Roger Grimsby

[RALfan]

Does anyone have info on legendary WABC "Eyewitness News" anchorman Roger Grimsby? I heard that he was at times a very difficult person to work with.

 

[4dude]

This says he was a pioneer of broadcast news..

I dont recall ever seeing him though..

http://www.answers.com/topic/roger-grimsby

I didnt know he was in NOTHING BUT TROUBLE and GHOST BUSTERS!! (Perhaps i dont remember him)

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0342339

 

[landtuna]

On-camera he was professional. No info on his behind-the-scenes behavior.

As far as being a 'pioneer', no. That would be any one of the late 40's, early 50's newspersons such as Cronkite. Grimsby came along (to the big market) much later.

What is really interesting is the continuing interest in "talking heads". I mean, it's not as if these performers had any real talent beyond base communication (and a full head of hair).

 

[Ultimajock]

...Grimsby started out as a jack-of-all-trades at WEAU-TV/13 Eau Claire WI in the '50s. Even hosted a late night weekend movie sponsored by Leinenkugel's Beer (brewed in nearby Chippewa Falls). Part of that gig was pouring a bottle into a glass stein, and at least once he goofed and grabbed the bottle the floor crew were dousing their cigarette butts into ;-) ...also appears briefly (as did Howard Cosell and Don Dunphy) in the Woody Allen movie Bananas...

 

[onairb]

I recall Grimsby appearing in 1989, on the 40th anniversary of San Francisco's KGO/ABC channel 7, where he worked prior to going to WABC. He came out of a commercial, and reprised his intro: 'Good evening, I'm Roger Grimsby, and NOW the NEWS... I lasted this long!' ;D

 

[LKellerIII]

I recall Grimsby appearing in 1989, on the 40th anniversary of San Francisco's KGO/ABC channel 7, where he worked prior to going to WABC. He came out of a commercial, and reprised his intro: 'Good evening, I'm Roger Grimsby, and NOW the NEWS... I lasted this long!' ;D

Roger Grimsby's tenure on KGO-TV would have had to have preceded the long ratings success of Van Amburg - a local SF radio and TV personality who dominated the ratings on KGO-TV from the early 70s into the early 80s.

Capital Cities fired Van in the early 80s (he was making too much money, and his ratings were finally declining). He's been gone for about a quarter-century, so Grimsby's time in San Francisco must be even longer ago.

 

[biggguy]

I remember Jim Bouton of "Ball Four" (and sequels) fame making a couple of less than complimentary comments about Grimsby when they worked together just after Bouton got out of baseball- the first time. If I'm not mistaken, it was his second book (OK, so I'm a fan....have read all of Bouton's books)...

 

[sdwulfdawg]

Roger Grimsby finished his career at KUSI-TV here in San Diego when they premiered their local newscast over twenty years ago.... He really befitted his moniker as "Roger Gloomsby."

His co-anchor was veteran California newscaster George Reed....

 

[onairb]

I recall Grimsby appearing in 1989, on the 40th anniversary of San Francisco's KGO/ABC channel 7, where he worked prior to going to WABC. He came out of a commercial, and reprised his intro: 'Good evening, I'm Roger Grimsby, and NOW the NEWS... I lasted this long!' ;D

Roger Grimsby's tenure on KGO-TV would have had to have preceded the long ratings success of Van Amburg - a local SF radio and TV personality who dominated the ratings on KGO-TV from the early 70s into the early 80s.

Capital Cities fired Van in the early 80s (he was making too much money, and his ratings were finally declining). He's been gone for about a quarter-century, so Grimsby's time in San Francisco must be even longer ago.

Yes, Grimsby was at KGO ca. 1965-66, then went to New York. Whoever replaced him at KGO(anybody know?) was in turn replaced by Van Amburg, in '69, and Amburg was let go in '86. Van did not attend the '89 KGO party, though former colleagues wished him well on-air. Grimsby had, I believe, just been let go by WABC in the spring of '89, and was presumably about to start that San Diego gig when he stopped by the KGO studios that night.

 

[Dick Nitelinger]

...Grimsby started out as a jack-of-all-trades at WEAU-TV/13 Eau Claire WI in the '50s. Even hosted a late night weekend movie sponsored by Leinenkugel's Beer (brewed in nearby Chippewa Falls). Part of that gig was pouring a bottle into a glass stein, and at least once he goofed and grabbed the bottle the floor crew were dousing their cigarette butts into ;-) ...also appears briefly (as did Howard Cosell and Don Dunphy) in the Woody Allen movie Bananas...

Grimsby came to WXIX in Milwaukee (Then a CBS O&O) as news anchor in the late 1950s. He replaced Jerry Dunphy, who had gone to WBBM-TV. CBS used the Milwaukee market to grow talent.

 

[LKellerIII]

I recall Grimsby appearing in 1989, on the 40th anniversary of San Francisco's KGO/ABC channel 7, where he worked prior to going to WABC. He came out of a commercial, and reprised his intro: 'Good evening, I'm Roger Grimsby, and NOW the NEWS... I lasted this long!' ;D

Roger Grimsby's tenure on KGO-TV would have had to have preceded the long ratings success of Van Amburg - a local SF radio and TV personality who dominated the ratings on KGO-TV from the early 70s into the early 80s.

Capital Cities fired Van in the early 80s (he was making too much money, and his ratings were finally declining). He's been gone for about a quarter-century, so Grimsby's time in San Francisco must be even longer ago.

Yes, Grimsby was at KGO ca. 1965-66, then went to New York. Whoever replaced him at KGO(anybody know?) was in turn replaced by Van Amburg, in '69, and Amburg was let go in '86. Van did not attend the '89 KGO party, though former colleagues wished him well on-air. Grimsby had, I believe, just been let go by WABC in the spring of '89, and was presumably about to start that San Diego gig when he stopped by the KGO studios that night.

I'm not surprised that Van Amburg didn't attend the '89 KGO party. It was said that the penny-pinching Cap Cities let him go because he was making what they felt was too much money (about $600K). But he'd also become a polarizing figure - he had a few well-publicized attacks of ego, and was reportedly not well liked by other staff in the news dept. After the firing, Ronn Owens had him as a guest on his KGO radio talk show, and Van stated that he offered to take a pay cut, but Cap Cities was not interested.

Actually - his replacement - Pete Wilson, was a major improvement, in my opinion, and reportedly started for less than half of Van's salary.

 

[wbhist]

Grimsby had, I believe, just been let go by WABC in the spring of '89, and was presumably about to start that San Diego gig when he stopped by the KGO studios that night.

Actually, WABC fired Grimsby on April 16, 1986. From 1987 to 1989 he did commentaries on WNBC-TV's Live at Five - in much the same way that broadcast's co-anchor of the time, Jack Cafferty, is now doing on CNN's The Situation Room. Only when Grimsby was on at WNBC they didn't have that "E-mail your comments at . . . " business.

And of course, who could forget Grimsby's opening, "Hear [or here] now the news," which Chevy Chase spoofed with his own "Good evening, I'm Chevy Chase and you're not" catchphrase as the original "Weekend Update" anchor on Saturday Night Live. (Though, ironically, Chase's successor as "Update" anchor, Jane Curtin, used Grimsby's open verbatim, and once even used the cantankerous WABC anchor's "Hoping your news is good news" close.)

As for WXIX in Milwaukee . . . that station is now WVTV (Ch. 18), and of no relation to the current WXIX in Cincinnati, OH (licensed to Newport, KY). And as for Jerry Dunphy . . . wasn't it to KNXT (now KCBS) that he went from Milwaukee, or am I missing something there?

 

[onairb]

And of course, who could forget Grimsby's opening, "Hear [or here] now the news," which Chevy Chase spoofed with his own "Good evening, I'm Chevy Chase and you're not" catchphrase as the original "Weekend Update" anchor on Saturday Night Live. (Though, ironically, Chase's successor as "Update" anchor, Jane Curtin, used Grimsby's open verbatim, and once even used the cantankerous WABC anchor's "Hoping your news is good news" close.)

That info helps me put a quasi-related childhood memory into context; In the 70s and 80s, DC Comics' 'Superman' titles had a format change, in which Clark Kent became a TV news anchor(before eventually returning to the Daily Planet), whose closing catch-phrase was 'Hoping YOUR news isn't BAD news!' That Grimsby guy had a lot of influence on pop culture! ;D

 

[LKellerIII]

And of course, who could forget Grimsby's opening, "Hear [or here] now the news," which Chevy Chase spoofed with his own "Good evening, I'm Chevy Chase and you're not" catchphrase as the original "Weekend Update" anchor on Saturday Night Live. (Though, ironically, Chase's successor as "Update" anchor, Jane Curtin, used Grimsby's open verbatim, and once even used the cantankerous WABC anchor's "Hoping your news is good news" close.)

That info helps me put a quasi-related childhood memory into context; In the 70s and 80s, DC Comics' 'Superman' titles had a format change, in which Clark Kent became a TV news anchor(before eventually returning to the Daily Planet), whose closing catch-phrase was 'Hoping YOUR news isn't BAD news!' That Grimsby guy had a lot of influence on pop culture! ;D

News anchor catch phrases appear to be a thing of the past. Too bad. The all-time catch-phrase champion was the late George Putnam (model for Ted Baxter) who had a couple dozen of them. He closed with:

"That's the up-to-the-minute news, up-to-the minute that's all the news. The American flag flies proudly over (fill in name of city here); symbolizing a better, a stronger America. Back tonight at 10:00. See you then!"

 

[mleach]

And of course, who could forget Grimsby's opening, "Hear [or here] now the news," which Chevy Chase spoofed with his own "Good evening, I'm Chevy Chase and you're not" catchphrase as the original "Weekend Update" anchor on Saturday Night Live. (Though, ironically, Chase's successor as "Update" anchor, Jane Curtin, used Grimsby's open verbatim, and once even used the cantankerous WABC anchor's "Hoping your news is good news" close.)

That info helps me put a quasi-related childhood memory into context; In the 70s and 80s, DC Comics' 'Superman' titles had a format change, in which Clark Kent became a TV news anchor(before eventually returning to the Daily Planet), whose closing catch-phrase was 'Hoping YOUR news isn't BAD news!' That Grimsby guy had a lot of influence on pop culture! ;D

News anchor catch phrases appear to be a thing of the past. Too bad. The all-time catch-phrase champion was the late George Putnam (model for Ted Baxter) who had a couple dozen of them. He closed with:

"That's the up-to-the-minute news, up-to-the minute that's all the news. The American flag flies proudly over (fill in name of city here); symbolizing a better, a stronger America. Back tonight at 10:00. See you then!"

Yeah..those old anchor catch phrases are a thing of the past. I wonder if there were a few anchors who actually tried to copyright the phrases that made them famous?

One story I have heard over the years involved Buffalo's WKBW-TV's Irv Weinstein and his "..topping tonight's Eyewitness News..". Story goes, one summer back in the late 70's, Irv and his family were on vacation in Virginia Beach ( at the time there were non stop flights between Buffalo and Hampton Roads ). While watching TV one night at his hotel, Irv saw then-WAVY TV 10 anchor Tony Sylvester saying, yes you guessed it "...topping tonight's Eyewitness News ...". Irv not only was highly upset that WAVY & Sylvester had "stolen his words" but Irv actually called up WAVY and demanded them to stop using HIS catch phrase.

Now whether or not this whole story was true...I dunno !! After watching many clips of Irv over the years, I just have a hard time believing he would do such a thing. Now I wish I could see some clips of Tony Sylvester, better yet WAVY when they were using Eyewitness News.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

I'm not surprised that Van Amburg didn't attend the '89 KGO party. It was said that the penny-pinching Cap Cities let him go because he was making what they felt was too much money (about $600K). But he'd also become a polarizing figure - he had a few well-publicized attacks of ego, and was reportedly not well liked by other staff in the news dept. After the firing, Ronn Owens had him as a guest on his KGO radio talk show, and Van stated that he offered to take a pay cut, but Cap Cities was not interested.

Actually - his replacement - Pete Wilson, was a major improvement, in my opinion, and reportedly started for less than half of Van's salary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVpX5y381sI

Here is the Video of Roger Grimsby at KGO-TV before Van Amburg took his San Francisco Spot.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWfM5jIi7ZM

If Roger Grimsby Said "So Far Nobody's Jumped" On KGO San Francisco and it was a story of Caltrans trying to reduce suicides on the Golden Gate Bridge then he and the KGO News Director would be a target of boycotts in the Bay Area. But then again back then it was somehow OK to say that when Grimsby was talking about the Brooklyn Bridge.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm96qliO8Ow

Here is Roger Grimsby appearing on KGO-TV's 40th Anniversary.