De Toledano, friend of Nixon, dies

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Ralph de Toledano, a magazine editor, syndicated columnist and author best known as a friend of Richard Nixon, died in Washington at the age of 90.

De Toledano wrote books of poetry and music criticism after his graduation from Columbia. He was an editor at Newsweek magazine and later wrote a column distributed by King Feature Syndicate.

For de Toledano, at one point a socialist, the political turning point came when he was assigned to cover the trial of Alger Hiss, an American diplomat who was accused of perjury related to charges that Hiss was a Soviet spy, The New York Times said. De Toledano took the side of Whittaker Chambers, a Time magazine editor who was Hiss's main accuser.

He later wrote a book about the case, "Seeds of Treason," with Victor Lasky.

De Toledano became a Republican and met then-Congressman Nixon during the case. When de Toledano was covering Nixon's campaign for the Senate, Nixon routinely asked him to speak to the crowds.

When Nixon was president, de Toledano frequently offered advice to the Nixon White House.

De Toledano, who died Saturday, is survived by his two sons.