Jim Vance, Washingtons longest-serving news anchor, dies, Jim Vance was a fixture in a largely transient town. Brendon, who became the son Vance never had, just graduated from St. Albans and is headed for Morehouse College in Atlanta this fall. His children are grown and doing well. Nobody called him Jimmy or Jim anymore. Vance grew up in suburban Philadelphia and graduated from Cheyney University before going to work as a newspaper reporter. Little Jimmy, as everyone called him, was raised mostly by his grandparents and his aunts and uncles. I certainly dont expect to be celebrating my 50th anniversary at WRC, he laughs. I wasnt interested in food until later. He announced his diagnosis with cancer earlier this year, The Washington Post reported. 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Produced by Royal Kennedy Rodgers and Kathy McCampbell Vance, the 56-minute documentary's next local airing is at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 23 on KCET-HD. Sad news. In the meantime Im doing OK. Voice is a little weakI love what I do. But Id buy more. [Photo: Tim Street-Porter/courtesy PBS SoCal]He was known for combining styles, and on paper it sounds like kind of a mismatch, says Rodgers. Once you know the kinds of things youve learned here, it will never be the same. And all three things she told me came right on down the line.. Some architects mightve cut down that tree because you could build a bigger house, but he kept the tree [and made the house] fit the site, Vance says. Talk about him and what it was like when he passed away two years ago. Kathy McCampbell Vance: Children: 3: James Howard Vance III (January 10, 1942 - July 22, 2017) was an American television news presenter in Washington, D.C. Tributes flowed in after news of Vances death spread. And I was. Graduates: Victor Briones (1999-2003), Joyce Elliott (1953-1957), The New West And The Politics Of The Environment KCET Juan Devis, Executive Producer Matthew Crotty, Executive Producer, Producer That night, I came back to the station, did the news, left at 11:30, and instead of turning right out of the parking light, I turned left and went straight to my dealer.. "Hollywood's Architect," a new documentary directed and produced by Royal Kennedy Rodgers and Kathy McCampbell Vance which will air on PBS SoCal as part of Black History Month . Its something I never, ever want to do again. . So Vance enrolled in Cheyney State, a black teachers college outside Philadelphia. Like most people in TV in those days, Vance was thrown into the field with very little training. His father-in-law staked him to a gas station, which he opened and closed every day. At 75, he was still paying attention to a principle that had guided him for most of his career be open and honest with the viewers. All day long he went to appointments and meetings under Flynns supervision. And he said, You gotta talk to this guy. But God, I loved that baby. He and Margo, his wife, moved into his mothers apartment in West Philadelphia. And luckily, I was able to devise something to make it work. He was a walking incongruity, which may have been why he could mix it up with all kinds of people. Its one of the oldest 12-step programs in the city, and it has a reputation for attracting really hard-core addicts. With Karen Grigsby Bates, she has written Basic Black: Home Training for Modern Times and The New Basic Black, both etiquette books for our times. KCET has now led in wins at the Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards, for five years in a row. All I do is tell them my story. I can handle that. I had bought one for Amani, who was 4, and it was poorly designed. People pay attention to us as human beings. Johnson met frequently with Vance. And I tell them just like that, not to get down and hip with them, but to make it plain. She had lived in Arlington as a child before moving to South Carolina, and her family came back to the area when she left for college at the University of Georgia. But she would not let me die. Viewers also complained about having to watch too much blood and guts on the newscasts. By 1989, he had been at News4 nearly two decades and was known for his on-air antics with sports anchor George Michael. Hed also tried acupuncture, nicotine patches and the cold turkey approach. Heres Why DC Will Never Have Anyone Else Like Him. Kathy McCampbell Vance, left, and Royal Kennedy Rodgers are co-directors and co-producers of "Hollywood's Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story." (Judy Licht Photography) In the living room, Vance sprawls on the white leather sectional sofa, chain-smoking Camels. . I was a 50s kid, he says. Vance: I remember having a conversation with one of my best friends, Ed Bradley [of 60 Minutes], many years ago, and he was like, This is good for me, but this would not be good for you. It was mostly the travel partall the airports and motels. They see some biker guy, and I see both fear and envy in their eyes, which gives me joy. Kathy McCampbell-Vance, who had been his writer and producer at WRC and, later, his wife, noticed a difference when he returned. But Vance invites only so much familiarity. Dance while reading on stage before a D.C. crowd? Before that, she was director of programming . I was the only person who raised my hand, Vance recalls, because I swear to God I could hear that thing. She couldnt make me want to live. "Jim Vance inducted into NABJ Hall of Fame", Rich, Cindy, They had been married for 30 years at the time of his death.". I remember the day I got normal on television. I got way too much respect for kids to do that. Jim Vance was born on January 11, 1942 in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, USA. This makes him laugh, and we both relax. Well, what he said was, Whatcha gonna do, Bro? Next: "Who gives a s about Snooki, and why should we? Karen E. Hudson, one of Williams' grandchildren, was a force behind its production; she has worked tirelessly to keep his work before the public . Vance says he didnt do cocaine again for two or three years. Vance: Bob turns really red when hes embarrassed. A father of three, Vance has been married to former Channel 4 news producer Kathy McCampbell Vance for 24 years and lives in DC's Spring Valley. He had already started to wonder himself if he hadnt done something pretty heroic. Instinctively, Vance swung back, knocking him out. Boggs complained that he was the victim of affirmative action, and the salt and pepper anchor team of Glenn Rinker and Jim Vance generated controversy. , As an anchor, Vance felt even more pressure to be a faultless role model. I love the people with whom I am privileged every day to do it.. But 99.9 percent of them I only did once, because I really didnt like them. Then we get to go out and do it all over again.. FESTIVAL AWARDS. Jim, the only male grandchild for some time, was held to exacting standards by his uncles-a proud, hard, macho lot. Only one white kid ever invited me to his house the whole time I was in junior high and high school, Vance says. It took a while for me to work it all outactually, I still havent totally come to grips with the whole thingbut there finally came a time when it occurred to me that Max is Max and Vance is Vance, and not only cant I be Max, but its okay to be Vance.. He defined what was best about journalism in DC & never lost the common touch pic.twitter.com/HSdPa0EIlG, Eric Holder (@EricHolder) July 22, 2017, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser wrote a tribute on Twitter, saying Our thoughts & prayers are w/ his family. But his personal life was starting to unravel. There were times when I had people after me with guns. But I had this incredible dark side. Afterwards, we were eating water-ice and pretzels with mustard, fantasizing about the day we would make $15,000. They were a hard-working, self-reliant clan, looked up to by their neighbors. In 1987 he married his third wife, Kathy McCampbell Vance, a television producer and former WRC-TV executive. Select from premium Kathy Vance of the highest quality. [3], Vance began his news career as a reporter for the Philadelphia Independent newspaper and WHAT-AM radio station,[5] while simultaneously teaching English at Overbrook High School. I still felt rejectable.. He keeps a 12-foot John Boat on the lake at Airlie Plantation; sometimes hell drive down early in the morning and fish by himself. At NBC she executive produced live event programs, as well as local and syndicated shows for national and international distribution. A half-hour later, I would look up and see her sitting there, with her legs crossed, holding a conversation. And it was like, yeah, I guess you are. THE COMMENTARIES helped Vance fight off boredom. Mr. Vance was not Channel 4's first black reporter Max Robinson, later an ABC News co-anchor, . Once I owed about $2,500, and I drove up to Philly on a weekday to see my aunts and uncles. My English teacher, Mrs. Fowler, whose memory I will cherish for all of my life, would not accept anything less than what clearly was my best effort. Do you miss being out in the field as a reporter? In a 1994 Washingtonian cover story, you said you would be moving on in four or five years. One thing Vance does with the full support of his bosses is his weekly segment Everyday Heroes, chronicling the deeds of ordinary peopleoften blackswho make a difference in their schools, churches, or communitiesa subject he feels strongly about. Flynn asked Vance what he wanted to do. Even after that, my drug use was casual, recreational, and it was all funfor another year and a half. Other speakers of note include Francis Kr, Glenn Murcutt, and producer Kathy McCampbell Vance, who will be discussing the legacy and impact of Paul Revere Williams after Hollywood's . He finally hit bottom. Her professional awards include a local Emmy, and recognition from the San Francisco State School of Journalism, as well as from the American Association of Trial Lawyers. Sometimes he left at the end of the 6 oclock show and didnt come back at all. Many people, from other well-known journalists to average fans, dubbed Vance a legend. I said to Jimmy: What do you wanna do? And he said: I dont knowwhat do you wanna do? And we laughed. A friend mentioned that WKBS-TV was searching for someone for their newly started news operation. A DC news legend and a cherished member of our NBC family. Vance was hit by conflicting emotions. Currently an independent producer specializing in documentaries and short form productions, she spent most of her career at NBC4 Washington, an NBC Network Owned and Operated TV station. One of the biggest thrills Ive had was to have seven of them down here, staying in this house, two years ago when Clinton was inaugurated. We miss him terriblynot only our relationship with him off the air but what he brought to our family on the set. The one bright spot in his life was Kathy McCampbell, who took over as producer of the 6 oclock news in 1978. I was covering the police beat and loving itI never had a dream to be a big media star. Bradley was nicknamed Moon in those days because his head was so big. Early life. But as his addiction got worse, his behavior became erratic. It works. Its something I just assumethat if I aint feeling good, I might not even have to say so because shell pick up on it.Gentzler: Vance was honored last week in Prince Georges County, and we taped a thing about What do people not know about Jim Vance? And after I said some insulting things. He is survived by Kathy, three children from two previous marriages, a daughter-in-law, three grandchildren and everyone who ever saw him grace the television of their family room. [8] His unapologetic presence reportedly elicited racist hate mail and threats. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram I didnt know anybody except these two guys I went in with, and I was scared to death. Gentzler: I said that what they may not know is what a good listener he is.