~T.V. Los Angeles, July 2003

July 2003

Persian Gulf Crash Kills KCBS-TV Cameraman

Larry Green

CBS/2 reported Friday that a U.S. Navy helicopter crashed in the Gulf on Friday, killing a veteran Los Angeles television cameraman and injuring four sailors. According to the U.S. Navy, a Navy SH-60B helicopter crashed into the North Arabian Gulf about 80 miles west of Bushehr, Iran.
More details can be found at www.cbs2.com.

"There were five people on board the helicopter. Four of the Navy personnel survived, but a civilian
cameraman from KCBS television in Los Angeles died in the incident," Brig. Gen. John Rosa, the deputy operations
director for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Pentagon press conference.

According to CBS/2, Larry Greene, 50, a KCBS cameraman for 24 years, died in the crash. He was on assignment for the station's Special Assignment unit. CBS/2 anchor Kent Shockneck appeared on sister station KCAL/9's noon newscast and talked about Greene, who was on assignment with Randy Paige for a story. Paige was not on the helicopter.

An award-winning cameraman, Greene joined KCBS in June of 1978. He is survived by a wife and two children. "The helicopter had been hovering over a Syrian-flagged vessel to observe a health inspection boarding, and it crashed when the rotor blade struck the ship's mast," Rosa said. broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

MTR TO HONOR
TED DANSON & DICK WOLF

The Museum of Television & Radio will host its annual gala in Los Angeles Sept. 29 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. This year's honorees are Ted Danson and Dick Wolf, two individuals whose work has significantly contributed to the development of quality prime-time entertainment.

The Museum's annual galas, which are held at different times in Los Angeles and New York, benefit the Museum's various programs such as education and the preservation of television and radio programs and advertisements.

Past gala honorees include Alan Alda, Steven Bochco, David Brinkley, James Burrows, Sid Caesar, Marcy Carsey, Kelsey Grammer, David E. Kelley, Mary Tyler Moore, Jack Paar, Jerry Seinfeld, Garry Shandling, Martin Sheen, Barbara Walters, and Tom Werner.

Ted Danson charmed television audiences worldwide with his portrayal of Sam Malone on the long-running series Cheers. Wolf is the architect of one of the most successful franchises in television history, Law & Order, including the original series; Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

The Museum of Television & Radio in California, located at 465 North Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, is open Wednesdays through Sundays from noon to 5:00 p.m. and until 9:00 p.m. on Thursdays. Suggested contribution: Members free; $6.00 for adults; $4.00 for senior citizens and students; and $3.00 for children under thirteen. Admission is free in Los Angeles. You may call the museum in Los Angeles at (310) 786-1000, or visit the Museum's website at www.mtr.org.

Chick Hearn Dies

Aug. 6 -- LA Laker announcer Chick Hearn died at 6:30 p.m.
Monday from brain-stem injuries suffered as the result of a fall in the
backyard of his Encino home Friday night.
           Orange County Register writer Marcia C. Smith wrote a Page 1
story Aug. 6 headlined :More than an icon. He had the Voice, the streak,
the love of fans and the respect of his peers."
The story describes him as a "true original."
           Funeral arrangements are pending and the the family has asked,
in lieu of flowers, donations be made to a charity, to be announced.

         For more on Chick Hearn's remarkable career, see:

+ ocregister.com
+ laradio.com
+ ronfineman.com

LAKERS' BOOK PUBLISHED

Limited Edition Book, Commemorative T-shirt and Ring Ceremony Ticket
Contest Celebrate Lakers' Third Straight Championship Season
Chick Hearn Writes ForewordFROM FREEDOM COMMMUNICATIONS, INC. AND THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER:

Having captured each slam-dunk and three-pointer of the Los Angeles
Lakers' glorious season and championship run, Freedom Communications, Inc.
and the Orange County Register are now offering the ultimate collectible set for basketball fans = a 100- page, full-color book called "Thrillogy"
that contains a foreword from legendary announcer Chick Hearn, the "Voice
of the Lakers," as well as a commemorative "Three-mendous" T-Shirt as
featured on the headline of the June 13 edition of the Orange County
Register.

The book, a must for every Lakers fan, chronicles the Lakers' road to the third straight NBA championship crown, including player profiles, dozens of regular season game photos and a summary of their magnificent playoff run = ranging from how they overcame the prospect of elimination at the hands of the Kings to the domination of the Nets in the NBA Finals.

Simply by ordering the "Thrillogy" book by Monday, June 17, a handful of lucky fans will gain access to the hottest ticket in town as they will automatically be entered to win a grand prize of two tickets to the Lakers
NBA Championship ring ceremony game and a night on the town, which includes limousine service and dinner for two. Five runner-up prizes of two tickets to the ring ceremony game will also be rewarded.

"Thrillogy" books are available for $14.95, "Three-mendous" commemorative headline T-shirts are available for $16.95, or both can be ordered together for a discounted price of $26.95 by calling 877-627-7009 or ordering online at www.ocregister.com/lakers. For official contest rules for the ticket giveaway, call (714) 550-4636, extension 5554.

The voice has been silenced, but you still hear it and you can’t get the words out of your head. “From the desert to the sea, to all of Southern California.’’

Today’s generation may wonder what all the fuss was about with Jerry Dunphy. He was, after all, just a TV news anchorman.

But, no, he wasn’t just another anchorman. Growing up in Southern California in the 1960s – in a decade when there was no Internet, no prominent national radio talkers, no CNN or Fox News Channel – we embraced our TV news people as part of our family. We welcomed them into our homes. We shared our frozen TV dinners with them.

Yes, there was George Putnam and Baxter Ward and Clete Roberts and Jack Latham and Hal Fishman. But Jerry Dunphy was Los Angeles’ television’s first “star” anchorman. Channel 2 news came to life when Jerry came to town.

When he anchored Channel 2’s “The Big News” starting in 1960, he captivated your attention with his good looks, no-nonsense, authoritative delivery. He was OUR Walter Cronkite, our comfort food, the man we trusted to deliver the news straight up, no chaser.

Dunphy’s charismatic style brought millions of viewers into Channel 2’s tent to watch this new one-hour, groundbreaking program called “The Big News.” Remember, newscasts in those days were mostly 15 minutes. Now it was one hour, and there was Dunphy and his band of men: Ralph Story, Maury Green, Bill Stout, Bill Keene, Joseph Benti. and Gil Stratton, among others. Supported by the best newswriters in the business and a 59-person staff, you knew when he came on the air, he would deliver the goods..

Veteran weatherman George Fischbeck remarked, “TV news was the jungle and Jerry was the king. He inspired confidence.’’

And what a career Dunphy had - 15 years at Channel 2, 14 years at KABC where he helped launch “Eyewitness News.” And 12 years at Channel 9, where again he pioneered with anchoring a three-hour nightly newscast no one thought would last. It did, and so did Jerry.

Dunphy was called a top-notch news reader, meaning he read what others wrote. But he could report and write the news, too, whether it was covering the war in Vietnam or the local Watts riots. I’ll always remember the Sunday afternoon when Marilyn Monroe’s death was announced. Dunphy was there, our lifeline to breaking news.

Off-camera, those of us who saw him from time to time knew he was a caring father, a songwriter, and a great dancer. Whenever I saw him, he always had that Irish twinkle a friendly smile, and often a story to tell.

It’s fitting Jerry should have the last word. Reflecting once on his career, he said, “You look back. What do you think? It was a class act.’’

30

JOEL TATOR REMEMBERS DUNPHY

Joel Tator is a veteran TV producer who most recently was the executive producer of KTLA's Morning News. For years, he did "2 On The Town" at Channel 2. He shares memories of Jerry Dunphy:
================================================
In 1988 I produced channel 2's 40th anniversary special. It originated from the Hollywood Roosevelt in front of a large audience.

We thought it would be nice to reunite all the members of the original Big News KNXT team from the l960's. They were all there.....Jerry Dunphy, Maury Green, Gil Stratton, Ralph Story, Joe Benti, and Bill Keene.

The idea was to run a few clips and then bring them all on stage so that there massive contribution to local TV news could be acknowledged by the crowd. Nothing else was planned..

As they all stood there amid the applause....time stood still. Then Jerry walked up to the mike. He was working for channel 7 then and we certainly didn't expect him to say anything. But he said he had never
been prouder of the work that he and his colleagues had done on the Big News...that they knew how to do it right and how honored he was to have been a part of it. He was visibly moved....as we all were.

e was visibly moved.....as we all were.

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