Former Kentucky governor and businessman John Y. Brown dies

By DYLAN LOVAN
Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — John Y. Brown Jr., who became Kentucky’s governor after building empires in business and sports, has died. He was 88. Brown had been a leading Democratic fundraiser by the time he made his own run for public office. He also acquired an international reputation as a master salesman. Kentucky Fried Chicken was a string of small-town restaurants before he turned it into a global enterprise. He also owned three professional basketball teams, including the Boston Celtics. While governor, Brown offered his credo one day in a news conference at his office in the Capitol at Frankfort: “Let me be free; let me be myself. I am different.” He served as governor from 1979-1983.