Local Broadcast TV Institutions..People that were around seemingly Forever

[Tim L]

The comments about Los Angeles TV Broadcaster Bill Walsh got me to thinking..Every City has their own people on Television that are considered "institutions" or perhaps "icons" in the market Cleveland has had a number of them:

Tom Haley WNBK/KYW/WKYC 4/3-1948-97 (49 years) Announcer, newsman, game show host, movie host

Chuck Schodowski (Big Chuck) KYW-3(Summer 1960) WJW-8 1960-2007 (47 years) Producer/director/cameraman/movie host

Dorothy Fuldheim WEWS-5 1947-84 (37 years)-News commentator

Linn Sheldon WEWS/WJW/KYW-WKYC/WKBF/WUAB 1948-1990 (42 years)-Kids' Host/Talk show host

Dick Goddard KYW/WJW 1961-Present (47 years)(Except for a brief time in Philadelphia)-Weather, Bowling For Dollars

Jay Miltner WNBK/KYW/WKYC 4/3 1948-1986 (38 years) announcer, Newsman, host-"The Voice" of TV 3..

Just wondering. who are the "icons" in your area?

 

[radiorob2.0]

Evansville, Indiana has longevity when it comes to TV personalities.

WEHT news anchor Brad Byrd has been their main anchor since the late seventies.
WTVW's Randy Moore started with sports in the early 80's and migrated to news anchor a few years later.
WFIE leads the market. David James has been in the anchor chair since the mid-seventies; Mike Blake started around 1970 and the one and only Marcia Yockey had a 35 year career mostly at WFIE.

Back to LA, Stan Chambers has been at KTLA since day one.

 

[wbhist]

In New York, there are a few examples that come to mind:
- Bill Beutel (WABC) - a 41-year span from 1962 to 2003 as news anchor (16 of those years, 1970-86, with Roger Grimsby) and senior correspondent; with two years (1968-70) as ABC News London bureau chief
- Howard Reig - 53 years as staff announcer with NBC in New York (March 1952-March 2005), including hosting of shows on WNBC Radio (including its 1954-60 sojourn as WRCA)
- Don Pardo - 60 years as NBC/WNBC staff announcer (1944-2004)
- Chuck Scarborough (WNBC) - 34 years and counting, from the point when NewsCenter4 was launched in 1974; his 28-year-long anchor partnership with Sue Simmons (from the time she first joined the station in 1980) is the longest in New York TV history
- Gabe Pressman - 52 years, with WRCA/WNBC (1956-1972 and 1980-present) and WNEW (1972-79)
- John Roland (WNEW/WNYW) - 35 years (1969-2004) as reporter and anchor
- Gil Noble (WABC) - has been with the station since 1967, initially as reporter and weekend anchor; since 1986, has concentrated exclusively on Like It Is

 

[Prais]

I grew up in Chicago who had anchor Fayhe Flynn and reporter Hugh Hill who each started at wbbm and went to wls, anchor Floyd Kalber and commentator Len O'Connor at WMAQ.

Now I live in Grand Rapids, MI, where one tv station is always telling everyone how GREAT they are, but I rate them only a C+.

 

[tomp]

In Buffalo, longevity is the name of the game...At WKBW, Irv Weinstein anchored from 1964-1998, Rick Azar started on day one 50 years ago this weekend until 1989, and weatherman Commander Tom Jolls started in 1965, retired in 1999.

WIVB's Van Miller was there from 1955-1998, plus did Bills game for five more years after that. Chuck Healy was on from the station's early days until the late 70s when he retired.

WGRZ's Ed Kilgore (sports director) has been around since 1973.

We have anchors who have been at the post for 20+ years, but in this market, that doesn't hold a candle to these guys.

 

[Charles1]

Birmingham's WBRC-6 has two icons. Morning newsman Bill Bolen has been with the station since 1969. Prior to that, he was with WBMG (now WIAT) since its debut in 1965. Scott Richards has been at Channel 6 since 1981. Jerry Tracey has been the chief meteorologist at WVTM-13 since 1985. There are a few other icons in the market who have split time with several different stations. Mike Royer came to WBRC in 1979 as their first true meteorologist. He left Channel 6 in 1989 to go to WVTM to start a morning talk show, and is now their main news anchor. James Spann first appeared on Birmingham TV in 1979 as the meteorologist at what is now WVTM, staying with the station until he was transferred to then co-owned Channel 4 in Dallas in 1983. He came back to Birmingham in 1989 as the meteorologist at WBRC, remaining there until he went to WCFT-33/WJSU-40 when they became the Birmingham ABC station in 1996.

 

[RobertAnthony]

I would have to say in terms of CT TV, WTNH seems to have the longevity down. In terms of Weather, Geoff Fox has been there 25 years in 2009, going back to the Action News days. Though Dr. Mel has been around a long time, I think his years at 8 aren't that much.

Al Terzi has been around over 25 years between channels 8 and 3.

 

[cowboybud]

In Houston, KTRK has Marvin Zindler (consumer/investigative reporter from 1972 until his death in 2007), Dave Ward (anchor, 1967-present; has reduced his workload lately and is rumored to be retiring soon), Don Nelson (traffic reporter/Dialing For Dollars/Good Morning Houston, early 70s-present), and Bob Allen (sports anchor, mid 70s-present).

 

[KML0224]

Both Bruce Deprest from WFSB-TV (CBS) channel 3 of Hartford and Brad Field from WVIT-TV (NBC) channel 30 of New Britain are both closing in on the 25-year mark with their respective stations. I think Bruce came in around 1984 while Brad had some work with WLNE-TV (ABC) channel 6 in New Bedford, MA (Providence market) before that. The longest run in this market would probably be Tom Moynahan of WVIT, who probably dates back to at least 1980 with his political reporting. This list may also include Marc Davis of WTNH-TV (ABC) channel 8 of New Haven. I know I saw him on the air a lot in the early and mid-1980s. He was also doing a show with WTIC-AM 1080 of Hartford then, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Andy Coleman]

On WTVY in Dothan, Alabama there is a woman name Ann Varnum that has done a talk show for about 30 years. The morning show use to be on during the 1970's and 1980's at 8 am . Then in the late 1990's the station owners ran the morning show and dropped it to 30 minutes. starting at 5 in the morning. then with wtvy morning news . Now she is still own she is considered a Dothan icon with her show now on Sunday Morning only. an hour a week. which is better because now she is on when people are at church. On WSFA in Montgomery , Alabama there is a weather man name Rich Thomas which has been on since early 1980's. Also Kim Hendrix has been with WSFA since 1990. she is a n anchor doing the 5 news live at 5.

 

[WMC2006]

In Boston:

-At WCVB, the husband/wife team of Chet Curtis and Natalie Jacobsen was an institution for many many years until their divorce several years ago. Post-separation and divorce, Natalie was a Boston institution on her own before finally retiring/leaving a little over a year ago. Chet eventually left WCVB for New England Cable News where he still works today.

-Also at WCVB, sports anchor Mike Lynch has been at his job for 25 years and is now the "dean of Boston sports anchors" since earlier this year when WBZ bought out sports anchor Bob Lobel.

-At WBZ, anchor Jack Williams is still there despite being moved around quite often in the last few years. He and former co-anchor Liz Walker were a long-time anchor team.

 

[LKellerIII]

The comments about Los Angeles TV Broadcaster Bill Walsh got me to thinking..Every City has their own people on Television that are considered "institutions" or perhaps "icons" in the market Cleveland has had a number of them:

Tom Haley WNBK/KYW/WKYC 4/3-1948-97 (49 years) Announcer, newsman, game show host, movie host

Chuck Schodowski (Big Chuck) KYW-3(Summer 1960) WJW-8 1960-2007 (47 years) Producer/director/cameraman/movie host

Dorothy Fuldheim WEWS-5 1947-84 (37 years)-News commentator

Linn Sheldon WEWS/WJW/KYW-WKYC/WKBF/WUAB 1948-1990 (42 years)-Kids' Host/Talk show host

Dick Goddard KYW/WJW 1961-Present (47 years)(Except for a brief time in Philadelphia)-Weather, Bowling For Dollars

Jay Miltner WNBK/KYW/WKYC 4/3 1948-1986 (38 years) announcer, Newsman, host-"The Voice" of TV 3..

Just wondering. who are the "icons" in your area?

Pardon the minor correction, but we were talking about Bill Welsh (with an "e"). Bill Walsh was the famous football coach for Stanford and the SF 49ers (during the championship Joe Montana era) who passed away recently.

The all-time longevity champ in the LA market has got to be Vin Scully, who has been the voice of the Dodgers for 6 decades. He began broadcasting for the Dodgers when they were still in Brooklyn, and came west with the team in 1956. According to Wikipedia, today is Vin's birthday - he's still going strong at age 81.

 

[Tim L]

The comments about Los Angeles TV Broadcaster Bill Walsh got me to thinking..Every City has their own people on Television that are considered "institutions" or perhaps "icons" in the market Cleveland has had a number of them:

Tom Haley WNBK/KYW/WKYC 4/3-1948-97 (49 years) Announcer, newsman, game show host, movie host

Chuck Schodowski (Big Chuck) KYW-3(Summer 1960) WJW-8 1960-2007 (47 years) Producer/director/cameraman/movie host

Dorothy Fuldheim WEWS-5 1947-84 (37 years)-News commentator

Linn Sheldon WEWS/WJW/KYW-WKYC/WKBF/WUAB 1948-1990 (42 years)-Kids' Host/Talk show host

Dick Goddard KYW/WJW 1961-Present (47 years)(Except for a brief time in Philadelphia)-Weather, Bowling For Dollars

Jay Miltner WNBK/KYW/WKYC 4/3 1948-1986 (38 years) announcer, Newsman, host-"The Voice" of TV 3..

Just wondering. who are the "icons" in your area?

Pardon the minor correction, but we were talking about Bill Welsh (with an "e"). Bill Walsh was the famous football coach for Stanford and the SF 49ers (during the championship Joe Montana era) who passed away recently.

The all-time longevity champ in the LA market has got to be Vin Scully, who has been the voice of the Dodgers for 6 decades. He began broadcasting for the Dodgers when they were still in Brooklyn, and came west with the team in 1956. According to Wikipedia, today is Vin's birthday - he's still going strong at age 81.

Checking the other thread-I stand corrected-It was Bill Welsh (Though it could have been another Bill Walsh)

 

[markwats]

Also on WCVB, Jim Boyd has been with the station since day 1 in 1972, if I'm not mistaken. He anchored the midday news for many years, but now is a general assignment reporter. Also, Susan Wornick has been there for many years, and Dick Albert has been there almost 30 years.

Tom Ellis has anchored on Channels 4,5 & 7 over the years, and currently anchors Saturday evenings on NECN.

Mark

 

[Smittian]

In South Texas............

Corpus Christi---Walter Furley anchored KZTV from 1957-2002. I believe he is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the longest continuous anchor on a station. Joe Gazin has been anchoring the news on KIII since 1977(31 years)

Rio Grande Valley--- Larry James did weather on KGBT from 1964-2007 when he was shown the door because of his age

San Antonio--- Chris Marrou has been anchoring on KENS since 1973(35 years) and the late Dan Cook did Sports on KENS from 1956-2000. He is also known for coining the phrase "The Opera ain't over 'till the fat lady sings" during a Spurs playoff run in 1978

 

[Newname]

San Francisco had plenty of news talent with 30-plus years of experience.
Dennis Richmond retired from KTVU (Fox 2) this past May, after 40 years at the station, including the last 36 as anchor of the station's nightly 10' o'clock news:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G75u2jE-tag


KGO (ABC 7) had the top-rated newscasts for much of the '70s and '80s, thanks largely to the longtime anchor team of Van Amburg and Jerry Jensen.
The two were at Channel 7 from 1969-83; Jensen was forced to give up his duties due to pancreatic cancer, which killed him on March 1, 1984. Amburg(who was infamouly fired by ABC's then-new owners Cap Cities in 1986)remembered his colleague in this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tiKacSE2xk

PS to this clip: The nickname which is cut off at the end was 'The Voice').


Another longtime KGO reporter was Russ Coughlan, who had a concurrent career in Bay Area radio; he died on New Year's Eve, 1990, after more than 45 years in local broadcasting...here, he co-hosts KGO's 40th anniversary show in 1989:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fDFwrzbt1I

Aaron Edwards was a long time newsreader/man-in-the-street interviewer for the legendary KSFO radio in San Francisco, who made the ransition to channel 7 in 1983, and spent nearly a decade there before retiring in '91.
This video, filmed by a KPIX (CBS 5) crew from 1961, is a mock newsreel of a 'fun run' across the Golden Gate Bridge by two of KSFO's legendary DJ's Don Sherwood(an institution unto himself) and Jim Lange, better known nationally for 'The Dating Game', but who had a long career as a radio guy in SF, with stops in L.A.:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXOhINiz0ww

Dave McElhatton was yet another SF radio man (KCBS) who jumped to TV with KPIX in the late 70s, and lasted more than 20 years. Here, McElhatton and longtime co-anchor Kate Kelly do the newscast of Oct. 17, 1989, roughly an hour after the Loma Prieta earthquake:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7-I-IHX24E

 

[WMC2006]

Also on WCVB, Jim Boyd has been with the station since day 1 in 1972, if I'm not mistaken. He anchored the midday news for many years, but now is a general assignment reporter. Also, Susan Wornick has been there for many years, and Dick Albert has been there almost 30 years.

Tom Ellis has anchored on Channels 4,5 & 7 over the years, and currently anchors Saturday evenings on NECN.

Mark

Jim Boyd has done just about everything at WCVB. He has been weekend anchor, early morning anchor, noon anchor, and now general assignment reporter. Personally, I think he's a better reporter than anchor. He always seemed to stumble over the teleprompter when anchoring. It was brutal at times.

Susan Wornick has also done almost everything. For a bit of trivia, she was once married to ex-WBZ sports anchor Bob Lobel. Remember back in the 80s when she almost went to jail because she wouldn't reveal a source?

 

[RicoGregg]

The comments about Los Angeles TV Broadcaster Bill Walsh got me to thinking..Every City has their own people on Television that are considered "institutions" or perhaps "icons" in the market Cleveland has had a number of them:

Tom Haley WNBK/KYW/WKYC 4/3-1948-97 (49 years) Announcer, newsman, game show host, movie host

Chuck Schodowski (Big Chuck) KYW-3(Summer 1960) WJW-8 1960-2007 (47 years) Producer/director/cameraman/movie host

Dorothy Fuldheim WEWS-5 1947-84 (37 years)-News commentator

Linn Sheldon WEWS/WJW/KYW-WKYC/WKBF/WUAB 1948-1990 (42 years)-Kids' Host/Talk show host

Dick Goddard KYW/WJW 1961-Present (47 years)(Except for a brief time in Philadelphia)-Weather, Bowling For Dollars

Jay Miltner WNBK/KYW/WKYC 4/3 1948-1986 (38 years) announcer, Newsman, host-"The Voice" of TV 3..

Just wondering. who are the "icons" in your area?

Pardon the minor correction, but we were talking about Bill Welsh (with an "e"). Bill Walsh was the famous football coach for Stanford and the SF 49ers (during the championship Joe Montana era) who passed away recently.

The all-time longevity champ in the LA market has got to be Vin Scully, who has been the voice of the Dodgers for 6 decades. He began broadcasting for the Dodgers when they were still in Brooklyn, and came west with the team in 1956. According to Wikipedia, today is Vin's birthday - he's still going strong at age 81.

Checking the other thread-I stand corrected-It was Bill Welsh (Though it could have been another Bill Walsh)

There was a Bill Walsh who directed many Disney films. He could be whom you're thinking of.

 

[mjlarochelle]

CFTO Toronto - Dave Devall (1961-present), Jim Junkin (1969-present), Tom Gibney (1974-present, although semi-retired since 2001)
CITY Toronto - Gord Martineau (1977-present, except for brief stints with Global and CHCH around 1980)
CBLT Toronto - Bill Lawrence (1974-2000)
CJOH Ottawa - Max Keeping (1972-present)
CKCO Kitchener - Gary McLaren (1957-1996), Dave McDonald (1969-present)
CFPL London - Bob Smith (1979-present), Bevin Palmateer (1983-present), Nick Paparella (1982-present), Jay Campbell (1981-present)
CHEX Peterborough - Gary Dalliday (1975-present, also on CKRU Radio), Graham Hart (1973-present)
CKWS Kingston - Floyd Patterson (1956-200?)
CFCF Montreal - Bill Haugland (1961-2006)
CHAN Vancouver - Tony Parsons (1975-present)
WXYZ Detroit - Bill Bonds (1963-1995)

 

[mleach]

Around old Virginia....

Hampton Roads....

Both sadly they had since passed on but I believe Terry Zahn and Ed Hughes had been doing the news in that market for at least 30 years. Zahn with WAVY and WVEC ( I am not sure if he ever did work for WTKR though ). Hughes was with WTAR/WTKR.

Bruce Rader and Don Slater I believe both joined WAVY back in the early 80s and both are still there today. Rader does the sports and Slater does the weather.

Richmond....
WWBT has Gene Cox, Jim Duncan and Sabrina Squire..all three of them have been at NBC12 for at least 25 years.

Ronaoke/Lynchburg.....
I am not very familar with this market but I believe WDBJ's Robin Reed has been with that station for a number of years now.

Now with all that being said and if we count those who didn't do news..the longest running TV icon in all of Virginia to date I believe is Winchester's the late Rev. Donald Scruggs ! !

Scruggs started doing his religious TV show way back in 1965 on WINC-TV cable 6 and he continued doing that show for over 30 years ( during the last 10 his show also aired on WAZT in Woodstock, VA as well ).

Scruggs passed away in 1997 and sadly his last few years..well lets just say he had a number of viewers and listeners ( Scruggs had a radio show too ) who were watching/listening to see if this man would die on the air. He didn't of course but he did come very close at least once..on radio when he had a spell and passed out, live and on the air on WUSQ-FM in 1993. But being the trooper he was..he was back on the air the next week.