Sue Simmons, the bottle and my childhood
The beloved Sue Simmons. (Photo via NYDailyNews.com)
And another cherished myth of my childhood just died…
Like many other children of the ’80s in the New York City environs, WNBC’s “Live at 5″ broadcast was part of my daily ritual, the 5 p.m. local news program serving as the headlines and interview-laden demarcation point between the end of the school day and the start of the family evening. Many was the twilight when, as my mother whipped up another delicious dinner with ease, I would finish every last scrap of my homework and then hurridly scamper into the family room to help set the table in anticipation of my father’s arrival from work — all the while the dulcet tones of anchors (and local news legends) Sue Simmons and Jack Cafferty lilting in the background.
Note: Parts of that memory may be somewhat exaggerated.
But the point is this: I grew up with Sue Simmons giving me my local news and traffic, and to this day I cannot think of “Live at 5″’s dramatically lit interview chairs and the mysteriously dark background that surrounded them — or traffic tie-ups on the Kosciuszko Bridge — without thinking of Sue. She was a kindly part of my childhood, a familiar and welcoming voice while I struggled with geometry homework and French verb conjugation.
Today, I learned that Sue’s jolly demeanor and friendly take on local news may not have been entirely natural: It seems she occasionally had a nip or two before showtime.
Back in the ’80s, she said, she would on occasion drink cocktails before anchoring the news. Eventually she stopped, she continued to explain, because she noticed the alcohol was making her eyes red. (via Sue Simmons Admits to Drinking-and-Anchoring During the ’80s — New York Observer)
Oh, Sue… how could you… when I trusted…
Wait…
Actually, the more I think about it, the more her admission makes me love her even more. The more it makes me long for those heady days of long ago in the news industry, when anchors and editors kept a bottle of booze in the desk drawer and a little hoppy lubricant was an accepted and natural part of the news-gathering process. It may all be a myth propagated by the old guard and embraced by us kids — the way every generation likes to think the generation before had it easier or better — but the whole thing makes me think even more that my 1980s WNBC news team was a fun bunch, even if I was a bit too young at the time to realize just how fun.
For those of you not from New York City or its tri-state suburbs, you may know Sue Simmons these days in two other ways:
1. The fantastic band Fountains of Wayne name drops her and fellow anchor Chuck Scarborough in their song “Traffic and Weather” — a grooving and amusing paean to local news broadcasts…
2. She made this unfortunate slip-up on the news last year:
But hey… it all just proves Sue is human and prone to errors, just like the rest of us. Bless her…
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Drink or no drink…New York loves Sue Simmons. A news icon, a New York City institution and the legendary beautiful face of WNBC since 1980.
Why would WNBC even think of replacing Sue Simmons at 5:00 p.m. with the absolutely awful “LX New York”? Sue Simmons is now approaching her 30th year at WNBC and is the most beloved news icon in New York television history. One wonders what top management at WNBC is doing lately — besides destroying their reputation as the former media crown jewel of news in New York City — the largest television market in America. If it were not for Chuck Scarborough, Sue Simmons and Janice Huff, what would really be left of WNBC? For over 35 years, WNBC has been the home to the top news talent in New York City, yet in recent years WNBC has completely failed to promote their legendary world class news team. Instead, WNBC has chosen to force feed New York City with the supposedly trendy lifestyle program “LX New York” in a timeslot that for almost 30 years was the home to “Live at Five”, one of the most successful news/entertainment programs in the history of modern day television.
I strongly encourage WNBC to bring Sue Simmons back to television at 5:00 p.m. where she belongs with “Live at Five” back in its original news/entertainment format. Sue Simmons has less then 1.25 years remaining on her contract with WNBC at which time she will most likely retire after spending close to 34 uninterrupted years in local news with NBC-Universal.
I appeal to all fans of Sue Simmons to immediately contact VICKIE BURNS, Vice President of Content and Audience Development at WNBC (VICKIE.BURNS@NBCUNI.COM) and strongly request that WNBC return Sue Simmons back to the air at 5:00 p.m. where she created the iconic “Live at Five” back in 1980. There is only one Sue Simmons — the premier female local news anchor in America. Although “LX New York” was a horrible mistake, it is not too late to reverse the error and bring “Live at Five” back at 5:00 p.m. for the duration of Sue Simmons tenure with WNBC. There is plenty of slot openings for “LX New York” after 2:00 a.m. where this type of fluff belongs.
/NGS
Nothing to add but: Amen.
In response to another comment. See in context »How else could any news anchor in NYC handle 30 years of murder, mayhem and subway fare increases? I doubt she’s alone in this respect.
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