
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 12, 1991                   TAG: 9104120571
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES                                LENGTH: Medium

CHARLES GOREN, BRIDGE COLUMNIST, AUTHOR, DIES

Charles Goren, who developed a point system that popularized the game of contract bridge and wrote a widely syndicated column on the game, has died. He was 90.

Goren, known to his legions of famous friends and fellow card players as Charlie, died of a heart attack April 3 in Los Angeles, his nephew, Marvin Goren, said Wednesday.

"By any standard he was one of the greatest bridge players and bridge authorities and bridge writers in the world," said Alfred Sheinwold, who writes a syndicated bridge column.

As a young lawyer in Philadelphia, Goren became a serious tournament bridge player and developed his point-counting system that enabled even unsophisticated card players to enjoy the new game of contract bridge.

Goren became so enmeshed in playing and writing about bridge that he rejected a proffered judgeship, his nephew said, and abandoned his law practice in the mid-1930s.

The bridge champion wrote 26 books on bridge that have been translated into seven languages. He also wrote columns for his friend Henry Luce's Time magazine empire and for the Chicago Tribune newspaper syndicate. His books about the card game, particularly "Goren's Bridge Complete," have been top sellers for 50 years.

In 1974, Goren enlisted actor Omar Sharif as co-writer of his newspaper column, "Goren on Bridge," which still bears the Goren name and was syndicated in 300 newspapers and magazines, including the Roanoke Times & World-News.

Goren remained an active consultant on the column until his death, his nephew said.

by CNB