Mitchell Smyth, the Toronto Star’s legendary former travel editor, one-time gossip columnist, and man of many hats, quite literally, has died. He was 88.
Smyth’s journalism career spanned more than 40 years, beginning humbly at a tiny weekly newspaper in Northern Ireland and finishing at the helm of the Star’s influential travel section. During that time, Smyth endeared himself to readers and colleagues alike with his irreverent humour, keen sense of the absurd and tales from his journeys across six of seven continents — during which he amassed a collection of more than 100 hats.