Dennis Richmond (born May 26, 1943) is an American retired news anchor who spent 40 years with Oakland, California-based KTVU.Dennis Richmond on 40 years broadcasting news
Steven Winn, '' San Francisco Chronicle, May 16, 2008, access date December 24, 2011

Biography

Early life

Richmond grew up in

Rossford, Ohio Rossford is a city in Wood County, Ohio, Wood County, Ohio, United States, located along the Maumee River in the Toledo metropolitan area. The population was 6,293 at the United States Census 2010, 2010 census. The town includes the intersection o ...

and graduated from

Rossford High School Rossford High School is a public high school in Rossford, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Rossford Exempted Village School District. The district mainly serves the city of Rossford and also includes parts of the city of N ...

in 1961. He served in the United States Army from 1961 to 1964 with the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

. He attended Wayne State University in Detroit from 1965 to 1967. He then attended Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1969 on a scholarship which he was offered while working at KTVU.

Career

He joined KTVU on April 23, 1968 as a clerk typist, and became anchor in 1976—one of the first African-Americans to become chief anchor of a major-market TV newscast. He co-anchored alongside Barbara Simpson from 1978 to 1986. Elaine Corral served as co-anchor from 1986 to 1998, followed by Leslie Griffith through 2006. His last co-anchor was Julie Haener. During his career he and his wife settled in Pleasanton, California.Dennis Richmond's connections
October 24, 1999, access date December 25, 2011 After 40 years with KTVU, including 31 as anchor, Richmond retired on May 26, 2008, his 65th birthday.Ex-news anchor Dennis Richmond has no regrets
Julian Guthrie, ''San Francisco Chronicle'', February 25, 2011, access date December 25, 2011 By the time of his retirement, Richmond had become the highly respected dean of Bay Area TV news anchors, the longest-serving anchor in the Bay Area's history. His final show garnered 400,000 viewers, giving the newscast a 15.6 Nielsen rating and making him "more popular than Oprah". He has one daughter from a previous relationship and two grandchildren.

Frank Somerville Frank Somerville (born March 19, 1958) is an American television journalist. During his three decades at KTVU in Oakland, California, Somerville received three Emmy Awards, including one for best on-camera news anchor. Early life and education ...

, a longtime anchor for KTVU's morning and afternoon newscasts, succeeded Richmond as anchor of the 10 O'Clock News.

Awards

Richmond has won several awards, including the Humanitarian Award of

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

(the highest honor given in that city) and the Black Media Coalition Journalist of the Year Award. He was honored as the Good Scout of the year by the Boy Scouts of America

San Francisco Bay Area Council The Golden Gate Area Council (GGAC) is a council of the Boy Scouts of America, formed by a merger of the San Francisco Bay Area Council, Alameda Council, and the Mount Diablo Silverado Council in June 2020. GGAC is one of the six councils that se ...

in 2004. With him leading the news team, KTVU has won several

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s and Radio and Television News Directors Association awards. Richmond also received an Award of Distinction from

, as a distinguished graduate.

Honors

The old part of the San Francisco Bay Bridge was named the Dennis Richmond Bridge in his honor while the bridge was being remodeled.

Personal life

Dennis Richmond is a native of Toledo, Ohio, and served in the United States Army for three years.Longtime anchor Dennis Richmond to leave KTVU in May
Peter Hardlaub, ''San Francisco Chronicle'', January 17, 2008, access date December 25, 2011 He gambled on driving to California without a plan; he found employment with KTVU as a typist and never left. Richmond is a member of the board of directors of the Child Abuse Consortium, which is a California statewide government agency. In addition to that, he has also been the General Chairperson of the YMCA fundraising drive for Alameda County. He has also served in the Oakland: Mayor's Blue Ribbon Committee to Save High School Sports. During Richmond's years as a news anchor, his wife operated a beauty salon business. , he resides in Grass Valley, California, after previously living in

San Ramon, California San Ramon (Spanish: ''San Ramón'', meaning "St. Raymond") is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located within the San Ramon Valley, and east of San Francisco. San Ramon's population was 84,605 per the 2020 census, maki ...

Footnotes

External links

KTVU.com - Dennis Richmond
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Longtime anchor Dennis Richmond to leave KTVU in May
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richmond, Dennis 1943 births Living people African-American television personalities American television reporters and correspondents Wayne State University alumni Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni People from Oakland, California People from Rossford, Ohio American male journalists Journalists from Ohio Journalists from California United States Army soldiers 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people