Charlie Gaddy (September 17, 1931 – June 12, 2025) was an American television anchorman for

WRAL-TV WRAL-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Research Triangle area. It is the flagship station of the locally based Capitol Broadcasting Company, which has ...

from

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

. He anchored the evening news for over 20 years, before retiring in 1994.

Life and career

Gaddy was born in

Roxboro, North Carolina Roxboro is a city in and the county seat of Person County, North Carolina, Person County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 8,134 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The city is north of Durham, North Carolina, D ...

on September 17, 1931, and later grew up in

Biscoe, North Carolina Biscoe is a town in Montgomery County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,848 at the 2020 census, up from 1,700 in 2010. The town is named after Henry Biscoe, an important customer of the local lumber business. History The a ...

. He was a graduate of

Guilford College Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for ...

. His first appearance on television was as staff announcer with

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

in 1960. In his 30s, he moved to Raleigh and subsequently worked for radio station

WPTF WPTF (680 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a news/talk radio format. city of license, Licensed to Raleigh, North Carolina, the station serves the Research Triangle area. It is owned by the Curtis Media Group, with ...

for ten years as the host of ''Ask Your Neighbor'' before joining WRAL-TV in 1970 to host ''Good Morning Charlie'' After working various other positions at the station, Gaddy was named anchor of the evening newscasts in 1974. By the end of the decade, he was a major part of the number-one-rated ''Action News 5'' team with co-anchor

Bobbie Battista Barbara Ann "Bobbie" Battista (July 23, 1952 – March 3, 2020) was an American journalist and a prominent newscaster on CNN. During her 20-year career with the cable news company, Battista anchored numerous programs on CNN, CNN Headline News, an ...

, weatherman Bob DeBardelaben and sports anchor

Rich Brenner Rich Brenner (November 24, 1946 – February 27, 2012) was an American television sportscaster. Life and career Brenner was a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio. He was student senate president, sports editor of the college n ...

. In 1981, Battista accepted an offer with

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

, Atlanta, and Gaddy became the solo anchor until

Adele Arakawa Adele Arakawa (born August 31, 1957) is a retired American evening news anchor for NBC affiliate station KUSA-TV of Denver, Colorado. As of June 2007, she provides the female voice of the airport train system at Denver International Airport. Sh ...

joined in 1983 and Tom Suiter became the new sports anchor in 1981. On July 1, 1994, Gaddy retired from WRAL-TV after 24 years. In 2006, he joined a reunion newscast with Battista, DeBardelaben and Tom Suiter, although he appeared on WRAListens. The Charlie Gaddy Center for Children was named in honor of Gaddy's public service in support of

United Cerebral Palsy United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) is an international nonprofit charitable organization consisting of a network of affiliates. UCP is a leading service provider and advocate for adults and children with disabilities. As one of the largest health nonpro ...

of North Carolina. Gaddy was named to the Mid-South Emmy Award Silver Circle. Gaddy died on June 12, 2025, at the age of 93.

References

1931 births 2025 deaths People from Raleigh, North Carolina People from Biscoe, North Carolina American television news anchors {{US-journalist-1930s-stub