Gary Halbert Dies

I had some sad news from Brett McFall earlier this week. Gary Halbert, a truly original copywriting legend, died in his sleep on Easter Sunday.

Gary was famous for his blunt, humorous and no-holds-barred approach to creating advertising copy. If you're not familiar with his work, you can get a sense of his unique style at his web site, The Gary Halbert Newsletter. Gary's sons, Kevin and Bond Halbert, have chosen to keep the web site live so people can have access to all of Gary's archives.

Australian copywriter Brett McFall wrote an excellent newsletter back in 2002 after returning from a two-day Gary Halbert workshop in the US. It will give you a taste of Gary's approach to writing great ad copy. You can read it at BrettMcFall.com.

Finally, if you'd like to read the moving tributes that have come pouring in over the past week (and if you'd like to add your own), go to John Carlton's blog at JohnCarlton.com.

Michel Fortin is offering free access to four hours of recorded interviews with Gary and John Carlton on his tribute page at MichelFortin.com

Gary Halbert - what an amazing man. And what an incredible contribution he made to the lives of so many marketers.

Gary, rest in peace.

Marguerite Bonneville