In a nightly venue that earned NewsHour-like esteem, Callaway interviewed pols, coaches, singers and scientists. (Photo: WTTW.)
John Callaway, acclaimed Chicago anchor, 72
John Callaway, famous in Chicago as the interviewer extraordinaire who originated the longtime favorite WTTW show Chicago Tonight, died of a heart attack June 23 — exactly 10 years to the day after his last show, the station noted. He was 72.
The news and current events hour, produced and broadcast live on weeknights, was the legacy of a unique individual, said longtime friend Phil Ponce, who became host after Callaway retired.
“John was a force,” Ponce told Current. “His intelligence, wit and warmth permeated any space that he occupied. He was a gifted storyteller and a very loving friend.”
Callaway often was cited by media critics as one of the top interviewers in the country. During 15 years at the anchor desk, he spoke with a wide range of major figures including John Updike, Norman Mailer, Jonas Salk, James Baldwin, Mike Ditka, Andy Rooney, Tom Brokaw, Tim Russert, Oprah Winfrey, Alan Alda, Aaron Copland, Helen Hayes, Leontyne Price, Howard Cosell and Mike Wallace.
Ponce said Callaway was “famous for the level of preparation he took for every interview.”
After a show with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Ponce recalled, “I saw John walking out of the studio with Kissinger’s new book—it was close to 1,200 pages long. I said to John, ‘Did you read that entire book?’ He looked at me, mildly horrified. ‘I wouldn’t dare interview Dr. Kissinger without having read every single word,’ he said.”
Since retiring he had been host and editor of the history-anthology program Chicago Stories. He has also hosted Friday Night, a half-hour one-on-one interview program, since 2006. His other hosting duties included the monthly public affairs series Front and Center with John Callaway.
Several other Callaway series aired nationally via PBS: Campaigning on Cue, Inside Television, Dilemmas of Disarmament and The Paper Chase Addendum Interviews. He was the co-producer and host/reporter of a documentary about American voters, None of the Above.
Over his career Callaway earned more than 100 awards, including a Peabody, 16 Emmys and 10 honorary doctorates. He was the founding director of the University of Chicago’s William Benton Fellowship Program in broadcast journalism for mid-career radio and TV broadcasters, which operated from 1983 to 1994.
He was born in 1936 and grew up in New Martinsville, W.Va., where his father was editor of the local newspaper.
Callaway attended Ohio Wesleyan University but left after less than two years for financial reasons. He then hitchhiked and caught a train to Chicago, arriving Feb. 6, 1956, with 71 cents in his pocket.
His first job was at City News Bureau, a wire service full of rigorous and notoriously curmudgeonly editors that turned out top-notch writers. Kurt Vonnegut was among its reporters who went on to stellar careers.
Callaway left for a job as a radio reporter, producer and then news director for CBS’s WBBM-AM. In 1974 he landed at WTTW and began its nightly PublicNewsCenter. His first hire was the young Scott Simon, before he went to NPR.
After three years WTTW moved him to the national John Callaway Interviews for several seasons. Chicago Tonight debuted in 1984.
He is also wrote a bestselling book of essays, The Thing of It Is.
And Callaway loved to sing, with a “very nice tenor voice,” Ponce said.
“John probably in his heart of hearts would have loved to have been a cabaret singer,” he said. “His signature song was ‘Embraceable You.’ He would bust out at parties and gatherings.”
The newsman also sang at benefits for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
He is survived by his wife Sandra and his two daughters, Broadway performers Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Foster Callaway, and four of Sandra Callaway’s children. A memorial service was held June 29 in Rockefeller Memorial Chapel in Chicago.
The family is asking friends to send memorial donations in lieu of flowers to the John Callaway Excellence in Journalism Fund, c/o WTTW, 5400 N. Saint Louis Ave., Chicago, IL 60625-4698.
Web page posted July 6, 2009
Copyright 2009 by Current LLC
