Jay Cronley, a longtime Tulsa World and Tulsa Tribune journalist whose funny, irreverent and wholly original takes on everyday life filled thousands of newspaper columns, as well as books and magazine articles, died Sunday. He was 73.

No service is planned at this time.

Cronley spent nearly 24 years with the World, writing his final column in March 2016. His columns appeared three times weekly over that time and, in addition, he was the voice behind the Sports section’s anonymous “Picker” column.

He was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 2014.

Before the World, he was at the Tribune for 22 years, writing his regular column “Cronley at Large.”

Cronley was also the author of seven books — including “Funny Farm,” which was made into a movie starring Chevy Chase — and had been a contributor to various magazines.

The motivation behind all his writing? Cronley summed it up this way:

“I like to write about serious things with a little smile.”

World Executive Editor Susan Ellerbach said Cronley “was like a character out of one of his books. He had a larger-than-life personality and an opinion on everything and didn’t mind telling you so.”

“He was a great newspaper columnist for both the Tulsa World and the Tulsa Tribune and became a Tulsa institution,” she said. “Everyone who met him had a story to tell. And, somehow, that seems fitting.”

“Losing Jay is big,” said Jenk Jones Jr., former Tulsa Tribune publisher and editor. “He was one of the finest writers that Oklahoma has ever produced, a true writing talent.”