Kim Fowley (July 21, 1939 – January 15, 2015) was an American record producer, singer and musician. He is best known for his role behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s, and for managing the Runaways in the 1970s. He has been described as “one of the most colorful characters in the annals of rock & roll”, as well as “a shadowy cult figure well outside the margins of the mainstream”. (More from Wikipedia)

Last week I was reading the local paper and learned of the death of Kim Fowley (pronounced like “foul-y” not “foley” – and, yes, he is a guy) . Mixed with sadness at his passing was my wonder at the size of the article about his death on the Obituary page in the Sun Herald. Entitled “Kim Fowley, Runaways’ Creator, Dies at 75”, it didn’t miss being a quarter of a page by a whole lot.