real life deaths on TV

[Stanislav]

Chubbuck...I find it interesting that her family now has the videotape of her 1974 on-air suicide. Well at least that won't make it to You Tube.

More like the sort of thing that would turn up on a site like LiveLeak -- YouTube is pretty vigilant about deleting blood and gore (the non-cinematic kind).

I imagine the family eventually destroyed the tape, even if they just simply wanted to keep it from the public eye -- they would have no reason to view it, nor any way to do so (it was a 2" quad tape) -- they probably destroyed it just in case it might have gotten misplaced or lost in the shuffle during probate or other legal proceedings at some later date.

Actually, I only learned recently that there even was a tape of this, and was surprised. In 1974, most stations (especially small-market stations) would not have routinely videotaped live local public affairs type shows, would they? Unless they repeated the show as "filler" late at night, or simply used the tapes to critique each show for the benefit of the crew and talent (in either case wiping the tape as soon as it was no longer needed), it seems like it would be a waste of time and effort to record such programs.

 

[radiorob2.0]

Here is a link to a 1974 Washington Post article about Chubbuck's death.

http://www.manship2.lsu.edu/perkins/Handouts/chubbucknew.pdf

The reporter’s narrative of the on-camera suicide is very detailed.

 

[mjlarochelle]

Major League Baseball umpire John McSherry collapsed and died of a massive heart attack while on the field on Opening Day of the 1996 season. He was the home plate umpire at Riverfront Stadium as the Cincinnati Reds hosted the Montreal Expos. I'm sure that this game was telecast on WLWT or Sportschannel Ohio, and perhaps on a station in Montreal.

I saw this on TV, albeit on the evening news. If I recall, he was walking towards the dugout and he collapsed as he was walking.

Not on TV, but I once came across a newspaper photograph from late 1961 of two people plunging towards the ground from a hot air balloon that had hit power lines. Photo showed the shrivelled up balloon with the basket on the side in the power lines, one person falling in a standing position, and the other looked like he was doing a somersault in mid-air. Both people died on impact. I think this accident occurred in California, and I spotted the photo in a back issue of the Edmonton Journal.

 

[oldschooler1]

Does anyone else remember that incident on Univision some years ago? A reporter was taping an interview at a cemetery with a woman (I forget how the cemetery figured into it) in Spanish when the woman's estranged husband suddenly appears out of nowhere and pumps 3 or 4 bullets into her, killing her. What I remember most is the freightened reporter yelling "Ai! Ai!" at each shot, but then seconds later telling her cameraman (in English) "Keep rolling....keep rolling..." which exemplifies either her professionalism (don't get emotionally involved and get the footage) or her cold inhumanity, or maybe a little of both. That is where the footage ended when they would show it on the news, but apparently they never turned off the camera, and as the reporter and cameraman fled the scene (I think they were afraid that the dude was still around somewhere and might shoot THEM) the camera, sitting on the backseat, picked up their conversation as they drove away, getting lost in their panic as they tried to find their way out of this huge cemetery. They showed the footage at the trial, and Court TV covered it live, even though there was a lot of profanity on the tape (the cameraman must have exclaimed "Holy S**t!" about twenty times as they drove off -- well, what else was there to say at that point?) and there was no delay or any attempt to bleep out the cuss words.

Yes, I remember that, now that you mention it. I remember watching it on CNN, and since we worked at a cable news outlet and rolled on CNN, we watched it again and again in the newsroom. It happened very close in time to the Bud Dwyer incident.

 

[Riley_dfwm]

The Scranton, PA ABC affiliate ran a videotaped replay of Budd Dwyer's press conference, then cut off the video of the suicide but kept the audio going. So viewers heard the shot over a frozen image of Dwyer with a gun in his mouth.

 

[bpatrick]

In "Watching TV," Castleman and Podrazik recount
an on-camera suicide that happened during a Dallas-
Houston minor-league baseball game in 1950. One
Sanford B. Twente had informed a waitress at a local
restaurant to be watching the game at a certain point.
He then went to the stadium and into the announcer's
booth. By now, the game was on the air and Twente
said, "I've got something to tell you." Announcer
Dick Gottlieb said, "Not now, this mike is live." Twente
then proceeded to shoot himself to death; the Dallas
County coroner pronounced a verdict of suicide without
even leaving his set.

 

[Tim-In-Houston]

If I recall, CBS' "60 Minutes" aired a story on Jack Kervorkian which showed him assisting the suicide of ALS patient, Thomas Youk, on the tape, which aired unedited. KHOU in Houston refused to run that segment, citing Belo's commitment to not showing "moment of death" images, and instead cut away to a short local newscast before returning to "60 Minutes."

Kervorkian was later convicted of murderin assisting Mr. Youk's suicide. Kervorkian has pledged to never assist in another suicide since being released earlier this year.

 

[gibby88]

In the story I am about to tell, the moment of death was not captured on camera, but the beginning of the end was, even if it was not visibly apparent.

In 1990, KTXL Fox 40 Sacramento anchorman Ted Mullins died after suffering multiple heart attacks over the course of three days. According to the news director, Ted began sweating and having chest pains during the 10 O'Clock newscast. It was later that night he had his first heart attack. Ted was airlifted from one hospital to another, where he had two more heart attacks and died. Even though he died off the air, his heart started failing him on the air.

 

[ixnay]

Regarding the Marshall plane crash, I read in maybe USA TODAY a few years ago, perhaps on one of that tragedy's major anniversaries, where a couple of Herd players and/or a coach or two, for whatever reason, chose to drive back to Huntington from the away game (was it at East Carolina?) and thus avoided being wiped out with the rest of the squad.

ixnay

 

[rallen13]

Don't forget the death of Benny "Kid" Paret, April 3, 1962. Emile Griffith administered a frightful beating of numerous unanswered blows. Referee Ruby Goldstein was blamed by many for not stopping the fight soon enough. I was watching with my Graddad.

 

[Smittian]

I remember watching the Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini/Duk Koo Kim fight in November, 1982 on CBS. Mancini floored Kim with a crashing blow in the 14th round. Kim died 5 days later.

Just as the 14th round began, CBS Sports Tim Ryan said "You may not know who Duk Koo Kim is, but after today, you will". He probably never thought Kim would be remembered for dying as a result of the injury he was about to suffer.

The referee of the fight and Kim's mother both committed suicide a few months later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pmx_iWnelk&mode=related&search=

 

[bpatrick]

I remember that fight, but an even more famous
one that ended in a fatality was the Emile Griffith/
Benny "Kid" Paret welterweight championship fight
in March 1962. At the weigh-in Paret cast some
aspersions on Griffith's sexual preferences, and--
according to the story--Griffith decided then and
there to kill him. That night, Griffith pummeled Paret
into unconsciousness; Paret lived, I think, ten days
(somebody correct me on this). What has always
puzzled me about that fight was that Ruby Goldstein,
then the top referee in boxing, did nothing to stop
the beating. I do know that he never refereed
another fight.

And has anyone mentioned Owen Hart's fatal fall?

 

[KML0224]

Owen's fatal fall happened during a then-WWF pay-per-view show in Kansas City's Kemper Arena, back in 1999. They had already cut away to a pre-packaged interview piece for his upcoming match when it happened. The fall never aired on TV (thank goodness).

 

[Stanislav]

I'm surprised no one (including me -- just remembered it) has yet mentioned the infamous "freeway suicide" incident from a few years ago. This was the guy who shut down an L.A. freeway and laid out some protest banner for the choppers to see, later set off a gasoline fire while inside his pickup (then danced around the freeway trying to pull off his burning clothes, eventually going down to his skivvies), and finally grabbed a shotgun from his truck, braced it against a barrier, and blew his head off. All on live TV.

I know that, among the national news channels, at least MSNBC had it live as I saw it unfolding during John Gibson's program (before he moved to Fox). I recall that just before the suicide, when the guy had grabbed the gun and was setting up by the barrier, Gibson muttered out loud, "What's he doing?" Seconds later came the shot, and there was a chorus of audible gasps and cries of "OH!!!" in the newsroom. (And one big gasp in my own living room...)

I understand that some of the local L.A. stations had cut live to this situation during children's programming, and caught more than a little flak for that. Yes, the suicide happened very quickly, with very little anticipation or chance to cut away (although I do recall seeing at least one of the choppers' tapes in which the cameraman seemed to have realized what was about to happen, and quickly pulled to a wide shot just before the shot). But the issue was whether any sort of news story like this should have been carried live at all given the target age of the interrupted programming. (Much like having Nick continue with its regular schedule during 9/11, the theory is that there were ample other channels covering the story should adults wish to watch.) At the very least, some said that as soon as he grabbed a gun, they should have cut away. (Or even earlier, as a guy tearing off his burning clothes might not be considered kid-friendly, either...) :-\

 

[bk77]

Owen's fatal fall happened during a then-WWF pay-per-view show in Kansas City's Kemper Arena, back in 1999. They had already cut away to a pre-packaged interview piece for his upcoming match when it happened. The fall never aired on TV (thank goodness).

Someone however did tape Owen's fatal fall as it actually happened. It was actually on You Tube for awhile.
Might still be.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

In the early 1960's, there was coverage of a high-wire circus act inwhich the performer fell from a highwire and, I believe, later died from the injuries. I saw a video tape of it a day or so later. The camera was panning horizontally when the performer suddenly fell. The camera remained focus on the empty wire and did not tilt down. I seem to recall there was a female announcer. I think this took place at the Olympia in Detroit. I'm not sure if this was being shown live or was being taped for showing later.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

In the early 1960's, there was coverage of a high-wire circus act inwhich the performer fell from a highwire and, I believe, later died from the injuries. I saw a video tape of it a day or so later. The camera was panning horizontally when the performer suddenly fell. The camera remained focus on the empty wire and did not tilt down. I seem to recall there was a female announcer. I think this took place at the Olympia in Detroit. I'm not sure if this was being shown live or was being taped for showing later.
Didn't that involve the Wallendas? Seems like the accident in which several of them died doing their famous pyramid was around that time. I'm thinking it was in Detroit too, but I always thought it was at Cobo Hall. Didn't know it was ever filmed, though.

 

[Stanislav]

In the early 1960's, there was coverage of a high-wire circus act inwhich the performer fell from a highwire and, I believe, later died from the injuries. I saw a video tape of it a day or so later. The camera was panning horizontally when the performer suddenly fell. The camera remained focus on the empty wire and did not tilt down. I seem to recall there was a female announcer. I think this took place at the Olympia in Detroit. I'm not sure if this was being shown live or was being taped for showing later.
Didn't that involve the Wallendas? Seems like the accident in which several of them died doing their famous pyramid was around that time. I'm thinking it was in Detroit too, but I always thought it was at Cobo Hall. Didn't know it was ever filmed, though.

Must be talking about two different incidents here. The Wallenda fall took place in San Juan, Puerto Rico (not Detroit) and, yes, it was caught on tape. (I do not know if any of the San Juan stations were carrying it live.)

I remember he fell, caught the wire with his hand for a second or two, and then lost his grip. They caught the fall on camera although (mercifully) the moment he hit the ground was hidden by some parked cars. What I do recall that was VERY weird was that there were two guys standing and chatting not far from where Wallenda fell. You saw them momentarily stop their chat, glance over to where Wallenda hit, then turned back and calmly resumed their conversation as if nothing happened (while others suddenly ran across the field of view towards Wallenda's body to see if they could help). At least that's how I remember it. I often wondered what those two guys were thinking given their very blase reaction.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

In the early 1960's, there was coverage of a high-wire circus act inwhich the performer fell from a highwire and, I believe, later died from the injuries. I saw a video tape of it a day or so later. The camera was panning horizontally when the performer suddenly fell. The camera remained focus on the empty wire and did not tilt down. I seem to recall there was a female announcer. I think this took place at the Olympia in Detroit. I'm not sure if this was being shown live or was being taped for showing later.
Didn't that involve the Wallendas? Seems like the accident in which several of them died doing their famous pyramid was around that time. I'm thinking it was in Detroit too, but I always thought it was at Cobo Hall. Didn't know it was ever filmed, though.

The one I was referring to was not The Wallendas. It was a single-person show and came years before the Wallendas' tragedies (they unfortunately had more than one). I'm pretty sure it was in Detroit. The Olympia was in use some years before Cobo Hall was built.

A number of years ago, I saw a photo in a book that showed a man on the ledge of building. The caption indicated that the incident was shown live on local Cincinnati television in what would have been the very early days of TV. The caption used either the word "fatal" of "tragic" in describing the event, making it seem as though the man had indeed leaped to his death. That was the only time I ever heard about this. I've never attempted to obtain more details, etc.

 

[hrhwebmaster]

In "Watching TV," Castleman and Podrazik recount
an on-camera suicide that happened during a Dallas-
Houston minor-league baseball game in 1950. One
Sanford B. Twente had informed a waitress at a local
restaurant to be watching the game at a certain point.
He then went to the stadium and into the announcer's
booth. By now, the game was on the air and Twente
said, "I've got something to tell you." Announcer
Dick Gottlieb said, "Not now, this mike is live." Twente
then proceeded to shoot himself to death; the Dallas
County coroner pronounced a verdict of suicide without
even leaving his set.

According to Jack Harris The Fault Does Not Lie With Your Set, the incident took place at Buff Stadium in Houston, Harris Co., TX, either 6/11/50 or 7/13/50 (10 days after the Post took ownership of KLEE-TV or 10 days after the calls were flipped to KPRC-TV - the account in Harris' book is not clear), an afternoon game. The stadium had opened in 1928 and had no facilities for TV so the broadcast booth was a roped off area behind home plate where Gottlieb, his audio engineer, and one camera were positioned. A second camera was behind first base.

The man climbed over the rope, sat down beside Gottlieb and repeatedly tried to interrupt him. Then Gottlieb heard a tremendous explosion and realized he and all his equipment and papers and audio engineer were covered in blood.

The game stopped and all eyes were focused on the scene; the man had slipped to the floor. The first base cameraman informed the director what had happened and he said 'Let's see it,' so the cameraman panned around and the carnage was on screen for a few seconds. The man didn't die until on the way to the hospital. Gottlieb was told later that right after the shooting he had repeatedly called out "I'm all right. I'm all right." He said he had been thinking of his young wife at home who he knew would be watching. A Justice of the Peace who had been watching the game got up and went to the phone and called his office to issue a verdict of suicide.

Houston Police later determined the man had visited several bars on the east side telling patrons to be sure and watch the Buff's game that he was going to be on it.

In a bizarre twist the man's son, who resided in North Carolina, claimed to have been watching the game through a freak long distance reception phenomenon and threated to sue for invasion of privacy but the suit never materialized.

Gottlieb had been doing play-by-play of sports on the radio in Houston for several years but had only recently started to appear on camera. He was to go on to be known as Mr. Television in Houston throughout the 50s because he handled so many on-camera shows on 2 and was the most recognized Houston TV personality for years; he also later held a seat on City Council and ran an ad agency.

If Castleman and Podrazik say it took place in Dallas I think they're full of it. The Channel 2 remote unit was a severely overloaded Lynn Coach that frequently had to be towed around town backwards behind a heavy duty wrecker because of a busted rear axle. There's no way it would have been sent to Dallas and there was no coax linking Houston and Dallas until late 1951 so the station would not have sent anyone to cover a game they couldn't broadcast, much less their main announcer.

A Houston TV timeline: http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2007/06/this-is-test.html