Cracked BuckeyeCracked Buckeye

Notable people · Media · Broadcaster

Hugh Downs

Born in Akron, Downs went to Lima Shawnee High School and began his radio career at Lima's WLOK in 1939. He went on to host Concentration, co-host the Today show, and anchor ABC's 20/20.

Hugh Downs
NBC Television, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

Born
1921-02-14
Died
2020-07-01
Education
Lima Shawnee High School, Lima, OH
Bluffton College, Bluffton, OH
Columbia University, New York, NY, BA
Known as
Media, Broadcaster
Organizations
NBC, ABC

Life story

Hugh Downs was born February 14, 1921, in Akron. He attended Lima Shawnee High School and, in 1939, took a job as an announcer at WLOK in Lima.

After wartime Army service and radio work in Detroit and Chicago, he joined NBC. He announced for Jack Paar's Tonight Show from 1957 to 1962, hosted the game show Concentration from 1958 to 1969, and co-hosted Today from 1962 to 1971.

From 1978 to 1999 he co-anchored ABC's 20/20. By 1984 he had logged 15,188 hours on network television, a Guinness record. He studied at Bluffton College, Wayne State and Columbia, and later took a gerontology diploma at Hunter College.

He died in Scottsdale, Arizona, on July 1, 2020, at 99. An asteroid, 71000 Hughdowns, carries his name.

Timeline

  • 1921-02-14: Born (Akron, OH) source
  • 1939: Works as a radio announcer at WLOK (Lima, OH) source
  • 1943: Joins NBC Radio in Chicago (1943-1954) (Chicago, IL) source
  • 1944-02-17: Marries Ruth Shaheen source
  • 1957: Announcer for Jack Paar's Tonight Show source
  • 1958: Becomes host of Concentration (to 1969) source
  • 1962: Co-hosts Today (to 1971) source
  • 1978: Becomes co-anchor of 20/20 (to 1999) source
  • 1984: Sets Guinness record for hours on network TV source
  • 2020-07-01: Dies at 99 (Scottsdale, AZ) source

What Hugh is known for

  • Holds record for most hours on network television (15,188 hours, 1984)
  • Co-host of Today (1962-1971)
  • Co-anchor of 20/20 (1978-1999)
  • Concentration (host)
  • Today (co-host)
  • 20/20 (co-anchor)

Honors and things named for them

  • Guinness World Record: 15,188 hours on network TV (1984)
  • American TV Game Show Hall of Fame (2007)
  • Asteroid 71000 Hughdowns

Family

  • wife: Ruth Shaheen Downs (1944-2017)

Ohio places

Where Hugh Downs was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. High: the main facts were confirmed in sources we opened.

Correct this page · hello@crackedbuckeye.com