Herb Caen

Caen continued to write though less frequently. His funeral at Grace Cathedral (broadcast live by the area's four network television affiliates) was followed by a candlelight procession to Aquatic Park where Caen's will had provided for a fireworks display—climaxing with a pyrotechnic image of the manual typewriter he had long called his "Loyal Royal" (see image above). When that column was discontinued in 1938 Caen proposed a daily column on the city itself; "It's News to Me" first appeared July 5.

A special Pulitzer Prize called him the "voice and conscience" of San Francisco.