Hugh Downs

Hugh Downs
Downs in 1972
Born(1921-02-14)February 14, 1921
Akron, Ohio, U.S.
DiedJuly 1, 2020(2020-07-01) (aged 99)
Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.
EducationBluffton University
Wayne State University
Columbia University (BA)
Hunter College (GrDip)
Occupations
  • Television broadcaster
  • television host
  • television producer
  • author
  • game show presenter
  • music composer
  • radio announcer
  • radio programmer
Years active1939–2007
Spouse
Ruth Shaheen
​
​
(m. 1944; died 2017)​
Children2

Hugh Malcolm Downs (February 14, 1921 – July 1, 2020) was an American radio and television broadcaster, announcer and programmer; television host; news anchor; TV producer; author; game show host; talk show sidekick; and music composer. A regular television presence from the mid 1940s until the late 1990s, he had several successful roles on morning, prime-time, and late-night television. For several years, he held the certified Guinness World Record for the most hours on commercial network television before being surpassed by Regis Philbin, who died 24 days after him.[1]

Downs served as announcer and sidekick for Tonight Starring Jack Paar from 1957 to 1962,[2][3] co-host of the NBC News program Today from 1962 to 1971,[4] host of the Concentration game show from 1958 to 1969,[5][6] and anchor of the ABC News magazine 20/20 from 1978 to 1999.[7]

Downs started his career in radio in 1939 and began in live television in 1945 in Chicago, where he became a regular on several nationally broadcast programs over the next decade. He moved to New York City in 1954, when he was invited to do a program there. Among other shows during his career, he hosted the PBS talk show Over Easy[8] and was the occasional co-host of the syndicated talk show Not for Women Only.[9]

  1. ^ "Hugh Downs, Perennial Small-Screen Fixture, Is Dead at 99". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "A Matchless Library Television Archive: 1946–1982". atvaudio.com. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  3. ^ "A Matchless Library Television Archive: 1946–1982". atvaudio.com. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  4. ^ Mink, Eric; Dolphin, Laurie; Brown, Christian (2003). Dolphin, Laurie; Brown, Christian (eds.). This is Today: A Window On Our Times. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. xiii. ISBN 0740738534.
  5. ^ "Concentration". fiftiesweb.com. July 22, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  6. ^ Ryan, Steve (1991). Classic Concentration: The Game, the Show, the Puzzles. Sterling Publishing Company. p. 13. ISBN 978-0806984681. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  7. ^ Lisa de Moraes (May 6, 1999). "Host Hugh Downs To Leave '20/20'". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  8. ^ Reed, Robert M.; Reed, Maxine K. (1992). The Encyclopedia of Television, Cable, and Video. Springer US. p. 174. doi:10.1007/978-1-4684-6521-1. ISBN 978-1468465235.
  9. ^ Erler, Robert J.; Timberg, Bernard M. (2010). Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. p. 228. ISBN 978-0292781764. OCLC 355281797.