Dan's Papers Welcomes Bridget LeRoy as Managing Editor

Dan’s Papers is pleased to announce that Bridget LeRoy has joined the staff as managing editor.

After working at The East Hampton Star as a young adult, Bridget LeRoy co-founded The East Hampton Independent in 1993, which became The Independent Newspaper, and functioned as the arts editor and company president for the first seven years. During her (first) tenure, she was the recipient of more than 40 awards for journalism and editing from both regional and national press associations. She has interviewed everyone from Steven Spielberg to Martha Stewart, from Jane Fonda to Julie Andrews.

She moved to New Hampshire in 2001 with her husband, Eric Johnson, and their three kids, and there, she completely renovated and ran a 1792 inn and restaurant for eight years. She was recognized as an Innkeeper of the Year by the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association four times. After moving back to the East End in 2010 and working again at The East Hampton Star, then at The Southampton Press and the national subscription-based Buddhist World Tribune for several years, she returned to The Independent in 2016 as managing editor, nabbing more recognition and awards from the New York Press Association and the Press Club of Long Island along the way.

Until recently, she co-hosted a weekly radio show, “Sundays on the East End,” with her high school prom date and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Alec Sokolow (Toy Story) on 88.3 WLIW FM, Long Island’s only NPR station. She has also been the host of the East Hampton Library’s annual Authors Night for WLIW FM for several years, interviewing, live, Alec Baldwin, Robert Caro, Lee Child, Candace Bushnell and dozens of other literati. She also co-founded CMEE, the Children’s Museum of the East End.

LeRoy was brought up in a privileged Hollywood/New York show business family. Her great-grandfather, Harry Warner, founded Warner Brothers Studio. Her grandfather, Mervyn LeRoy, directed and produced over 80 Hollywood classic films, including The Wizard of Oz. Her father, Warner LeRoy, was the restaurateur responsible for New York landmarks like Maxwell’s Plum, Tavern on the Green and the Russian Tea Room, which he ran with the help of Bridget’s stepmother, Kay LeRoy. Gen LeRoy-Walton, LeRoy’s mother, is a successful children’s book author and Norman Rockwell cover model, as well as the co-author of several of the Loaves & Fishes cookbooks with Anna Pump. Her stepfather, Tony Walton, is one of theater and film’s most renowned set and costume designers.

Other hats she’s worn along the way: Retreat leader, goat herder, ordained minister, pug breeder, yoga teacher, shamanic healer and model for some of the world’s greatest living artists, including John Alexander and Audrey Flack.