Journalist and political satirist PJ O’Rourke, has died.

The American writer and best-selling author who rose to fame as editor-in-chief of the now-defunct satirical magazine National Lampoon, was 74.

He had been diagnosed with lung cancer.

Morgan Entrekin CEO of Grove Atlantic, a New York-based publisher of his books, described him as “one of the major voices of his generation.

“His insightful reporting, verbal acuity and gift at writing laugh-out-loud prose were unparalleled.”

A confirmed conservative Republican, Patrick Jake O’Rourke was unafraid to rip into Democrats and Republicans alike in best-selling books like Parliament of Whores, in articles for a wide range of magazines and newspapers, and on television and radio talk shows.

In addition to some 20 books, he wrote a column for The Daily Beast for a time and appeared regularly in the Atlantic, The American Spectator, Rolling Stone and The Weekly Standard, where he was a contributing editor.

He was a regular commentator on current affairs US TV shows like 60 Minutes and The Daily Show.

After growing up in Toledo, Ohio and graduating from Miami University in Ohio, O’Rourke left the mid-west for the east coast to attend Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

He launched his writing career at small newspapers in Baltimore and New York and joined National Lampoon in the early 1970s later assuming the roles of managing editor and editor-in-chief.

He is survived by his wife, Tina O’Rourke, and three children, according to his publisher.