ST. LOUIS — Jerry Berger, the former St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist and 5 On Your Side contributor has died.
For more than 25 years, his job was the schmooze with the biggest names in St. Louis and spill their secrets. A few words in his column could make or break a restaurant or social event.
A former publicity manager for 20th Century Fox, Berger joined the St. Louis Globe Democrat as an entertainment and “society” columnist and carried that over to the Post-Dispatch just before the Globe folded.
“It seemed he knew everybody and everything that was going on," said 5 On Your Side anchor Mike Bush. “One year at the Emmy Awards, he asked me to comment on my Emmy wins. I said, Jerry, the awards haven’t even started yet. He then proceeded to tell me what awards I had won and of course, he was right.”
He had survived several bouts with cancer over the years.
Berger was 87 years old.