Howard Forbes Officially Most Famous Dead Man in Town This Week

The late Howard Forbes, who is no doubt very amused wherever he is

So, let’s backtrack for a moment. On Tuesday, the missus wakes me in Utah to tell me about an obit in The Dallas Morning News for a man named Howard Forbes. Then, a few hours later, Paul Kix at FrontBurner nicks our item, with the appropriate credit given. Now, two days later, Steve Blow, who reads Unfair Park and FrontBurner, writes a column that essentially just re-runs the initial obit with a few details filled in here and there. (Seriously, he actually includes the entire text of the paid-for obituary; does this mean Julie Wardner, Howard’s wife, gets a refund?) They don’t call this the echo chamber for nothing. But, really, Steve: “She was surprised to hear that her husband’s obituary had become a topic of conversation around town.” Oh, yeah — around town. Sure. Whatever you say. –Robert Wilonsky