Fleming Clason Kyle was a newspaper man, playwright, historian, author, clubman, and all around bon vivant. He was born May 29, 1929 in Columbus, Georgia, the second son of George Swift Kyle Jr., (February 25, 1889-October 17, 1964) and Elizabeth Clason Kyle. He was a descendant of one of the five founding city commissioners appointed in 1828. He graduated in 1953 from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, and did graduate work at Stanford University. He worked for the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer for years as editor of arts and culture, columnist and book reviewer. He traveled extensively and led many tours of Europe, as well as to Mexico, South America, Africa, and Asia.

Kyle owned two houses in Columbus as well as a summer home, Topsides, in North Carolina. He lived at 925 Blandford Avenue, his home from birth until 2021 when he down-sized and moved to a near-by condo. He also owned a house at 527 1st Avenue, known as the Octagon House, or May’s Folly. It was mainly used for entertaining and as a guest house. Among his many interests were historic preservation, architecture, art, music, theater, travel, literature, and social activities. These interests dovetailed with his newspaper work and his support of various arts and historical organizations, including the Springer Opera House, Westville, Historic Columbus Foundation, the Victorian Society of America and many others.