PRESENTS
PROFILE:
"NEWS 8 ETC..."
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1971 hosts (L-R):  Gene Thomas, Suzie Humphreys, Don Harris
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"News 8 etc..." was a bold undertaking in the history of local television.  The show was a live, local morning program produced for and shown exclusively on WFAA-Channel 8 in Dallas.  It was on the air for 1 1/2 hours weekdays from January 12, 1970 to May 3, 1974 (it continued as "The AM Show" thereafter until 1975.)  The original hosts, Don Harris and Suzie Humphreys, were also the producers, editors and writers, and worked without cue cards or a TelePrompTer.  In an exclusive interview with your webmaster, Suzie Humphreys shared her reflections about the show and the emotional experience that it became...from being the best job she ever had, to becoming a revolving door of co-hosts, and dealing with the untimely deaths of her friends and co-workers Gene Thomas and Don Harris.
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L:  Comedian Pat Paulsen advertises the coming of "News 8 etc..."  C:  Suzie and Don on the show's premiere,  R:  Newspaper ad, 1971
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"Channel 8 wanted to do a different kind of morning show," explained Suzie in a 1989 interview for the 40th anniversary of WFAA-TV.  "There was only one at the time, the 'Today Show.'  They wanted to do something on a local level, but yet geared nationally.  In other words, if there was something national breaking in the news, we would be there.  We would have guests live on the show as well...people like George Bush, or on the lighter side, we would have John Wayne or Clint Eastwood, or any of those wonderful stars."  Suzie recalls today that, "Anytime there was an actor or production coming to town, we were right there, lining them up for an appearance on 'News 8 etc...'"  In fact, the show kicked off its premiere episode on January 12, 1970, with Dallas Cowboys star Lance Rentzel and his wife, actress Joey Heatherton.

Channel 8's official description of the program was, "(It is) designed to inform, entertain and involve the North Texas area and observe today's scene through interviews and news reports."
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THE CELEBRITIES...
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L:  The late actor/singer Richard Harris with Suzie.
C:  Presidential candidate George McGovern with Gene, August 17, 1971.
R:  Suzie with the late actor and swimming champion Buster Crabbe, September 24, 1970.
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L:  Don with actor Omar Sharif ("Lawrence of Arabia,") February 11, 1970.
C:  Suzie with the late actor Yul Brynner, October 11, 1971.
R: Actress and Maxim Coffee spokesperson Patricia Neal with Suzie.
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L:  Suzie with football great Jim Brown.  C:  The late singer Robert Goulet.  R:  Suzie, the late Alvin "Junior" Samples of "Hee Haw," Gene.
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THE LIGHTER SIDE....
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L:  Suzie watches Don deal with a leaky cup of coffee.
R:  Suzie celebrates hitting Don with a surprise pie-in-the-face!
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Suzie described how the show came together: "I met a man that was going to produce the show and was in charge of it, by the name of Don Harris."  Don had just started working for Channel 8 in their news department a month earlier, in December, 1969, and shared anchor duties with Murphy Martin and Bob Gooding.  While WFAA's program director George Milner devised the show's concept, Don was responsible for creating the 'homey' feeling of the show's set, and came up with the idea of the round oak table that was the centerpiece of the show.  (Viewers of Channel 8 today will notice a similar round oak table used as the centerpiece of "Good Morning Texas.")  Suzie fondly recalls the magical chemistry between her and Don that made the show special to her, and to the viewers.  Suzie and Don held down hosting duties for the first 20 months of the show.
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Gene Thomas was the newscaster assigned to "News 8 etc..." later in 1970.  "Then there was a three-way chemistry now that took place, because we were all different in our own ways," Suzie explained.  "Each one of us had something different to bring to the show...and what a show it really was."
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"And our relationship was that it was strictly on the air, and so it was fresh...it wasn't 'Ken and Barbie'...these were real people."
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Surprise!  Gene shows up on stage, unaware that he'll be wrestling a 700-pound tiger that day!
Gene said afterwards, "It's not a wrestling match, it's an execution!"
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In one of the most hilarious segments aired on "News 8 etc...," Gene Thomas wrestled a tiger.  Suzie explained:  "Gene marches into the studio, live on television, and there is a 700-pound Bengal tiger lying there, and he went, 'Whaaat???'  Don started laughing, and I started laughing, and Don says, 'You're going to wrestle the tiger!'"
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"It was one of the funniest bits, because it was live, he didn't know anything about it, and that's the way he was, he just went with it...that's the way all of us did."

But Gene's reservations about wrestling the tiger were correct:  Suzie found out a few weeks later that the same tiger had mauled his trainer.

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L:  Suzie shocks Gene and Don by taking off her skirt on camera!
R:  Suzie and Don get made-up as clowns for the "Greatest Show on Earth" in 1972.
Show photographer Doug Freeman is on the left.

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"I dropped my skirt on television, in front of Don Harris," Suzie gleefully recalled.  She was doing a feature on fashions, and apparently Don had complained about the current floor-dragging length of women's skirts.  During the feature, Suzie tells Don to check out the "only length you have not griped about," and removes her long skirt to reveal a pair of very short shorts!  The hosts break up into uncontrollable laughter.  "You set me up!" Don exclaimed.  "You dirty dogs!"
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L:  Suzie and the gang share a laugh.
R:  Still reeling after the pie-in-the-face, the show breaks for a commercial.
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CHANGES...
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L:  A visitor promotes the "Sell America" event's forthcoming tour through Dallas in February, 1970, starring Art Linkletter.
R:  The crew of "etc..." gathers for a photo.
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Sadly, co-host Gene Thomas was killed on October 16, 1971, in a race car accident while producing a feature for the show.  He had just completed his second month as co-host of "etc..."  Don Harris had departed the show on August 6, 1971, to head the anchor desk for Channel 8 News, and noon news anchor Malcolm Landess became the show's newscaster when Gene was promoted to co-host.  Suzie was paired with several co-hosts over the next two-plus years, including Travis Linn (former Channel 8 newscaster who passed away on January 17, 2003, and had most recently been a revered journalism professor for the University of Nevada at Reno,) Jerry Park, Rosser McDonald (permanent replacement for Gene Thomas; began November 29, 1971; he recently retired from the FamilyNet TV network,) Rene Castilla (later political activist and journalism instructor in Irving, TX) and John Criswell (began in spring, 1973; longtime WFAA and KDFW news anchor who currently heads a video production company.)  Suzie never felt the same on-air chemistry with her later co-hosts as she did with Don and Gene...the fun and satisfaction she attained in working 12-hour days preparing and producing the show were losing their luster amidst the changes.  Even Criswell candidly quoted to the Dallas Morning News in 1975 that, "Suzie...was tired and had become unreliable."


Suzie and John Criswell in a promotional shot for the "etc..."
successor, "The AM Show," in May, 1974.  The new show kicked
off its first week with big-name guests like former Texas governor
John Connally and singer Peggy Lee

One "News 8 etc..." feature developed after Don's departure was what later became John Criswell's popular "Wednesday's Child" segment on News 8.  "It was our project before it was John Criswell's," Suzie explained.  "While we didn't dedicate the segment to a certain day of the week, it had essentially the same purpose...to feature children in need of adoption."  The children were typically living in foster homes, and adoptions were coordinated through the local Department of Human Services.  Criswell began his own feature on Channel 8 in 1977, as part of another live morning program that he hosted, entitled "AM," and "Wednesday's Child" was introduced as a weekly feature on WFAA's newscasts in September, 1980.  The effort was successful:  In a published, October, 1988 interview with webmaster Mike Shannon, Criswell stated that the "Wednesday's Child" program had placed over 450 featured children since 1980, with over 1,700 other children being placed due to the excess of families that called in on a specific featured child.  "Wednesday's Child" continues at WFAA today, produced by anchor Gloria Campos since 1989 when Criswell departed the station for KDFW-Channel 4.
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After Gene Thomas' death in October, 1971, the show became a revolving door of co-hosts
for Suzie:  Travis Linn (L,) Jerry Park (C,) and Rosser McDonald (R)...
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Left:  Later co-hosts included Rene Castilla (L) and a young John Criswell (R.)  Suzie is in the center.
Right:  Some of the "etc..." cast and crew with guest:  From left, Bob Cardenas (floor crew chief; retired in 2006 as production manager at WFAA,) Clyde Chappell (production manager,) the late Don Easterwood (audio engineer,) Suzie, Shirley Spitler (assistant to Don Harris; was later station manager,) Murray Campbell (floor crew; standing, with vest,) Bob Steele (show guest; was a former B-western cowboy star,) John Sparks (floor crew; currently the executive producer for investigations and political coverage with KTVT-TV,) the late Jack Van Roy (weatherman) and
the late Ed Hogan (staff announcer and host of "Dialing for Dollars.")
Photo credit (R):  Ed Hogan, and special thanks to John Sparks for identifying everyone!

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Suzie prepares for a western play.  She is aided by the late Jim Pratt (R,) longtime co-host with Mike Shapiro
on WFAA's "Let Me Speak to the Manager"/"Inside Television."

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A name change from "News 8 etc..." to "The AM Show" in May, 1974, didn't help matters for Suzie or the show; she was fired from the program in November, 1974.  The show ran only two more months before being canceled in favor of ABC's "AM America" (later entitled, "Good Morning America.")  With Suzie's departure, the show floundered.  A public talent search immediately began, with several local women stepping in as trial co-hosts during November and December, 1974.  Eventually, Houston's Roberta Hammond was chosen.  It was too late to save the show, however, and it quietly expired on January 3, 1975.

The news/talk format was later resurrected by WFAA on October 18, 1976 as "AM," hosted by "etc..." ex John Criswell, along with Roberta Hammond, Doug Fox, Bill O'Reilly (yes, the same conservative talker of today,) Michael Brown, Troy Dungan, Byron Harris, Bud Buschardt, Bob Brown (now of "20/20,") and Gary Schwitzer.  After experimenting with "AM" and other similar successors, Channel 8 could never recapture the magic of "etc..."  During the 1980s, the station programmed a local morning newscast before "Good Morning America," and followed it with a syndicated newsmagazine ("Hour Magazine," for one) instead.

In September, 1994, WFAA introduced "Good Morning Texas," perhaps the closest attempt at re-creating "News 8 etc..."  A local, live, hour-long program, the show features a newsmagazine format, complete with a living room-styled interview area, kitchen and general approach.  It continues today and has featured hosts such as Scott Sams, Deborah Duncan, Debbie Denmon, Todd Whitthorne, Amy Vanderof, Michael Rey, Brenda Teele and the late Paula McClure.  In 2007, the show abandoned its living room environment for new digs at Channel 8's Victory Park studios, using many of the same sets and fixtures seen on WFAA's daily newscasts.

Suzie, of course, went on to enormous popularity as Ron Chapman's longtime "girl about town" on KVIL-FM's morning show from June, 1976, until 1995.  Suzie was initially an airborne reporter, but was later given her trademark "KVIL-o-Van" (bearing the vanity plate, "SOOZIE.")  Suzie once narrowly escaped certain death on May 20, 1977, when the KVIL helicopter, which had just dropped her off at the Northpark Inn helipad only minutes earlier after Suzie complained of nausea, developed mechanical problems on takeoff.  It crashed upside-down behind 4029 Colgate in University Park, killing substitute pilot Elliott Cohn.   Suzie was pregnant at the time with son Joshua, who was born the following August.  Cohn, who had only been with the company for two weeks, was filling in for his boss, Ken Montgomery, who normally piloted the KVIL aircraft.  Later, with a change in helicopter vendors in early 1978, Ken and Suzie grounded themselves for good on March 24, 1978, with Suzie taking to the van permanently thereafter.


Suzie Humphreys, today

Suzie has acted in stage productions of "Last of the Red Hot Lovers," "Perils of Pecos" (with Donald O'Connor,) and at Dallas' Crystal Palace in "I Do, I Do;" and in the movies "Crisis at Central High," "Return of Josey Wales" and "Deep in the Heart."  Currently, Suzie has taken her exceptional gift of gab to a new level as a motivational speaker.  She now resides in Fredericksburg, Texas, but still visits the Metroplex quite often for presentations and to see family.  Check out her website at www.suziehumphreys.com.

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L:  Suzie and her famous "KVIL-o-Van" (pronounced, "K-V-I-Yellow Van") in a station ad.
C:  Suzie with former KVIL morning show host Ron Chapman, R:  Suzie with webmaster Mike Shannon


Suzie's new book!  Find out more about "News 8 etc..." and her long career
in radio and television.  Order your copy at www.suziehumphreys.com
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GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN...
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DON HARRIS
1936-1978

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Don Harris was the NBC News correspondent who was shot and killed on November 18, 1978 while reporting from the ill-fated People's Temple in Jonestown, Guyana.  He was 42 years old.  Harris accompanied California congressman Leo Ryan on his trip to Jonestown to investigate rumors of torture and hostage-holding involving the former California-based ministry.  While Harris was permitted to interview leader Jim Jones, the entourage was soon told to leave and not return.  While attempting to board a plane back to safer territory, a truckload of Temple members sped towards the group.  "There might be violence," Don half-jokingly said, and asked NBC photographer Bob Brown to take pictures.  The members stopped and asked where everyone was.  They returned to the truck, then opened fire on the entourage.  Ryan, who moments before had been stabbed in the arm by a Temple member, died in the attack, along with Brown, Harris, and a defecting Temple family who asked to return to the States.  The next day, 908 Temple members, including leader Jim Jones, died from either drinking cyanide-laced Kool-Aid or being murdered.  The event was captured in the compelling NBC made-for-TV movie, "Guyana Tragedy:  The Story of Jim Jones," broadcast in 1980 and starring Powers Boothe.  (Note:  NBC photographer Bob Brown is not the same as former WFAA-TV news anchor and ABC's "20/20" reporter Bob Brown, who is alive and well at last check.)

Robert Morrill, a retired policeman in Monterey, CA, wrote recently and said, "I became good friends with Don when he was working at NBC out of the Burbank Studios.  I gave Don my bulletproof vest to take to Jonestown when he went with Congressman Ryan.  Unfortunately, they shot him (elsewhere.)"
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Suzie commented, "We all idolized Don, every one of us...he was a hero to us.  I (still) think of Don and Gene so often, even now after all of these years."
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While Don exceled as co-host and producer of "News 8 etc...", his forte was hard news.  He was an investigative reporter and lead news anchor for WFAA before, during and after his stint on "etc..."  He won numerous awards for his hard-hitting news stories, and was respected by his colleagues--one of whom identified Harris as "a tough, compulsive reporter who lived his work 24 hours a day."  Another unidentified source said, "(Harris) knows that the 'buddy-buddy' approach can win friends, but a point comes when you have to be a watchdog, too."

Don once said of himself, "Let's face it...I'm not easy to like.  I am impatient.  I don't like mistakes... Sometimes I seem to create severe antagonisms on the part of some in the viewing audience who hold certain public figures in awe.  I don't pretend that I can be totally objective; I seriously doubt that it's humanly possible.  I can try to be fair--and listen to all sides.  (But) I also feel a duty to probe behind what is said and relate statements to what the public figure does."

Harris continued:  "We (as the citizenry) have a tendency to lose sight of the fact that most elected officials have no particular specialized training for the job they sought and got.  They're working for us!  Why shouldn't the people have a right to know what they're up to once we've elected them?"
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John Sparks, former news producer for WFAA-TV, commented in 1978 that "(Harris) managed to shake this town up like very few reporters have been able to do before or since.  Don put his life on the line for a story many times.  He didn't talk much about it.  But I know there were a number of stories he went into, knowing that he could have been killed.  He was aware of the risks, but he was in a special category of news reporters."  Sparks continued:  "I would put him in a class with Edward R. Murrow, had he lived."
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The late Travis Linn, who later co-hosted "News 8 etc..." and was the Dallas news bureau chief for CBS at the time of Harris' death, called Don "a superb newsman, probably a bigger newsman than this town could handle," in a 1978 interview.  "There was no story he was afraid to look into.  He always did his homework, always touched all the bases, and he was a good, thoughtful writer.  His style was careful and thorough, yet he did become controversial because he loved to play the devil's advocate and bring a lot of life into his stories."  But that attitude apparently did not hurt viewers' regard for Harris:  "He came down hard on a number of investigative stories," Linn continued, "and I think the public respected him for it."  One example of Harris' style was an investigative report he took on, where he smuggled marijuana across the Mexican border to prove how easily it could be done, and another where he sneaked weapons through the new DFW Airport's elaborate security system!  The airport security piece earned Don a citation from the Associated Press, and another for a story he did on "scandalous" emergency hospital admissions practices.
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The late Chip Moody remembered Don fondly in his 1995 book, Moments:  The Life and Career of a Texas Newsman:  "Don was never shy or retiring.  He turned in some excellent investigative reports and was also an affable host of a morning news program, 'News 8 etc...'"
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Don, whose real name was Roy Darwin Humphrey, was from Vidalia, Georgia, working first for radio station WVOP in his hometown in 1957, then in television for WTVT in Tampa, FL as a staff announcer from 1964-1968, and at WTOP in Washington, DC from 1968-1969.  He joined WFAA in December, 1969.  Harris served as a reporter and lead news anchor until 1973 when he left for NBC in Los Angeles.  At NBC, he covered the fall of Saigon in 1975 and reported from the trenches in Vietnam.  He was nicknamed "Mr. Lucky" by American soldiers who were amazed at his ability to dodge bullets and land mines, while still able to always bring back the story.  Harris won four Emmys for news coverage during his career.  Don was survived by a wife, Shirley; two daughters, Claire and Lauren; a son, Jeffrey; and an uncle, Dr. A. J. Morris.  The family lived in Woodland Hills, CA, a suburb of Los Angeles.  Don's genealogy and family information can be found here.
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Don was featured in a touching 1972 station promo with his family.  Left:  Don, with Claire and Lauren.
Center:  Shirley, Don, Claire, Jeffrey and Lauren play a game.  Right:  Don with Lauren.
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Harris was presumed dead based on preliminary reports from Guyana.  The next day's headlines
would announce the grisly story of the 908 deceased Temple members who either drank poison or were murdered.


.The last photo ever taken of Don Harris; he is the tall man, second from left.  The plane in the background
was to take the NBC crew and Congressman Leo Ryan back to safe territory.  Moments later, Harris, Ryan,
photographer Bob Brown and a defecting family were shot dead by Temple security.  This film was
found on the grounds, along with Harris's interview with leader Jim Jones.  NBC used the compelling
footage with their news reports.


GENE THOMAS
1940-1971

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Gene Thomas died October 16, 1971 at age 31, while on assignment for "News 8 etc..."  He was a passenger in a jet-powered drag racer driven by world land-speed recordholder Art Arfons.  Gene, whose real name was Thomas Eugene Alred, was killed when the race car blew a tire at the conclusion of a 286 MPH run at the Dallas International Motor Speedway in Lewisville, TX.  The car veered into a railing near the end of the track, turned over, and Gene was thrown from the vehicle on impact.  The accident killed two young spectators in the area as well.  Arfons survived the accident, but retired from racing afterwards.

"It was a terrible, tragic accident," Suzie said, "It left a great hole in all of us who loved him."  In a strange twist of fate, Suzie was the reporter first chosen to ride along with Arfons, but decided at the last moment to take a vacation that week instead.
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Suzie said of Gene:  "He was amazing!  A great news man...a great talent...a great friend.  He was as witty as he was serious, he could do light news as well as hard, he could shift demeanor and jump from one story to the next easily and with marvelous style."
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Thomas first worked on "News 8 etc..." as the news anchor that was regularly cut away to during the show to provide news updates.  He was promoted to co-host in August, 1971, a mere two months before his fatal accident.

Thomas' contributions to the industry were not overlooked.  North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas) set up a scholarship in Gene's name through the Association of Broadcasting Executives of Texas for outstanding students in the school's journalism department.  Immediately after his death, the Dallas Chaparrals basketball team (now the San Antonio Spurs) honored Gene with a "Gene Thomas Memorial Night" game on October 31, 1971.  Some of the proceeds were used to establish an education fund for his children.
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Gene was born in Pawhuska, OK, and grew up in Tulsa. He attended Central High School there. Gene had a charismatic personality and an inquiring mind which made him a natural for a career in broadcasting.  After a four-year stint in the Navy (where he had his first radio show while stationed in Iceland,) he worked for a small radio station in Coffeyville, Kansas, then to KAKC Radio in Tulsa as a top 40 DJ before going into news at that station.   In 1966, he broke into television as a sportscaster at KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City before becoming a news anchor there.  Following that, he was news director of KWTV-TV in Beaumont, TX.  In 1969, he came to work for WFAA as the Fort Worth news bureau chief.  After about 3 months, he moved into the news department in Dallas, then was promoted to evening news anchor.  One of Gene's major news assignments was traveling to Vietnam with Ross Perot.

Thomas was survived by his second wife, Linda Brooks Alred (who still resides in the Dallas area;) a son, Darin (who now lives in Tulsa;) and daughters Monica (from Gene's first marriage; she currently lives in Kansas City) and Jill (currently living in Miami.)  He now has three granddaughters and three grandsons who wish very much that they could have known him.

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L:  Gene's fascination with cars would later cause his untimely death.  R:  Gene at the "etc..." table.
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L:  Gene also served as a WFAA news anchor.  R:  Gene's former home in South Dallas, today
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Gene Thomas' obituary, as published in the Dallas Morning News on October 17, 1971.

Special thanks to Suzie Humphreys for supplying numerous rare photographs and for sharing her personal stories.  Thanks as well to Linda Alred (Gene's wife) and Monica Theis (Gene's daughter) for their reflections, information and clarifications; and to former KVIL pilot Ken Montgomery and former WFAA employees Murphy Martin and Ralph Gould for their remembrances.

This website and its contents are copyright 1988-2007 Mike Shannon. Images are copyright of their respective owners. If you feel your copyright is being infringed upon by its appearance in this website, please email me and it will be removed. Copying of any or all information or images shown for use on other websites is prohibited without permission.  All black-and-white photos are courtesy of Suzie Humphreys, except the final photo of Don Harris, which is credited to NBC and the late Bob Brown.  Color 'snappies' are credited to WFAA-TV, Dallas.  Obituaries and news reports are credited to the Dallas Times Herald, the Dallas Morning News and the Eastfield (College) EtCetera.  KVIL photos are credited to Infinity Broadcasting, Inc.  Print ad reproduction is credited to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

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