Dave Garroway

Personal

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Notable

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Family

American radio broadcaster from 1939 and by 1952, the original host of the "Today Show," for nine years. Low-key, relaxed, witty and erudite, Garroway's ability to talk to the camera as though he were speaking directly to the viewer made him a most unlikely TV personality. He kept a loyal audience during his entire tenure until he stepped down due to the stress of taking on too much work and the suicide of his wife, Pamela. Since 1961, he became involved with various shows, business interests and reading programs. By the 1970s he was feeling anxious and guilty over quitting, feeling he could have contributed more quality and value to TV broadcasting but further efforts to renew his place never quite caught on again. Garroway's last TV appearance was in January of 1982, on the 30th anniversary broadcast of "Today." Garroway's second wife, Pamela, took her own life by overdosing on sleeping pills in April 1961. He married Sara Lee Lippincott in 1980. He was father to a stepdaughter, Paris, by his first wife and stepson Michael by Pamela; as well as father of a son born to him and Pamela, David, Jr. Feeling depressed after open heart surgery in 1982, Garroway saw his wife off to work on July 21, put the barrel of a shotgun to his head at precisely 9:00 AM - the hour when the "Today" show went off the air - and pulled the trigger. Link to Wikipedia biography