Roger Grimsby facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Roger Grimsby
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Grimsby in 1977
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| Born |
Roger Olin Grimsby
September 23, 1928 Butte, Montana, U.S.
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| Died | June 23, 1995 (aged 66) New York City, U.S.
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| Education | St. Olaf College, Columbia University |
| Occupation | Journalist, television news anchor, and actor |
| Years active | 1954–1991 |
| Employer | KMOX-TV (1959–1961) KGO-TV (1961–1968) WABC-TV (1968–1986) WNBC-TV (1987–1989) KUSI (1990–1991) |
| Spouse(s) |
Maria Grimsby
(m. 1989) |
| Children | 1 |
Roger Olin Grimsby (born September 23, 1928, died June 23, 1995) was an American journalist, TV news anchor, and actor. He was famous for being a news anchor at WABC-TV in New York City for 18 years. Many people remember him as one of the first important figures in local television news.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Roger Grimsby was born in Butte, Montana. He grew up in Duluth, Minnesota with a Lutheran minister, as he was an orphan. After finishing Denfeld High School in 1946, he went to St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Later, he studied history at Columbia University in New York City.
Military Service and First Steps in Broadcasting
Grimsby was a veteran of the U.S. Army. He was stationed in Germany and also served during the Korean War. While in the Army, he became interested in news broadcasting. This happened through his work with the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS).
Career as a News Anchor
Grimsby started his career in 1954 in his hometown of Duluth, Minnesota. He worked as an announcer for WEBC radio. Soon after, he moved into television, which was a growing field. He worked as a reporter and news director at different TV stations in Minnesota and Wisconsin. These included WEAU-TV in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, WISC-TV in Madison, Wisconsin, and WXIX-TV (now WVTV) in Milwaukee.
Moving to Major Cities
From 1959 to 1961, Grimsby worked at KMOX (now KMOV) in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1961, he became the main anchor and news director at KGO-TV in San Francisco, which was owned by ABC.
Time at WABC-TV New York
In 1968, Roger Grimsby moved to WABC-TV in New York City. He began anchoring the 11:00 p.m. news show, called Roger Grimsby and the Noisemakers, on June 3, 1968. Just two days later, he became part of a big national news event. He anchored ABC's coverage of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.
In April 1969, Grimsby also took over the 6:00 p.m. news broadcast at WABC. He continued to anchor both the 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. news shows.
Working with Bill Beutel
Grimsby's first co-anchor on the 6:00 p.m. news was Tom Dunn. However, he is best known for working with Bill Beutel. Beutel joined him in September 1970 and they co-anchored the news together until 1986. Grimsby would start each broadcast by saying, "Good evening, I'm Roger Grimsby, here now the news." He would end with, "Hoping your news is good news, I'm Roger Grimsby." For many years at WABC, he also wrote and read a daily radio newscast for the ABC Entertainment Network. He felt this helped him stay updated on the day's news.
Grimsby won six Emmy awards for his work. He left WABC in April 1986.
Later Career Steps
In May 1987, Grimsby was hired by WNBC-TV. Starting in June, he mostly worked as a commentator. He would appear on the station's daily Live at Five newscast. In a short segment, he would share his thoughts on a news story with his usual serious but humorous style. He also worked as a reporter, covering different assignments.
When WNBC's sister radio station, WNBC (AM), closed down in 1988, Grimsby covered the event live from the studio. His voice was the very last to be heard on WNBC-AM as he announced, "You heard the countdown. It's over." Grimsby left WNBC in May 1989.
In 1990, he moved to California. He and George Reading became the first anchor team for San Diego TV station KUSI's new 10:00 p.m. newscast. However, after only a few months, Grimsby resigned from KUSI in February 1991. He felt unhappy with the direction the newscasts were taking.
Death
After retiring from television, Grimsby returned to New York City. He lived on Manhattan's Upper West Side with his wife, Maria, whom he had married in 1989.
Roger Grimsby passed away on June 23, 1995, at Lenox Hill Hospital. He died from health problems caused by advanced lung cancer.
Film and TV Appearances
Roger Grimsby also appeared as himself or a newscaster in several movies and TV shows:
- Bananas (1971) – Himself
- The Exterminator (1980) – Himself
- Ghostbusters (1984) – Himself
- Turk 182 (1985) – Himself
- Power (1986) – Commentator
- The Equalizer (1988) – Newscaster, in the episode "The Mystery of Manon, Part 1"
- Nothing but Trouble (1991) – TV Anchor (his last film role)
