[Royal Tee]

WABC's Bill Beutel dies at 75
Mar 19, 2006
BY VERNE GAY and WIL CRUZ
NEWSDAY STAFF WRITERS

March 20, 2006
Bill Beutel, who was quite possibly the most popular TV anchor in New York television history and the longest-running one when he stepped down five years ago, died at his home in Pinehurst, N.C. on Saturday, WABC/7 said Sunday. No cause of death was disclosed.

In a statement, Dave Davis, the president and general manager of Ch. 7 - which Beutel had been associated with for over four decades until his retirement from daily anchoring in 2001 - said, "He chronicled the modern history of our city, from bankruptcy to 9/11, with many Yankees parades in between ... He also proved you could be a tough newsman and a gentleman at the same time."

If anything, Davis was being understated: With his square jaw, anchor-perfect hair and on-air demeanor that was invariably calm, gentle, and - if this were possible for an anchor - kind, Beutel was the face of New York TV news for 30 years.

For many of those, he and his various co-anchors - including, most famously, Roger Grimbsy - were often the most popular teams. And while Chuck Scarborough and Sue Simmons of WNBC/4, at times surpassed the Beutel hegemony, they were never dominant. For many years, however, Beutel was. (Scarborough has since surpassed Beutel as longest-running anchor in New York.)

"He never saw himself as a star," said Bill Ritter, who succeeded Beutel in 2001 at Ch. 7.

When he left in January, 2001, Beutel has been an anchor longer than anyone on New York TV: a total 38 years, give or take a couple years as an ABC News bureau chief in London, and a brief stint as host on a show that became a precursor to "Good Morning America."

It was an extraordinary run, and one that directly altered the course of local news around the nation. He and Grimsby were the charter members of Ch. 7's "Eyewitness News" team -a format adopted or mimicked by virtually every commercial station in the country, making the old Beutel/Grimsby team among the most influential in TV news.

In an interview with Newsday just before retirement, Beutel addressed speculation that he was leaving because of declining health: "I'm not going to suggest the decision was simple but it was very much the feeling that it was a good time to quit when one is in good shape. I don't want to say 'at the top' because I wasn't at the top... People are getting older as they do in every profession [he was 70 at retirement] that's not a bad thing but the way it is."

"I've been really lucky," he said. "Not a day when I've not wanted to go to work, or rather go fishing. Never been a day when I said, 'Oh man, I've got to go to this darned place.'" In recent years, Beutel has even seemed to adopt a quasi-spiritual approach to his work, forged, perhaps, after his daughter was seriously injured in an auto accident. That was often reflected in Beutel's signatuure broadcast-closing homilies. He closed every broadcast with these words: "Good luck and be well."

A Cleveland native, Beutel fixed his sights on a career in broadcasting after a stint the Army and graduation from Dartmouth. He joined Ch. 7 in 1962, solo anchored briefly, then headed to London as ABC News Bureau chief, where he would cover stories as diverse as the Paris Peace talks and a civil war in Nigeria.

After retiring, Beutel went back to reporting after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and continued intermittent network assignments for two more years, among them covering AIDS in Uganda and diamond trade-related strife in Sierra Leone.

He is survived by his wife, Adair, and his son, Peter, and three daughters, Robin Gamble, Colby Beutal-Burns and Heather Fortinberry. Services were pending.
This story was supplemented with an Associated Press report.

I Grew up watching him and Roger Grimsby.
They were a staple at the Dinner table and were an every day part of my life.

rip...

To view links in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. Your post count is 0 momentarily.

[jetophile]

Cancer I'm betting. What else is there next to accidents and heart disease? That's a shame.

[WesleyWuzTheMan]

Bill Beutel was a regular part of my television viewing growing up, which made him closer to me than some uncles I could mention. He was a class act, a true professional, and a charming foil to the gruff but loveable Roger Grimsby, whose "I'm Roger Grimsby, and hear now the news" was such a popular catchphrase that Chevy Chase parodied it with his famous: "I'm Chevy Chase, and you're not."

Beutel wasn't that kind of comedy fodder, but he was a great TV presence who endures in my mind alongside other Metro New York anchors like Grimsby, Jim Jensen, and John Roland. A worthy member of anchorman Valhalla, and one I'll always remember.

[statjeff22]

Ditto for me in growing up with Grimsby and Beutel at the dinner table. He always came across as classy and honest. RIP.

[Elvis]

Originally Posted by statjeff22

Ditto for me in growing up with Grimsby and Beutel at the dinner table. He always came across as classy and honest. RIP.

Same here, I used to love the banter that occurred between them. Also the commercials were quite funny. Very honest individuals that were very dedicated to their profession.