Chet Huntley

Born: 1911-12-11

Huntley began his radio newscast career in 1934 at Seattle's KIRO AM, later working on radio stations in Spokane (KHQ) and Portland. His time (1936–37) in Portland was with KGW-AM, owned by The Oregonian, a Portland daily newspaper. At KGW he was writer, newscaster, and announcer. In 1937 he went to work for KFI in Los Angeles, moving to CBS Radio from 1939 to 1951, then ABC Radio from 1951 to 1955. In 1955, he joined the NBC Radio network, viewed by network executives as "another Ed Murrow". In 1956, coverage of the national political party conventions was a major point of pride for the fledgling broadcast news organizations. NBC News executives were seeking to counter the growing popularity of CBS' 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 and David 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 from New York City, Brinkley from Washington, D.C. The Huntley-Brinkley Report began in October 1956 and was soon a ratings success. Huntley and Brinkley's catchphrase closing of "Good night, David"—"Good night, Chet... 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 than John Wayne, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart or the 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 entitled Outlook, produced by Reuven Frank. The program aired for seven years, later changing its name to Chet 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 by Random House in 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 in Stockton, 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 to conflict of interest and promotional concerns. Huntley's last NBC News broadcast was aired on Friday, July 31, 1970. He returned to Montana, where he conceived and built Big Sky, a ski resort south of Bozeman, which opened in December 1973.


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Day the World Ended

as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Released: 1955-12-01

After a nuclear attack, an unlikely group of survivors, including a geologist, a crook and his...

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Mr. Lucky

as Radio Broadcaster (voice) (uncredited)
Released: 1943-07-01

A conman poses as a war relief fundraiser, but when he falls for a charity worker, his...

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The Big Street

as Radio Announcer (Voice) (Uncredited)
Released: 1942-08-13

Meek busboy Little Pinks is in love with an extremely selfish nightclub singer who despises and...

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The Bonnie Parker Story

as Opening Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Released: 1958-05-28

In the 1930s, amoral blonde tommy-gun girl Bonnie Parker cut a swath of bodies across the...

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Cry Terror!

as Himself
Released: 1958-05-02

A mad bomber holds an innocent family hostage.

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Gloria: In Her Own Words

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2011-08-15

Despite decades of opposition from the right, and recent personal setbacks, Gloria Steinem...

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Disneyland Around the Seasons

as Self
Released: 1966-12-18

Walt takes viewers on yet another tour of Disneyland to point out some of the newest additions...

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I Cheated the Law

as Himself, Chet Huntley
Released: 1949-03-04

An attorney (Tom Conway) learns he was duped into being his gangster murder client's (Steve...

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The Thread of Life

as Himself (opening narration) (voice) (uncredited)
Released: 1960-12-09

Introduction to DNA by Frank Baxter and Bell Labs.

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Flight for Freedom

as Radio Broadcaster (uncredited)
Released: 1943-04-14

A fictionalized biopic about aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. A female pilot breaks the Los...

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Mau-Mau

as Narrator
Released: 1955-07-13

Newsman Chet Huntley narrates this documentary showing the rise of the African resistance...

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The Decision to Drop the Bomb

as Self
Released: 1965-01-05

J. Robert Oppenheimer and other key figures involved in the decision to drop the first atomic...

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Friars Club Roast of Don Rickles

as Self
Released: 1970-09-30

The New York Friars club roasts Don Rickles. Hosted by Johnny Carson.

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And Ten Thousand More

as Narrator
Released: 1949-01-01

Student film sponsored by an urban housing authority advocating the financing of public housing....

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Sit-In

as Narrator
Released: 1960-12-20

SIT-IN (1960) is filmmaker Robert M. Young’ (Nothing But A aman, The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez)...

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Kraft Music Hall

as Self
First aired: 1958-10-08

Kraft Music Hall is an umbrella title for several television series aired by NBC in the United...

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The Dick Cavett Show

as Self - Guest
First aired: 1968-06-06

The Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various...

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Vanished

as Newscaster
First aired: 1971-03-08

Government agencies investigate the mysterious disappearance of a powerful presidential adviser.

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The Emmy Awards

as Self
First aired: 1949-01-25

An annual awards ceremony honoring the best in U.S. prime time television programming as chosen...

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The Kraft Music Hall

as Self
First aired:

A few years after Perry Como left as host, "The Kraft Music Hall" was revived as a regular...

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