Bill Beutel: 1930-2006

I was saddened yesterday to hear about the passing of Bill Beutel, at his home in North Carolina at the age of 75. For those of you outside of New York, he was the legendary anchorman of Eyewitness News here in New York for nearly 30 years. Beginning in 1970 he was paired with Roger Grimsby, and they became the most popular news team in New York. They were together nearly 15 years, and they revolutionized the way local news was broadcast. My parents were devoted watchers of Eyewitness News, so watched them just about every night. Beutel and Grimsby were a great team. Grimsby was the "irascible" one, while Beutel seemed to play his foil. But they were both first-rate journalists.

When I was in grammar school, I can remember my teachers at St. Brendan's in Brooklyn giving us a daily assignment of watching at least 15 minutes of news a night. So I watched Eyewitness News, and I got hooked on it. With the passing of Mr. Beutel, I feel like a little part of my youth is now gone.

Thanks for the memories, Bill.