He hosted ABC’s “20/20” for 20 years.
Hugh Downs, the ubiquitous broadcaster whose career spanned more than half a century, including 20 years on ABC’s “20/20”, died at 99.
Downs died Wednesday at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona, according to a statement from his family.
“I hope to be remembered as a guy who tried to do something good and was, most importantly, honest,” he said in an interview with his former “20/20” co-host, Barbara Walters, in 2002. “I don’t see any greatness that they remember me for, but if people kindly think of me, I’ll be happy.”
Downs became a friendly and familiar face during her thousands of hours on television between the 1950s and 1990s, during which she worked on NBC’s “Today” and “Tonight,” the game show “Concentration,” “20/20”, “PBS” “Over Easy” and “Live from Lincoln Center”, as well as in dozens of commercials.
For years, Downs held the Guinness World Record for most total hours on the commercial television network, until Regin Philbin broke his record in 2004, according to the Associated Press.
Downs had also written books and worked on the radio. His first job was as an announcer for a small radio station in Ohio. He moved to television soon after and in 1954 he joined NBC, where he finally met Walters, who was working as a writer on the “Today Show” at the time.
At that point, his reputation had grown to where he would approve of any commercial he was assigned to read in an effort to avoid misinforming the public.
“My loyalty was to the person I was tuning into,” he said, according to the AP. “It was convenient. If I lost my credibility, what use would it give a client?”
Downs began organizing “20/20” in 1978, and joined Walters six years later.
“For more than two decades, Hugh told the stories he wanted to tell,” Walters said in 2002. “Everything from visiting the north and south poles to chatting with a gorilla, swimming with sharks, and training for a mission in space.” ”
Downs retired from “20/20” in 1999.
After his retirement from the television news magazine, Downs continued writing books, including his 150 book “My America: What My Country Means to Me” by 150 Americans from All Walks of Life. The book featured 150-person descriptions of what it meant to live in the US after the September 11 terror attacks.
“I thought Americans reacted in a way that could be interesting to bring together the thoughts of some people of some visibility and many walks of life,” he told Walters in 2002.
He said he discovered that “we are not a country of despair … Some people wrote in anger, others in pain. But it was common that no one was desperate. I think Americans tend to be optimistic and justified.”
That same year, according to Walters, Downs had his first great-grandchild.
“I imagine Hugh as Uncle Mame, taking his great-grandson to dive, hang gliding, all the adventures Hugh himself did,” he said.
Downs was married to Ruth Shaheen from 1944 until his death in 2017. He is survived by his two children, Hugh Raymond and Deirdre Downs, two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, according to The New York Times.
.
