Kathy McCampbell Vance is an Emmy Award winning television producer, specializing in news, entertainment, and documentary production. For more than 45 years, Jim Vance was not only the soul of NBC4 but of the entire Washington area, NBC4 president Jackie Bradford said in a statement. The station never has overtaken Channel 9 at 6 oclock, except during the Barry saga in 1989 and 1990, when WRC was consistently ahead on the story, thanks to the heavyweight reporting team of Tom Sherwood, Pat Collins, Joe Johns, and Jack Cloherty. I didnt think I needed to bother. All my life I had been taught that the most important thing in life was being in control. He was this tall, lanky, thin-legged guy wearing a toggle coat and a brown fedora and smoking a pipe, which I guess was his idea of what a college guy was supposed to look like. And I had a sense there were probably a lot of people in the same position I was. I was convinced I was such a piece of shit that he'd rather die than hang out with me," Jim Vance later said. 'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); Copyright 2018 Chautauqua Institution They were standing around, shooting the breeze, when somebody brought out a $100 bill with cocaine in it. He knows too much. Vance revealed publicly in May that he was battling cancer, although he didnt reveal the kind. Often he was moving, even poetic, but his commentaries on race and politics irritated many viewers. Six went to college, including an aunt who became the first black woman to graduate from Bryn Mawr. In a medium full of hype, Vance is the no-bullshit guy. The first Black member of the American Institute of Architects, he designed more than 2,000 buildings over the course of his career from private residences to his work on landmarks like the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Los Angeles International Airport. He made some remark about my kinship to lower animal forms and how they had higher auditory senses. I weigh 210 pounds, and shes a 120-pound little thing. We'll miss you Jim. And hell kill me for saying this, but he was a crybaby. It will wait for you. I consider without a shadow of a doubt that it was simply and purely the grace of God. To this day, according to station sources, there are some viewers who will never forgive or forget that Vance had a drug problem. With no money for babysitters, he used to take Dawn to school with him. The one bright spot in his life was Kathy McCampbell, who took over as producer of the 6 oclock news in 1978. While Vance has cut back on his public appearances, he doesnt stint on his efforts to combat drug abuse. Royal Kennedy Rodgers is a producer, director, and writer with experience in local and network news, as well as public broadcasting television. On Thursdays I would stay up all night, pasting up the paper and taking the pages to Bordentown, New Jersey, about 35 miles away. On another level, as a black man, I was angry, embarrassed, ashamed, and hurtashamed because of what whites would think, and angry because I felt he was giving his enemies such a cheap shot., Contrary to widespread innuendo, Vance and Barry were never pals or fellow drug-users. I walked into the general managers office and said, Do the decent thing and tear up my contract. She spent ten years as a producer/correspondent for Chicago Tonight at WTTW-TV, the PBS station in Chicago. They made us football rookies sit on a stool and drink a Welchs jelly glass full of vodka. And how wonderful it is not to feel that I have to be something I cant ever be. Upon leaving that job, she continued to produce special news series and high profile interviews for NBC, for Black Entertainment Television and more. Chautauqua Institution is a non-profit organization, dependent upon your gifts to fulfill its mission. Vance was still collecting a salary from the station, but the money went straight to New York, where Liebner saw to it that his rent, his children, and other necessities were taken care of. They treated me like shit. The following year, Vance and Kathy were married. And I never knew it was there., My dark side was totally directly aimed at me. Be a man, I remember all of them telling me, Never let em see you cry. This will be an evening on Zoom showcasing the life work of California architect Paul Revere Williams, also known as the "Architect to the Stars". I ended up just crying a river. Currently, Karen is working on a memoir of her two grandfathers, Paul R. Williams, Architect, and civil rights leader, Dr. H. Claude Hudson. Never show weakness., When Vance was 16, he injured the cartilage in his ankle playing ball. Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. That was our goal, $300 a week. Not that Im afraid that going into a certain bar would create temptation. I saw you do this or that. Upon leaving that job, she continued to produce special news series and high profile interviews for NBC, for Black Entertainment Television and more. Kathy McCampbell Vance is an Emmy Award winning television producer, specializing in news, entertainment, and documentary production. Be the first to contribute! They became good friends and tennis buddies, but romance took a while to bloom. To them, Vance was an angry, uppity black man. Hes known as the Velvet Fist, says reporter Tom Sherwood. NINE YEARS AGO, Jim Vance was holding a shotgun to his mouth at Great Falls. Narrated by Courtney B. Vance. Trending. I wasnt interested in food until later. And it was always accompanied by the feeling, Everyones got to see through me. At the time of the announcement, Vance said he was undergoing treatment and stayed positive about the outcome. MANY OF HIS CO-WORKERS had no idea Vance was in trouble. They were so cool., Ultimately, the wreck-chasers would introduce Vance to something far more dangerous than car chases. And when I did my first cocaine, how that shit hit me in the back of my head, but I had to be cool. When I was with him, I had the feeling of being loved and cherished and protected. I left the station thinking I would probably never see it again, and went down to 5th and K to the Metropolis Club. He was known for his classy demeanor and silken voice. This makes him laugh, and we both relax. When I voiced those feelings, I did not try to use the best language. It was in 1974, at Christmastime, and the popular toy at the time was the Barbie Doll House. She began her career as a reporter for NBC television stations in New Orleans, Cleveland and Chicago. He might get a few hours of sleep, teach school, then go to work on the newspaper. Quiet and strong, he could strap a bathtub on his back and carry it up a flight of steps when he was 75. Basically, what I have come to do is forgive her for anything about which I had resentment, and to acknowledge that whatever her faults, she did the best she could., Now Vance is ready to close more circles. Dawn, 33, is a newsletter editor and lives in Silver Spring. Beginning at NBC4 Washington as a trainee reporter, in her more than 20 years at NBC 4 Washington, she rose through the ranks as news writer, show producer, executive producer, and ultimately Director of Programming, Community Affairs and Broadcast Standards. Family (1) Trivia (3) I saw some good men go down and never come back because of trying to wrestle with all those questions.. I guess he was about 3 or 4 before he got hold of himself.. I was one pissed-off black father. Ordinarily at that hour, Vance would have been on his way to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, but he had gone earlier in the day. He still has a hard time staying in one place. And I was. Late in May he picked up the Washington Post Style section, and there was a huge picture of him above the fold. After leaving NBC as Program Director, she continued to produce special feature pieces for the station; fundraising videos for various non-profit organizations; and high profile interviews broadcast on BET Network, for L.A. based Jesse Collins Entertainment. I was too dark for the Nile Swim Club, he says. He knew his bosses realized his performance was off, and he was terrified they would find out the reason. I know people who did take their lives. I tell them how liberating it is to be able to forgive myself for something I might have done wrong. Executive Producer Michelle Merker. No faithful Channel 4 viewer is likely to forget how excited he got a couple of years ago when then-President George Bush accepted his offer to show him some good fishing spots on the Potomac. When she was 13, she went to live with him permanently. For the first time, Vance was able to come to grips with the rage and shame hed been carrying since childhood, such as the resentment he bore towards his uncles. AROUND THE END OF 1982, Vance got a call from Ed Bradley, a rising star at CBS in New York, who told Vance he wanted to come down and have dinner with him. Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Top 250 TV Shows Most Popular TV Shows Most Popular Video Games Most Popular Music Videos Most Popular Podcasts. Recently, Ms. Vance Produced and Directed an award-winning documentary for PBS, Hollywoods Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story. The one-hour program was broadcast nationally on more than 400 PBS stations, and has garnered an Emmy Award, a Golden Mike Award from the Radio and Television News Association of Southern California, a Best Documentary Award from the L.A. Press Club, and a Silver Telly Award for General Biography. JIM, KATHY, AND BRENDON, her son from a previous marriage, live in DCs Spring Valley, in a brick split-level house whose most notable feature is the bass boat parked outside. One edge was Vances commentaries; people thought he was too opinionated. She got married last year, and her doting dad was delighted to play host to 500 guests at her wedding reception at Strathmore Hall in Rockville. Dressed in jeans, a nubby gray sweater, and brown cowboy boots, he is even bigger and better-looking than he appears on TV. I would pack Dawn up at 6:30 in the morning and take a box of diapers and pins and bottles and stuff, and Id take that kid to class. Menu. Vance had three children, Dawn, Amani, and Brendon. THAT SAME DAY, Vances bosses had decided theyd had enough. He was 75 years old. There are letters he wants to write to Ed Bradley and others he cut off. Before that, she was director of. Carmody, John, "WRC: Vance In, Boggs Out". Vances station said he died after a brief battle with cancer., Ive had to take some time off, but its not my own choosing, Vance told viewers on May 4. Three weeks was all we figured we could afford for me to be away without raising the antenna of the Post and anyone else who might be interested. His family had begun to despair at his wildness. She is currently an independent producer based in Washington, DC. And man, that was so good, just to be able to say, You all come on and let me do the best I can to say how grateful I am for everything you did for me., Vance never lost touch with his mother, but their relationship was strained. All around me, I felt there were adults who wanted to be helpful to me. I dont tell them not to do drugs or not to drink. In part, Vances statement said, I am suffering from exhaustion, depression, and a dependency on drugs used to overcome these problems. The station responded by replacing Dave Marash with Doreen Gentzler, who quickly proved popular with the audience. And it just destroyed me., Partly because he disliked his teachers and partly because it wasnt cool to be too smart, he did just enough work to get by. Not today, though. He was subsequently married to Barbara Schmidt-Vance and raised his second daughter Amani.(b. Ill never forget the pain and utter shame of looking people in the eye, which I forced myself to do, and saying good morning or good afternoon. . [3] In 2014, Vance spoke about his mother's verbal abuse of him as a child and advocated against that form of discipline. No human being on this earth has ever done more to salvage a life than she did for me, says Vance. By the late 70s, Vance was an institution. He was 75. Join Facebook to connect with Kathy McCampbell Vance and others you may know. His expensive cars had been repossessed, and he barely had any decent clothes left. I was fighting back tears the whole time because I wasnt sure hed ever come back, she says. Now Barry was on the phone. I want to do that as much for myself as for them., the proof that I didnt do that badly after all is the fact that I have some absolutely delightful kids. I mean there were two guns on the table. And that was the way it was with me. I tried every narcotic substance on the face of the earth. Three of them died within six months of going back out, he says. Please click above to contribute by PayPal or credit card. He takes on less than he used to, and its really helped to make him a happier person. My uncles were all Depression people, he says. They accepted me. John Feinstein (@JFeinsteinBooks) July 22, 2017. Jim didnt seem to mind at the time, because his grandfather was his main man. African American architect Paul R. Williams defied the odds to become one of the most notable architects in history. On July 22, Vances station announced that he had died. Theres a part of me you cant hurt if I have been as honest as I can be. Sometimes he left at the end of the 6 oclock show and didnt come back at all. The rest of it was sharing the pain.. All of those years, I thought it was so important that no tears ever be shed from these eyes. Vances death was a great loss to the D.C. community, where he served as the longest tenured anchor in its history, with more than 40 years on the air. But Id buy more. I still felt rejectable.. He didnt get hurt, which is the main thing. But she did ask him how he planned to pay her back. His smooth voice, brilliant mind and unforgettable laugh leaves each of us with a tremendous void. Vance was an anchorman for the station for more than 45 years; you can see old footage of Vance on WRC-TV here. 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