It ended when Payne, who had substance abuse problems of his own and suffered from depression, died of suicide by hanging in their Washington, D.C. While attending Atlantic City High School, Savitch got a job co-hosting a show for teenagers on radio station WOND in Pleasantville. According to Savitch, the school's discriminatory attitudes against women prevented her from getting the experience she wanted on the college-owned radio and television stations, so she sought opportunities in nearby Rochester. According to astrology, she had Aquarius as her zodiac sign. She grew up, at times slightly impoverished, and had to fight to go to college and study broadcasting. Other than a little carburetor trouble and the infamous thin rear backing plates it was a very reliable cruiser that got decent mileage and actually had more than expected power. If there is justification for the whining by some commenters, I think it lies in the fact that the car model was incidental to Savitchs death; i.e., she and her companion would have had the same difficulty opening the doors of an upside-down Mercedes smooshed into a muddy canal bed. There had not been time to view the film prior to its broadcast, and Savitch had to improvise her narration while viewing the graphic film for the first time. Jessicas shooting crew in Philadelphia included sound editor Paul Dowie, camera operator Joe Vandergast, and film editor Al Kohler, from, Blair, p. 322. She was my friend at KYW in Philadelphia and my office mate atNBC in Washington. There was an optional button in the glove box that released the glass from the inside. But through all this time, her relationship with the viewing public never faltered until October 3, 1983: She said she was healing after recent plastic surgery, was tired, faint, had a glass of wine on an empty stomach there were lots of excuses. They called her the Golden Girl of TV news, and for good reason. Both biographers also write that Savitch had a problem with cocaine that eventually affected her career. Mary Jo Kopechne was another young woman born in Pennsylvania, who met an infamous end in an Oldsmobile under water. Fischbein's body was still strapped behind the wheel, with Savitch and her dog in the back seat. Miss Savitch, who had earned a degree in communications from Ithaca College, had been awarded an honorary doctorate by that institution. According to Wikipedia, the car flipped over and landed in 4 feet of mud/water. Good thing GM doesnt make Oldsmobiles anymore . Compared to the man, the ad was full of taste. ", Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Jessica Savitch of NBC-TV Killed in Car Accident", "Read the Angry Letter the Real-Life Ron Burgundy Sent PEOPLE in 1983", "The Savitch Story: Confirmation & Denial: '60 Minutes' Correspondent Ed Bradley Confirms Affair With NBC Anchorwoman", "Melvin R. Korn, 75, Advertising Executive", "Liver Disease Linked to Death Of a TV Journalist's Husband", "Two Views of Doomed Newscaster Jessica Savitch", "Jessica Savaged: How Hollywood Heterosexualized, "Inside Television: Jessica Savitch Biography Stirs Emotions And Charges: 'Almost Golden - Jessica Savitch And The Selling Of Television News,' By Gwenda Blair", "Remembering Jessica Savitch, 30 Years After Her Death", "Almost Golden: Jessica Savitch and the Selling of Television News by Gwenda Blair", "TV Review: 'Savitch': An Anchorwoman's Tragic Fast-Track Life, Career", "Ward Is 'Almost Golden', But Movie Is Not", "IGN Visits the Set of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy", JessicaSavitch.com | A Professional Retrospective, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jessica_Savitch&oldid=1152361155, This page was last edited on 29 April 2023, at 19:38. NBC's Jessica Savitch Drowns in Car in Canal - The Washington Post Thirty-one years ago today, broadcast journalist Jessica Savitch died in a freak drowning accident in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Your email address will not be published. She had a pet husky named Chewy the doctor hated. I remember growing up listening to Walter Cronkite. Posthumously, Savitch became the subject of two biographies and a television film, Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story, as well as television documentaries. She also had reported for "Prime Time Saturday," NBC News' weekly television magazine, and was a podium correspondent at the 1980 political conventions. JESSICA SAVITCH OF NBC-TV KILLED IN CAR ACCIDENT, https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/25/obituaries/jessica-savitch-of-nbc-tv-killed-in-car-accident.html. The station wagon veered too far to the left and went over the edge into the shallow water of the canal. Technical Audio Producer (Part-Time Contract)Bloomberg LPNew York, New York, Remembering Jessica Savitch, 30 Years After Her Death, An error has occurred, please try again later. An autopsy showed that both Miss Savitch and Mr. Fishbein died of suffocation due to drowning, according to Dr. Thomas J. Rosko, the Bucks County coroner. Savitch was one of the first women to anchor an evening network newscast solo, following in the footsteps of Marlene Sanders of ABC News and Catherine Mackin of NBC News. Wonderfully tasteless ad. With some cosmetic changes, the Cutlass wagons puttered well into the 90s. Anyone can read what you share. Ms. Savitch's colleagues expressed shocked over her death. The settlement established the principle of equality of salary and longevity for women in television news, Arthur G. Raynes, a Philadelphia attorney who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Miss Savitchs estate. Comment. RIP Jessica ~ stylish to the end. Thats very typical of the G-body cars interior trim was not durable in the slightest, and would quickly age/fall off/disintegrate but the car itself was generally sturdy and rugged, and the drivetrain options would last. For about two years she was the most riveting performer on U.S. television. Miss Savitch was in the back seat, Mr. Everett said, and Mr. Fischbein was in a seat belt at the wheel. While Miss Savitch attended Ithaca College in upstate New York, she worked as a disk jockey at radio station WBBF-AM in Rochester. American Brands: AMC, Jeep and All Others, Tractors, Lawn Mowers, Off-Road Equipment. This article was taken down because I misidentified the wagon. On Jan. 6, 1980, she married Mel Korn, a Philadelphia advertising executive. As a side note to a previous posters comments: I moved from Florida to Tennessee and then back to Florida a few years ago. (Thanks to all who pointed out my earlier error!). Mr. Fischbein, 34, who lived in Woodmere, N.Y., had worked for the New York Post since 1978. On October 23, 1983, at the age of 36, she was killed in an automobile accident in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, in the United States of America. Iwas privileged to know her and mourn her loss, along with friends and family, so many years later., Former KYW Co-Anchor Mort Crim, who delivered the eulogy at Savitchs funeral: Her untimely passing was a loss to me, personally, and to the world of TV journalism. The lawsuit was filed in 1984 against the restaurant, Chez Odette; Fischbeins estate; the Department of Environmental Resources; John Nyari, whose family once owned the restaurant; News America Publishing Co., which publishes the New York Post and had leased the station wagon; and General Motors Corp., which built the vehicle. Jessica would never miss it when someone said something unexpected.[8]. [23], After autopsies, the Bucks County coroner ruled that both Savitch and Fischbein had died from asphyxiation by drowning. this kind of story is NOT what I come to Curbside Classics for. Raynes said the lawsuit was filed on behalf of Miss Savitchs mother, two sisters, seven friends and co-workers. Raynes declined to disclose terms of the settlement Wednesday, but KYW-TV in Philadelphia reported that the agreement totaled more than $8 million, equal to what Miss Savitchs lifetime earnings would have been. Its limo dreams in a station wagon reality. However, she blamed the problems on a teleprompter malfunction, while her agent said it was due to the effects of pain medication in relation to recent facial reconstructive surgery following a boating accident. Male viewers schemed to meet her, and female viewers copied her hairstyle. By Alissa Krinskyon Oct. 18, 2013 - 7:00 AM. Each one of them are sources of pride and comfort to my sister and me. Fischbein was a vice president and assistant general manager for the Post and also served as personnel and circulation director. In life, Savitch was renowned for her audience appeal and her skill as an on-camera news reader, although she drew criticism for her relative lack of journalism experience. This week I'll travel from my home in Kentucky to stand at the spot in New Hope, Pa., where NBC News anchor Jessica Savitch (right) died 30 years ago tonight on the rainy fall evening of October 23. She Could Have Been Diane Sawyer | Dame Magazine Before that, he had spent seven years as an assistant to labor mediator Theodore Kheel, and had been an aide to Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) when the senator was an aide in the Nixon White House. Her father was of Slavic Jewish heritage and her maternal grandfather was of German and Russian Jewish heritage. I was always impressed by how un-rattled she was on the air. We're afraid she'll kill herself on our time." NBC executives and colleagues praised her skillful narration of film showing the murders of Congressman Leo Ryan and several others in a mass shooting by members of the Peoples Temple at Jonestown. Miss Savitch was born on Feb. 1, 1948, at Kennett Square, Pa. The big wagon went over the side of the canal (which was usually dry) and the mud sealed the doors shut. After all picking up woman was a little tough in a station wagon at least during the 90s. This is a compilation of her sign-offs from NBC Nightly News and Updates from 1982 and. Dick John, the manager who hired her, said he did so because he was impressed with her ambition as well as her copywriting and speaking skills. Personally, any celebrity that has a strong connection with a vehicle, even if its only through death, is worthy of inclusion. In January 1983, in addition to her work for NBC, Savitch began hosting a new public affairs documentary program on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Frontline. And, of course, she knew it and let the superstar thing take over her life. Rosko said he could not determine the time of death, but a watch found in Fischbein's coat pocket stopped at 9:55 p.m. 'I would say both victims died within one or at most a very few minutes after the car entered the canal,' he said. Jessica Hollifield, who used to reside in Lexington, North Carolina, passed away unexpectedly. Jessica Savitch of Nbc-tv Killed in Car Accident 1 employee dead, 2 injured after 'road incident' at - MSN He too battled addiction. According to officials in Bucks County, Miss Savitch, who was 35 years old, and Martin Fischbein, 34, the vice president and assistant general manager of The New York Post, were found inside a station wagon that was upside down in five feet of water in the Delaware Canal near New Hope, 30 miles northeast of Philadelphia. This email address is already subscribed to the selected list(s). [28] It was later made into a Lifetime Network made-for-TV movie starring Sela Ward, called Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story. She also had been a substitute anchor on NBC's "Today" and "Tomorrow" shows, and was a member of the panel of reporters on "Meet the Press.". Instead he bought the unfortunate 1979 blue Fairmont with butt numbing bench seat, no A/C and few options other than the 200 six and automatic. As we approach the thirtieth anniversary of that day October 23 TVNewser reached out to friends, family, and colleaguesfor their memories of Jessica Savitch, who was just 36 when she died. Everett said that there were no guardrails in the restaurant parking lot to keep a car from going into the canal, and that in 1977 a man died after driving into the canal after leaving the same restaurant. In June 1983, NBC removed Savitch from her regular Saturday evening anchor slot and replaced her with Chung, who also accepted the Early Today position that Savitch had rejected. (Lynne, I hope we see more to come.) This wagon was officially known as a Cutlass Cruiser, until it morphed into a Ciera a few years later. That pile was handed down to me until I couldnt take it anymore and soon after I found myself signing the papers for a 1981 blue Cutlass wagon with the 231 V6, limited slip differential, A/C, split bench seat with passenger recliner and most other options these had at the time. She later worked at KHOU-TV in Houston and KYW-TV in Philadelphia before joining NBC in 1977.