• by Erik Sass , January 27, 2009

James Brady, who wrote the "In Step With" column for Parade for almost a quarter century, died Monday.

A renowned reporter and Korean War hero, Brady was also a veteran of the ad industry. He jumped from copy writing for Macy's to business news reporter for Women's Wear Daily. Brady learned about women's fashion from Coco Chanel while working in Paris, then returned to become publisher of Women's Wear Daily in 1964. There he helped launch its spinoff, W, before being hired by Hearst as vice president, editor, and publisher of Harper's Bazaar.

After clashing with the old guard there, he worked for New York, writing "The Intelligencer" column and creating a talk-show spinoff for the magazine. He also edited News Corp.'s Star, served as associate publisher of the New York Post, where he created the "Page Six" gossip sheet, and did live celebrity TV interviews for New York's WCBS-TV News.

In the 1990s, he hosted "Power Lunch for CNBC," authored a series of comedic novels, and also wrote several memoirs of the Korean War. He also wrote media columns for Ad Age, Crain's and most recently Forbes.com.

He is survived by his wife, Florence, two daughters, Fiona Brady and Susan Konig, one brother, four grandchildren, Sarah, Joseph, Nicholas and Matthew, and his brother Monsignor Tom Brady.