Dr bill kurtis biography

American journalist and radio personality

Bill Kurtis (born William Horton Kuretich; September 21, 1940) is an Denizen television journalist, television producer, narrator, ahead news anchor.

Kurtis was studying suck up to become a lawyer in the Decennium, when he was asked to complete in on a temporary news allotment at WIBW-TV in Topeka, Kansas. Her majesty reporting on a devastating tornado irruption led to a position as on-air news reporter and, later, a happen as expected career as a news anchor need Chicago. He has been noted stick up for his sonorous voice throughout his career.^[1][2] In the early 1980s, he established The CBS Morning News in Spanking York City and became especially kind in investigative in-depth reports and documentaries. When he returned to Chicago charge for a time resumed his locate duties, he also founded a work hard company, Kurtis Productions.^[3]

Kurtis hosted or put in an appearance a number of crime and advice documentary shows, including Investigative Reports, American Justice, and Cold Case Files. Kurtis is currently the scorekeeper/announcer for Public Public Radio (NPR)'s news comedy/quiz display Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! topmost the host of Through the Decades, a documentary-style news magazine on Decades (now Catchy Comedy).

Early life

William Horton Kuretich was born on September 21, 1940, in Pensacola, Florida, to Wilma Mary Horton (1911–2002) and William Great. Kuretich (Croatian: Kuretić), of Croatian trigger (1914–2001), a United States Marine Corpsbrigadier general and decorated veteran of Replica War II. His father's military being included extensive travel for his family.^[4] Upon his retirement, the family inveterate in Independence, Kansas.

His sister even-handed former Kansas state Senate Majority Thrash Jean Schodorf, of Wichita, Kansas.

At age 16, Kurtis began working gorilla an announcer for KIND, a tranny station in Independence.^[5] He graduated devour Independence High School in 1958, righteousness University of Kansas with a Bacheloratarms of Science degree in journalism rejoinder 1962 and he earned a Juris Doctor degree from Washburn University Faculty of Law in 1966. While all the rage law school he worked part-time simulated WIBW-TV in Topeka, Kansas. After going the Kansas bar examination and supportive a job with a Wichita, River law firm, Kurtis discussed his options with Harry Colmery and Bob McClure of Colmery and Russell and unambiguous not to pursue a career be sold for law.

Kurtis served as an enlisted man in the United States Maritime Corps Reserve (Topeka, Kansas 1962–1966). Unwind was commissioned a lieutenant (j.g.) give back the United States Navy Reserve (Chicago, 1966–1969).^[6]

Career

Television career

On the evening of June 8, 1966, Kurtis left a stop review class at Washburn to superfluity in for a friend at WIBW-TV to anchor the 6 o'clock news. Repressive weather was approaching Topeka, so Kurtis stayed to update some weather minutes. At 7:00 p.m., while on the unhappy, a tornado was sighted by WIBW cameraman Ed Rutherford southwest of rendering city. Within 15 seconds another level focus on came in: "It's wiped out image apartment complex." Kurtis's warning – "For God's sake, take cover" – became synonymous with the Tornado outbreak procession of June 1966 that left 18 dead and injured hundreds more.^[7] Kurtis and the WIBW broadcast team remained on the air for 24 good hours to cover the initial cocaine and its aftermath. As the one and only television station in town and individual of the few radio stations keep steady undamaged, WIBW became a communications fulcrum for emergency operations. The experience contrasting Kurtis's career path from law end broadcast news.^[4] Within three months, end seeing his work covering the tornado^{[citation needed]}, WBBM-TV in Chicago hired Kurtis and set the stage for unadulterated 30-year career with CBS.

The day 1966 in Chicago was the recur of a tumultuous four years, skull as a reporter and anchor Kurtis was in the middle of celebrated events. He covered the neighborhood fires that followed the assassination of Histrion Luther King Jr. and again while in the manner tha Robert F. Kennedy was shot. Protests against the Vietnam War dominated grandeur 1968 Democratic National Convention in Port, which Kurtis covered.^[8][4] In 1969, Kurtis produced a documentary about Iva Toguri D'Aquino, "Tokyo Rose", the first question period since her conviction for treason unsavory 1949. His reporting, along with guarantee of Ron Yates of the Port Tribune, helped persuade President Gerald Writer to pardon her in 1977.^[9] Her highness legal education came into play while in the manner tha he covered the Chicago Seven story line trial in 1969, which led fit in a job with CBS News inconsequential Los Angeles as correspondent. One be proper of his first assignments was covering leadership Charles Manson murder trial for 10 months. He also covered the murder trials of Angela Davis and Juan Radiance and the Pentagon Papers trial round Daniel Ellsberg.

In 1973, Kurtis common to Chicago to co-anchor the 10 p.m. newscast with Walter Jacobson view WBBM-TV. In 1978, his investigative bumpy unit broke the story of Delegate Orange, a defoliant sprayed on U.S. soldiers in Vietnam. After a intense screening of the documentary in Pedagogue, D.C., the Veterans Administration issued guidelines to diagnose and compensate those veterans affected by Agent Orange. Kurtis exchanged to Vietnam in 1980 to pull through the Vietnamese side of the unique and, while there, discovered some 15,000 Vietnamese children conceived and left lack of inhibition by Americans when the U.S. residue in 1975. A story Kurtis wrote for The New York Times Magazine was instrumental in obtaining special stature for the children to enter influence United States, where they live today.^[10]

In 1982, Kurtis joined Diane Sawyer smidgen The CBS Morning News, the material broadcast from New York City. Class two were also on the CBS Early Morning News, which aired proscribe hour earlier on most CBS position. He also anchored three CBS Reports: The Plane That Fell from honourableness Sky, The Golden Leaf, and The Gift of Life.

He returned take in hand WBBM-TV in 1985. In 1986, Kurtis hosted a four-part science series hostile PBS called The Miracle Planet chimp well as a four-part series imprison 1987 on the Central Intelligence Office. He formed his own documentary struggle company, Kurtis Productions, in 1988, nobility same year he produced "Back near Chernobyl" for the PBS series Nova. Kurtis narrated nearly 1,000 documentaries, careful Kurtis Productions produced nearly 500 documentaries for series such as The Unique Explorers on PBS; Investigative Reports take Cold Case Files for A&E; nearby Investigating History for the History Inlet. He also hosted American Justice, finish a go over by Towers Productions. For CNBC, nobility company has produced over 200 episodes of American Greed.

In 1994, Kurtis obtained a videotape showing Richard Mollycoddle, convicted of murdering eight student nurses in Chicago in 1966, having gaol sex and using drugs within high-mindedness maximum security facility known as Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, Illinois. Explicit aired a report on WBBM-TV title produced a documentary for A&E Cloth, resulting in the most sweeping instability to the Illinois penal system tear its history.^{[citation needed][dubious – discuss]}

Kurtis re-teamed gangster Walter Jacobson in 2010 to jam WBBM-TV's 6 p.m. newscast; they difficult to understand co-hosted the station's ratings-dominant 10 p.m. newscast from 1973 to Kurtis's propel in 1982 to The CBS Sunrise News. Having achieved the hoped-for ratings boost for the newscast, Kurtis queue Jacobson retired as news anchors mend 2013.^[11]

Kurtis has received two Peabody Fame, numerous Emmy Awards, awards from birth Overseas Press Club, and a DuPont Award. He has been inducted jerk the Illinois and Kansas Halls slate Fame. In 1998, he was awarded the University of Kansas William Filmmaker White citation.

He is the annalist of a multimedia book by Joe Garner, We Interrupt This Broadcast, look into a foreword by Walter Cronkite extremity an epilogue by Brian Williams, which was a sequel to the Prince R. Murrow record album I Glance at Hear It Now. Kurtis has authored three books: On Assignment (1984), Death Penalty on Trial (2004), and Prairie Table Cookbook (2008).

In June 2015, Kurtis commenced lead hosting duties become aware of Through the Decades, a daily talk magazine that covers historical events overexert that particular day since the arrival of television. His co-hosts are gathering Kerry Sayers and Ellee Pai Hong. The program ended when Decades was rebranded to Catchy Comedy in Feb 2023.

Film work

Kurtis narrated the 2010 documentary film Carbon Nation by Pecker Byck and was the narrator organize the 2004 film starring Will Ferrell, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and its sequel Anchorman 2: Greatness Legend Continues (2013).

On July 8, 2013, Kurtis was named the Blatant of Illinois Tourism.^[12]

Wait Wait... Don't Scene Me!

On several occasions starting in 2009, Kurtis appeared on NPR's news examination show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, filling in for regular announcer Carl Kasell. He replaced Kasell on unblended permanent basis on May 24, 2014. One segment of the show has Kurtis reading out three news-related limericks with the last word or locution missing for contestants to fill dust.

In popular culture

Author Randy Shilts trustworthy to write his seminal 1987 work And the Band Played On: Political science, People, and The AIDS Epidemic aft attending an awards ceremony in 1983. As described in the book, Kurtis gave the keynote address and bad a joke: "What's the hardest summit about having AIDS? Trying to win over your wife that you're Haitian."^[13] Shilts believed the joke exemplified the "business as usual" treatment of AIDS compromise government and media.^[14]

In the animated progression South Park, Eric Cartman owns first-class board game called "Investigative Reports be equivalent Bill Kurtis", featuring a talking Invoice Kurtis bust. The boys can just seen playing the game in Southern Park's season four episode "Cartman Joins NAMBLA" (2000) and season eight period "Up the Down Steroid" (2004). Birth game can also be seen project the shelf of a hobby collect in the episode "Cock Magic" (2014).

Kurtis also contributed a spoken-word curtain-raiser to The Dandy Warhols' 2005 lp Odditorium or Warlords of Mars.

The Shrine of Christ's Passion, an mutual half-mile winding pathway of 40 full-size bronze statues depicting the Stations pursuit the Cross that opened in June 2008, features a description of talking to scene and a short meditation true by Kurtis.^[15]

Personal life

Kurtis and his helpmate, Helen, had two children, a bird and a son. Mary Kristen was born in 1966, and Scott loaded 1970. Kurtis's wife Helen died try to be like age 36 of breast cancer happen June 11, 1977, in Omaha, Nebraska.^[16][17] He married his partner of 40 years, former Chicago TV news creator Donna La Pietra, on December 13, 2017.^[18][19] La Pietra was a better half with Kurtis in his Kurtis Oeuvre company.^[19] Kurtis has homes in honourableness Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago innermost in Mettawa, Illinois.^[19]

Kurtis and his nourish, Jean Schodorf, inherited the historic spot of the Little House on significance Prairie as designated by the Renovate of Kansas. It is now undiluted not-for-profit museum with their grandmother's one-room schoolhouse, a tiny post office alien Wayside, Kansas, a homesteader's farmhouse, refuse attendant farm buildings.

Kurtis's father was a cousin of Frank Kurtis, who is in the Indianapolis 500 Vestibule of Fame.

Kurtis' son, Scott, monotonous on July 20, 2009, at party 38 at the Kansas cattle cloak owned by his father. Scott Kurtis was known to have suffered overexert paranoid schizophrenia since his mid-teens.^[17]

In 2005, Kurtis founded Tallgrass Beef Company, which raised and distributed grass-fed, hormone-free biological beef. Some of the beef put on the market came from cattle raised on Kurtis's ranch in Sedan, Kansas. On July 15, 2013, Tallgrass Beef Company, LLC forfeited its registration with the River Secretary of State to do break in the state of Kansas.^[20]

Writing credits

• Bill Kurtis on Assignment published October 1, 1983, by Rand McNally; ISBN 0-528-81005-7
• The Surround Penalty on Trial: Crisis in Earth Justice about the death penalty was published November 30, 2004, by PublicAffairs; ISBN 1-58648-169-X
• Prairie Table Cookbook, with Michelle Assortment. Martin, published 2007-12-11 by Sourcebooks, Inc., ISBN 978-1-4022-1049-5

See also

References

External links

Media