So you know the morning show on CBS is mostly drama free, save for when Charlie Rose was fired for being a perv a while back. It’s been pretty consistent with (aunt) Gayle King hosting. This is the first time in 30+ years that the show has been consistent.
Way back in the early 1980s, the morning show as hosted by Diane Sawyer and Bill Kurtis. (clip from 1981/1982-ish – I’m living for that intro) Bill Kurtis is the guy who did the voiceovers for those crime shows that A&E used to show at nauseam in the mornings back in the late 2000s. What was the show, American Justice? If you’re into crime programming, you know him from that. If you live in Chicago, you know him as the long time newscaster for the CBS station there. In 1984, Diane grew tired of the morning beat and moved to 60 Minutes. Bill stayed, thinking that Meredith Viera or Jane Wallace was going to be the next host.
Nop. Former Miss America, former first lady of Kentucky, and former NFL Today co host, Phyllis George. She was chosen by CBS Executives with a leader who was in the advertising business, and not in the journalism business. 1 Drama instantly began. Richard Salant, former President of CBS News said upon her hiring, “I am heartbroken. […] put the show in the Entertainment Division, or the Record or the Toy Division, but get it out of news.” 2 He had a point, the lady had no journalism experience.
(this is a clip from October of 1984--when CBS was trying out several women to to see who would replace Diane Sawyer, as you can see, Phyllis was one of the women who auditioned. This was in the old ‘newsy” format.)
The new show began in January of 1985, during the soft chit-chat at the beginning of the show, Phyllis asked Bill if he wanted to hear about her troubles moving to New York. He said no. Dang. 3
Things didn’t improve. One time Phyllis wanted John Candy on the show:
3
Welp, it all came crashing down come May. In Illinois, Gary Dotson had been released from prison, after being there for eight years for a rape he did not commit. The accuser, Cathleen Mae Webb had become a born again Christian and had recanted her accusation from 1977. The press had a field day with this and the big three networks were all trying to chase the two down in New York City for an interview during their morning shows. 4 On May 15, 1985 the two sat down to all three shows i one morning, Today first, second rated Good Morning America second and scrappy ass CBS Morning News was third. Seriously, Cathleen and Gary’s interview was around the final 10.15 minutes of the show. So, they’re siting down with Phyllis, the interview starts:
…a track meet?
I don’t have a transcript, the interview is not online anywhere, but I’ve read in articles that she also said this:
“I read this morning that you’ve had 41 television offers to put this into a movie. Is that right? Do you feel like a celebrity?” [She had a big grin on her face through all of this.] When Dotson said he’d had “offers” of jobs, now that he is out of prison, George jovially asked, “Starring in your own movie?”, apparently thinking he meant that kind of offer. Said Dotson, “No.” 5
….HOWBOUTTAHUG?!
The switchboards lit up with complaints. I know it was a stupid choice of words, but I can’t believe that people called in, but 20 people in the Washington D.C. area did. 5 I don’t see anywhere where she apologized on the show the next day.
By June 7th, Bill Kurtis had left the show, to return to Chicago. Bob Schieffer was recruited in to help the show. At first, he didn’t want to do it. He thought, “Oh shit, not the morning news again.” He only took the job because his pay doubled, and he was just going to be the temporary guy. Bob mentioned in his book This Just in: what I couldn’t tell you on TV that Phyllis seemed to make less mistakes through the Summer. Bob also mentions that since he didn’t want the job, he would waltz into work calm around 6am. 6 My boy Bob didn’t give a…
However, on her days off, Maria Shriver filled in. That was probably the next to last nail in the coffin for her days at CBS. Maria was so much better. Here’s a clip of Bob and Maria when Bob spills coffee on her foot. See, I told you he didn’t care.
The ultimate nail, however was the realization that celebrities wouldn’t come on the show because they didn’t want Phyllis interviewing them. 3 On the Friday before labor day, calls were made, deals were made and Phyllis was off the air. Of course, the press release said that she decided to leave the show because she was tired and wanted to return to Kentucky. 7 Upon learning of her departure, someone who worked on the show ceremoniously threw away a set of tapes of “famous couples” interviews that Phyllis had done that had not aired yet, and said, “they’ll never run.” 3
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Related Links:
@BillKurtis : Grim and tragic quotes from A&E television host Bill Kurtis. (not Bill’s real twitter, twitter has’t been updated in nearly 10 years). I believe Bill’s real twitter is @BillKurtis1.
@bobschieffer hasn’t updated his twitter since 2017 when his newest book came out. John McCain was his last retweet :/.
Bob Schieffer retires Sunday after 46 years at CBS News
There’s an episode of American Justice about Dotson – guess who narrates it. Yup, Bill Kurtis.
Phyllis was actually mentioned in the pilot episode of Growing Pains.
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1. Wittebols, James H., The Soap Opera Paradigm (Landham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2004), 71.
2. Issacs, Norman E., Untended Gates: the mismanaged press (New York: Columbia University Press, 1986), 197.
3. McCabe, Peter, Bad News at Black Rock: the sell-out of CBS News (New York: Arbor House), 191, 102, 123, 186, 193.
4. McDowell, Edwin, “KEY FIGURES IN ILLINOIS RAPE CASE APPEAR ON TV,” New York Times, May 16, 1985.
5. Shales, Tom, “Invitation to a Hug Phyllis George’s Gaffe With Dotson & – The Washington Post,” Washington Post, May 16, 1985. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/05/16/invitation-to-a-hug-phyllis-georges-gaffe-with-dotson-38/abd90ef2-c53a-4785-947a-56709e47d0b5/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.acc74e109e91
6. Schieffer, Bob, This just In: what I couldn’t tell you on TV (New York: Berkley), 302-305.
7. Smith, Sally Bedell, “PHYLLIS GEORGE QUITS ‘CBS MORNING NEWS’,” New York Times, August 31, 1985. https://www.nytimes.com/1985/08/31/arts/phyllis-george-quits-cbs-morning-news.html
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