Hugh Downs Biography, Wiki, Age, Wife, Son, Today, Health, Net Worth and Death

Hugh Downs Biography, Wiki

Hugh Downs is a retired American broadcaster, television host, news anchor, TV producer, author, game show host, and music composer. He was born on February 14, 1921. He is best known for his roles as co-host of the NBC News program Today from 1962 to 71. He also hosted the Concentration game show from 1958 to 69 and anchored the ABC News magazine 20/20 from 1978 to 99. He was also an announcer and sidekick for Tonight Starring Jack Paar, host of the PBS talk show Over Easy, and co-host of the syndicated talk show Not for Women Only.

Hugh Downs Age | Birthday

Downs was born on February 14, 1921, in Akron, Ohio, United States of America. He celebrates his birthday on February 14th every year. Hugh turns 99 years old in 2020.

Hugh Downs Height

Downs is a man of average. He stands at a height of 5ft 3in

Hugh Downs Parents

Downs was born in 1921 in Akron, Ohio to Edith (née Hicks) and Milton Howard Downs, who worked in business.

Hugh Downs Wife

He got married to a coworker, Ruth Shaheen in 1944, three days after his 23rd birthday.

Hugh Downs Son| Deirdre Downs

He has a son called Deirdre Downs.

Hugh Downs Salary

Downs has been in the media film industry for quite a long time. He has no doubt amassed a huge fortune with the bulk of his wealth coming from His professional journalism career. Despite his obvious riches, Hugh prefers to lead a modest lifestyle. However, the specifics about his salary are still under review.

Hugh Downs Net Worth

Downs has enjoyed a long career in the journalism industry spanning almost three decades. Through proceeds from his work as an anchor, he has been able to accumulate a huge fortune. Hugh is estimated to have a net worth of about $20 million.

Hugh Downs Early Life

Downs was born in 1921 in Akron, Ohio to Edith Hicks and Milton Howard Downs, who worked in business. He was educated at Lima Shawnee High School in Lima, Ohio; Bluffton College, a Mennonite school in Bluffton, Ohio; and Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, during the period 1938–41.

He worked as a radio announcer and program director at WLOK in Lima, Ohio, after his first year of college. In 1940 he moved on to WWJ in Detroit. Downs served in the United States Army during World War II in 1943 and then joined the NBC radio network at WMAQ as an announcer in Chicago, Illinois, where he lived until 1954. While at WMAQ Downs also acted, including as the “co-pilot” in the “Uncle Ned’s Squadron” program in 1951. He married a coworker, Ruth Shaheen in 1944, three days after his 23rd birthday. He also attended Columbia University in New York City during 1955–56.

Hugh Downs Education

He was educated at Lima Shawnee High School in Lima, Ohio; Bluffton College, a Mennonite school in Bluffton, Ohio; and Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, during the period 1938–41

Hugh Downs Career

He is the son of Edith and Milton Howard Downs, who worked in business. He attended Lima Shawnee High School in Lima, Ohio; Bluffton College, a Mennonite school in Bluffton, Ohio; and Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, during the period of 1938 and 1941.

After his first year of college, he worked as a radio announcer and program director at WLOK in Lima, Ohio. He later in 1940 moved on to WWJ in Detroit. During World War II in 1943 Downs served in the United States Army before joining the NBC radio network at WMAQ as an announcer in Chicago, Illinois, where he lived until 1954. While still at WMAQ Downs also acted, including as the “co-pilot” in the “Uncle Ned’s Squadron” program in 1951.

Downs made his first television news broadcast from the still experimental studio of WBKB-TV, currently WBBM-TV in September 1945, a station then owned by the Balaban and Katz theater subsidiary of Paramount Pictures.

In 1950, Downs became a television regular, announcing for, the first successful television soap opera, Hawkins Falls which was sponsored by Lever Brothers Surf detergent. He also hosted the Burr Tillstrom children’s show Kukla, Fran and Ollie from the NBC studios at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart after the network picked up the program from WBKB. Downs moved to New York City to accept a position as an announcer for Pat Weaver’s The Home Show starring Arlene Fran cis, in March 1954. A program that lasted until August 1957. He was also the host for Sid Caesar’s Caesar’s Hour for the 1956–57 season, and one of NBC Radio’s Monitor “Communicators” from 1955 to 1959. Downs became a bona fide television personality as Jack Paar’s host on The Tonight Show from mid-1957, when he replaced Franklin Pangborn, until Paar’s departure in March 1962, and then continued to host for “The Tonight Show” until the summer of 1962, when Ed Herlihy took the over the reins and continued to host it until October 1, 1962, when Johnny Carson took over the show and brought Ed McMahon as his announcer.

He graduated with a postgraduate degree in gerontology from Hunter College while he was hosting Over Easy, a PBS television program about aging that aired from 1977 to 1983. He became popular in later years as the Emmy Award-winning co-anchor, again paired with Walters of the ABC news TV show 20/20, a primetime news magazine program, from the show’s second episode in 1978 until his retirement in 1999.

Downs was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum, in 1985.

He was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records in 1985, as holding the record for the greatest number of hours on network commercial television “15,188 hours”, though he lost the record for most hours on all forms of television to Regis Philbin in 2004. Downs, a published composer, hosted the PBS showcase for classical music, Live from Lincoln Center from 1990 to 96. Downs made a cameo appearance on Family Guy in addition to other TV shows.

Hugh Downs Today

Downs concurrently began a more than ten-year run on August 25, 1958, hosting the original version of the game show Concentration. He also hosted NBC’s Today Show for nine years from September 1962 to October 1971 and co-hosted the syndicated television program Not for Women Only with Barbara Walters in 1975 and 76. He also appeared as a panelist on the television game show, To Tell the Truth, and in an episode, cast as himself, on the NBC police sitcom, Car 54, Where Are You?, set in New York City.

Hugh Downs Health

He also took part in infomercials for Bottom Line Publications, including their World’s Greatest Treasury of Health Secrets, as well as another one for a personal coach. He also did an infomercial for Where There’s a Will There’s an A in 2003. His infomercial work has since then has aroused some controversy, with many arguing the products are scams.

Hugh Downs Now

Details will be updated soon.

Hugh Downs Death

American broadcaster Hugh Downs has died at the age of 99.

The Downs family says Hugh died peacefully on Wednesday at his Scottsdale, Arizona home, and was surrounded by family.

He had a career that spanned more than 60 years. Notably, Downs was a co-host on NBC’s Today from 1962-1971, later he hosted 20/20 on ABC from 1978-1999 and announced for Tonight Starring Jack Paar.

He also hosted the game show Concentration from 1958-1969.

Hugh Downs Films

• A Global Affair (1964) starring Bob Hope – Hugh Downs as Himself
• Survival of Spaceship Earth (1972) interviewed along with Rene Dubos, Margaret Mead, and John D. Rockefeller, III in a documentary on the Earth’s environmental crisis
• Nothing by Chance (1975) executive producer and narrator – a documentary about the biplanes that barnstormed across
• America during the 1920s
• Oh, God! Book II (1980) newscaster
• Someone Like You (2001) as Himself

Hugh Downs Books

• Yours Truly… Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. 1960. (autobiography)
• A Shoal of Stars: A True-Life Account of Everyman’s Dream: Sailing Across the Pacific to Exotic Lands. Doubleday. 1967.
• Rings Around Tomorrow. Doubleday. 1970. an anthology of Downs’s science articles[10]
• Potential: The Way to Emotional Maturity. Doubleday. 1973. ISBN 0-385-03742-2.
• Thirty Dirty Lies About Old Age. Argus. 1979. ISBN 0-89505-033-1.
• The Best Years: How to Plan for Fulfillment, Security, and Happiness in the Retirement Years. Delacorte Press hardcover. 1981. ISBN 0-385-28076-9.
• The Best Years Book. Dell Publishing paperback. 1982. ISBN 0-440-53901-3.
• On-Camera: My 10,000 Hours on Television. Putnam. 1986. ISBN 0-399-13203-1. Thorndike Press large print: ISBN 0-89621-788-4
• Fifty to Forever. Thomas Nelson Inc. 1994. ISBN 0-8407-7786-8. a collection of essays
• Turner Publications. 1995. ISBN 1-57036-219-X. 50 selections from his ten-minute radio essays
• Greater Phoenix: The Desert in Bloom. Towery Publications. 1999. ISBN 1-881096-69-6.
• Pure Gold: A Lifetime of Love and Marriage. Arizona State University Press. 2001. ISBN 0-9717160-0-5.
• Hugh Downs, ed. (2002). My America: What My Country Means to Me, by 150 Americans from All Walks of Life. Scribner. ISBN 0-7432-3369-7. large print: ISBN 0-7432-4089-8
• Letter to a Great Grandson: A Message of Love, Advice, and Hopes for the Future. Scribner. 2004. ISBN 0-7432-4723-X.

Quick Facts About Hugh Downs

Frequently Asked Questions About Hugh Downs

Who is Hugh?

Downs is a retired American broadcaster, television host, news anchor, TV producer, author, game show host, and music composer.

How old is Downs?

Hugh is an American national born on 14^th February 1921, in Akron, Ohio

How tall is Hugh?

Downs stands at a height of 5ft 3in

Is Downs married?

Yes, he was married to Hugh in 1944. They got married in 1944 and together they have two children.

How much is Hugh worth?

Downs has an approximate net worth of $20 million. This amount has been accrued from his leading roles in the entertainment industry.

How much does Downs make?

Not Available

Is Hugh dead or alive?

Dead

Where does Downs live?

Because of security reasons, Hugh has not shared his precise location of residence. We will immediately update this information if we get the location and images of his house.