Long-time journalist, philanthropist Bernard 'BJ' Cutler, 94

Bernard Joseph "BJ" Cutler, a National Press Club member from 1970 until 2005, died Jan. 2. Following is an edited obituary from the Gridiron Club:

Bernard Joseph "BJ" Cutler, one of the last of the post-WWII “old school” journalists, died Jan. 2 at Sibley Hospital in Washington after suffering a massive stroke a few days earlier. He was 94 year old.

His 50-year illustrious career as a journalist included positions at the Pittsburgh Press, The New York Herald Tribune and Scripps Howard that took him all over the world including a 12-year assignment in Paris and a 3-year assignment in Moscow. He retired in 1995. He leaves behind his beloved wife of 70 years, Carol, noted cookbook author and art critic, whose articles on food often appeared in the Washington Post.

Cutler had a somewhat dramatic start to his career as a police reporter and re-write man with the Pittsburgh Press in 1945 immediately after graduating from Penn State with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. As Managing Editor of the Daily Collegian, Penn State’s student newspaper, Cutler had his own column entitled “A Lean and Hungry Look” under the pen name, Cassius.

But that popular column was not enough to satisfy the chair of the Penn State journalism department. The fact that he didn't have a journalism degree and got this plum job at the Pittsburgh Press so infuriated him that he called the editor of the paper and tried to get Cutler fired. When Cutler was called into the editor’s office he asked “Am I getting fired?” “Yes,” responded the editor, “when I am damn good and ready!” Cutler happily stayed with the newspaper until 1951 and when he left was the paper’s chief political reporter.

After the Pittsburgh Press, Cutler worked with the New York Herald Tribune from 1951-56 in NYC; in Moscow from 1956-58; as chief of Paris bureau from 1958-60; managing editor of the renowned European edition in 1960 and then editor of the European edition from 1961-66. During his six year tenure there was extensive competition with the Times in an old fashioned newspaper battle that ended with the merger of the Time’s International Edition with the Tribune. The paper was renamed the International Herald Tribune in 1967. Late in 1966, with the demise of the Herald Tribune in New York, BJ joined the Scripps Howard chain as its roving European correspondent - still based in Paris - until 1969.

In 1956 he went to Russia for the Herald Tribune to reopen its Moscow Bureau. While there he covered the de-Stalinization campaign, the Hungarian uprising, Khrushchev’s emergence over his internal political enemies and the 1956 Middle East Crisis. He interviewed Khrushchev in the Kremlin for CBS’s Face the Nation - the first interview of a Soviet official on American television.

While in Moscow, Cutler, like all expats, was followed by KGB agents everywhere. He described it as “an ongoing cat and mouse” game - both getting the stories and then transmitting them back to Paris. He ultimately started calling in his stories to the Paris office to avoid the censorship.

While in Paris, he covered stories throughout the continent, including Presidential visits, the 1967 war in the Middle East, the French semi-revolution in 1968, the downfall of DeGaulle, and the Paris peace talks with the North Vietnamese.

Moving to Washington in 1969 and until retiring in 1995, Cutler remained with Scripps Howard specializing in foreign affairs. From 1969-72 he was the foreign editorial writer; from 1972-80, the chief editorial writer; from 1980-89, the editor-in-chief; and closing out his career as foreign affairs columnist from 1989-95. During this time he traveled extensively to South America, Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

After retirement, BJ and Carol spent much of their time enjoying Carol’s cooking and BJ’s collection of wines at their residence in the Georgetown section of Washington (for 48 years) or dining out at the best restaurants in town.

BJ was elected to membership in the Gridiron Club and Foundation in 1981. As a dedicate oenophile, he played a large role for many years in the wine selection for the Club’s semi-annual dinners.

Last year, the Gridiron Club’s executive committee voted to fund annual scholarships in BJ’s honor to the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation of Washington, which utilizes our funds to assist Washington area college students with an abiding interest in pursuing journalism careers.

The Cutlers have been major donors to many cultural and art institutions including the Kennedy Center, Washington National Opera, Washington Ballet, the Phillips Collection as well as Penn State (where BJ was recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus) and the National Gridiron Club and Foundation.