Overview

• Axel Springer announced Wagner’s death on Tuesday at age 82 and praised him as “one of our most creative minds and a unique writer,” with no cause disclosed.
• Wagner wrote the daily Bild column “Post von Wagner” for roughly 25 years, typically opening with “Liebe(r) …” and signing off “Herzlichst. Ihr Franz Josef Wagner.”
• Across a sprawling career he served as editor-in-chief of B.Z. and Bunte and helped launch German editions such as Elle and Superillu before becoming Bild’s chief columnist.
• His legacy included high-profile controversies, from a Tom Cruise lawsuit to a widely condemned 2000 jibe at swimmer Franziska van Almsick that ended his B.Z. tenure.
• At least one outlet reports his final column ran on September 3 addressing Chancellor Friedrich Merz and criticizing Vladimir Putin, a detail not universally confirmed.