Vincent Peter Ruehl (29 March 1947 – 11 April 2011) was an American-born Australian newspaper

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

, best known for the humorous column he wrote thrice weekly for ''

The Australian Financial Review The ''Australian Financial Review'' (''AFR'') is an Australian compact daily newspaper with a focus on business, politics and economic affairs. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and has been published continuously since its foun ...

'', in which he offered an American view on life in Australia. During his career, he also contributed to ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

'' and the ''

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a Conservatism, conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the American Rupert Murdoch, Murd ...

''.

Biography

Ruehl was born in New York City to Mercedes J. Ruehl, a schoolteacher, and Vincent Ruehl, an

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

agent. His father was of German and Irish descent and his mother was of Cuban and Irish descent. The family frequently moved during her childhood owing to Vincent Ruehl's assignments with the FBI, and lived in other states including

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

. He and his sister, Mercedes (who became an Academy Award-winning actress), were raised Catholic. Ruehl was educated at

Gonzaga College High School Gonzaga College High School is a private Catholic college-preparatory high school for boys in Washington, D.C. Founded by the Jesuits in 1821 as the Washington Seminary, Gonzaga is named in honor of Aloysius Gonzaga, an Italian saint from the ...

in Washington, D.C., and later moved to

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

. He studied at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

and worked as a court reporter for ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

''. In 1983, the paper asked him to provide coverage of the

1983 America's Cup The 1983 America's Cup was a 12-metre class yacht racing series which pitted the defending New York Yacht Club's ''Liberty'' against the Royal Perth Yacht Club's challenger, ''Australia II''. The September 1983 series of match races was won ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, during which time he met his future wife, fellow journalist Jennifer Hewett, who had been assigned to the same event by ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

''. They married and then moved to Australia in 1987. His first piece of journalism in Australia was his coverage of the

1987 America's Cup The 1987 America's Cup was the twenty-sixth challenge for the America's Cup. The American challenger '' Stars & Stripes 87'', sailed by Dennis Conner, beat the Australian defender '' Kookaburra III'', sailed by Iain Murray, in a four-race swe ...

for the ''Australian Financial Review'', a paper for which he continued to write for most of his career. It was his satirical column in this paper that brought recognition, leading Roger Johnstone (chief executive of the Financial Review Group) to praise him as a "one of a kind in Australian journalism". After his death, a collection of his columns between November 1993 and April 2011 was published as a book in ''Men are Stupid, Woman are Crazy.''

Family and personal life

At the time of his death, Ruehl lived in the eastern Sydney suburb of

Clovelly Clovelly () is a privately owned harbour village in the Torridge District, Torridge district of Devon, England. The settlement and surrounding land belongs to John Rous, who inherited it from his mother in 1983. He belongs to the Hamlyn family ...

with Hewett and their children, Mercedes, John and Tom. According to colleague Colleen Ryan, Ruehl had a few close select friends and "could be quite introverted", preferring to spend time with his family or writing.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruehl, Peter 1947 births 2011 deaths Australian people of Irish descent Australian people of German descent Australian people of Cuban descent Australian Roman Catholics Australian columnists Australian satirists Australian satirical columnists American emigrants to Australia Gonzaga College High School alumni The Baltimore Sun people Journalists from New York City