Ralph Story (born Ralph Bernard Snyder; August 19, 1920 – September 26, 2006) was an American

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

and

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

personality. He was best known as the host of '' The $64,000 Challenge'' from 1956 to 1958, and as the writer and host of ''Ralph Story's Los Angeles'' from 1964 to 1970.

Biography

Story was born in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

. He started his broadcasting career in the late 1940s, after serving as a

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

flight instructor and

P-51 The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Story had his big break in broadcasting in 1948, when he was hired to host and direct an early morning show on KNX radio in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. At the suggestion of the station's managers, he changed his name to Ralph Story. Story's casual style and witty observations about life in Los Angeles made him a popular host and won him national recognition. Story later moved into

network television Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

, where, in 1956, he began hosting the hugely popular

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

, ''The $64,000 Challenge''. The

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

show was canceled in 1958 while several networks were embroiled in allegations that popular contestants were supplied with answers in advance.

Television journalism

Story, who was not implicated in the scandal, returned to local broadcasting in 1960. He returned to KNX, this time anchoring a news program and later joined ''The Big News'', one of the nation's first hour-long local TV newscasts, on KNXT-TV (sister station to KNX radio, owned and operated by CBS). His regular feature, "Human Predicament," about people caught in unusual events and situations, became a popular segment. It developed into a local news magazine program about the people and places of Los Angeles called ''Ralph Story's Los Angeles''. It aired for six years. ''Ralph Story's Los Angeles'' aired from 1964 to 1970 on KNXT. Created by producer/director Dan Gingold, it featured the work of two writers, Jere Witter and Nate Kaplan. Wittily hosted by Story, the show examined interesting features, events and sites documenting the history and culture of Los Angeles. Generations of Angelenos developed a passion for their city as a result of this documentary-style show. Select episodes of Ralph Story's Los Angeles are housed at the

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Film & Television Archive and are available for public viewing by advance appointment via the Archive Research and Study Center located in Powell Library, room 46 on the UCLA campus. In "Lucy Meets Ken Berry," a 1968 episode of ''

The Lucy Show ''The Lucy Show'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962 to 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to ''I Love Lucy''. A significant change in cast and premise for the fourth season (1965–1966) divides the program into two distinct ...

'', Story played himself as the host of ''Ralph Story's Los Angeles''. Story joined

KABC-TV KABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains stud ...

in February 1971, co-hosting ''AM Los Angeles'', a morning news show with Stephanie Edwards and newsman Bob Banfield that became the precursor to ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

''. In one episode, they explored the way that a new

Baskin-Robbins Baskin-Robbins is an American multinational chain of ice cream and cake speciality shops owned by Inspire Brands. Based in Canton, Massachusetts, Baskin-Robbins was founded in 1945 by Burt Baskin (1913–1967) and Irv Robbins (1917–2008) in ...

ice cream flavor was developed by creating the Apricot Marmalade flavor (to match the "AM" initials). When the program evolved into ''GMA'' and moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Story stayed in Los Angeles, where he continued working as a writer, producer, and reporter for several TV stations. After a brief stint on

KNBC KNBC (channel 4) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Corona-licens ...

, he returned to KNXT (which later became KCBS-TV) in 1978 as an evening anchor alongside Marcia Brandwynne and later Sandy Hill. In 1985, Story retired and moved to

Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria. Santa Barba ...

's wine region, where he and his second wife, Diana, operated an art gallery in Los Olivos. In 1989, Ralph appeared in the television film, "Ernest Goes to Splash Mountain" which was shot in

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...

. He volunteered for numerous civic groups, serving as a fundraiser for

public television Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

stations, narrator for the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

and judge of the

Rose Parade The Rose Parade, also known as the Tournament of Roses Parade (or simply the Tournament of Roses), is an annual parade held mostly along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, United States, on New Year's Day (or on Monday, January 2 if N ...

. In 1995, he wrote and hosted a program about Los Angeles landmarks called "Things That Aren't Here Anymore" for

KCET KCET (channel 28) is a secondary PBS member television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the Public Media Group of Southern California alongside the market's primary PBS member, Huntington Beach–licensed KOCE-TV ...

and followed it up with a sequel.

Death

Story died on September 26, 2006, in Santa Ynez, California from complications due to

emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alve ...

, and was survived by his wife and one son from his first marriage. His interment was at Oak Hill Cemetery in

Ballard, California Ballard is a census-designated place in Santa Barbara County, California. The town of Ballard is one of the communities that make up the Santa Ynez Valley. The nearest city is Solvang. The population was 467 at the 2010 census. Ballard is the sma ...

Awards

In 1984, the

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...

honored him with its highest honor, the Governor's Award. After Story's death, Hollywood columnist

Rona Barrett Rona Barrett (born Rona Burstein, October 8, 1936) is an American gossip columnist and businesswoman. She runs the Rona Barrett Foundation, a non-profit organization in Santa Ynez, California, dedicated to the aid and support of senior citizens ...

said that "no one told a story on television better than Ralph." Former colleague

Warren Olney Warren Olney, Sr. (March 11, 1841 – June 2, 1921) was an American lawyer, conservationist, and politician, in California. He was a founding member, alongside John Muir and the young botany professor, Willis Linn Jepson of the University o ...

described Ralph Story as "a master of the craft."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Story, Ralph American television journalists Radio personalities from Los Angeles Television anchors from Los Angeles Television personalities from California 1920 births 2006 deaths American game show hosts American male journalists Journalists from California Deaths from emphysema People from Kalamazoo, Michigan People from Santa Barbara County, California United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II 20th-century American journalists Military personnel from Michigan