Broadcasting legend Hugh Downs passed away on Thursday, July 2nd, at his home in Arizona.
Downs started his broadcasting career in radio. According to the Hollywood Reporter, in 1939 he landed a job as an announcer and newscaster on a radio station in Lima, OH making $12.50 a week, working seven days a week.
His TV career spanned game shows and talk shows, and included nine years on the Today show and a 20-year run on the news magazine 20/20.
He also claimed the record for spending most hours hosting TV. He once talked to the Archive of American Television about that (video below), and said, "I can be on 10,000 hours and no one will get sick of me because I’m not exploiting a talent...I’m just a human being trying to represent other human beings on the other side of the tube. People can tolerate a lot of that."
Hugh Downs was 99 years old.
Photo: Getty Images