'Best Little Whorehouse' Crusader Dies

Texas sheriff turned journalist inspired musical

By Heather McPherson, Newser User

Posted Jul 30, 2007 7:36 AM CDT

(Newser) – Crusading Texas journalist Marvin Zindler, whose successful efforts in shutting down a brothel inspired the play and film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, died yesterday from pancreatic cancer. He was 85. He began his journalism career at the age of 51 after he was fired from a Texas sheriff's office where he investigated fraud.

His first goal was to shut a local "bawdy House," a campaign that drew national attention. ZIndler, always dressed in his trade-mark powder-white toupee and bright suits, worked for KTRK-TV in Houston for 34 years, investigating consumer fraud. The station's president described him as "one of the most valued and beloved people in Houston."

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Marvin Zindler poses for a photo Feb. 9, 2006, in Houston. Zindler, the flamboyant TV consumer reporter in Houston whose crusade against a rural brothel inspired "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,"... (Associated Press)

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'Best Little Whorehouse' Crusader Dies