Is there anyone any older than...?

[Charles1]

Bill Bolen, one of the newsreaders on WBRC-6 in Birmingham, retired from the station yesterday (1/28/10) after 41 years with the station. He is now 81 years old. Are there any other major (Top 50 or Top 100) news reporters, anchors, contributors, etc., currently on the air who are any older than him?

 

[MsMusicRadio]

Larry King

 

[YEKIMI]

I thought Larry King was one day older than God.

 

[LKellerIII]

Bill Bolen, one of the newsreaders on WBRC-6 in Birmingham, retired from the station yesterday (1/28/10) after 41 years with the station. He is now 81 years old. Are there any other major (Top 50 or Top 100) news reporters, anchors, contributors, etc., currently on the air who are any older than him?

Larry King is only 77, and was primarily a radio talk host until the late 1970s.

Veteran reporter and sometimes anchor Stan Chambers has worked longer in television than Mr. Bolen. He's been with KTLA (Los Angeles' oldest TV station) for 62 years - beginning in 1947. He's 86 years old. I remember seeing Stan as an anchor and reporter when I was a kid in the 1960s. His adult grandson is also a KTLA reporter.

I suspect Stan holds the record, but I don't know for sure.

http://www.ktla.com/about/station/bios/ktla-news-bio-chambers,0,4044114.story

 

[12 In a Row]

Larry King is only 77, and was primarily a radio talk host until the late 1970s.

Only 77?
Does that mean 77 is the new 67?
If Larry didn't have alimony for his 13 ex-wives, he could have retired.

 

[dave73]

Larry King is only 77, and was primarily a radio talk host until the late 1970s.

Only 77?
Does that mean 77 is the new 67?
If Larry didn't have alimony for his 13 ex-wives, he could have retired.

If Wikipedia has his D.O.B. correct (11/19/1930), then he's 79, and not 77. I dind't even think he was that old. I believe that unless his health fails, he'll die working.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

Although Larry King was known for being on radio nationally he was on local TV in Miami in the '60's in addition to his radio job at WIOD. He did an interview show on WTVJ Channel 4. He got into some kind of trouble down there and had to lay low for awhile.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

I was floored when I discovered James Lipton (Inside The Actors Studio) is in his 80's! He sure looks better than Larry King.

 

[MarcB]

The late John Hope the hurricane expert from The Weather Channel was in his 80s when he passed. As was John Quill from 22-News WWLP the NBC affiliate in the Springfield, Massachusetts market.

 

[kenrayc]

Hal Fishman for KTLA 5 LA, I believe is the longest local news of all times 48 years , he broadcasted the news 8 days before he died at 75(18 days before his 76 bithday) in 2007.

Hugh Downs has a long broadcast record also.

 

[bpatrick]

Hugh Downs will be 89 this year and still does infomercials.

 

[LKellerIII]

Hal Fishman for KTLA 5 LA, I believe is the longest local news of all times 48 years , he broadcasted the news 8 days before he died at 75(18 days before his 76 bithday) in 2007.

Not to play a game of battling anchors with you, but if you'll read up in this thread, you'll note that Hal Fishman was not the "longest local news of all time," he was not even the longest at KTLA. Stan Chambers was with KTLA years before Fishman got there, and Stan is apparently still working after 62 years. Chambers is primarily a reporter, and has anchored on and off over the years, so if you're specifying longest uninterrupted period at the anchor desk, you may be right. Fishman may hold that record. He was George Putnam's co-anchor (but definitely the second banana) as far back as the late 60s, before Putnam left TV, and Hal took over.

 

[hubcity]

Don Pardo, 91, is officially retired but still announces SNL...even blew out his 90 candles live on the show after Tina Fey announced his birthday that year.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Andy Rooney just turned 91. He does not look it!

And he still does so much himself at home.

 

[LKellerIII]

Andy Rooney just turned 91. He does not look it!

And he still does so much himself at home.

Please note that even through the thread is titled "Is there anybody older than..." , the original poster made it clear he was referring to news anchors and reporters.

So Don Pardo and Andy Rooney don't count. So there!

But if they did count, Pardo would win. He's was announcing for NBC radio in the 1940s before NBC TV existed. And it's amazing how strong his voice is at age 91. Usually by that age, the voice is weak...if you remember what Paul Harvey and George Putnam sounded like in their 90s (a mere shadow of their younger years), you know what I mean.

 

[radioguy555]

Boy, I can't believe how long some of these people have been working. It's truly remarkable. Los Angeles TV viewers are blessed to still have Stan Chambers and Vin Scully on the air in that market - two giants with more than a living-legend status.

 

[DToTheJ]

Hugh Downs will be 89 this year and still does infomercials.

I also occasionally see his mug on banner ads promoting pills or some form of snake oil... But for Hugh Downs, it's just "supplemental income".

 

[bpatrick]

Andy Rooney just turned 91. He does not look it!

And he still does so much himself at home.

Please note that even through the thread is titled "Is there anybody older than..." , the original poster made it clear he was referring to news anchors and reporters.

So Don Pardo and Andy Rooney don't count. So there!

But if they did count, Pardo would win. He's was announcing for NBC radio in the 1940s before NBC TV existed. And it's amazing how strong his voice is at age 91. Usually by that age, the voice is weak...if you remember what Paul Harvey and George Putnam sounded like in their 90s (a mere shadow of their younger years), you know what I mean.

But I would make a case for Hugh Downs, since he hosted the "Today" show and "20/20" (both with Barbara Walters, who's about 80 now).
BTW, Don Pardo started at NBC in 1944, the same year that two other legends started at CBS: Bern Bennett and a guy who went on to bigger things, namely, hosting game shows : Bill Cullen.

 

[LKellerIII]

Boy, I can't believe how long some of these people have been working. It's truly remarkable. Los Angeles TV viewers are blessed to still have Stan Chambers and Vin Scully on the air in that market - two giants with more than a living-legend status.

Agreed. I was a Dodgers fan as a kid, and remember listening to Vin Scully when I was 10 years old. I'll be 58 this month. If I remember correctly, Vin started announcing for the Dodgers when they were still in Brooklyn.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Andy Rooney just turned 91. He does not look it!

And he still does so much himself at home.

Please note that even through the thread is titled "Is there anybody older than..." , the original poster made it clear he was referring to news anchors and reporters.

So Don Pardo and Andy Rooney don't count. So there!

But if they did count, Pardo would win. He's was announcing for NBC radio in the 1940s before NBC TV existed. And it's amazing how strong his voice is at age 91. Usually by that age, the voice is weak...if you remember what Paul Harvey and George Putnam sounded like in their 90s (a mere shadow of their younger years), you know what I mean.

I noticed that and didn't think Andy qualified, but as I read the posts, I thought maybe he did.