A beloved voice in Santa Monica has fallen silent with the death of longtime Daily Press columnist Jack Neworth. Known equally for his humor and strong opinions, Neworth left an indelible mark on the city he called home with decades of columns to his name.
Neworth passed away in the early morning hours on Sept. 24 at the age of 80, succumbing to cancer in the bladder that had spread throughout his body. Neworth had spent his final days in Encino, in the care of his brother-in-law, David Winter. Along with David, the longtime Santa Monica Daily Press columnist is survived by his sister, Brenda Neworth-Winter, niece Jenny Winter, cousin Mark Gold, and a host of close friends.
Born in West Los Angeles on July 11, 1944, Neworth was a California lifer, including a long stint as a Park Ranger in Idlewild. He moved into The Shores apartments 40 years ago, becoming one of the property’s first tenants, with Winter stating he was a "Santa Monica lover" who appreciated both the city and its ocean views.
Neworth’s lifelong passion for writing led him to the Daily Press in 2006, beginning his "Laughing Matters" column on June 16 of that year with a piece entitled "Life in Santa Monica: Good, Bad and Ugly."
In that first column, he talked about his childhood trips to the city and the feeling seeing the ocean as they came into town.
"The highlight of the drive occurred on the hill above 11th, with our first glimpse of the ocean," he wrote. "Minutes later we’d be in the water which was so clean you could see your feet, and even fish swimming around. The upside of today’s pollution? Fewer fish in your way and you can get your daily requirement of mercury if you inadvertently swallow a gulp of sea water."
In the following years, he touched on everything from his thoughts on politics and sports, to unheralded personal stories of the local community. His love of tennis, and sports in general, resurfaced time and again but the column was centered around Neworth’s one-of-a-kind wit, gaining a following in Santa Monica and beyond.
He frequently highlighted the city’s characters and was known to tell sometimes deeply personal stories about his own history with a self-deprecating style.
"He had a great sense of humor," Winter said. "He was quite liberal and clear with his ideas … his writing was clear, it was emotional [and] he had strong beliefs."
Other columnists came to bond with him over a shared love of the writing style, such as the scribe of the Daily Press’ Noteworthy and Curious City columns, Charles Andrews. Saying his fellow writer was even more humorous in person, Andrews heaped praise on Neworth shining a light on stories "that might otherwise never be told."
"I admired him for writing humor, because I think that’s one of the hardest things in the world to do," Andrews said.
Andrews also admired Neworth’s dedication to sports, including Los Angeles teams like the Dodgers and Lakers. Neworth’s top sport was tennis, though, writing about past icons like Santa Monica-born women’s star Gussie Moran and 1940s and 1950s legend Pancho Gonzales.
He had strong opinions about politics and wasn’t shy about engaging with readers who took issue with his stalwart support for the Democratic Party.
His skill as a writer often allowed him to weave those disparate threads into a single compelling narrative such as a 2021 column that used an email from an angry reader complaining about a recent column, as the prompt to reminisce about a trip to see the Rams many years prior that turned into a desire to be a sports writer and ultimately to his time at SMDP.
"Last week I received another email from KH, who, perhaps facetiously, called me ‘talented’ and said I had the right to express my views about anything I wanted. (She should only know.) In retrospect, you could say that the letter to the Rams’ president was the origin of how I ultimately wound up at the Daily Press where, after 800+ columns, I’m still trying to get one right," he wrote.
The entirety of Daily Press staff was grateful for his contributions, including Publisher Ross Furukawa.
"The Daily Press has hosted many writers over the years but few were as impactful, long lasting and foundational to the paper's character as Jack," said Furukawa. "His humor and personality are now as much a part of the City's history as the beach he loved. Generations of Santa Monicans came to look forward to his particular style and he will be missed by everyone who came to know him through his work."
Neworth outlasted multiple editors, technologies and physical offices at the Daily Press.
"When you lose a pillar like Jack, there’s nothing that can be done to fill that void," said Editor-in-Chief Matthew Hall. "The way he wrote and the connection he had with residents is a lightning-in-a-bottle situation. The city was fortunate to have him for as long as they did. His passing is a loss to everyone who loves this city even a fraction of the amount he did."
At the beginning of 2024, Neworth’s kidneys were failing him, forcing a nephrostomy procedure. After a few months in and out of the hospital, medical staff checked his bladder and found that the cancer was spreading. Doctors attempted to reduce his tumor so they could operate, but he never recovered. Neworth and his family chose hospice care at Winter’s home to make his final days comfortable, where the writer would spend his days watching his beloved Dodgers.
Though Neworth kept a low profile in later years, his impact was undeniable when walking into his longtime home at The Shores.
"Everybody knew him [there]," Andrews said. "There were a couple of times when I dropped something off and he would come down the lobby and we’d have a chat. Every single person that came off the elevator would say hello [to] Jack, even though he was wearing a big hat and [you] couldn’t really see his face. He was very well-known and very influential."
