From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tom Ellis (journalist)
Tom Ellis (journalist)
Tom Ellis Television News
Born 1932 In 1961 he was given the opportunity to go on television.
Education University of Texas The anchor at Ellis’ station’s affiliated TV station had
abruptly quit. Ellis was asked by the news director to fill
Spouse(s) Arlene
in as interim TV anchor until a replacement could be
Nationality American found. Ellis was eventually made the permanent televi-
sion anchor however he kept his radio job because the TV
Tom Ellis (born September 22, 1932) is a Boston based anchor job only paid $15 a night.[3]
journalist, he is well known throughout New England
where he has served as anchor for three of Boston’s WBZ Boston
network-affiliated stations. His career in television news
spans more than 40 years. His high-profile career in New England began in July
Ellis was a correspondent for WNBC-TV and an an- 1968, when he became the new lead anchor at WBZ-TV,
chor for WABC-TV – both in New York City, and for a role he would hold alone, and during other periods
KONO-TV Channel 12 (now KSAT-TV) in San Antonio. Ad- alongside station veterans such as Jack Chase, through
ditionally, his broadcast career in radio included anchor/ 1975. Ellis established himself as a dependable figure in
reporter duties for KVET-AM in Austin, Texas, KWED-AM regional journalism on WBZ and kept the (then) NBC af-
in Sequin, TX, and KONO-AM/FM in San Antonio. filiate at top of the Boston news ratings throughout his
Ellis is the only individual in television history who tenure. His shining moments of glory in the eyes of view-
anchored top-rated newscasts in 3 major markets: San ers were his organization of team coverage during the
Antonio, TX, Boston, MA, and New York -- and top-rated 1972 presidential election and subsequent 1974 presiden-
newscasts on all 3 network affiliates in Boston. tial replacement, when he won accolades for his perfor-
mance. Ellis became so renowned that the station began
issuing political campaign-style pins and bumper stick-
Early life ers featuring the faces of Ellis and then co-anchor Tony
Ellis grew up in the Big Thicket area of Texas. He is a 1958 Pepper, encouraging viewership; the public stuck them
graduate of the University of Texas.[1] all over the area.
Ellis originally left Boston in 1975 when he jumped
at the offer to anchor for ABC’s flagship affiliate WABC-
Early career TV in New York City. Tom added journalistic power to
When he was 17 Ellis worked as a sideshow barker, earn- WABC’s team and enjoyed three high-profile years in this
ing $150.00 per week.[2] Ellis first worked in television in stint. In the midst of his tenure at WABC, Ellis took on a
1951. Ellis was approached by a producer from New York role in the 1976 feature film Marathon Man, which starred
to host a baseball pregame show for children sponsored Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier. Many of Tom’s fans
by the Curtiss Candy Company. Ellis hosted the Curtis fondly regard his performance of a period TV announcer
Knot Hole Gang club, a thirty minute program before in the film.
the Dallas Eagles and the Fort Worth Cats of the Texas Before Ellis could have possibly been considered for
league. During the program Ellis would interview local spots of ABC network news, he decided not to renew
youth baseball players. his contract with WABC in order to pursue other ven-
Ellis worked as a radio reporter at KWED a 1000 watt tures before considering jobs on national television. Just
radio station in Seguin, Texas. In 1958, while he was as he was leaving in 1978, the country’s #1 (ratings and
working for KWED Ellis was heard by the owner of KONO acclaim-wise) ABC affiliate, Channel 5 WCVB-TV in his
radio station in San Antonio, Texas. The station executive old stomping ground of Boston, heard that the former
offered Ellis a news job in his San Antonio station for $100 heavyweight in Boston news was available.
per week. Ellis took the position after negotiating a salary
of $105 a week.
WCVB Boston
WCVB offered Ellis the chance to return to the market
with not only a salary to rival WABC’s, but to join the
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tom Ellis (journalist)
red-hot anchoring duo of Chet Curtis and Natalie Jacob- Young, who had no prior hard news experience, was
son, which had been taking the market by storm in the seemingly out of her league and in sharp contrast with
late 1970s. Ellis, who had seen WCVB’s husband-and-wife her seasoned co-anchor. Young remained as lead anchor
team rise to prominence, didn’t think twice and signed- through late 1983 while other "dream team" hires were
on with the station for an initial four-year contract. From discharged. WNEV, not willing to give up on its mission,
1978 to 1982, the three-person lead anchor team was set kept Ellis, believing that weak ratings for NEWSE7EN
up so that Tom or Chet would alternate in the male an- were not due to his performance. Tom’s new co-anchor
chor position (between the 6 and 11pm newscasts), with became Diane Willis, a more adept and experienced an-
Natalie being the constant. chor who put a more solid and balanced image to the
Ellis’ return to Boston with his addition at WCVB only station’s lead team. Despite other changes, such as new
meant better things for a station whose news department marketing campaigns, additional turnover in certain po-
and commitment to local programming would soon gar- sitions, and a name change to "The New England News,"
ner it national attention. Although Curtis and Jacobson it eventually became obvious that the "dream team" con-
were initially responsible, it was Ellis’ dominance and cept had officially backfired.
professionalism that shot WCVB up to a close second in In 1986, Ellis[4] and Willis were both let go by WNEV.
the evening news ratings, right behind longtime princi-
pal leader WBZ. There was seemingly an eclectic reper-
toire between Tom and the rest of the staff, and even
Acting roles
more so when Tom began frequently anchoring beside The late 1980s and early 1990s were a period of transition
both Chet and Nat for a period beginning in 1980 - the for Ellis. He returned to New York for a brief period to
catalyst for WCVB busting into the first place in 1981 handle radio news anchoring work, but, rather by acci-
(WBZ, for the record, hasn’t been #1 ever since). This vic- dent, stumbled onto a secondary career path when he
tory came on the heels of WCVB being voted by the New was asked to appear as a spokesperson in an Anacin as-
York Times as the "best TV station in the country." El- pirin commercial. Tom’s widely circulated Anacin ad let
lis continued to attract attention and win awards for his him dabble in acting again.
interviews and work during key political campaigns as In the spring of 1989 Ellis took acting lessons at Bran-
well. deis University, and in New York where he studied voice,
Ellis had originally told management that he was re- dialect, script analysis and advanced scene-study.[5]
newing his contract with WCVB that year. At the last On August 11–12, 1989 after four months of lessons,
minute, however, he cut an under-the-table deal with Ellis made his acting debut at New York’s Actors Institute
Boston’s re-launched Channel 7, WNEV-TV (now WHDH), "Home Brew,".[5] Ellis would go on to play cameo roles
to become a lead-anchor boost for that station’s re-orga- in a number of different daytime soap operas and then
nized news department. WCVB staff saw this as a slap in break back into feature films. In 1991 alone, Ellis played
the face after the four excellent years he’d brought them, an FBI Agent in the John Cusack/James Spader film True
due to his shady actions. Channel 5 needn’t have worried; Colors, and the natural role of a newscaster in 29th Street,
Nat and Chet, sans Tom Ellis, kept WCVB at the top of the starring Danny Aiello.
Boston news wars for well over a decade to come.
WPIX NewsWorthy host
WNEV TV Boston Around the time of his latest movie exposure, Ellis began
On September 13, 1982, Ellis officially became the new another return to hard news full time when he signed on
leading newsman at the new WNEV-TV’s NEWSE7EN. The to anchor/host NewsWorthy, a weekly news and analysis
news of Ellis coming aboard at SE7EN, along with his new show produced in New York and seen nationally on Su-
co-anchor Robin Young (formerly of WBZ-TV’s Evening perstation WPIX.
Magazine), hailed them as the "Dream Team" that would
finally make Channel 7 the dead last of the Boston net-
work stations no longer. Billboard, radio and TV adver-
Return to Boston
tisements over the summer of 1982 tugged at viewers On Sept. 8, 1992, Ellis returned to Boston TV as host of
by depicting Tom & Robin as saints, both professionally "Inside Edition Extra" on WHDH-TV (Ch. 7).[6]
and with family & the community. The promotional ef-
fort was not that much different than political campaigns New England Cable News
that Ellis had covered so often in his career. Initial viewer
curiosity from the "official" NEWSE7EN launch night rose By mid-1992 Ellis was back on the New England news
ratings temporarily, but unfortunately, victory was not scene as he arrived at New England Cable News (NECN),
in the cards for WNEV. While Ellis was still at the zenith which had only launched a few months earlier.
of his game, professional and smooth as ever, co-anchor
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tom Ellis (journalist)
For nearly the next decade, Ellis was featured on [4] Thomas, Jack (December 6, 1986), Tom Ellis Fired
weeknight newscasts, where he instantly regained a fol- From Anchor Job at Ch. 7, Boston, MA,: The Boston
lowing and gave birth to new trademarks, including his Globe.
common wearing of southwestern cowboy hats on the [5] ^ Thomas, Jack (July 31, 1989), Tom Ellis takes the
air, due to his longtime hobby of collecting them. Eventu- stage, Boston, MA,: The Boston Globe., p. 24.
ally, Tom would be cited for sparking a trend that would [6] Bickelhaupt, Susan (August 28, 1992), Tom Ellis
come to define the regional news channel, as it rose in Comes Home; Away from Boston since ’86, the former
dominance: it’s employing of the elder statesmen of Bos- news anchor returns to local TV as host of Inside Edition
ton TV news, who had since moved on from the network Extra, Boston, MA,: The Boston Globe., p. 49.
affiliated broadcast stations where they had made their
names. Following Ellis to NECN were Margie Reedy (for-
merly of WXBY and WHDH), R.D. Sahl (who was Reedy’s
External links
partner at WHDH, who co-anchored with her yet again • http://www.boston.com/news/necn/About/bios/
on NECN and the channel’s produced 10pm newscast for ellis/
WSBK), Maryanne Kane, and Chet Curtis, who joined in • Tom Ellis on WGBH TV’s "Greater Boston" with Emily
2001 after a well-publicized divorce from Natalie Jacob- Rooney.
son and departure from WCVB. • Howie Carr interview of Tom Ellis WRKO radio
By 2000, Ellis had already repositioned himself to cov- interview January 14, 2009.
er weekend evening news only. • Tom Ellis WCAI radio interview, The Point NPR
In December 2008, Ellis left NECN. (2-17-2009).
Ellis has received numerous awards for his work, in- Persondata
cluding the prestigious Emmy and Peabody awards. 1 Name Ellis, Tom
Alternative names
References Short description
[1] Ask the Globe, Boston, MA,: The Boston Globe., Date of birth
February 9, 2001, p. B8.
Place of birth
[2] Thomas, Jack (July 31, 1989), Tom Ellis takes the stage,
Boston, MA,: Boston Globe., p. 24. Date of death
[3] George, Brennan (January 11, 2009), Tom Ellis: Open Place of death
to every possibility, Hyannis, MA,: Cape Cod Times,
p. B1.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Ellis_(journalist)"
Categories: American television journalists, American television news anchors, Boston, Massachusetts television an-
chors, 1932 births, Living people
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