CultureMap columnist Ken Hoffman died unexpectedly at his lake house on Lake Conroe on Sunday, July 14. Ken's son Andrew shared news of his passing with Gow Media founder David Gow.

Prior to joining CultureMap in 2017, Ken spent 22 years as a city columnist at the Houston Chronicle and the Houston Post. The New Jersey native endeared himself to Houstonians with his witty observations about life in his adopted hometown. Ken could cover anything from how to ensure getting hot fries at the drive-thru to advocating for pet adoption and commenting on local politics — former Harris County Judge Ed Emmett was one of his more frequent tennis opponents.

Even a brief scroll through his recent columns at CultureMap shows the breadth of his range. One article bemoans the sudden closing of his favorite Hooters location. Another broke the news that KPRC2 weatherman Frank Billingsley planned to retire after 30 years with the station. Of course, still another paid tribute to the series finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm, his favorite TV show (along with Seinfeld).

His most recent column, an epic rant about all of the people and corporations who contributed to Houston’s too-slow response to Hurricane Beryl, shows him at his best. He could capture what Houstonians are feeling and communicate it more effectively than just about anybody else. Not surprisingly, it's among the most-read articles on CultureMap this year.

We’ll miss him terribly.

As a tribute to Houston's consummate columnist and storyteller, we asked some of Ken’s friends and former colleagues to share their favorite stories about him. Please read their (lightly edited) responses below.

Matt Thomas: Host of the Matt Thomas Show on SportsTalk 790
Ken and I really LOVED the Beatles. We also LOVED Curb Your Enthusiasm.

95 percent of our food get togethers were about those two things. We wouldn’t choose fine dining establishments for such dialogue. We would go to fast food restaurants to try their new fries or a new sandwich/burger that was being rolled out.

Our conversations were largely a Seinfeld episode…about nothing. We also made two road trips to see Paul McCartney in different cities. He also loved my kids and I love Andrew. Hoffy just can’t be replaced.

Raheel Ramzanali, Host of the City Cast Houston podcast and former radio show partner of Ken's
I met Hoffy 17 years ago when we started working at 1560 The Game (now ESPN 97.5) and from that moment on, he always treated me like family. He often told people about how he saw me in the hall and brought me on his new show because he didn't have anybody else to talk to and that was absolutely real. I was his silly sidekick, but he always treated me like an equal.

I talked to Ken almost daily about life, the WWE, Curb episodes, tennis, and so much more. Hoffy always included me in incredible opportunities during some of my most impressionable years early in me career like the MS-150, going to WrestleMania, traveling to other cities for interviews, and of course, media preview meals at restaurants.

He took me under his wing when he didn't have to and I'll forever be grateful for that because it led to some of my fondest memories in life.

Reg “Third Degree” Burns, a close friend of Ken’s who frequently appeared in his columns
There used to be a local barbecue chain named Luther’s. They had an annual rib eating contest and Ken was one of the judges. I think you had 10 minutes to eat as many ribs as you can. He came up with the idea of entering me as one of the contestants (he never hesitated to enter me in crazy competitions).

He had a plan, once the bell sounded while everyone else was chomping away I’d grab a newspaper and sit there and read it. Then during the last minute I’d grab the smallest rib on my plate and eat it, bone in all. Which I did.

After the final bell sounded they started announcing the winner. I then stood up and claimed this was a rib eating contest and I was the only one who actually ate a rib. Ken made sure one of the other judges watched me. Luther’s had no choice but to present me with a pig adorned trophy, which I still have.

David Nuno: Director of Broadcast Media for TexAgs.com and former radio show partner of Ken's
In addition to remembering Ken as a sharpshooter who helped Gow Media win the first of four consecutive championships in the Rockets 3v3 media team tournament, Nuno, a former radio host for Gow Media and sports reporter for ABC13, remembers Ken as a mentor and sounding board.

“The career advice he would give me and Raheel in the studio between breaks,” he says. “Ken had this amazing way of loving you by being mean. He didn’t want a handshake. He didn’t want a hug. But you knew he loved you.

“I’m devastated. He was a dear friend. Even years after doing a show together — we stopped doing the show together in 2010. Every time we spoke on the phone it was exactly like 2008.

“He was my Larry David. My Seinfeld. He was a great guy.”

Julie Gilbert, Ken’s former editor at the Houston Post
Ken was a columnist for the people and had an enviable quality to relate to the average Houstonian. He never was a snob. His wit, sarcasm, and spot-on intuitiveness were remarkable in both his columns and in person — whether he was telling stories about the food at the rodeo, the Beatles, the Astros, or Lynn Wyatt.

He and I were emailing Friday night about what would be his last and in my opinion maybe his best column, on CenterPoint’s “total poop show” after Beryl. He just always got it and all of us.

Clifford Pugh, former CultureMap editor and a colleague of Ken’s at the Houston Post
I first met Ken Hoffman in the early 1980s when we were desk mates at the Houston Post, and we remained friends ever since. Just thinking about him now makes me laugh. He had the best sense of humor of anyone I’ve known.

Once on a trip to St. Louis, I texted him that I had spotted a plant named Hoffman at the botanical garden. He replied, “Steal a leaf, smoke it, and report back.”

Actually, Ken never smoked the entire time I knew him, but he liked to bum a cigarette from a smoker and hold it without ever lighting it.

I’m not saying he was cheap, but Ken once planned a trip to Europe with me and Post reporter David Kaplan and booked overnight train rides to every city in lieu of hotel accommodations.

In recent years, my spouse, John, and I have traveled a lot, spurring Ken to quip, “You two make Rick Steves look like a shut-in.”

For years, Ken, his wonderful wife, Erin, and their beloved son, Andrew, have included John and me along with a host of other friends at their annual Thanksgiving dinner. In the early days, Ken cooked two turkeys, with one as a “throw down turkey” in case the other one wasn’t presentable. The day was so important to him that for weeks before he would check in to confirm everyone planned to be there.

Underneath Ken’s brash exterior was a heart of gold. He was one of the world’s foremost Jimmy Buffett experts and had easy access to the superstar singer. When he learned my spouse’s nephew was an obsessive Buffet fan, he arranged for them to meet before a Woodlands concert.

Now, I’m thinking, Ken and Jimmy Buffett are having a hell of a time together in music heaven.

Charlie Pallilo, Co-host of the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast
Tennis was a link between us. We often played two, sometimes three times per week for over 15 years. Literally hundreds of matches, probably over a thousand. It was fiercely competitive, mostly friendly, and fun, especially for the winner.

We experienced a US Open and Wimbledon together. We were playing on one of our regular courts in West U the morning of 9/11.

Here's an essence of Ken tennis memory:

Years back Chuck Norris hosted a celebrity event highlighted by former President George (Herbert Walker) Bush and tennis legend Chris Evert. Also on hand was actor Bernie Kopell, probably most famous for his role as "Doc" on "The Love Boat."

During a pause between matches Ken introduced me to Bernie, who promptly (gently) slapped me in the face. I asked "What was that for?"

Kopell responded, "For you saying I'm only somewhat of a celebrity."

Ken entirely made up my "remark," and found it hysterical that "Doc" slapped my face as if it was a newborn baby's bottom.

Brandon Strange, Gow Media vice president for digital sports
One of my earliest interactions with Ken Hoffman was when he was a host at 1560 The Game. One day, I was working as an intern in the production room when Hoffy walked in, looking for the production director, Frank. I told him Frank wasn’t around but I was a “poor-man’s Frank.” “Poverty” he quipped and walked off.

Several years (and many WWE events later), we got to work together again. He’d stop by, sit down in my small office, and chat. He always had the latest industry gossip.

He eventually asked if he could keep some Diet Pepsi in the mini fridge by my desk. The next day, he showed up with a 6-pack of Diet Pepsi and a commemorative chair from a wrestling show he attended at the Astrodome. He said the chair was in exchange for the fridge space (but my hunch is he was purging unwanted collectibles from his attic). A few weeks later, he noticed I moved his sodas to the bottom shelf. He said we needed to renegotiate our deal. In a Larry David-inspired indignation, he insisted the bottom shelf was inferior placement. “There’s a reason they call it ‘top shelf.’”

Speaking of Larry, when their mutual friend Richard Lewis revealed his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2023, Ken emailed Richard some words of encouragement. He ended the note: “I cherish our friendship. You're the only person I know that I can actually brag about.”

Richard replied “I love you KH.”

Same.

Lance Zierlein, Co-host of the John and Lance show on ESPN 97.5
Hoffy was someone who really understood tone and comedic timing. He had so much fun when he found a willing playmate to go back-and-forth with him no matter what the topic might be. He was loyal and someone who really really enjoyed connecting people here in Houston. He will be missed.

John Granato, Co-host of the John and Lance show on ESPN 97.5
When our boys were seven or eight Ken and I were both managing their baseball teams. We were in Bellaire and they were West U. Huge Little League rivalry. Doesn’t get any bigger.

We decided to have a scrimmage between the two teams. I designed special shirts for the game. Where the kids’ name went on the back of the jersey I had them replaced with Hoffy Sucks. Probably not politically correct today, but Ken loved it. Nothing better than an 8-year old telling the opposing coach he sucks. I wish I still had one.

Ziggy Gruber, Owner of Kenny & Ziggy’s, one of Ken’s favorite restaurants
The first time I met Ken Hoffman, I had just moved to Houston to open Kenny & Ziggy’s and I didn’t know who he was, but he made a b-line to me and introduced himself. He told me how much he loves NY delis, that he was from New Jersey and that he loved a place called Ben Ash in New York City (it was across the street from Carnegie Deli) and his favorite pastry there was the chocolate cigar. He bemoaned that he could not find any here, and I told him, ‘No problem, come back in a week I will have some for you and we can put them on the menu.’ So he came back, I had them for him and he was so ecstatic – I mean, I never saw someone (other than myself) so excited about pastry! He would come in every couple of weeks with a friend, a fellow writer, or an associate, and usually tried something new on the menu, but he always got a chocolate cigar.

Ken loved our pastrami, and always told me that he thought it was one of the finest he ever ate, even going so far to tell me that he felt it was better than Katz’s in New York! He enjoyed trying the gamut of different things on the menu but he always gravitated towards sandwiches. He came to me one day and said, ‘I want you to do a sandwich for me as an off-the-menu item,’ and, of course, I said yes. He said he loves chicken salad with bacon, lettuce and tomato on toast, it’s one of my favorite all-time sandwiches. So, we made our triple-decker version and presented it to him and he was thrilled because he loved opulence in sandwich form. He ordered it all the time.

Ken Hoffman was always very supportive of the deli. He always used to say that, of all the delis that he has eaten in during his life, that Kenny & Ziggy’s was the finest. It always meant a lot to me. Just a week ago, Ken sent me an article about delis from a national publication with a note saying, ‘I was reading this and thought you would like it.’ I was touched that he always cheering us on, thinking of us, supporting us. We will miss seeing him in the deli and reading his articles, and wish him chocolate cigars for all eternity.

Steven Devadanam, former CultureMap city editor
“Has she suffered a head injury recently?”

That was the best that my friend, Ken Hoffman, could muster as congratulations when I texted him a photo of my then fiancé, Lauren, and told him we had just gotten engaged.

“She’s way too pretty for you,” he told me later. “Let’s see if it lasts.”

Such was the praise from the legendary Houston columnist — who honored me by calling me a “trusted friend” and “the best editor I ever worked with” over our seven-year relationship. My earliest memory of Ken, in 2017, was as a thief: He stole my notepad before an important meeting with Gow Media chairman David Gow. When he gave it back, he razzed me for leaving the notepad in the restroom.

I hit him back with being sketchy enough to stalk me in said restroom. That earned a chuckle, some early respect, and, I’d later learn, his brand of compliment on my attire. “The red pants. What’s with those?”

But this, as I’d often remind him, came from a man who made a hoodie and shorts a go-to uniform. Once, when I called and persuaded him to attend a work event and to actually wear a sport coat, I thanked him for preparing me to be a future father of a five-year-old. (He disliked dressing up more than he hated long lines at his beloved Chick-fil-A.)

When I joined CultureMap in 2017, Ken was an immediate and staunch advocate and ally. We bonded over long years in print media and on-air radio, and our penchant for lugging around a 2-liter of diet cola. He favored Diet Pepsi, which I, a Coke Zero fan, found abhorrent.

We’d spend hours talking sports, music, travel spots, politics, and — naturally, fast food — at fast food restaurants. He’d text me tips on where to travel in the UK and France, and constantly ask me how “a guy in red pants could pull such attractive women.” (Duh, Ken, the red pants.) We loved our Chick-fil-A black cards — and bristled ever after when they were discontinued.

Last year, he told me that he’d take me to a “nice lunch” to celebrate my six-year anniversary at CultureMap. We met at Chick-fil-A. I paid.

I’ll treasure these public memories of Houston’s Larry David — and many more private ones — from now until I see him again in that great Chick-fil-A in the sky.

And this time, Ken, you’re buying.