Russell Drumm, a columnist who covered recreational and commercial fishing for The East Hampton Star for over three decades, passed away on January 16th at the age of 68. His well written columns were always on point and unbiased, and according to Carissa Katz of the Star’s editorial staff, “his work set a standard of excellence and helped to define The Star, both for the paper’s readers and for his colleagues, who looked to him as an example of how to approach the job with seriousness but good humor.”
During his career, he reported on other key events in addition to his columns. Among them, the explosion of Flight 800 above the Atlantic Ocean off Smith Point in 1996. He also covered political issues, fisheries and coastal management, and social issues like the legalization of medical marijuana. He was a wordsmith with an ability to make any subject he wrote about compelling and easy to comprehend.
He was the author of three books, the most familiar to Fisherman readers was his first, In The Slick of the Cricket, an account of legendary shark fisherman Capt. Frank Mundus, after whom Quint in the blockbuster movie Jaws was modeled after.
Russell had a masters degree in film from Columbia University and worked on Harlan County, USA, a documentary by Barbara Kopple that won an Academy Award in 1977. He moved to Montauk in 1974 and invented a process to extract the meat form Jonah crabs during a stint on a lobster boat. That led to his opening the Sweet Crab, a business housed at the former New York Ocean Science Lab on Fort Pond Bay in Montauk which he sold in 1980.
A memorial gathering was held at The East Hampton Star office on Main Street on Thursday, January 21st and a surfers paddle-out is planned for the spring.
