Merry, and Anthony James Tuccille; and his sister Carol Marie Tuccille of Somers, NY.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the International Myeloma Foundation.