Kevin R. Cash, Author, Ex-Reporter, Dies at 59

MANCHESTER, N.H. —  Kevin R. Cash, a former reporter for the Union Leader who wrote a widely publicized book critical of the newspaper’s publisher, died Wednesday. He was 59.

Cash died in the Veteran’s Hospital here after a bout with cancer, a spokesman said.

He wrote “Who the Hell is William Loeb?” about the controversial publisher of New Hampshire’s largest newspaper. Loeb died on Sept. 13, 1981, of cancer.

Cash’s unauthorized biography discussed Loeb’s influence on New Hampshire and national politics. Loeb frequently gained national attention for his editorials, especially during New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary.

Published Book Himself

Cash said he had to form his own publishing company to get his 500-page book printed. It prompted lawsuits and countersuits between Loeb and Cash.

Cash went to work as a copy boy for the newspaper on Pearl Harbor day in 1941, then worked there as a newsman on and off from 1943 to 1959, when he left for good. He said he left the paper after “they gave me a year’s suspension for being drunk” while covering a golf tournament.

He also worked as a reporter for the Boston Record American, the New York Journal of Commerce, the New York Herald Tribune and WBZ radio in Boston.