Leading Norwich businessman Hy Kurzner, who owned Hy's Nightclub, Boswells bar and the Pizza One, Pancakes Too restaurant, has died aged 78.

American-born Henry Kurzner, know as Hy, died in the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital on Friday, from a heart attack.

The former journalist, who lived in Unthank Road, had been unwell for three weeks before his death.

Mr Kurzner was well-known in Norwich as the owner of Hy's, Boswells and Pizza One, Pancakes Too, which operated in Tombland buildings now occupied by the La Tasca and Zizzi restaurants.

A former president of Norwich's Strangers Club, Mr Kurzner had been an executive member of the East Anglia Tourist Board and Norwich Restaurateurs' Association.

He founded the Nightclub Liaison Committee, a blueprint for associations between the police and the entertainment industry across Britain, and responsible for the UK's first education and licensing system for door staff.

John Swinfield, former controller of arts and features for Anglia Television, who was a close friend of Mr Kurzner's, said: 'It's as if a light has gone out of my life. Hy was one of those rare souls who really cared, and that which he cared most about was his family.

'Most people don't realise Hy had an extraordinary life before he came to Norwich.'

Mr Kurzner graduated from the University of Arkansas with a degree in history and journalism.

One of his first jobs was director of sports information for New York University before becoming Bureau Chief for the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in Vietnam in the early 1970s.

Mr Swinfield said: 'Hy said his best move came via journalism when he met Valerie, an Englishwoman in the BBC's New York office. They married and moved to London.'

The couple started a career in hospitality together and bought a small hotel in Hertfordshire before moving to Norwich where they started a pizza house, restaurant and nightclub.

Mr Swinfield said: 'For years, every Friday, Hy, his wife Valerie and my wife Bridgit and I had supper at Umberto's Italian restaurant in St Benedict's. We had all been the closest of friends for 30 years.

'Frequently people would introduce themselves saying they had met their spouse at the nightclub, held a celebration there, that they had worked for him or knew somebody who did. The thing which pleased him most was when people said they never worried about their children going there because they knew they were safe with the Kurzners in charge.

'Hy was a New York boy through and through, but he was also Mr Norwich.'

He donated generously to charities including the British Heart Foundation, Norwich's Theatre Royal and the Playhouse.

Mr Swinfield added: 'Hy was widely read, keenly interested in politics, he was polished, kind and loyal. If you were sick or in trouble he would be there.

'He could be emotional, deeply compassionate, his eyes would fill with tears. His hospitality was legendary, his generosity endless.'

Mr Kurzner leaves behind his wife, Valerie, daughters Emma and Karen and three grandchildren.

Do you wish to pay tribute to Mr Kurzner? Email newsdesk@archant.co.uk