Ed Mirvish

The Toronto Sun lost a good friend when Ed Mirvish died today at 92.

He was a supporter of the tabloid from the start, buying a full page ad in the tabloid's first 48-page edition on Nov. 1, 1971.

"Honest Ed's Ain't Upper Crust But His Bargains Sure Save You Dough" was his pun of the day and bargains in the ad included a Corningware Twin Set for $5.88 a set.

Reporters loved Ed and Ed loved reporters. He was always good for a story.

The media and Ed shared space in the 1980s when the homeless Toronto Press Club accepted his invitation to move into Ed's Warehouse restaurant on King Street West.

This blogger, born and raised on Euclid Street, remembers when Ed got started in 1948 in a converted house at the southeast corner of Bloor and Markham Streets.

You couldn't help but smile every time you entered Honest Ed's because of a photo of a toothless, down-and-out alcoholic from the neighborhood Ed took under his wing for odd jobs.

The photo said something like "This is Ed."

Honest Ed's eventually consumed a restaurant to the east and a former Loblaw's supermarket at the corner of Bloor and Bathurst Streets to become a landmark neon shopping palace.

Then came the theatre district on King Street West and a lifetime of helping to make Toronto a better place.

Thousands of people, from recipients of his annual free Christmas turkeys to Toronto's elite, are remembering Ed today in e-mails to newspapers and phone calls to radio talk shows.

The Toronto Sun is welcoming online comments about Ed. Click here.

The online Star has devoted a page to memories of Ed. Click here.

The National Post is also inviting e-mails about Ed. Click here.

The Globe and Mail also has a comments page for Ed. Click here.