Vincent Musetto, the New York Post journalist who wrote the memorable 'Headless Body in Topless Bar' headline, has died at the age of 74.
Musetto was a news editor and film critic for the Post starting in 1973. Now retired, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just three weeks ago.
He passed away at Calvary Hospital in The Bronx, with his family and wife of 50 years by his side.
“He wasn’t in any pain. He was comfortable. He passed peacefully in his sleep,” his daughter, Carly VanTassell, told the Post.
Musetto’s infamous headline in 1983 was about the shooting death of a topless bar owner in Jamaica, Queens at the hands of Charles Dingle, who was convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life. He later died in 2012 after being denied parole several times.
The headline comes from the fact that Dingle cut off the head of another patron on a rampage, in addition to raping one woman and holding others hostage.
New York Times reports the headline almost did not happen, as a deadline loomed and the editorial team wasn’t sure if the bar was, in fact, a topless bar. Someone was sent there to confirm it, and the rest is history.
image via Twitter from New York Post