R. W. Apple Jr. ’57

“Johnny” Apple died of thoracic cancer Oct. 4, 2006.

He came to Princeton from Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio. At Princeton he was chairman of the Daily Princetonian, and worked for WPRU and the undergraduate council. He left in his sophomore year for academic reasons; subsequently, he graduated from Columbia University’s School of General Studies.

His career was legendary. Starting at the Wall Street Journal as an undergraduate, he was later hired by NBC News. The New York Times became his career and intellectual home for the balance of his life. From the early 1960s to 2004, Johnny worked as bureau chief in Albany, Lagos, Nairobi, Saigon, Moscow, London, and Washington. He led coverage in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War. He was also a renowned political correspondent.

Johnny’s personal life was equally expansive. A gourmet and a gourmand of extreme degree, his gustatory feats included huge portions and much spirits enjoyed by his friends and colleagues. He wrote Apple’s Europe and Apple’s America, books of travel and restaurant tips.

The New York Times said “his insecurity, ambition, and name dropping” were traits all great reporters evince. In 1982 he married Betsy P. Brown, who survives him, and who was his partner and traveling companion to the present.

After a dinner a friend wrote, “Apple simplified a difficult choice of meals by telling them to bring everything.” That was Johnny. RIP.