The G body wagons were nice, but always looked very plain without the woodgrain. I want to be constructive with my comments. New Hope Police Chief Walter Everett said the two were last seen having dinner at the Chez Odette restaurant, about 35 miles northeast of Philadelphia, at about 7 p.m. EDT Sunday. The body of the car's driver, Martin Fischbein, 34, a New York Post newspaper vice president, also was in the car. It sounds like the whole car flipped upside down as it went into the canal. Stay calm, lower a window (if lower-able) float thru. Thats very typical of the G-body cars interior trim was not durable in the slightest, and would quickly age/fall off/disintegrate but the car itself was generally sturdy and rugged, and the drivetrain options would last. After the jump, thoughts from Sue Simmons, Fred Francis, and Linda Ellerbeeplus Lori Savitch on the journalism scholarships that honor her sister thirty years later. Miss Savitch and Fischbein drowned Oct. 26, 1983. She was a native of Kennett Square, near Philadelphia, and grew up in Margate N.J. She graduated from Ithaca College and went to work at WCBS Radio in New York in 1969. As to the appropriateness of the article, there are others on stuff like bicycles, trains, buses, etc. A lawyer said the defendants who will pay the Savitch estate under the settlement are the restaurant, the newspaper, the environmental department and Fischbeins estate. Compared to the man, the ad was full of taste. I remember her well, and as an aside her younger sister Lori worked at WPXI TV in Pittsburgh as a local anchor in the early 1990s. Following high school, Savitch attended Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, as a communications major. ", Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Jessica Savitch of NBC-TV Killed in Car Accident", "Read the Angry Letter the Real-Life Ron Burgundy Sent PEOPLE in 1983", "The Savitch Story: Confirmation & Denial: '60 Minutes' Correspondent Ed Bradley Confirms Affair With NBC Anchorwoman", "Melvin R. Korn, 75, Advertising Executive", "Liver Disease Linked to Death Of a TV Journalist's Husband", "Two Views of Doomed Newscaster Jessica Savitch", "Jessica Savaged: How Hollywood Heterosexualized, "Inside Television: Jessica Savitch Biography Stirs Emotions And Charges: 'Almost Golden - Jessica Savitch And The Selling Of Television News,' By Gwenda Blair", "Remembering Jessica Savitch, 30 Years After Her Death", "Almost Golden: Jessica Savitch and the Selling of Television News by Gwenda Blair", "TV Review: 'Savitch': An Anchorwoman's Tragic Fast-Track Life, Career", "Ward Is 'Almost Golden', But Movie Is Not", "IGN Visits the Set of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy", JessicaSavitch.com | A Professional Retrospective, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jessica_Savitch&oldid=1152361155, This page was last edited on 29 April 2023, at 19:38. O ne Volkswagen employee died and two others were injured after being struck by a vehicle at the German automaker's plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Saturday, according to local police. [2][35] Lifetime also aired a documentary entitled Intimate Portrait: Jessica Savitch that was based on the perspectives of Savitch biographer Alanna Nash.[29]. the Ultimate Violation", won a Clarion Award for excellence from Women in Communications, Inc. The reputation followed her to NBC. She also worked as a correspondent in Washington, reported on the 1980 Presidential campaign and was the anchor of a PBS documentary series, ''Frontline. (Okay, enough with the car detailing metaphors.). KYW producer Cliff Abromats stated, She [Savitch] was very good on her feet. Miss Savitch worked on several award- winning documentaries and special reports there, including a five-part series, ''Rape . One more thing-I remember the week she died as being a big week for news; first the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, and then the Great Big Battle of Grenada. Those of us who grew up with the Kennedys were quietly relieved that Teddy had knocked himself out of the presidential stakes he was nowhere near the politician John and Bobby were. Katz a tip, email him here. This is about Jessica Savitch, not so much about a car. I am old enough to have seen Ms. Savitchs newscasts but had forgotten the details surrounding her death. Raynes declined to disclose terms of the settlement Wednesday, but KYW-TV in Philadelphia reported that the agreement totaled more than $8 million, equal to what Miss Savitchs lifetime earnings would have been. National Lampoon (magazine), the original humor magazine from 1970 to 1998-wikipedia. If you want a site tailored only to your specific interests, start your own. [6], For the series entitled Lady Law, Savitch primarily interviewed female law enforcement professionals from other cities. By Alissa Krinskyon Oct. 18, 2013 - 7:00 AM. Jessica Savitch & Death of Princess Grace From Car Accident - 1 Yr [4], Savitch's second marriage in March 1981 to Dr. Donald Payne, her gynecologist, lasted only a few months. Is that picture in the front seat part of one either Jessicas or Martins dead body? On October 23, 1983, at the age of 36, she was killed in an automobile accident in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, in the United States of America. No beef jerky, no cocktail peanuts, no onions or olives for martinis. A common thread has emerged in the comments on this article that leads back to my opening statement. Walter Everett, the chief of the New Hope police said that it had been raining and that visibility was very poor at the time of the accident. There are no guardrails and it was raining heavily at the time. [5], This series on childbirth began as scheduled on Monday and on Thursday, Nov. 22, 1973 Thanksgiving Day showed much of the actual birth. Remembering Jessica Savitch 30 Years After Her Death - Blogs Miss Savitch was born on Feb. 1, 1948, at Kennett Square, Pa. The big wagon went over the side of the canal (which was usually dry) and the mud sealed the doors shut. She was married in 1981 to Dr. Donald R. Payne, an obstetrician- gynecologist, but five months later she discovered her husband dead in their home, an apparent suicide. Considering this story was pulled once because a few details about the car Ms. Savitch was killed in, (or was about Oldsmobile Cutlasses?) The passenger side dash vent looks like an A-body Olds, definitely not the rather unusual B/C body Olds dash vent. Jessica Savitch didnt, or perhaps couldnt; in that era, such a move would have been a career killer. The overturned vehicle was spotted by a local couple who saw automobile wheels in the canal and called police, the chief said. Fischbein's body was still strapped behind the wheel, with Savitch and her dog in the back seat. This wagon was officially known as a Cutlass Cruiser, until it morphed into a Ciera a few years later. She . Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. 'Both victims died of asphyxia due to freshwater drowning,' Rosko said. As for Jessica, I couldnt even begin to describe how messed up she was toward the end. To send TVNewser senior editor A.J. Not terrible, mind you, it just seems like a couple of more cycles of editing could have buffed out the minor defects before it was published. Jessica Savitch Wikipedia Republished // WIKI 2 She began to fill more roles in NBC's news programming, serving as a regular panel member on Meet The Press, contributing to the news magazine programs Prime Time Saturday and Prime Time Sunday, and contributing commentary to the NBC Radio Network. (Crim delivered the eulogy at her memorial service after her death.) Savitch won recognition multi-part feature stories on unusual (for that time) topics. Other than a little carburetor trouble and the infamous thin rear backing plates it was a very reliable cruiser that got decent mileage and actually had more than expected power. The Philadelphia Daily News reported one lawyer said the New York Post, whose insurance covered the leased station wagon in which Miss Savitch died, paid $7 million of the settlement. An audio line failed, delaying the debate and leaving three KYW reporters, including Savitch, to fill the 27 minutes of air time before the audio could be restored. Savitch was one of the first women to anchor an evening network newscast solo, following in the footsteps of Marlene Sanders of ABC News and Catherine Mackin of NBC News. Mary Jo Kopechne was another young woman born in Pennsylvania, who met an infamous end in an Oldsmobile under water. Tom Brokaw, the anchor of ''The NBC Nightly News,'' said: ''She was a dedicated, hard-working broadcaster who felt very strongly that women should have a more active role in the profession.'' I can think of so many others: Bonnie and Clydes Ford, the last car Elizabeth Short was seen in.a Studebaker I think. Investigators said Fischbein, 34, mistakenly drove the car onto the towpath thinking it was an exit. NBC's Jessica Savitch reports on the death of Princess Grace Kelly, following injuries sustained in a car accident in 1982. It ended in an auto accident 12 years ago, but she is still one of the most talked-about personalities ever. We took them on many family vacations and hauled a lot of things in their cargo areas. Get TVNewser delivered straight to your inbox, To send TVNewser senior editor A.J. The only other death by station wagon celebrity event I know of is the 1962 death of the actor/comedian Ernie Kovacs in Los Angeles. [4][19][20] These assertions were disputed by Savitch's family and some of her friends after her death. The only chance she might have had would be out the tailgate if it could have been opened from the inside, and even then, it would have to be immediately before the car was completely engulfed in mud. Mr. Fischbein, 34, who lived in Woodmere, N.Y., had worked for the New York Post since 1978. Learn how your comment data is processed. He was lighting a cigar! [25], In 1979, Savitch received an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Ithaca College, her alma mater. NBC News president Reuven Frank said she served as "an example for many young women looking for a career in television journalism, as a symbol of the gradual disappearance of the obstacles to women in broadcast journalism.". Iwas privileged to know her and mourn her loss, along with friends and family, so many years later., Former KYW Co-Anchor Mort Crim, who delivered the eulogy at Savitchs funeral: Her untimely passing was a loss to me, personally, and to the world of TV journalism. NBC's Jessica Savitch Drowns in Car in Canal - The Washington Post I dont know that Ive ever heard such a thing. She was 36 at the time of her death. According to officials in Bucks County, Miss Savitch, who was 35 years old, and Martin Fischbein, 34, the vice president and assistant general manager of The New York Post, were found inside a station wagon that was upside down in five feet of water in the Delaware Canal near New Hope, 30 miles northeast of Philadelphia. This is the infamous digest of legend. This would clearly indicate the post is a work in progress. A tragic story and one that was probably only slightly less horrifying then the 1989 death of Leslie Ann Pluhar who had her Yugo blown off the Mackinac Bridge. "[22], On October 23, 1983, twenty days after her problematic NBC broadcast, Savitch had dinner with Martin Fischbein, vice president of the New York Post, at the Chez Odette restaurant in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Fischbein was a vice president and assistant general manager for the Post and also served as personnel and circulation director. It had a two piece tailgatethe glass part was held up by gas struts which failed often and caused the glass to hit folks on the head (ow)..ask me how I know and the tailgate which swung down. Lynne, it does have something to do with cars. They drove about 600 feet over a dirt-and-gravel area, and past two warning signs. She was a bit before my time, and although Ive never heard of her before now, the story of a celebritys downward spiral and death in a car accident sounds all too familiar . She Could Have Been Diane Sawyer | Dame Magazine Friends say this started a long, dark spiral that ended with her death. His death was ruled a suicide. She grew up, at times slightly impoverished, and had to fight to go to college and study broadcasting. were in doubt AND this is a website about cars and their owners. In all the articles Ive read, it just refers to an Oldsmobile station wagon and Im not well-versed on the interiors, especially after they have been upside-down and underwater for a few hours. which no one seems to mind. Everett said that there were no guardrails in the restaurant parking lot to keep a car from going into the canal, and that in 1977 a man died after driving into the canal after leaving the same restaurant. There used to be people called winos, but I guess theyre all extinct now. As a kid, my Dad had two Cutlass Cruiser wagons that were a twin of the woodless (brown?) After her death, her family filed an insurance suit against New York Post, who had insured the car Fischbein was driving at the time of their death. She also had served on its board of trustees. No drugs and very little alcohol were present in her system at the time of her death. Results were expected in several days. The image drove ratings. In her six years at NBC, Miss Savitch served as the anchor of weekend editions of ''The NBC Nightly News'' and ''NBC News Digests,'' the one-minute prime-time news updates, and made frequent appearances on ''Meet the Press'' and the ''Today'' show. I knew the cars are only Nebensache (sideshow) in our lives. The available data shows that safety problems are getting worse, not better, for America's 160 million-strong civilian workforce. The inaccuracies involving the Cutlass give this story the tone of gruesome celebrity death spirals about on a par with The National Enquirer. The car fell 10 feet from the canal wall into the water and landed upside down. As they drove in rain and fog from the parking lot of a restaurant in New Hope, their car went off a towpath and fell into the Delaware Canal. In 1972, Savitch joined KYW-TV, then the NBC affiliate (now CBS O&O) in Philadelphia, as a general assignment reporter and weekend anchor under a five-year contract. THE REPORTER'S TRAGIC STORY - The Washington Post He died a short time later. She could think fast and ask the right questions, and she had the ability so many lack, to actually listen to the answer. I'll be wearing one of her amethyst birthstone rings - a gift from her sister, Lori, whose website celebrates Savitch's . . But all was not right in Jessicas world. Tortured Talent. The rise and tragic end of Anchor Woman - Medium According to her two biographers, Gwenda Blair and Alanna Nash, Savitch was haunted throughout her life by her father's untimely death, and pursued a career partly to compensate for his loss.[4]. Thereafter, although she was a general assignment reporter and helped to cover the 1980 Republican and Democratic conventions, she was primarily known as an anchor. The TV universe was narrow three or four national networks and their local affiliates. There was no evidence to suggest alcohol or drug abuse, Dr. Rosko said, but he said that toxicological tests would not be completed for a week. The only man she every really loved beat her terribly. Starting Monday she was to become anchor of 'NBC News Digest,' and in January she was to anchor the Sunday editions of 'Nightly News.'. Jessica Savitch - Net Worth 2023, Age, Height, Weight, Bio, Family It was posted two days ago but was temporarily withdrawn for revision. Early on Aug. 2, 1981, a few months after she suffered a miscarriage, Miss Savitch returned from New York to find her husband hanging unconscious in the basement of their home. Comment. And R.I.P Oldsmobile. Ms. Savitch's colleagues expressed shocked over her death. The station wagon veered too far to the left and went over the edge into the shallow water of the canal. Almost Golden states, when KYW brought the scene into the audiences living rooms on a warm holiday evening, it made for powerful television. In addition, Topping told Savitch, Youve made your career.[5], Savitch often personalized her stories by becoming part of the story herself, such as serving as an undercover decoy [with police posted unobstrusively along the route] for two weeks as part of her series on rape. When it appeared this baby might not be born in time for the heavily-advertised series, the crew even compiled a list of other expectant mothers in the area as back-up, although luckily the baby was born four days before the start date. [23], Savitch's family and a group of her friends later sued the New York Post (whose insurance covered the leased car Fischbein was driving), Fischbein's estate, Chez Odette, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for damages in Savitch's death. Up Close and Personal was originally intended as a biographical film about Savitch. While getting drunk on beer=you have an alcohol problem. One year later, news anchor Jessica Savitch lost her own life in a car accident in Bucks County. But he said blood and tissue samples were taken for toxology tests. While getting drunk on beer=you have an alcohol problem.. September 4, 1995 Jessica Savitch lived a much too short and much too unhappy life. Nobody ever talked about her big heart, her loyalty, her sense of humor, and her fabulousness as a person. The car went off the bridge, Kennedy escaped the car and left the scene, and didnt report the crash until the car, with Kopechnes body inside, was discovered next morning. This was the genesis of the Jessica Savitch Scholarships at her alma mater, Ithaca College, as well as Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania [in Savitchs native Philadelphia]. One . A good automotive story is a good automotive story. [30][31], The second, Golden Girl: The Story of Jessica Savitch (Dutton, 1988) by Alanna Nash, became the basis of the 1996 theatrical film Up Close & Personal starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert Redford. By LOUIS TOSCANO. I did not expect such a somber write up on a typically festive, party filled day. Classic Cars of Infamy. Last week marked the 30-year anniversary of her tragic death in a car accident at the age of 35 (Jessica Savitch Remembered). She would die tragically two days later. At KHOU she was hailed as the first anchorwoman in the South (although that would be contested). However, she blamed the problems on a teleprompter malfunction, while her agent said it was due to the effects of pain medication in relation to recent facial reconstructive surgery following a boating accident. [26], The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia posthumously inducted Savitch into their Hall of Fame in 2006. . That happened right after the first of the Ted Kennedy comments! October 25, 1983. [19] Biographers have also asserted that Savitch was bisexual and had romantic relationships with women as well as men. If thats an actual picture of the car involved, then the story is wrong. Twenty days later, Jessica Savitch drowned in a car accident in New Hope, Pennsylvania, on October 23, 1983. EspecIally in NYCthe wealthy are not so much into cars! In this photo shes roughly 35. Death by Station Wagon: The Fall of Jessica Savitch By Lynne Vogt - Posted on December 31, 2014 At the height of her fame she was known for Gucci belts, Halston dresses, piles of cocaine, penthouses and pills. Jessicas trauma and drug abuse kept her from doing the same. I had old blue for over 3 years as my daily driver to college and racked up an impossible 151K miles on her (bought with 62k) and traded her for a 2 door Cutlass with bucket seats to better fit a sportier image after college. According to Nash and John Gregory Dunne (who worked on the screenplay and wrote the book Monster: Living Off the Big Screen about the making of the film), this was because the filmmakers, including The Walt Disney Company that was financing the film, considered Savitch's life story too downbeat to be popular at the box office. Finally, I really hate to say this: this kind of story is NOT what I come to Curbside Classics for. Savitch went on to bethefirst woman to anchor a weekend newscast for NBC, and perhaps was best known for her highly-visible primetimenews capsule updates. CRACKED .. open..R,I,P, Your email address will not be published. Probably wouldnt have made any difference. And that kept him from ever getting to the White House. She graduated from Ithaca College in 1968. Jessica Beth Savitch (February 1, 1947 - October 23, 1983) was an American television journalist who was the weekend anchor of NBC Nightly News and daily newsreader for NBC News during the late 1970s and early 1980s. She was also assigned to anchor short NBC News updates (initially called NBC News Update, later called NBC News Capsule and NBC News Digest) that ran approximately one minute and aired between regular prime time programs each evening, drawing a high number of viewers. Lets address the worst first. Jessica had a wide following of admirers, first in Philadelphia and then on the network and just when she seemed to have found personal happiness, the untimely end.. [3] In 1959, after her father died at the age of 33, her family moved from Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, to Margate City, New Jersey. . On leaving, they apparently made a wrong turn from the parking lot onto a towpath that runs along the canal. Since last summer, when Connie Chung took her place as the anchor on the Saturday ''Nightly News,'' she had delivered the network's weekday news updates. For about two years she was the most riveting performer on U.S. television. Her autobiography, "Anchorwoman," was published in 1982. 1982 was the first year Oldsmobile spun Cutlass off into its own marque. I read this story for at least 2 reasons: Contributors/editors here are occasionally playful with the headlines. Shortly before her death in October 1983, Savitch gave a broadcast of NBC News Digest in which her delivery was erratic and she appeared to be under the influence of an illicit substance. The suit was settled for $8 million, most of which was paid by the Post. Neither Savitch nor Fischbein had any drugs other than alcohol in their system at the time of death, and they had consumed only small amounts of alcoholabout half a glass of wine each. The last thing I personally want this site to be is Stepford Carstories. I dont remember really listening to NBC news much. Her end came in an Oldsmobile station wagon. So dont click on the title link and comment then .?.. But it all came to an end on a rainy autumn nightin 1983, when the car Savitch was in plunged into a Bucks County, Pennsylvania canal, killing her and the cars driver, 34-year-old Martin Fischbein, a vice presidentat the New York Post. But she was perhaps best known for her most recent assignment delivering NBC's one-minute prime-time News Updates during the week. As they drove in rain and fog from the parking lot of a restaurant in New Hope, their car went off a towpath and fell into the Delaware Canal. Resentment from coworkers hurt, and led to her eventually being pulled off the Senate beat. The chief said the incident is still under investigation. The bodies of Ms. Savitch and Fischbein and Ms. Savitch's Siberian Husky, Chewy, were found in a car mired in the bottom of a canal near Philadelphia. After their meal, they began to drive home about 7:15p.m., with Fischbein behind the wheel and Savitch in the back seat with her dog, Chewy. The interior trim pieces did not last long but I recall the drivetrain as being very durable, which is why Dad liked them. Tragic as her death was and still is, its nearly fitting she died in such an ordinary, if humble car. The car was found upside down in about four feet of water early yesterday, a member of the Lambertville, N.J., rescue squad said. A 1982 TV Guide poll named her the fourth most trusted news anchor in the country, above many of the most established male anchors of the period. Commentary: Better, safer workplaces are worth fighting for With some cosmetic changes, the Cutlass wagons puttered well into the 90s. The incident caused widespread speculation that she was abusing drugs. [citation needed] Shortly before she left KYW, Savitch exploded in an angry tantrum during a commercial break because the pages of her news script had been provided out of order. Instead he bought the unfortunate 1979 blue Fairmont with butt numbing bench seat, no A/C and few options other than the 200 six and automatic. Interesting, chilling account.