Kelly Lange (born Dorothy Scafard; December 14, 1937) is an American journalist, most notable for being the first woman to be a nightly news anchor in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. Lange, a Shakespeare major in college, is a longtime news anchor in Los Angeles, a veteran radio and TV news reporter, NBC talk show host, former

Tournament of Roses parade A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

co-host, and a best-selling mystery author.

Early career

Lange was born Dorothy Scafard in New York City"Entry: Dorothy Scafard"

1940 United States Census The United States census of 1940, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 132,164,569, an increase of 7.3 percent over the 1930 population of 122,775,046 people. The census date of record w ...

and graduated from

Merrimack College Merrimack College is a private Augustinian university in North Andover, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1947 by the Order of St. Augustine with an initial goal to educate World War II veterans. Its campus has grown to a campus with nearly 40 b ...

North Andover, Massachusetts North Andover is an affluent town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 30,915. History Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European c ...

."About: Kelly Lange"
''kelly-lange.com'' website (archived 2002)Weinstein, Steve
"Wonder What She Does After the Late News? : Books: Mystery fan Kelly Lange's been going home to her computer. Her first novel, 'Trophy Wife,' set in L.A.'s garment industry, has just been published by Simon & Schuster."
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'', June 17, 1995 She moved to California in the mid-1960s to pursue a certification to be a school teacher. One day in 1967, Lange, a model at the time, got into a line at a

Buena Park, California Buena Park (''Buena'', Spanish for "Good") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census its population was 84,034. It is the location of several tourist attractions, namely Knott's Berry Farm. It is about 12 m ...

shopping mall, because it appeared "they were giving something away." The something they were giving away turned out to be applications for two positions as "Ladybirds" on KABC radio. The lucky duo would become the first female traffic/weather reporters in this area to patrol in helicopters. Lange was one of two chosen. She got the 6 a.m.-to-9 a.m. segment and she was called "Dawn O'Day." Another applicant, a film studio secretary named Lori Ross, got the afternoon shift as "Eve O'Day." "The two women in their tight-fitting, silver-lamé jumpsuits paved the way for today's less-exploited women deejays and announcers," thus began Lange's career as a news reporter, spotting news and reporting traffic for KABC. In June 1967, Lange appeared as a contestant on ''

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...

'' with John Charles Daly as host along with panelists

Bennett Cerf Bennett Alfred Cerf (May 25, 1898 – August 27, 1971) was an American writer, publisher, and co-founder of the American publishing firm Random House. Cerf was also known for his own compilations of jokes and puns, for regular personal appearanc ...

Barbara Feldon Barbara Feldon (born Barbara Anne Hall; March 12, 1933) is an American actress primarily known for her roles on television. Her most prominent role was that of Agent 99 in the 1965–1970 sitcom ''Get Smart''. Early life Feldon was born Barbara ...

Arlene Francis Arlene Francis (born Arline Francis Kazanjian; October 20, 1907 – May 31, 2001) was an American actress, radio and television talk show host, and game show panelist. She is known for her long-running role as a panelist on the television game s ...

and

Martin Gabel Martin Gabel (June 19, 1911 – May 22, 1986) was an American actor, film director and film producer. Life and career Gabel was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Rebecca and Isaac Gabel, a jeweler, both Jewish immigrants. He married Arlen ...

. Her work with KABC Radio was the subject for the panel to guess.

Career

Lange started in March 1971 as a weather forecaster for KNBC's weeknight newscasts (known at the time as ''KNBC Newservice''), and later appeared on ''Sunday'', a weekly features program on the station which she co-hosted with

Tom Snyder Thomas James Snyder (May 12, 1936 – July 29, 2007) was an American television personality, news anchor, and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows '' Tomorrow'', on the NBC television network in the 1970s and 1980s, and ' ...

Paul Moyer Paul Moyer (born June 13, 1941) is an American journalist. He co-anchored the 5 PM and 11 PM weekday editions of KNBC-TV's ''Channel 4 News'' with Colleen Williams for a decade after earlier co-anchoring with Kelly Lange.Nieto, Rebecca (2009-05- ...

and

Ralph Story Ralph Story (born Ralph Bernard Snyder; August 19, 1920 – September 26, 2006) was an American television and radio personality. He was best known as the host of '' The $64,000 Challenge'' from 1956 to 1958, and as the writer and host of ''Ralph ...

. In December 1976 Lange was promoted to news anchor, and co-anchored KNBC's various weeknight news programs through December 1998 alongside Moyer,

Jess Marlow Myron Jess Marlow (November 29, 1929 – August 3, 2014) was an American journalist. He was best known for his work on television in Los Angeles, California, where he spent the bulk of his career. Early career Marlow began his television caree ...

John Schubeck John Schubeck (March 18, 1936 – September 26, 1997) was an American television reporter and anchor, and one of the few to anchor newscasts on all three network owned-and-operated stations in one major market. Schubeck was born in Detroit, Mic ...

, Jack Perkins,

John Beard John Beard may refer to: * John Beard (artist) (born 1943), Welsh artist and painter * John Beard (colonial administrator) (died 1685), Chief Agent and Governor of Bengal * John Beard (embryologist) (1858–1924), Scottish embryologist and anatomi ...

Keith Morrison Keith Morrison (born July 2, 1947) is a Canadian broadcast journalist. Since 1995, he has been a correspondent for ''Dateline NBC''. Career Beginning his career in the 1960s, Morrison was a reporter and anchor at local stations in Saskatchew ...

, and

Chuck Henry Charles Robert Henry (born January 1, 1946) is a retired American journalist, who worked in the Greater Los Angeles media market for 48 years. He worked for nearly 29 years at KNBC, where he was a co-anchor of the 5, 6, and 11 p.m. newscasts, and ...

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's v ...

refers to Lange as the first woman to anchor a nightly newscast at an NBC-owned station. ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...

'' said Lange was the first local newscaster to be paid $1 million per year. Lange also co-hosted NBC's network coverage of the

Tournament of Roses Parade A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

alongside

Michael Landon Michael Landon (born Eugene Maurice Orowitz; October 31, 1936 – July 1, 1991) was an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in '' Bonanza'' (1959–1973), Charles Ingalls in '' Little House on the P ...

; was the regular guest host of '' Tomorrow'', with former KNBC colleague

; and a regular guest host of the ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...

'' show. She hosted the Grand Floral Parade of the

Portland Rose Festival The Portland Rose Festival is an annual civic festival held during the month of June in Portland, Oregon. It is organized by the volunteer non-profit Portland Rose Festival Association with the purpose of promoting the Portland region. It inclu ...

and won several

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

as well as serving as host of the primetime network broadcast ceremony. Lange began writing fiction and mysteries while still a news anchor, partially to relieve insomnia from working on the 11 pm newscast. After a two-year talk show stint with

KCBS-TV KCBS-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent outl ...

(''Women 2 Women'' alongside newscaster Ann Martin), she left broadcasting and has since been a full-time mystery novelist. The popular mystery fiction books include ''The Reporter'', ''Dead File'', and ''Graveyard Shift'', featuring fictional TV news anchor Maxi Poole, plus ''Trophy Wife'' and ''Gossip''. In 2010, Lange was presented with the Golden Mike's Lifetime Achievement Award by the Radio and Television News Association of Southern California.

Personal life

She was married to film director

William Friedkin William "Billy" Friedkin (born August 29, 1935)Biskind, p. 200. is an American film and television director, producer and screenwriter closely identified with the " New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in documentaries in ...

(1987–1990). She has one daughter, Kelly Snyder, and three grandchildren.

References

External links

*
Author's website
(archived 2002) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lange, Kelly 1937 births American television news anchors Living people