Jessica Savitch

Jessica Savitch

Born: February 1, 1947
Died: October 23, 1983
in Wilmington, Delaware, USA
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. 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. She also hosted PBS's public affairs program Frontline from its January 1983 debut until her death as a passenger in an automobile accident later that year.

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 incident caused widespread speculation that she was abusing drugs. Savitch died three weeks later by drowning after the car she was riding in as a passenger was accidentally driven into a canal during a heavy rainstorm. No drugs and very little alcohol were present in either her system or that of her friend who was driving.

In life, Savitch was renowned for her audience appeal and her skill as an on-camera news reader, although she drew criticism for her relative lack of journalism experience. Prior to joining NBC News, she was a popular local anchorwoman in Philadelphia and before that, while working at a Houston television station, she was the first female news anchor in the South. Posthumously, Savitch became the subject of two biographies, television documentaries, and a television film entitled Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story.

The 1996 feature film Up Close & Personal starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert Redford was very loosely based on her life. Savitch's experiences as a pioneer anchorwoman also helped inspire Will Ferrell to make the 2004 film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.

Movies for Jessica Savitch...

Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind
Title: Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: January 27, 2020
Type: Movie
Explore the personal and professional triumphs and challenges of actor Natalie Wood, which have often been overshadowed by her premature death.
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Title: The Movies
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: July 7, 2019
Type: TV
Explore American cinema through the decades and the cultural, societal and political shifts that framed its evolution.
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Jonestown: The Women Behind the Massacre
Title: Jonestown: The Women Behind the Massacre
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: February 26, 2018
Type: Movie
The story of four women in Jim Jones’ inner circle who helped plan the 1978 Jonestown Massacre, one of the largest murder-suicide events in modern history which left 918 men, women and children dead.
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Title: The Eighties
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: March 31, 2016
Type: TV
The third installment from executive producers Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman and Mark Herzog, following in the footsteps of critically-acclaimed series THE SIXTIES and THE SEVENTIES, tackles 10 years shaped by exceptionalism and excess. Like its predecessors, THE EIGHTIES intersperses rare archival newsreel footage, interviews, and comments by historians, journalists, politicians, celebrities and others, painting a perspective-rich picture of a vibrant decade. Episodes examine the age of Reagan, the AIDS crisis, the end of the Cold War, Wall Street corruption, the evolving TV and music scene, and everything in between.
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Title: The Seventies
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: June 11, 2015
Type: TV
A documentary series focusing on the ongoing Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, evolving music industry, the Iran Hostage Crisis, the sexual revolution, and the rise of foreign and domestic terrorism.
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Bowling for Columbine
Title: Bowling for Columbine
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: October 9, 2002
Type: Movie
This is not a film about gun control. It is a film about the fearful heart and soul of the United States, and the 280 million Americans lucky enough to have the right to a constitutionally protected Uzi. From a look at the Columbine High School security camera tapes to the home of Oscar-winning NRA President Charlton Heston, from a young man who makes homemade napalm with The Anarchist's Cookbook to the murder of a six-year-old girl by another six-year-old. Bowling for Columbine is a journey through the US, through our past, hoping to discover why our pursuit of happiness is so riddled with violence.
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Title: Intimate Portrait
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: November 14, 1993
Type: TV
Intimate Portrait is a biographical television series on the Lifetime Television cable network focusing on different celebrities, which includes interviews with each subject. Among the people profiled were Grace Kelly, Natalie Wood, Carly Simon, Jackie Kennedy, Katharine Hepburn, Carol Burnett, Tanya Tucker, and Marla Maples.
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Title: Frontline
Character: Self - Host
Released: January 17, 1983
Type: TV
Since it began in 1983, Frontline has been airing public-affairs documentaries that explore a wide scope of the complex human experience. Frontline's goal is to extend the impact of the documentary beyond its initial broadcast by serving as a catalyst for change.
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Title: Late Night with David Letterman
Character: Self
Released: February 1, 1982
Type: TV
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night with Conan O'Brien then filled the time slot. As of March 2, 2009, the slot has been filled by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. It will be filled by Seth Meyers in the spring of 2014, after Fallon becomes host of The Tonight Show.
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Nasty Habits
Title: Nasty Habits
Character: Self
Released: January 28, 1977
Type: Movie
In a Philadelphia convent, two nuns battle it out to be elected to the position of head abbess, and neither is about to let anything stand in the way of getting what she wants.
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Title: NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt
Character: Self
Released: August 3, 1970
Type: TV
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News, the news division of the NBC television network in the United States, and is the #1-rated newscast in America. NBC Nightly News is produced from Studio 3B at NBC Studios at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City. Since 2015, the broadcast has been anchored by Lester Holt on weeknights, José Díaz-Balart on Saturday and Kate Snow on Sunday. On weeknights, it is broadcast live over most NBC stations from 6:30-7:00 p.m. Eastern and occasionally updated for Pacific Time Zone viewers in a "Western Edition". Its current theme music was composed by John Williams.