He was the face of San Francisco TV news during most of the 70's and early 80's. And the highest paid too, (an estimated $800,000 annual salary at one point.) He also was the prime anchor on one of the most successful news shows in not only the city, but the entire nation. A show that was the origin of the industry terms, "Happy Talk" and more infamously, "If it bleeds, it leads."
He's Van Amburg, who for seventeen years anchored the news for KGO-TV and in December, 1986 was abruptly fired and hasn't been seen since, at least not in any interviews on the tube, the radio, or in print.
He lived in El Cerrito and is apparently still there, but attempts to reach him were unsuccessful. Numerous folks in the biz haven't a clue what he's been up to. This much is clear: he's still alive.
Amburg, (real name: Fred Van Amburg) was a part of SF broadcast lore, for better or worse. He worked with the late Jerry Jensen, (who died in 1984 due to complications from pancreatic cancer,) Pete Giddings, (weather) and John O'Reilly, (sports.)
All were part of "Channel 7 'NewsScene'. It evolved out of the late 60's and became a local TV staple in the 70's with centerpiece stories like the Patty Hearst kidnapping, the notorious Zebra murders, and both the Jonestown, Guyana massacre and Moscone/Milk assassinations.
Amburg's presence and prominence was so ingrained at KGO, management often sent him on numerous high-profile out-of-town assignments. His on-air demeanor was immensely popular, but off-camera, he was reportedly very difficult to work with. At least that's what the word was at the time.
At its peak in the 70's, KGO's news division was known for its penchant to show graphic images from crime scenes and fires and disasters, thus the "if it 'bleeds, it leads'" label. That formula, combined with splashy news footage and free-for-all chit chit made for Channel 7 dominance for much of the decade.
Amburg won a ton of awards and was featured in many of KGO's promos highlighting the show.
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Last I read,he had invested big in stocks or real estate,had done well. And to think he started as lowly sports reporter on Raider games in the mid 60's.
ReplyDeleteJohn O'Reilly-that's somebody I've googled a couple of times and gotten nowhere. He was just about the first of the big hair, Ron Burgundy,big flashy smile,wide tie,big ego, sports anchor. Just fell off the Earth.
John O'Rielly left KGO to work in N.Y. Some years later I heard a report that he had died.
DeleteLet's not forget the infamous "severed penis on railroad tracks" story.
ReplyDeleteThe fork! The fork! Where was Michael Theodore when we really needed him?
DeleteWhen I think of the prototype news anchor, he's always the guy that comes to mind. I grew up in the Van Amburg era and I thought he was the best TV news person in the Bay Area.
ReplyDeleteA few years back I was listening to a radio program (can't remember the station) and Van Amburg called in unexpectedly to tell some anecdotes about his career, and how he began by covering the Republican National Convetion at the Cow Palace in 1956. I don't remember if he said where he was living, but he was definitely still in the area. He sounded great, like he hadn't aged a day. It was fun and nostalgic to hear that voice again. Kinda like hearing Frank Dill call in to KNBR the other day to talk about Carter B. Smith. Brings me back to another time...
@Darby: That may have been on KSCO in Santa Cruz. About 3 years ago, Amburg called the station to contact Michael Zwerling (KSCO's owner, who was hosting his "Saturday Special" timeslot at the time); if I recall correctly, Zwerling and Amburg shared a barber and Zwerling left a note for Van at the barbershop.
ReplyDeleteZwerling asked Van to come on air for an impromptu chat, which he did, with a promise that they'd have a scheduled interview down the line. Don't know if that follow-up intrview ever happened, though.
A link to the interview can be found in the last post of this radio-info.com thread: http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=96214.0
He did an big sit down interview a number of years back with another great Bay Area anchorman, KPIX's Dave Mcelhatton.
ReplyDeleteI always preferred Mcelhatton...he always came off as a really nice guy and just a big "sweetheart". Oh yeah, he read the news pretty well too..
I always thought Van Amburg was pompous, stuffy and obnoxious. He made $800,000 in 1986? No wonder he was fired! Of course having made that kind of money, I'm sure he has a lot of retirement money to live off of.
ReplyDeleteSooooooo Whaaaat!!! At least he earned making an honest living.. I wish news reporters today had the grit he and Jerry had..
DeleteBoy some people are judgmental. My Mom did simple survey work; she was going door to door,and to her surprise when asked to come in by Mr Amburg's wife Mr Amburg and his son came in too to greet her. Mr Amburg was very gracious to my Mom and did the survey . Nothing pompous about him at all!!!
DeleteDidn't he also work along side Jan Carson? Cheryl Jennings and Don Sanchez were probably there at that time...
ReplyDeleteVan Amburg was very, very good...and he was only too happy to tell you so. That grates on people. His tantrums off the air were legendary. It's no accident he has remained on the outside of broadcasting. I enjoyed him and I thought he did a great job...But, to many who worked with him, he was an arrogant jerk. Not many tears were shed at KGO when he was shown the door.
ReplyDeleteI worked with him and didn't find him very abrasive. He was always cordial and polite to the staff in the 277 basement. There were corporate take-overs by Cap Cities and murderous cuts to staff--hard for anyone to take. I remember quite a few up and quit about that time.
DeleteFunny how the people who DON'T know the man love to say how terrible he was according to what they heard. So who are these credible witnesses? Did they work with him...if so when and do you know them personally or is it just more water cooler gossip. So far the people WHO DID KNOW HIM, met him, worked with him found him to be a humble, kind and warm man. SO STOP THE BASHING! If for no other reason he's an elderly gentleman now. Have a little respect. One day someone will be speaking ill of you. Look in the mirror and see how you might be perceived...gossiper, hater monger.
DeleteVan Amburg was not the only local news anchor of an ABC-owned station to get the hook in 1986; in April of that the year, Roger Grimsby was fired by WABC-TV in New York after some 18 years - nearly 16 of which were in tandem with Bill Beutel at the "Eyewitness News" desk. Grimsby, ironically, had been a KGO-TV alumnus, having worked there as anchor and news director from 1961 to '67.
ReplyDeleteAnybody who lived in the Bay area watched 2 anchors on tv Van Amberg and Dennis Richmond.these were 2 class acts on camera.
DeleteBiography for
ReplyDeleteFred L. Van Amburg More at IMDbPro »
Date of Birth 13 September 1910, USA
Date of Death 15 March 1990, Fresno, California, USA
Birth Name Fred Van Amberg
Trivia Longtime TV news anchor in San Francisco, California.
Wrong Fred Van Amburg. KPIX interviewed him in 1992.
DeleteHe may or may not be dead, although I think it unlikely; I'm sure it would have been news.
ReplyDeleteBut that isn't an accurate entry, unless he was 76 when he was fired from KGO. This makes the entire entry suspect, to say the least.
GalapagosPete
I had heard that the ABC corporate office in NYC took him away from SF and made him a VP ABC News and gave him the NYC anchor position. This was done at WABC and very soon after he left KGO-TV
ReplyDeleteJohn McCoy
van amberg died 15th of march 1990 according to IMDB they list him as Fred L. Van Amburg
ReplyDeleteThat was his father, Vanamburg still lives in El Cerrito Hills
DeleteYes, that was his dad. The dad owned a donut shop 'Vans Donuts", on San Pablo Ave. in El Cerrito, CA back in the 60's & 70's. My husband and I would stop by and pick up a dozen every couple of weeks and a couple of times Van Amburg, the son, would be there. Both were always very nice, happy and welcoming. The best donuts we ever had! Not like a Krispy Kreme. Van's donuts had just the right texture, sweetness and flavor.
DeleteUnless "Van" was very well preserved, he was more like in his late 50s than late 70s when ABC showed him the door. A few days after he got the axe, he was interviewed by Ronn Owens on KGO radio. Van stated that he was willling to take a big salary cut, but Capital Cities (new owners of ABC) just wanted him gone. But it's worth noting that they replaced Van with Pete Wilson, who came down from Sacramento for about $200,000 a year.
ReplyDeleteTypical 'machine-gun' delivery of a NewsScene 7 broadcast...
ReplyDelete"HiImVanAmburghere'swhat'shappeningI'mnotdeadbutfivepeoplewerestabbedtodeathonGearytonight..."
Didn't Van Amberg's son do a stint on local TV news? I seem to recall that. Once, in some context, he mentioned growing up in the East Bay, way up the Arlington, in Kensington, or Richmond at the top of the hills.
ReplyDeleteI worked on Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco during the later 1970's, just a block or two from the TV station where he worked. Once, when the station was having a labor dispute of some kind, a big pick-up truck was driving around the block with a guy in an ape suit with a sign around his neck "Fred Van Amberg." It wasn't clear what this signified. Probably someone was satirizing him for some position in the dispute.
Yes, Curtis - Bill Van Amburg worked as a field reporter for awhile on KGO-TV at the same time his father anchored.
ReplyDeleteI think many viewers in that era knew that Van shortened his name, as he worked on radio for awhile as Fred. The Bay Area Radio Museum has a aircheck of him jocking at KFRC-AM in 1964, a couple of years before the station became a Top 40 powerhouse. Van had already dropped Fred.
I watched a TV news show where he reported aliens had been discovered in the SW desert. Thought he got fired after that.
ReplyDeleteLooking for years for a comment confirming exactly what I heard on my SF tv,, Thank You!
DeleteI heard the same report about a crashed alien ship and recovery of ship . amberg fired the next day.
DeleteI recall that Van Amburg played himself in a 1970's Robert Redford movie, The Candidate where he was reporting Redford's caricature running for California's Senate seat. I recall seeing many familiar locations from around the state in that movie as well.
ReplyDeleteI went to high school (Harry Ells High School, class of 1958) with (Fred) Van Amburg's younger brother, Tommy. That would put Fred in his late 70's today. They lived about three blocks from me on Arlington Avenue in the El Cerrito hills. The family ran a very popular donut shop on San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito. Nice family.
ReplyDeleteI met Tom Van Amburg, (Fred) Van Amburg's younger brother, when he was managing the ferry boat fleet that went to Alcatraz Island and other routes, from the Embarcadero. I inspected his vessel radio transmitters around 1975. Soon after, his offices on the pier exploded, and burned to the ground. I don't think Van Amburg covered the story on Channel 7 News.
DeleteDidn't one of them have a son named Harry Van Amburg? Harry attended Del Mar Elementary School located at 960 Avis Street in El Cerrito, CA. He was in my grade level - Kindergarten (1964-65), 1st grade (1965-66), 2nd grade (1966-67), 3rd grade (1967-68) ... and would have graduated in June 1977. Does anyone have information on him and/or is whereabouts?
DeleteGrew up in redding ca in 70s cable came to town and van waz on every night at dinner wow news from the big city made news worth watching witb my dad
ReplyDeleteVan's voice can also be heard in the movie, "Race for your life Charlie Brown".
ReplyDeleteThe Van Amburgs lived on Arlington Boulevard in El Cerrito around the corner from the home where I grew up. My wife and I went to high school with their son Bill. According to SF.Blockshopper.com, the family still owns the house on Arlington.
ReplyDeleteDid the Van Amburgs of El Cerrito also have another son who would have been born around 1959 and graduated from high school in 1977? I believe his name was Harry Van Amburg and attended Del Mar Elementary School.
DeleteVan Amburg introduced and represented much of what is wrong today with electronic journalism.
ReplyDeleteVan Amburg led the way to and represented much of what is wrong with TV journalism today.
ReplyDeleteThere IS no TV journalism today (at least not in the US). You can blame Wall Street and the adoration of the stockholders over the company's primary purpose. None of the US Networks care about news anymore. They care about numbers and numbers as they translate into profit.
DeleteHey Rich.. I was that tv news cameraman that shot the penis on the railroad track story in the west Oakland train yard,wow that was so long ago. As I recall David Louie and I were dispatched to the scene of the crime. I made sure that I filmed it with the beautiful background of the "city" behind the big baggie with the little wiener going in it. I bet I ruined lots of dinners that evening for the 6:00 news. Hahahahahahahaha. Yup I was the late crew and filmed lots of the more bizarre stuff. I figured if I had to smell it I'd shoot images so graphic that the editors and producers would loose their cookies. I worked there from 70 to 74.
ReplyDeleteTHIS Van Amburg was actually born Oct. 20, 1930 in Fresno, CA (interesting Pat McCrystle put up that recollection about the severed you-know-what on the day of his birthday) - and died June 22, 2017 in San Francisco. So yeah, when KGO gave him the slip in '86, he was in his mid-fifties - 55, in fact. But then, before it was corrected, IMDb had George W. Bush as even older than his father!
ReplyDeleteAlso . . . wasn't it the particular journalistic values exemplified by Van Amburg and company that was parodied in an "SCTV News" preview segment within S01E14, "The Hefty Neil Story:? In that, Earl Camembert (Eugene Levy) previewed some lurid sex and crime stories of the type that would have been right out of KGO's "News Scenes" (especially their 11 P.M. edition) before Floyd Robertson (Joe Flaherty) chewed him out and maintained that more "important" national and international news stories ("some economics news . . . an auto strike, and a piece on NATO") would actually be in the broadcast. Floyd then implored Earl to "get out of the news business and open up a porno shop." No doubt the cast / writers on "SCTV" would have been at least somewhat familiar with that "60 Minutes" piece on KGO's news priorities (vs. those of rivals KPIX and KRON) and Mike Wallace's interviews with Amburg and station GM Russ Coughlan.