Frank Blair (journalist)
| Frank Blair | |
|---|---|
John Chancellor, Blair and Edwin Newman on the Today Show set in 1961
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| Born |
Frank S. Blair, Jr. May 30, 1915 Yemassee, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | March 14, 1995 (aged 79) Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | College of Charleston |
| Occupation | Newscaster, journalist, author |
| Spouse(s) | Lillian |
| Children | eight |
Frank S. Blair, Jr. (May 30, 1915 – March 14, 1995) was a broadcast journalist for NBC News, known for being a news reader on the Today program from 1953 to 1975.
Blair was born on May 30, 1915 in Yemassee, South Carolina. His family moved to Walterboro, South Carolina, during his infancy and later moved to Charleston, South Carolina.
He was a Boy Scout, attaining the rank of Eagle Scout in 1930. As an adult, he would be honored with the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He attended the College of Charleston prior to beginning his broadcasting career in various radio stations in South Carolina in the 1930s, leaving his pre-med studies at the college to join a theatrical touring company.
Blair's radio debut was at WCSC in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1935. Later that year, he joined WIS in Columbia, South Carolina, as a newscaster. In 1937, he became program director at WFBC in Greenville, South Carolina. Several months later, he left there to join WOL in Washington, D.C., in a role that included announcing for the Mutual network.
When NBC radio's Monitor weekend program began in 1955, Blair was one of the first news anchors.
Beginning in 1942, Blair served in the U.S. Navy as a flight instructor and transport pilot during World War II before resuming his broadcast career after the war.
In 1951, Blair began his television career as the host of Heritage, an NBC cultural series broadcast live from Washington's National Gallery of Art. From 1951 to 1953, he was the moderator of Georgetown University Forum on the DuMont Television Network. Blair became the news editor and on-air newscaster for Today in 1953, continuing in those roles until he retired in 1975.
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