Jerry Turner (August 6, 1929 – December 31, 1987) was an American television news

anchorman A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

WJZ-TV WJZ-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, serving as the market's CBS outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, and maintains studios and offices on Woodberry, B ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. He was from

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, eighth most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 35,052 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, ...

and began working at the Baltimore television station in August 1962, starting the 6PM Newscast with Al Sanders in 1977. Prior to his arrival on Television Hill, WJZ's news was mired in third place in a town that had three major network newscasts. In 1971,

WBAL-TV WBAL-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is the flagship property of Hearst Television, which has owned the station since its inception, and is sister to the company's sole ra ...

was #1,

WMAR-TV WMAR-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station's studios and offices are located on York Road ( Maryland Route 45) in Towson north o ...

was #2; three years later, WJZ with Turner,

Sanders Sanders may refer to: People Surname * Sanders (surname) Given name *Sanders Anne Laubenthal (1943–2002), US writer *Sanders Shiver (born 1955), former US National Football League player Corporations * Sanders Associates, part of BAE Syste ...

, Bob Turk (weather) and Nick Charles (Sports) was a runaway #1 and stayed there through the 70s and into the 80s. Turner worked with

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...

when she moved to Baltimore in 1976 to co-anchor the 6PM news.

Illness and death

A resident of

Lutherville, Maryland Lutherville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had a population of 6,504. Prior to 2010 the area was part of the Lutherv ...

, Turner was diagnosed

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer (American English) or oesophageal cancer (British English) is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing and weigh ...

in December 1986. He underwent a series of radiation and chemotherapy treatments and returned to the air in June 1987. He left the newscast in mid-December 1987 when his health deteriorated and died at

Johns Hopkins Hospital Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1889, Johns Hopkins Hospital and its school of medicine are considered to be the foundin ...

in Baltimore on December 31, 1987, at 7:15 PM. His funeral was held at Towson Presbyterian Church.

Legacy

Each year, the Baltimore Community Foundation awards college scholarships in the name of Jerry Turner for students who are interested in broadcast journalism. Several memorial discussion programs were broadcast on Channel 13 in the following week examining his legacy and a half hour televised review of his life and career was repeated several times.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Jerry 1929 births 1987 deaths Television anchors from Baltimore American television reporters and correspondents People from Meridian, Mississippi Deaths from esophageal cancer in the United States Deaths from cancer in Maryland People from Lutherville, Maryland American male journalists Journalists from Mississippi 20th-century American journalists