Chet Huntley

Chet Huntley
Huntley in 1968
Born	Chester Robert Huntley (1911-12-10)December 10, 1911 Cardwell, Montana,U.S.
Died	March 20, 1974(1974-03-20)(aged 62) Big Sky, Montana,U.S.
Alma mater	University of Washington
Occupation	News anchor
Years active	1934–1970
Spouses	Ingrid Rolin ​ ​ (m.1936;div.1959)​ Tippy Stringer ​ (m.1959)​
Children	2

Chester Robert "Chet" Huntley(December 10, 1911 – March 20, 1974) was an Americantelevisionnewscaster, best known for co-anchoringNBC'sevening news program,The Huntley–Brinkley Report,for 14 years beginning in 1956.

Early life

Huntley was born inCardwell,Montana,the only son and eldest of four children born to Percy Adams Huntley and Blanche Wadine (néeTatham) Huntley. The family was ofScottishdescent.His father was atelegraph operatorfor theNorthern Pacific Railway,and young Chet was born in the Cardwell depot living quarters. Owing to the railroad's seniority system, wherein employees with longer tenure could "bump" newer employees, the family moved often. They lived in Cardwell,Saco,Willow Creek,Logan,Big Timber,Norris,Whitehall,andThree Forkswhile he was a child.

He graduated from Whitehall High School inWhitehall,and attendedMontana State CollegeinBozeman,where he was a member ofSigma Alpha Epsilonfraternity.He attendedCornish College of the ArtsinSeattlebefore graduating from theUniversity of Washingtonin 1934, with a degree in speech and drama.

Career

Huntley began his radio newscast career in 1934 atSeattle'sKIRO AM,later working on radio stations inSpokane(KHQ) andPortland.His time (1936–37) in Portland was with KGW-AM, owned byThe Oregonian,a Portland daily newspaper. At KGW he was writer, newscaster, and announcer. In 1937 he went to work for KFI inLos Angeles,moving toCBS Radiofrom 1939 to 1951, thenABC Radiofrom 1951 to 1955.In 1955, he joined theNBC Radionetwork, viewed by network executives as "anotherEd Murrow".

In 1956, coverage of thenational political party conventionswas a major point of pride for the fledgling broadcast news organizations.NBC Newsexecutives were seeking to counter the growing popularity ofCBS'Walter Cronkite,who had been a ratings success at the 1952 conventions. They decided to replace their current news anchor,John Cameron Swayze,but there was a disagreement on who the new anchorman should be. The two leading contenders were Huntley andDavid Brinkley.The eventual decision was to have both men share the assignment. Their on-air chemistry was apparent from the start, with Huntley's straightforward presentation countered by Brinkley's acerbic wit.

This success soon led to the team replacing Swayze on the network's nightly news program. It was decided to have the two men co-anchor the show; Huntley fromNew York City,Brinkley fromWashington, D.C.TheHuntley-Brinkley Reportbegan in October 1956 and was soon a ratings success. Huntley and Brinkley's catchphrase closing of "Good night, Chet" — "Good night, David... and good night for NBC News" was developed by the show's producer,Reuven Frank.Although both anchors initially disliked it, the sign-off became famous. Huntley and Brinkley gained great celebrity themselves, with surveys showing them better known thanJohn Wayne,Cary Grant,Jimmy Stewartorthe Beatles.The gregarious Huntley remained the same, a friend commenting in 1968 that "Chet is warm, he's friendly, he's unaffected, he's—well, he's just so damned nice."

In April 1956, before that year's political conventions that brought him to prominence, Huntley began anchoring a new half-hour program entitledOutlook,produced by Reuven Frank. The program aired for seven years, later changing its name toChet Huntley Reporting,and often covered racial segregation and civil rights. In January 1962, the program moved from the Sunday evening news time-slot to prime time.

Huntley wrote a memoir of his Montana childhood,The Generous Years: Remembrances of a Frontier Boyhood,published byRandom Housein 1968.He also became involved in a New York advertising agency, Levine, Huntley, Schmidt, Plapler & Beaver, gaining a 10 percent share in the agency in exchange for having his name on the letterhead and attending some agency meetings.He maintained his own cattle farm inStockton, New Jersey,which for a short time in 1964 included a beef line from the farm's cattle promoted under his name before the network intervened due toconflict of interestand promotional concerns.

Huntley's last NBC News broadcast was aired on Friday, July 31, 1970.He returned to Montana, where he conceived and builtBig Sky,a ski resort south ofBozeman,which opened in December 1973.

Marriage

Huntley's first marriage, to Ingrid Rolin, produced two daughters and ended in divorce in 1959. Later that year, Huntley, at age 48, married the former Tipton "Tippy" Stringer (1930–2010).

Death

Huntley died oflung canceron March 20, 1974, at his home inBig Skyat the age of 62, three days before the opening ceremonies for Big Sky.Huntley was honored with a cenotaph atSoldiers Chapelon the grounds of the Big Sky Resort.Boyne USA Resortspurchased theBig Sky Resortin 1976 and has owned and managed it since. Huntley was buried at Sunset Hills Cemetery inBozeman, Montana,50 miles east of his hometown ofCardwell, Montana.

Accolades

In 1956 Huntley received theAlfred I. duPont Award.

In 1988, Huntley was posthumously inducted into theTelevision Hall of Fame.

Legacy

Only days before his retirement, Huntley gave an interview withDick Cavett,available on theDVDThe Dick Cavett Show: Rock Icons,Disc 2. On that broadcast, he described his political views as conservative on economic issues, but liberal on social issues. However, he stated to Cavett and the other guests that he took pains to ensure that his personal views did not adversely affect his reporting during his years as a journalist.

In 2003, a biography titledGood Night Chet,by Lyle Johnston, was published by McFarland Publishers.

External links

• Chet HuntleyatIMDb
• Museum.tv- Chet Huntley
• Clip ofHuntley-Brinkley Report,August 1, 1966onYouTube
• Clip of Huntley's farewell at the end of theHuntley-Brinkley Reporton July 31, 1970onYouTube
• Chester "Chet" HuntleyatFind a Grave
• Chet Huntley Papers(University of Montana Archives)