David Whitmire Hearst, Official of Hearst Corp., Ex-L.A. Publisher, Dies

Newspaper Publisher David Whitmire Hearst died in Los Angeles Monday of cancer. He was 70.

Hearst was one of five sons of William Randolph Hearst, the famed newspaper publisher who founded the Hearst Corp., once the most influential newspaper publishing company in the country.

At the time of his death at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, David Hearst was vice president and director of the Hearst Corp. and president of the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. During a 50-year career, he held several important positions in the Hearst empire, including 10 years as publisher of the defunct Los Angeles Evening Herald-Express.

He began his career in 1936 as a reporter for the New York Journal-American. He then moved to the Baltimore News-Post, where he eventually became city editor.

In 1938, he joined the Los Angeles Evening Herald-Express as a member of the advertising department, then served successively as business manager, general manager and executive publisher. In 1950, at age 34, he became the paper’s publisher, succeeding Dr. Frank F. Barham.

Board of Directors

Hearst held the publisher’s post until 1960 but afterward remained a leader in the Hearst Corp., serving as vice president and a member of the board of directors.

Frank Bennack Jr., president and chief executive officer of the Hearst Corp. in New York, said, “David Hearst served with distinction as an operating executive of the Hearst Corp. for many years, and he will be remembered as a kindly, gracious gentleman, who was always most supportive of the company’s programs for growth and expansion.”

Hearst is survived by his wife, the former Hope Chandler; two children, Millicent Boudjakdji of Los Angeles and David W. Hearst Jr. of Beverly Hills, and three grandchildren, Anissa, Sherif and Samia Boudjakdji. He is also survived by two brothers, his twin, Randolph A., chairman of the board of the Hearst Corp., and William Randolph Hearst Jr., editor-in-chief of Hearst Newspapers and chairman of the corporation’s executive committee.

Funeral arrangements were pending.