Sy Presten, a press agent who supplied gags and gossip to newspaper columnists for three-quarters of a century, died on Oct. 18 at his home in Manhattan. He was 98.

His was an era when national attention was focused on New York theater, sports and nightlife. Readers wanted to know what was happening at the Stork Club and the Copacabana. The proprietors of those establishments used Mr. Presten as their press agent, who would gin up publicity for major figures there, like Kate Smith and Charles Revson and Elizabeth Taylor watching Sammy Davis Jr. at the Copa.

According to The New York Times, until the end of his life, Mr. Presten remained haunted by a rare lapse in his never-ending hustle. About 10 years ago, the gossip columnist Liz Smith invited him out to lunch at a nice restaurant near her home. She refused to let him pay. According to the dogma of zealous press agentry, the event constituted blasphemy. “He was talking about it to his dying day,” his wife said. “He wanted to pick up that check.”