PASSINGS: Kenneth J. Gray, Rosalind Nyman Joel

Former U.S. Rep. Kenneth J. Gray, 89, who earned the nickname the “Prince of Pork” during the 1960s and ‘70s for bringing an estimated $7 billion in projects to his Southern Illinois congressional district, died Saturday. The cause was a heart attack, his family said.

Gray served 10 terms in Congress between 1954 and 1974, when he retired for health reasons. He returned to Congress in 1984 to serve two terms, then in 1988 retired again, citing a muscular disorder caused by a tick bite during a congressional visit to Brazil.

The flamboyant Democrat was known for bringing federal projects to his depressed district, including a federal prison, an interstate highway, post offices and hospitals. He said he was proud of the “Prince of Pork” moniker. “It means we got 500 miles of interstate highway, modern concrete roads, water and sewer and lights — all things we need in southern Illinois,” he told the Associated Press in 1988.

Around Washington, he was famous for his flashy clothes, which included patent-leather shoes, brocade and shocking pink jackets.

“I was surrounded by 434 undertakers,” he said of his fellow lawmakers in a 2008 interview with the Southern Illinoisan newspaper. “Everyone was dressed the same, in a black suit with a dark tie. Now, I got into this business to break the political mold. I wanted to stand out.”

He had a white Cadillac and kept a houseboat he dubbed Roll Call on the Potomac River, where his former receptionist Elizabeth Ray said she entertained congressmen. Ray became a central figure in a sex scandal that destroyed the career of Rep. Wayne L. Hays, a powerful Ohio Democrat who admitted she was his mistress. Among Ray’s many claims was that Gray ordered her to have sex with a senator to secure his support of one of Gray’s projects, but Gray denied it and was not charged with any wrongdoing.

Gray was born in West Frankfort, Ill., on Nov. 14, 1924. He graduated from Frankfort High School and served as a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, earning three Bronze Stars. After the war he worked as a car salesman, auctioneer and pilot.

In retirement he ran the Presidential Museum and More, filled with political artifacts, including more than 1,000 Barbie and Ken dolls dressed as historical figures.

Notable: Rosalind Nyman Joel, the mother of singer-songwriter Billy Joel and the inspiration for his 1978 hit “Rosalinda’s Eyes,” died Sunday on Long Island, N.Y. She was 92.

Times staff and wire reports

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