Alan was the last of a dying breed. The beacon of hard-hitting journalism had begun to dim in the late 1970s, when Woodwardbernstein wannabes fresh out of J-school began to replace journeyman reporters. Alan kept the lamp burning.

As an occasional contributor to Barron’s in the mid- to late 1990s, I pitched some articles to Alan that no other paper would have touched, including a deflationist think-piece that was considered loony-bin stuff at the time. I feel blessed to have had an opportunity to work with him.

Barron’s lost a hard edge it never quite regained after it shifted Alan from his managing editor’s job. He continued to work out of his suburban NYC home. Alan did not ‘do’ e-mail, preferring instead to communicate via typed messages. Banging out his weekly column on a typewriter, he remained one of the most influential voices on Wall Street as well as a mentor to some of the best reporters every to ply the trade. He will be deeply missed and mourned by many.