Andrew Tully, 78, Author, Columnist And War Reporter

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September 29, 1993

By RANDY KENNEDY

Andrew F. Tully Jr., an author who was one of the first American reporters to enter conquered Berlin in April 1945, died on Monday in a nursing home in Silver Spring, Md. He was 78 and lived in Washington.

The cause was complications from Alzheimer’s disease, said his wife, Molly.

Mr. Tully’s writing career spanned six decades. His work included several novels and popular nonfiction books on the workings of Washington, where he was a syndicated political columnist for more than 20 years. In 1962, Mr. Tully had both a novel, “Capitol Hill,” and a nonfiction book, “C.I.A.: The Inside Story,” on The New York Times’s best-seller lists.

He started working for newspapers while still in high school, as a sports reporter for his hometown daily newspaper in Southbridge, Mass. At 21, he bought the town’s weekly newspaper, The Southbridge Press, for about $5,000 with loans from friends, making him the youngest newspaper publisher in America.

He sold the paper two years later and became a reporter at The Worcester Gazette in Worcester, Mass., leaving there to become a correspondent in Europe for The Boston Traveler during World War II.

He began writing his own column in 1961, which came to be called “Capital Fare,” and was syndicated in more than 150 newspapers at its peak.

He was the author of 16 books in all, including “Where Did Your Money Go?” with Milton Britten, an examination of foreign aid, and “Supreme Court,” a novel.

He is survived by his wife, the former Molly Wood; three sons, Andrew F. 3d, of North Potomac, Md., Mark, of North Anson, Me., and John, of Santa Cruz, Calif.; two daughters, Martha Brown of Washington and Sheila Hamilton of Brunswick, Md., and seven grandchildren.