Howard Ruff, Famed 'Ruff Times' Publisher, Remembered

Howard Ruff, the "Ruff Times" publisher who called on Americans to prepare for economic doom in the 1970s, is being remembered for his skills in marketing and reinventing himself through the tough times.

"No matter what happens out there, you can create an opportunity," Ruff told the St. Petersburg in 1988, years after he advocated stocking up on gold, silver, and canned beans to prepare for financial disaster, reports an obituary article in The Wall Street Journal.

Ruff died on Nov. 12 in Lehi, Utah at the age of 85, after battling Parkinson's disease.

After initially filing for bankruptcy in 1968, Ruff started over, selling nutritional supplements and advocating "emergency food-storage as a kind of family-insurance program" as defense against 1970s inflation.

His first book, the self-published "Famine and Survival in America," led to TV and radio appearances, and Ruff started his newsletter, "Ruff Times" in 1975, advocating then that readers stock up on gold and silver. He also hosted the TV talk show "Ruffhou$e," as well as radio spots, seminars and conventions, and created the Free the Eagle political-action committee to support free-market charges.

However, eventually inflation and interest rates declined, and found that better times meant less attention to him, but he still managed to make money, including releasing a record album, "Howard Ruff Sings."

Ruff continued speaking out about threats even after the year 2000, including writing a warning book about Y2K computer glitches. That book flopped, though, when the catastrophe did not happen, but by 2008, during the financial crisis of that year, Ruff came back, telling The Wall Street Journal that he'd advise investing in dimes and quarters issued before 1965 because of their silver content.

Ruff is survived by his wife, Kay, 13 children (including five who were adopted), 79 grandchildren, and 48 great-grandchildren. They also raised several foster children.

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