At KHOU she was hailed as the first anchorwoman in the South (although that would be contested). Watching her final broadcast before a car accident caused her death from drowning in 1983, it's hard not to suspect that she was on something. If it upsets you to read it maybe it was written for you . Probably wouldnt have made any difference. Her death was tragic, and in the first reports, the circumstances seemed mystifying and unfathomable. Philadelphia viewers responded enthusiastically to her on-camera presence, which was perceived as "magical" and triggering an "almost emotional bond" with the audience. Isadora Duncan! However, other staff members found Savitch difficult, especially towards the end of her KYW contract when she was planning to leave for NBC. The following year she became a general assignment reporter at KHOU- TV, the CBS affiliate in Houston. The career of NBC newscaster Jessica Savitch, which ended with her death yesterday in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, rivaled the most fantastic fiction in its amalgam of . Thats very typical of the G-body cars interior trim was not durable in the slightest, and would quickly age/fall off/disintegrate but the car itself was generally sturdy and rugged, and the drivetrain options would last. On October 23 1983, Jessica Savitch met a fatal automobile accident, while returning home from shopping along with her then boyfriend Martin Fischbein. While Miss Savitch attended Ithaca College in upstate New York, she worked as a disk jockey at radio station WBBF-AM in Rochester. NBC News president Reuven Frank said she served as "an example for many young women looking for a career in television journalism, as a symbol of the gradual disappearance of the obstacles to women in broadcast journalism.". Remembering Jessica Savitch, 30 Years After Her Death By Alissa Krinsky on Oct. 18, 2013 - 7:00 AM In the early 1980s, with cable in its infancy and network anchors dominating the airwaves, one. (The article title should not change; this might cause a disturbance in the permalink universe). And, Happy New Year to you and to all CCers! In episode 2 of season 2 of Only Murders in the Building, the fictional character Oliver Putnam states that he had an affair with Savitch in the eighties and she left him for Ed Bradley. Kind of sad, but still nice to know someone else out there remembers Jessica. The crew recorded it without sound, added background music from Aram Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance", and circulated the resulting tape to industry contacts, causing the tape of Savitch's tantrum to arrive at NBC before she began her new job and present her in a negative light to her new colleagues. For all the first class tickets and privilege she projected, the Golden Girl of TV news came from an ordinary, if humble background. Remembering Jessica Savitch, 30 Years After Her Death - Adweek An audio line failed, delaying the debate and leaving three KYW reporters, including Savitch, to fill the 27 minutes of air time before the audio could be restored. In 1972, Savitch joined KYW-TV, then the NBC affiliate (now CBS O&O) in Philadelphia, as a general assignment reporter and weekend anchor under a five-year contract. The car was found upside down in about four feet of water early yesterday, a member of the Lambertville, N.J., rescue squad said. Mary Jo Kopechne was another young woman born in Pennsylvania, who met an infamous end in an Oldsmobile under water. This wagon was officially known as a Cutlass Cruiser, until it morphed into a Ciera a few years later. Learn how your comment data is processed. He was a prominent figure in town. Am I the only one who noticed the Burberry trench coat, muddied and soaked on the passenger seat? He drove out of the wrong exit from the restaurant and up the towpath of the old Pennsylvania Canal's Delaware Division on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River. The TV universe was narrow three or four national networks and their local affiliates. Her father, a clothing store merchant, died when she was 12 years old. She also hosted PBS's public affairs program Frontline from its January 1983 debut until her death as a passenger in an automobile accident later that year.[1]. Thirty-one years ago today, broadcast journalist Jessica Savitch died in a freak drowning accident in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Lynne, I salute your efforts here and look forward to more pieces from you. He wouldnt have been nearly as good as a President. RIP Jessica ~ stylish to the end. Yes this may be about Jessica Savitch but its interesting how she met her endnot in a Mercedes or Beemer but a modest-by-comparison G-Body Olds. She also had a sister named Lori Savitch. [20] The television film was criticized for omitting or downplaying controversial aspects of Savitch's life and career that were discussed at length in Blair's book. Its always sad to see one whos light shines so brightly , flame out . After their meal, they began to drive home about 7:15p.m., with Fischbein behind the wheel and Savitch in the back seat with her dog, Chewy. Miss Savitch was in the back seat and Mr. Fischbein was strapped in a seat harnass at the wheel, Everett said. She deserved it So hard to believe shes been gone 30 years., Lori Savitch, one of Jessicas twosisters, and the force behind www.jessicasavitch.com: Gender-based discrimination wasnt the only hurdle Jessica faced in pursuit of a broadcast journalism career. Tragic story. They are her living legacy.. [16][17] In the early 1970s, while she was working for CBS in New York City, Savitch also had a romantic relationship with CBS News journalist Ed Bradley, who was then a WCBS radio reporter. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. As for Jessica, I couldnt even begin to describe how messed up she was toward the end. Savitch got along well with some members of the KYW staff, including her regular location shooting crew[9] and her co-anchor Mort Crim. ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- A colleague who eulogized Jessica Savitch at a private funeral for family and friends, called the death of the NBC television newswoman 'a tremendous loss . The reputation followed her to NBC. His apparent suicide came less than five months after their marriage and several months after Ms. Savitch suffered a miscarriage. This article was taken down because I misidentified the wagon. In 1972, she became a reporter and anchor for KYW-TV in Philadelphia. Savitch later became the first woman to anchor the weeknight edition of NBC Nightly News, periodically substituting for the regular anchors John Chancellor and David Brinkley. She was 36 at the time of her death. Her air of competence and cool command on the camera helped her achieve a salary of $500,000 a year at the age of 33. If she and Fischbein had been arguing, say, about that very intervention, he could have been distracted and Savitch may have directly contributed to her own demise, Such a happy first post in the new year . She holds an American nationality and practices Christianity. She enjoyed the work and soon became a newsreader and disc jockey for WOND as well. I had old blue for over 3 years as my daily driver to college and racked up an impossible 151K miles on her (bought with 62k) and traded her for a 2 door Cutlass with bucket seats to better fit a sportier image after college. Investigators said Fischbein, 34, mistakenly drove the car onto the towpath thinking it was an exit. The only other death by station wagon celebrity event I know of is the 1962 death of the actor/comedian Ernie Kovacs in Los Angeles. Under her latest contract, which she signed last summer, Miss Savitch was to anchor "NBC News Digest," for which she was to have reported to work yesterday, and beginning in January, the Sunday editions of "Nightly News.". Those of us who grew up with the Kennedys were quietly relieved that Teddy had knocked himself out of the presidential stakes he was nowhere near the politician John and Bobby were. [25], In 1979, Savitch received an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Ithaca College, her alma mater. A sad story. In Tennessee, liquor stores are NOT allowed to sell any kind of food. She married her first husband, Mel Korn, a Philadelphia advertising executive, on Jan. 6, 1980, but they divorced 10 months later. Early on Aug. 2, 1981, a few months after she suffered a miscarriage, Miss Savitch returned from New York to find her husband hanging unconscious in the basement of their home. That pile was handed down to me until I couldnt take it anymore and soon after I found myself signing the papers for a 1981 blue Cutlass wagon with the 231 V6, limited slip differential, A/C, split bench seat with passenger recliner and most other options these had at the time. Results were expected in several days. Although Savitch biographer Gwenda Blair wrote that Savitch's poor performance on the October 3 segment effectively ended her network career,[13] a People magazine article published after her death said that her NBC contract had actually been renewed (although the renewal was for just one year rather than her previous three-year contracts), that she would have reclaimed a spot as a substitute Sunday anchor for NBC Nightly News in January 1984, and that she was set to appear on another season of Frontline. [11][15] Savitch, who was in New York at the time, found his body when she returned to the house. CRACKED .. open..R,I,P, Your email address will not be published. WCBS refused to hire her as a reporter because she had no professional experience. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Cant remember the last time I saw one. She soon began to anchor noon news broadcasts as well, and eventually became part of a popular team of three anchors with Mort Crim and Vince Leonard on the 11:00pm news. Her success influenced numerous aspiring female newscasters to model themselves after her look and delivery. The G body wagons were nice, but always looked very plain without the woodgrain. What a combination. Chrysler did the same with LeBaron and New Yorker. Soare you saying 2 adults and a dog died in 4 feet of mud? Ive worked with many talented people, but none who could surpass Jess for a combination of ability, sensitivity and driveAn agent for Will Farrell contacted me a few weeks ago as Anchorman II was nearing completion to remind me that Jess and I had been the inspiration for the first Anchorman movieJesswas 25 years old when we first shared an anchor desk. Longtime WNBC anchor Sue Simmons: I met Jessica when I was very new in the business, working in Baltimore [at WBAL], and she was [anchoring at Phillys KYW and] the girlfriend of my news director, Ron Kershaw. Jessica Savitch: The Star Eclipsed - The Washington Post Unfortunately rust would render them un-watertight and un-liftable in fairly short order.