Chet Huntley
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Chet Huntley (December 10, 1911 - March 20, 1974) was an American television newscaster.
Chester Robert Huntley was born in Cardwell, Montana. He attended Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington. He began his newscasting career in Movietone News and radio. In 1955, he joined the NBC network, viewed by network executives as "another Ed Murrow".
In 1956, NBC news executives were concerned about the growing popularity of CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite. They decided to replace their current news anchor, John Cameron Swayze, but there was a disagreement on who the new anchorman should be. The two leading contenders were Chet Huntley and David Brinkley. It was decided to have the two men co-anchor the show; Huntley from New York, Brinkley from Washington.
The Huntley-Brinkley Report began in 1956 and was soon a ratings success. Huntley and Brinkley worked well together. Their catchphrase closing of "Good night, Chet" - "Good night, David. And good night for NBC News." became famous (although both men disliked it).
Huntley retired in 1970 and returned to Montana. He died of lung cancer in 1974.
| Preceded by: John Cameron Swayze (as Camel News Caravan) | The Huntley-Brinkley Report anchorman October 29, 1956 - July 31, 1970 (with David Brinkley) | Succeeded by: John Chancellor, Frank McGee, and David Brinkley (only Chancellor from 1971-1976 and 1979-1982) |