Mondale Daughter Eleanor Dies at 51

Eleanor Mondale, the vivacious daughter of former Vice President Walter Mondale who carved out her own reputation as an entertainment reporter, radio show host, and gossip magnet, died yesterday at her home in Minnesota. She was 51. Mondale had been diagnosed with brain cancer years earlier. In a statement emailed to friends, the former vice president said he and his wife "must report that our wonderful daughter, Eleanor Mondale Poling, after her long and gutsy battle against cancer, went up to heaven last night to be with her angel."

Eleanor Mondale had been off the air at WCCO-AM in Minneapolis since 2009, when she announced that her brain cancer had returned a second time. She had surgery to remove the tumor at the Mayo Clinic, and a post on her CaringBridge website declared the surgery a success. A striking blonde known on the party circuit when she was younger, Eleanor Mondale also attracted gossip. Her dalliance with the late rock musician Warren Zevon was detailed in I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon, a posthumous biography. Mondale started as an aspiring actress, with bit parts in television's Three's Company and Dynasty. Mondale was married three times: to Chicago Bears offensive lineman Keith Van Horne, to fellow DJ Greg Thunder and to Twin Cities rock musician Chan Poling of The Suburbs. Click for the obituary of Kara Kennedy, who died Friday also at age 51. (More Eleanor Mondale stories.)