We didn't include this in our salute to the early years of television news last week, but let's just get to it, ok?
A regional newscast caught the attention of NBC executives, who then decided to pair David Brinkley with Chet Huntley for what was originally a 15 minute newscast, later expanded to 30 minutes. The Huntley-Brinkley Report ran for nearly 14 full years (October 1956-July 1970), ending with Huntley's retirement.
Brinkley, who had been part of the Camel/Plymouth News Caravan with John Cameron Swayze, was based in Washington. Huntley was stationed in New York. There were no bells & whistles, as none were needed.
Our sample comes from 1969.
I barely remember seeing this as a youth. For what it's worth, the producers of Batman created parodies of Huntley & Brinkley during the 2nd season, with game show host Dennis James as "Chet Chumley" and Allen Ludden (Password) as "David Dooley". Several years later, Brinkley left NBC for ABC to finish his career.
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2 comments:
On Batman:"Dizzoner The Penguin" -
Dennis James played "Chet Chumley".
Allen Ludden played "David Dooley".
And Don Wilson played "Walter Klondike".
Good night ... Chet.
Shooot! I've seen that two-parter many times, and I couldn't get it right. I'll fix it, Mike. Thanks again.
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