Stephen Francis Patrick Aloysius Dunleavy (21 January 1938 – 24 June 2019) was an Australian[2] journalist based in the United States, best known as a reporter, columnist and editor for the New York Post from 1977 to 1986 and again from 1995 until his retirement in 2008.
He subsequently worked in Hong Kong for The South China Morning Post, and freelanced in Japan, India, Greece, Italy, Spain and England.
[6] Journalist William Shawcross, in his biography of Murdoch, wrote that Dunleavy was "a good-looking, hard-drinking, womanising, roustabout swashbuckler with an astounding gift for turning dross into lively cliché, drear facts into purpled prose.
[1] Dunleavy controversially disguised himself in scrubs to gain access to the hospital where Son of Sam victim Stacy Moskowitz was being treated and conducted an interview with her family.
[8] In his column of 17 October 2002 regarding the Beltway sniper attacks, Dunleavy wrote, "If when the shooter is caught, if he is not a foreigner, I will bare my derriere in Macy’s window."
[10] Those who honored Dunleavy included News Corp chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch, Post editor-in-chief Col Allan, NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly, Uniformed Firefighters Association president Steve Cassidy, and former A Current Affair host Maury Povich, who was accompanied by his wife, Connie Chung.
"[6] Dunleavy's personality was the model for actor Robert Downey Jr.'s performance as Wayne Gale in Oliver Stone's film Natural Born Killers.