Norma Ashby
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Norma Rae Beatty Ashby (born December 27, 1935) was the co-host for 26 years of Today in Montana, broadcast live on
KRTV KRTV (channel 3) is a television station in Great Falls, Montana, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW Plus. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside KTGF-LD (channel 50), the local NBC affiliate, and is part of the Montana ...
in Great Falls, Montana. Her career with the station began in February 1962, and she was inducted into the Montana Broadcaster's Hall of Fame in 2010 A fourth-generation Montanan, she produced more than 21 television documentaries and interviewed over 26,000 individuals, including a number of nationally known musicians, celebrities and political figures, including
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...
and
Pat Nixon Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon (''née'' Ryan; March 16, 1912 – June 22, 1993) was First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974 as the wife of President Richard Nixon. She also served as Second Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961 wh ...
.


Early life

Born in Helena, Montana, Ashby was a 4th-generation Montanan and she grew up on a ranch near Winston. Her mother was Ella Mehmke. During high school in Helena, Montana she interviewed
Audie Murphy Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor and songwriter. He was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. He received every military combat award for valor available from t ...
, actor and World War II hero. She obtained a journalism degree from the
University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fa ...
and first worked as a researcher for Life magazine. She returned to Montana in 1961 and married her husband, Shirley Carter Ashby, in 1964. They adopted two children, Ann and Tony, in 1972.


Television career

She began working for KRTV in
Great Falls Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...
in 1962. KRTV had only been in operation since 1958. She was interviewed for the job on February 14, 1962, got the position, and the first show aired February 19. The first broadcasts of the show were conducted in a metal
Quonset hut A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel having a semi cylindrical cross-section. The design was developed in the United States, based on the Nissen hut introduced by the British during World War ...
. On most of the shows until 1968 she was a co-host with owner Dan Snyder, who sold the station that year. She had various other co-hosts thereafter. Over her time on Today in Montana, she hosted about 260 shows a year and interviewed over 26,000 people. Political figures she interviewed included nationally known individuals such as
Margaret Chase Smith Margaret Madeline Smith (née Chase; December 14, 1897 – May 29, 1995) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, she served as a U.S. representative (1940–1949) and a U.S. senator (1949–1973) from Maine. She was the firs ...
in 1964, and first lady
Pat Nixon Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon (''née'' Ryan; March 16, 1912 – June 22, 1993) was First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974 as the wife of President Richard Nixon. She also served as Second Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961 wh ...
in 1974. She also met, but did not have an opportunity to interview, Presidents
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
and Ronald Reagan. She often took the opportunity to interview national media figures including
Chet Huntley Chet is a masculine given name, often a nickname for Chester, which means ''fortress'' or ''camp''. It is an uncommon name of English origin, and originated as a surname to identify people from the city of Chester, England. Chet was ranked 1,027t ...
, whom she convinced to narrate a documentary about Helena that she had written, and she appeared with
Jane Pauley Margaret Jane Pauley (born October 31, 1950) is an American television host, and author, active in news reporting since 1972. Pauley first became widely known as Barbara Walters's successor on the NBC morning show ''Today'', beginning at the age ...
on the
Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It w ...
. Hollywood celebrities she interviewed included:
Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was si ...
, Clint Eastwood,
Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. ...
, Bob Hope,
Art Linkletter Arthur Gordon Linkletter (born Gordon Arthur Kelly or Arthur Gordon Kelly; sources differ; July 17, 1912 – May 26, 2010) was a Canadian-born American radio and television personality. He was the host of ''Art Linkletter's House Party, House Par ...
, and
Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...
. Bob Hope was her favorite interviewee, though she was also kissed by Robert Goulet when she interviewed him at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. She interviewed many musicians when they were in Great Falls as headliners at the Montana State Fair, and some of these included Johnny Cash and
Charley Pride Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player. His greatest musical success came in the early to mid-1970s, when he was the best-selling performer for RCA Rec ...
. Other major public figures she interviewed included
Abigail Van Buren Dear Abby is an American advice column founded in 1956 by Pauline Phillips under the pen name "Abigail Van Buren" and carried on today by her daughter, Jeanne Phillips, who now owns the legal rights to the pen name. History According to Paulin ...
,
Mary Kay Ash Mary Kay Ash (born Mary Kathlyn Wagner; May 12, 1918 – November 22, 2001) was an American businesswoman and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc. At her death, she had a fortune of $98 million, and her company had more than $1.2 billion in sa ...
, and local favorite
Evel Knievel Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel (; October 17, 1938 – November 30, 2007) was an American stunt performer and entertainer. Over the course of his career, he attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps. Knievel was inducted into the Motor ...
, a Butte native and nationally known motorcycle daredevil. However, one of the more notable live programs in her own recollection included a segment where a rancher gutted a live rattlesnake on the air, resulting in dozens of live baby rattlesnakes spilling out onto the set.


Activities and recognition

Ashby was active in broadcasting, civic and charitable activities both before and after her retirement from Today in Montana. She was a co-host of the ''Montana Children's Miracle Network Telethon'', and wrote a memoir, ''Movie Stars & Rattlesnakes: The Heyday of Montana Live Television'', published in 2004. She became a board member of the Greater Montana Foundation in 2008. She produced 22 television documentaries, most recently in 2009. Ashby was inducted into the Montana Broadcaster's Hall of Fame in 2010; the first living woman and second woman ever to be so honored. Ashby's civic involvement was notable; she was instrumental in founding the C.M. Russell Art Auction, which began in 1969 as a benefit for the
C. M. Russell Museum Complex C. M. Russell Museum Complex is an art museum located in the city of Great Falls, Montana, in the United States. The museum's primary function is to display the artwork of Great Falls "cowboy artist" Charles Marion Russell, for whom the museum ...
. When she discovered Montana had no state fish, she initiated a drive on Today in Montana to have one selected, resulting in an informal citizen's election and a win for the cutthroat trout after hot competition from the
Arctic grayling The Arctic grayling (''Thymallus arcticus'') is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family Salmonidae. ''T. arcticus'' is widespread throughout the Arctic and Pacific drainages in Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, as well as the upper Mis ...
. The legislature in turn adopted this recommendation by a wide margin. Over the course of her career, she was named the Most Influential Woman in Great Falls and was TV Broadcaster of the Year in 1985. She was made an honorary member of the Blackfeet Tribe and won the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Montana.


References


Sources

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External links


Norma on Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashby, Norma Beatty Living people 1935 births American television reporters and correspondents University of Montana alumni People from Helena, Montana People from Great Falls, Montana Journalists from Montana People from Broadwater County, Montana