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Hugh Downs
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Hugh Downs
Hugh Downs Former co-anchor of ABC's 20/20, Hugh Downs is also an activist, adventurer, author, outdoorsman and student in a number of areas. His lectures cover a broad spectrum of topics that include space, energy, the environment, communication and the human psyche. He has received numerous Emmy Awards and other honors for his work. Hugh Downs, longtime former anchor of ABC's primetime newsmagazine program 20/20, is one of the most familiar American television figures in the history of the medium. He left the program in September of 1999. Downs has enjoyed a distinguished career in radio and television as a reporter, newscaster, interviewer, narrator and host. In 1985, he was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as holding the record for the greatest numbers of hours on network commercial television. Having one of the most honored careers in his field, Downs celebrated his 60th anniversary in broadcasting (both radio and television) in May of 1999. He has received many Emmy Awards for his work as reporter and host, including a Daytime Emmy Award for Live from Lincoln Center: Yo Yo Ma in Concert, Downs hosted PBS' Live from Lincoln Center for a decade. Other career highlights have included nine years as host of the NBC morning program, Today, numerous documentaries, the launching of The Tonight Show, and the daytime game show, Concentration. Downs, an Akron, Ohio native, attended Bluffton (Ohio) College, Wayne University (now Wayne State) and Columbia University. He holds a post-master's degree in gerontology from Hunter College. He has been awarded honorary doctoral degrees from St. John's University, the University of Maryland, Daniel Webster College and Hunter College of the City University of New York. Downs has written an autobiography, Yours Truly, Hugh Downs, as well as many other books, including Letter to a Great Grandson: A Message of Love, Advice, and Hopes for the Future; Hugh Downs: The Best Years; My America: What My Country Means to Me, and many articles. Downs is hosting a weekly online show at www.inextv.com, called Conversations with Hugh Downs: Values in America.