Asked how he lasted for 36 years as television critic for The Chronicle, Terrence O'Flaherty once offered up some typically dry words of wisdom:
"I never yearned to be recognized by head waiters and I never ate anything that came through the mail."

Known for his biting wit, elegant phrasing and iconoclastic nature, Terrence O'Flaherty was one of the first and most influential commentators on the nascent medium of TV, and the culture it served.

He started with The Chronicle in 1950 and carved a place for himself among a storied group of writers who dominated the newspaper for decades, including Stanton Delaplane, Arthur Hoppe, Charles McCabe, Abe Mellinkoff and, of course, Herb Caen.

"He belonged on that all-star team," said Editor Emeritus William German, himself a Chronicle veteran of more than 50 years.

And he was not afraid to pick a fight, lambasting stars and business figures of the television world, including the managers of KRON-TV, which was owned by the same family that owned The Chronicle, German said.

Terrence developed his pugnacious style despite what he described as an idyllic childhood in the western Los Angeles of the 1920s, when he had a hilltop view stretching to the Pacific Ocean and the owner of a nearby airfield was an aspiring movie director named Cecil B. DeMille.

He graduated from Beverly Hills High School and the University of California at Berkeley, worked for a time as a historical fact-checker for Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Studios, and in World War II served as a communications officer in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific theater, receiving two commendations.

But it was his dream since childhood to be a newspaperman, he wrote in his self-penned obituary, which was provided by his partner of 13 years, Lynn Hickerson.

One of his uncles had been a war correspondent and then managing editor for the Chicago Daily News during the rollicking years that inspired the play "Front Page," and he thought the life romantic.

His passion for his job was winning. He became friends with many stars, including Marlene Dietrich and Rock Hudson, and received numerous honors for his work, including an Emmy in 1988 -- the only Emmy that the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences had ever given to a television critic.

For 30 years, he sat on the board of judges that selected the winners of the prestigious Peabody Awards.

He also hosted a nightly television news show in 1961 and '62 called "PM West," which was accompanied by an East Coast version hosted by Mike Wallace, later of "60 Minutes" fame.

He tried not to take himself too seriously, however, and in May 1986 he shocked loyal fans by resigning from The Chronicle after learning that a college student was writing about him because he was the country's longest working television critic.

"I knew it was time to move on," he said later.

He later went on to write a best-selling book about television, called "Masterpiece Theatre," which was published in 1996. He recently completed two more manuscripts of recollections which Hickerson said he hopes to get published.

He died Friday morning February 23, 2001 at his home on Telegraph Hill at the age of 83 after a brief bout with pancreatic cancer.

The Pciture Gallery

Terrence on the Del Courtney Show.

Terrence with Kukla, Fran, & Ollie.