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As Dave's oldest daughter, "Spoonhead" (which was ultimately replaced by "Punkin"), I have taken such comfort in knowing what an impact my dad and his work has had on so many people. Last weekend, a colleague was supposed to be getting married. We were shocked to learn that her father had suddenly passed away the morning of her wedding day. The week has been hard because it brings me back to such a devistating time that feels both like it was yesterday and a million years ago.

So imagine my surprise when my sister just called to tell me that she'd stumbled upon this site. What an amazing opportunity to read and revel in the fond memories everyone has shared. The timing could not have been better, and I thank everyone who took time to reflect and post for being a part of my dad's journey. As his children continue on ours, we will treasure your kind words as stepping stones and bask in the warmth of such wonderful memories...
Stevi

i had the privilege of working beside dave barton for a few years at the herald examiner in the late 1980s and often working on a1 headlines with him...

more than most papers and certainly more than any paper at which i have worked (with the possible exception of the chicago sun-times), the herald treated headlines as a separate editorial tool that could stand on their own merit for content, originality and often irreverance...

the headlines, as much as the copy, made the herald fun to read...they were especially fun if you're the type of person who anticipates hearing a crash when tires squeal on the street outside your house...

each day at the bottom of page a1 was a story called the "hey martha," usually an off-beat item that begged for a showcase herald headline...

this story, way more often than not, was dave barton's domain...it was a perfect vehicle for barton's particular knack for finding just the right line at the right time...always economical in delivery with no wasted space...

the guy was so prolific and consistent, there are a litany of great heads to relate...but two stand out after almost 20 years...

one was for a story about the rev. oral roberts telling his followers in a sermon that god would take him away if they didn't pony up about 6 mil in donations to his church...

barton's headline: "your money or my life"

the other was for a story about dodger slugger steve garvey's wife filing for divorce...

barton's head: "plenty of hits but no mrs."

the guy was a freaking headline genius...best i ever saw, bar none...

he also was as fine a person as i've known in newspapering...kind-hearted, humble, friendly, unassuming, trustworthy, virtually without ego (in other words, a rarity in journalism) -- the kind of person i want my son to grow up to be...on top of that, he was a cincinnati reds fan...

what's that they say about the good dying young?

Frank, if you get this message email me at ercarlson8@dslextreme.com
I am trying to get in touch with you. It has been a long time.....too long.

Thanks.

Erik

I guess you could say I was the Herald-Examiner's last copy boy. Although I wasn't there long before the paper closed, Dave Barton was one of those people who made a lasting impression on me. I think it was his story of rising from overnight janitor to copy boy to copy editor that inspired me to make newspapering a career instead of a job. Dave had a great sense of humor and wrote some of the funniest headlines that never saw print. "Baker goes Bonkers" was a favorite as well as "Baker to Psycho Ward." I don't think I spoke to him once after the paper closed, but I often thought about him. I know those who knew him better than I will really miss him. He was a one-of-a-kind.

So sad. I hadn't seen Dave in the past 15 years, nor talked to him in nearly 10, but reading the above posts I can tell he remained the same talented, loveable, heartfelt guy I first met in the late '70s.

Dave and I were copy boys at the Herex in 1978. I remember he was thrilled to be there having previously worked as a janitor to support his wife and young child (which he affectionately referred to as "Spoonhead.") He worked the overnight shift when the building was empty.One of the first people to arrive in the morning was assistant editor Don Forst and Dave must have made a positive impression on him as he was soon promoted to work on the editorial pages.

Dave eventually found his way to the copy desk where his talents could really shine. We laughed about Mel Durlag's subject matter but Dave always said "Yeah, but he still can turn a phrase when he wants to." And so could Dave. His headline writing overshadowed the actual pieces!

I still miss our daily musings of politics, music and his family. Back then, in our 20s, many of us were running around playing the LA way. Dave's top priority was always his family. Now THAT's something to be proud of. I was delighted to hear how proud he was of "spoonhead" and his other two children.

It is no surprise to me, that he continued to welcome all journalists with the same affection that led to our friendship. There were many concerts together (majority Grateful Dead, of course)and it was always a pleasure to see the sparkle in his sleepy eyes when Garcia would "go off" or Miles would blow sweet. But the sparkle would shine brightest when he spoke of his children or pulled out photos of his kids.

With our own lives to lead in different parts of the country we had lost touch with each other but I always felt that I could pick up right where we left off the next time I saw Dave. I surely knew where to find the best editor possible if I ever needed one. I know that many reporters owe sincere gratitude that Dave was their editor and headline writer.

I will never forget his calm, sleepy-eyed face whether it was creating those fabulous headlines, talking of injustice in the world, playing me some music he discovered or telling me about his kids. We've lost one of the best, much too soon...

Farewell old friend.....

I don't know of a copy editor better thought of for his humanity and ability than Dave Barton. When I first came to know him at the Her-Ex more than 20 years ago he was already something of an icon for his headline writing.

When I was considered coming to the OC edition of the Times from the Register, the people I interviewed with dropped Dave's name as a recent hire--probably to reassure me (successfully) that I wouldn't be going to a stodgy, stifling environment.

On my first day at The Times, Dave sent me a list of all the ex-Her-Exers who were now working at The Times. Had The Whale swallowed The Minnow or vice versa?

Though we hadn't worked alongside each other at the Her-Ex and didn't work together that often at The Times, he always felt like a comrade, as if we'd survived a war together.

There's no question that he helped change the character of any newsroom and paper his was a part of. Since so much of what a copy editor does is invisible, even to those who work alongside them, who can say how much? The headlines only hint at it, I suspect, so I was glad to read the postings here from slots and others to learn more.

Dave once told me about the time he was impressed by a new columnist at the Herald, who introduced himself to all the copy editors there with a handshake and a thanks-in-advance, saying: "I know you are going to save my ass someday."

In Dave's case, I'm sure he was right. And I'm sure there are plenty of others who owed him thanks too.

   Dave Barton was one of the highlights of coming to work, especially when there was some new outrage by right-wing politicians to discuss. He was never at a loss for pithy, insightful comments on something like that or anything else.
   Of course he was incredibly bright, gifted as a copy editor, always friendly and almost always upbeat, no matter what craziness was going on in the world.
   I gained Dave as a good friend about six years ago when I started a six-month stint in the L.A. Times' Orange County office after I was hired. We immediately hit it off. Of course, I guess everyone who ever met him would say the same thing.
   I had gotten a substantial pay raise to come to the Times, and decided finally to buy my first CD player and replace (and expand) my taped music collection with CDs. I mentioned that I'd always liked jazz, but hadn't listened to a lot of it and didn't know much about the performers or various styles.
   That's all it took. He immediately started lending me disks from his work collection and bringing others from home, often three or four at a time, two or three times a week. "Give this a listen. You'll love it," he'd say. He was right almost every time. It was hard to listen to his CDs as fast as he brought them, but I did, and now, thanks to him, I have a great collection.
   In a three-month period, I often bought 10 or 15 CDs at a time while replacing my taped music and adding copies of the many jazz albums I had borrowed from Dave. The funny thing is, I think he got even more of a kick out of that spending spree than I did. It pleased him immensely that I loved the music so much, and that he had played such a key role in building my collection.
   From now on, every time I play a great album by Duke Ellington or Miles Davis (or many other jazz geniuses), I'll think of Dave, and of what a tragic loss his death was. But I'll smile too, thinking of what a treasure he was and what wonderful music I'm hearing.

I was Dave's slot man in Orange County and, most recently, on the National Copy Desk of the Times where he had most recently landed. I never worked with a better headline writer or kinder, wittier person. It was a pleasure just being within earshot of Dave night after night. If you thought his headlines were clever, the political bons mot that tripped from his tongue with regularity gave another, unedited, hint of the deep intellect within Dave. His jokes always hit the target, just like his headlines.

It was an honor and pleasure to hit "Compose," and later "Send" on Dave's work over the years.

God's peace, my friend

Regrettably, I never got to know the guy, but certainly knew his work. To this day, when people think of the Herald, they think of zingy writing and zingier headlines, and the quick-witted, good-humored panache that he brought to that task was a major part of what it so memorable. Only 53?! We wuz robbed - all of us! Rest in peace, Dave.

Dave Barton was the most original wordsmith I ever met. When I first met Dave, he and Russ Devita were the dynamic duo on the copy desk. Barton convinced me that I was a Dead Head and didn't know it—so, thanks to him, I attended my first Grateful Dead concert. One time when I was working the morning Stocks Edition at the Herald, I got several calls about a refer headline Dave had written about the flop film Ishtar. Dave wrote "Just Desserts" and callers loved it. It wasn't too long before the powers that be had Dave writing all Page One headlines. We always said he should go into advertising but Dave was a news hound. While most of us ordered our food out, Dave usually brought his, and every night at the same time he'd call home to say goodnight to one of his many kids. He was the most lovable guy, only made more lovable by his huge family responsibilities. I have Dave to thank for many things. He ushered me into copy editing. So this is a very sad goodbye from "the hip kitten." (his name for me).

Dave Barton dead? Words fail. I knew him only briefly but soon realized he was truly a remarkable person, a remarkable journalist. I hope he knew how much he was revered by his newsroom compatriots. I wonder what headline he would have written for his own obit?

Dave Barton is one of the finest people I have ever met in my 32 years in the newspaper business. His early passing is an unspeakable loss for us all.

This is what I wrote for the inhouse message system. It doesn't begin to capture what Dave meant to me or the rest of us.


This is too long, by half.... I had the good fortune, after the nuking of the Suburban section, to land in Orange County in 1995 and to take a spot near Dave. And so it was that I was treated, on nearly a daily basis, to one of the greatest native wits I've ever known in print or in person. As many great headline writers as I've worked with -- and still do -- I don't know of anyone who matched his elegance and literary punch on deadline. And lest we get styuck on his headlines, it's worth remembering Dave was every bit as good with the guts of a story as he was with the heads. Every writer and page designer whose work ended up with Dave was better off. His colleagues, though, were just plain lucky. We got to work with a great person and great comedian, an off the cuff, first-rate satirist. Here from just a few messages, culled from the leftovers in my Outlook basket: a certain First Lady makes a speech and reveals herself as ``an empty pantsuit''; Clinton's surgery is an ``untimely donutectomy''; a football player makes a hard tackle, ``decleating'' his opponent; Kerry sharpens his attack and Dave says he ``finally turned his boat into the fire.'' Dave missed nothing. He was a partisan liberal to the core, but an incorruptible professional on any story. I know Dave hated the outcome of Tuesday's election, but coming as it did after a brutal, down-in-the-dirt, nasty campaign -- we can take some small solace from knowing that was just the way Dave liked it. ``As you may know,'' he wrote to me after a couple of congressmen nearly came to blows in a hallway argument over Clinton's impeachment, ``I prefer a little anarchy in my politics.''
Of course it was Dave's other sweet, generous side that we miss so sorely now. Dave made sure that anyone new had at least one new friend and, if you measured up, a friend for life. I know I've lost one.

Hi Kymberly, thank you for sharing that story about the phone calls to his family. I, too, remember those times. He'd have that soft, sweet voice as he spoke with his kids, though occasionally, not often, he'd have a stern tone with them. :-) ... I've posted a
photograph in honor of Dave in my online gallery. It's not much, but I wanted to do something for him. Someone commented on the photo, saying that Dave is probably writing headlines in heaven. I think so. The photo is at this link:
http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/dynoGal...er=1&memberID=20830

Dave was my first friend at the L.A. Times. I was greener than green, but Dave took me under his wing and never made me feel inferior. Over the next many years of working together, I marveled at his wit, kindness and headline-writing ability. But what stays with me most are his nightly phone conversations with his then-young children--his way of staying in touch with them despite his grueling schedule. His tone of voice would soften as he discussed the day's events with them, and he'd always end the exchange with a completely unashamed "I love you"--though he had to know the whole desk could hear every word. What a great dad. What a great guy. What a great loss . . .

In my 3 decades of doing this stuff, I never saw anybody better than Barton at responding to tortuous headline spex and gruesome workloads. Sometimes he'd snarl and accuse us of gratuitous torture, and in retrospect he was probably right. But then he'd always find the 3 or 4 words that could stack into a 1-42 or, in some ridiculous occasions, a 1-54 or a 1-60. He was also the best I ever saw at pacing himself to respond to whatever hash was flyin' ... like back in the day when Dave Campbell might be ripping into 20 A-section pages for O.C.. If Barton was on his Coyote, we always knew we'd make it. And then he'd always come over and compliment the news eds for slingin good hash. Team guy all the way. I liked the way he always kept his desk drawer full of canned goods, bargains from the coupon-clipping he loved so much. Guy was a class act all the way, someone whose soul will forever be linked to this O.C. plant. He'd frequently arrive on a wing and a prayer in his sputtering Volvo, then tell us all how he patched it up and got it to run from Glendora to Costa Mesa. Man, we hated it when he left our newsroom down here a few years back. And now he's gone. One of a kind.

I'm collecting Dave's headlines and looking for an *electronic* version of his list of humorous names. (Sample: Cash J. Bonas, fledgling lawyer). Either post them here or e-mail them to me at the times: larry(dot)harnisch (at) latimes.com

I'm very sorry to learn about this. Dave was a great guy to work with. He was always in good spirits and never too busy to say hi. He enlightened me musically by lending me a good number of his CDs from his extensive collection. He loved music and it showed. I'll miss him.

I remember Dave way back from when he was first a copy boy at the HerEx. He always was fun-loving, joking, with a witty retort or comment on everything going on around him. I wish I had been able to connect with him again these past few years....

Dave was such a lovely fellow. There was not one time at the Her-Ex, or a Grateful Dead concert, when we stopped to chat that he did not leave me laughing. Not one. He was just a great guy, quick-witted with a kind and merry, pixie-ish spirit. When I heard from him in e-mail, the twinkle in his eye came across even there. That he left at 53 is beyond belief, cruel, ugly. "Goin' home, goin' home/ by the waterside I will rest my bones/Listen to the river sing sweet songs to rock my soul."

Edited by author 11-12-2004 01:45 AM
Here's your opportunity to comment. Welcome.

-----


Dave Barton
    
http://www.legacy.com/latimes/LegacySubPag...ry&PersonId=2801878
 
An award-winning and legendary copy editor at the Los Angeles Times, died of heart failure on November 4. He was 53.

Barton was a master headline writer, a wordsmith who could sum up a complex story in five words under the most demanding of deadlines, but his command of the language and his muse shined most with feature stories. His headlines could invariably make the reader both laugh and think.

"Watching Dave twist words around in his head, and then bounce ideas off colleagues was like watching a lapidary work on a stone," said Jon Markman, a former editor at the Times. "He had a magical way of finding just the right combination of letters and ideas to make you both smile and understand the main point of the article. I think that if there were a Pulitzer Prize for copy editors like there is for editorial cartoonists, he would have won many times over."

Some of his headlines remain classics in the newsroom.

It's Not
Rocket
Science
Caltech aims to turn out well-rounded engineers and geneticists with a humanities regimen. Some students say it doesn't compute.

Forced Bussing
(over a photo of a little girl reluctantly kissing a classmate)

Magnum PO'd
(for a story about a lawsuit filed by actor Tom Selleck)

But Barton was far more than a genius with the one-liner. Reporters and fellow editors often marveled at how he could quickly pare a story by several inches on deadline, and have the story read much better than the original.

"Not that he ever would, but Dave could trim a line out of the Pledge of Allegiance and you'd never miss it," said longtime friend and colleague Joe Eckdahl.

His most significant contributions in the newsroom, however, did not appear in print. Rather, they were the friendships he forged and the many kindnesses he showed to all of his colleagues.

"The quality I most admired in Dave was the way he treated everyone with dignity and respect, from the editor in chief to the newest copy editor, to the editorial assistants to the workers in the cafeteria," said Tim Lynch, a longtime friend and fellow editor. "Dave loved life, he loved people, and it showed every day."

Paul Loop, an editor at the Times Orange County edition, recalled how Barton went out of his way to welcome newcomers.

"Dave made sure that anyone new had at least one new friend and, if you measured up, a friend for life," Loop said. "I know I've lost one."

Barton's road to journalism was a circuitous one, and the license plate frame on his vintage 1981 Volvo summed up his attitude: "At least I'm enjoying the ride."

He was born in Troy, Ohio, on April 16, 1951, and moved with his father and three younger brothers to Azusa, Calif., in 1962. (He liked to recount how the family's departure made the front page of the local newspaper--and he laughed at the speculation why.)

Barton graduated from Azusa High School in 1969 and worked a series of odd jobs--busboy, janitor, dock worker--before entering Citrus Community College in 1974, where he began writing for the newspaper, the Clarion. He became editor the next year and was an outspoken critic of what he saw as injustices on campus and off.

His entry to professional journalism in 1978 was serendipitous. A job opening at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner for janitor was filled before he could apply, but a "copy boy" job was available, and he leaped at the chance.

Despite admonitions that copy boys never should aspire to higher rank, Barton quickly gained the attention of a seasoned journalist, who put him to work reading page proofs for the editorial page. From there, he advanced to the news copy desk and quickly earned a reputation-one that lasted a lifetime-as a raconteur and headline guru.

When the Herald Examiner foundered financially and its demise appeared imminent, senior managers at the Times drew up a short list of which Herald Examiner editors to bring aboard. Barton's name topped the list.

During his 15 years at the Times, Barton received numerous accolades for his work: Top of the Times awards, 2002 Headline Writer of the Year, and recognition from the American Copy Editors Society for his achievements in 2003.

David was a beloved husband to his wife, Cathy; a wonderful father to daughters Stevi and Jamie and son David; and devoted grandfather to Raven.

"Over the next many years of working together, I marveled at his wit, kindness and headline-writing ability," said Kim Dryer, an editor at the Orange County editon. "But what stays with me most are his nightly phone conversations with his then--young children--his way of staying in touch with them despite his grueling schedule. His tone of voice would soften as he discussed the day's events with them, and he'd always end the exchange with a completely unashamed 'I love you'--though he had to know the whole desk could hear every word. What a great dad. What a great guy. What a great loss."
 
Published in the Los Angeles Times on 11/10/2004.