Ray Wilkinson (April 14, 1925 – December 4, 2004) was a long-time agricultural news anchor and reporter for

Capitol Broadcasting Company The Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. (CBC) is an American media company based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Capitol owns three television stations and nine radio stations in the Raleigh–Durham and Wilmington, North Carolina, Wilmington areas o ...

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) ...

. Wilkinson was born in

Lombard, Illinois Lombard is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. The population was 44,476 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Lombard was originally named "Babcock's Grove", after the Babcock brothers ...

. Wilkinson served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and briefly did a radio stint in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

before moving to North Carolina. Wilkinson first came to North Carolina in 1948, where he worked for several radio stations in

Rocky Mount, North Carolina Rocky Mount is a city in Nash and Edgecombe counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The city's population was 54,341 as of the 2020 census, making it the 20th-most populous city in North Carolina. The city is east of Raleigh, the st ...

. He then moved to Raleigh in 1963 to work for Capitol Broadcasting, the parent owner of

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 ...

. He was responsible for covering farm news and all things agricultural and was well known for his intensive coverage of agricultural markets. Working in both television and radio at Capitol, he was the general manager of the

Tobacco Radio Network Tobacco Radio Network was a radio network owned and operated by Capitol Broadcasting Company of Raleigh, North Carolina. Begun in 1942, the network was dedicated to educating and keeping farmers informed of the latest agricultural news, stories, ...

. Wilkinson was responsible for taking the Tobacco Radio Network from a small local radio broadcast to one that was broadcast from Virginia to Florida. Wilkinson is probably best known for his Cecil and Leonard jokes. The jokes were centered on the lives and happenings of Cecil and Leonard, two fictional country friends in eastern North Carolina. He was known for his dedicated support of the revitalization efforts of historic

Halifax, North Carolina Halifax is a town in Halifax County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 234 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Halifax County. It is known as "The Birthplace of Freedom" for being the location for the April 12, 1776, ado ...

. Wilkinson died December 4, 2004, in

, from complications of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

at the age of 79.

External links

Bio at CBC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Ray 1925 births 2004 deaths Neurological disease deaths in North Carolina Deaths from Parkinson's disease in the United States American television news anchors