|
 Downs hosted the game show
"Concentration" and the ABC News show "20/20"
during a radio and television career of more
than 60 years.
"It is with a heavy heart that we announce the
passing of Hugh Downs. We heard from his family
that Hugh passed away peacefully yesterday at
his home in Scottsdale surrounded by his family
at the age of 99," the Hugh Downs School of
Human Communication at Arizona State University
said in a posting on its social media pages.
Downs' television work ranged from "Today,"
NBC's morning news show, to "Tonight," working
with Jack Paar. In 1985 the "Guinness Book of
World Records" said he had been on commercial
television a record 15,188 hours - a mark that
stood until Regis Philbin surpassed it in 2004.
"I thought TV was a gimmick like 3-D movies and
it would just go away," Downs, who had a
friendly, low-key manner on the air, said in an
interview with the Archive of American
Television. "I had no idea that the tail would
eventually wag the dog and treat me much kinder
than radio did."
Downs' broadcasting career began at age 18 when
he auditioned for a radio announcer job on a
whim in his hometown of Lima, Ohio. After
serving in the Army in World War Two, he joined
the NBC radio network in Chicago and that led to
television announcing jobs, including work on
the "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" children's show and
a soap opera.
Bigger television assignments lay ahead in New
York in the late 1950s - announcer on Sid
Caesar's "Caesar's Hour" and announcer-sidekick
to host Paar on "The Tonight Show" from 1957
until 1962.
Downs had a co-starring role in one of
television's most dramatic moments of the 1960s
when the emotional Paar walked off the stage
during taping in protest of NBC censoring one of
his jokes. Downs, who had known that Paar was
going to quit but did not expect a walkout, was
called upon to fill in for the rest of the show.
[to top of second column]
|
 In 1958, Downs became the host
of "Concentration," a new daytime NBC game show
that tested contestants' memory and ability to
solve a picture puzzle. The show was a quick
success and Downs was host for 10 years,
continuing with the job even after he became an
anchor on NBC's "Today" morning show in 1962.
Downs spent 11 years on "Today," many as
co-anchor with Barbara Walters, and interviewed
scores of celebrities, politicians and other
newsmakers.
He joined ABC's "20/20" show in its second week
on the air in 1978 and was reunited with
Walters, who became his co-anchor.
He also contributed special reports to the show,
including one on his double knee replacement
surgery and others on medicine and geriatrics, a
field in which he had a long-running interest.
Each week he signed off the show by saying,
"We're in touch, so you be in touch," before
leaving the show and network television in 1999.
In his later years Downs was seen on television
in an infomercial for a book promoting health
secrets.
Downs won Emmys for his work on "Today" in 1970,
for hosting the PBS series on aging, "Over
Easy," in 1981 and "Live From Lincoln Center" in
1991.
Downs' interests included music composition,
aviation, astronomy and space exploration. He
served as chairman of the National Space
Society, a nonprofit organization that promotes
space exploration.
Among the several books he wrote were an
autobiography, "Yours Truly, Hugh Downs"; "A
Shoal of Stars," his account of sailing a
65-foot ketch across the Pacific; and "Thirty
Dirty Lies About Old Age."
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles;
Editing by Aurora Ellis and Matthew Lewis)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
