DENNIS RICHMOND--he didn't care for Leslie Griffith too, but guess what? Richmond was a big time prima donna himself.While Leslie was talented and great on air she had issues--I wrote about her last Friday.
Well chronicled.
Richmond could be a very cool man and nice and kind. But many times he was an asshole. The KTVU staff that had to work with him know full well. And it wasn't every now and then it was always and always.
If he didn't know you he had a habit of looking over your shoulder and pretending that you didn't exist. That was the best of times. If you were a truly little person, I'm told, he generally treated you like a piece of shit. Again, this is/was common knowledge at KTVU and even in the good old days, pre-FOX ownership, he was a jerk. If you caught him at the right time, he could be respectful but that was rare.
What counted the most was Dennis Richmond reading the news and that he did well for over 40 years and that's the only thing that counts. But don't tell that to some of the people at Jack London Square who had to experience him and his attitude.
For the record, Richmond was a generally a good anchor and probably one of KTVU's top news readers. Just on longevity alone, Richmond was special and professionally historic. Too bad his personality grated and he occasionally was mean and difficult.
Dennis retired in 2008.
Trying to figure this out.All that matters, you say is that Dennis Richmond was a good anchor, despite being an obvious egotistical asshole, as anyone with a brain could see. Leslie Griffith was also a good anchor, but her personal life is somehow a subject for derision? based on what? do you see the disconnect?
ReplyDeleteDennis kept his personal shit out of the newsroom. Leslie did not. Dennis didn't have affairs with co-anchors and attack them in parking lots. Frank Somerville, on the other hand, did at least the former, and Rich has talked about him too. Do you see the "connect"?
DeleteRemind me, didn't Leslie Griffith have kind of a "Play Misty For Me" vibe? Easy on the eyes. A force to be reckoned with. But she had her issues. We all do.
ReplyDeleteHow did Dennis and Ibanez get along? After reading about Leslie and Ibanez is your last article and the crazy stories in the comments, I’m curious. Both guys seem nice.
ReplyDelete> Both guys seem nice.
DeleteHA HA HA HA!
ReplyDeleteboth talented anchors in their own right, but remember they are paid to READ THE NEWS! Dont really care how they acted off the air or how they treated people. At the end of the day its a job nothing more nothing less.
Like Veronica Corningstone, Leslie Griffith was only good at three things - fighting, screwing and reading the news.
ReplyDeleteWatched Griffith and Richmond for many, many years, and I find this entry (and the one on Leslie, from last Friday) to be very interesting.
ReplyDeleteTalk us more about Frank and Gasia how big of a bully they are at KTVU when Gasia treats to take over Mike and Frank is the top anchor with an incredible secret with another staff.
ReplyDeleteReading RL's blog and other grapevine pages, I am very aware of the on air and off air warts that Richmond had. Still, even with that and his struggles to ad-lib, he still commanded respect for his work ethic just the same.
ReplyDeleteTo survive a broadcasting class at Fremont's Ohlone College in 1986-87, I went to Jack London Square and did a transcripted interview with Mark Ibanez, about 9-10 months before he began succeeding Gary Park as sports anchor (though at the beginning, he split the duties with now-Kansas City-based Steve Physioc). During the interview which I aced that led to my barely passing the class taught by one Jim Monroe (who labeled anything he criticized a "muffin", for whatever reason), Richmond walked by and said hi to Ibanez in a cordial way that any professional worker in any industry would do. It wasn't a big deal at all, but I could tell they respected each other. And Ibanez was only 2-3 years into his time at Channel 2.
When Richmond retired in 2008 - the night of the 2007-08 Season Finale of American Idol, which was on FOX at the time - Ibanez sent him off an complimentary manner by calling him a "First Class Hall-of-Famer". In the end, the respected tenure was a mixed bag as far as KTVU staff relations go. While most of the behind-the-scenes crew may have chafed, on air reporters like Rita Williams, Lloyd LaCuesta, crusty veterans Vern Hawkins & Bob McKenzie among others had no troubles working with Richmond, as far as I could tell from a body language standpoint as a Ten-O'Clock-News viewer. Plus, when Van Amburg's ratings went down and his KGO-TV reign ended, it was rare that his successor Pete Wilson - during two stints at KGO plus one at KRON - beat out Richmond in the overall news ratings. It goes to show that no matter what went on in the KTVU Newsroom, viewers thought the world of Richmond's calm, cool news delivery regardless of rare live questions and sub-average ad-libbing. Perhaps because his delivery gave most viewers some security in life. Who knows? I had no problem respecting Richmond's efforts.
You have to remember that KGO and KRON did not have news at 10.
DeleteSo those stations that only had news at 11, were at a disadvantage for the viewers that had to get to bed so they could get ready for there early commute.
In those days, the ratings paired 10 with 11, as far as newscasts went. So sometimes, the ratings said that KGO or KRON and very rarely KPIX beat out KTVU depending on both staff taking time off or a major story coming out of one station or another.
DeleteBTW, LOL to 8:27 below, and 8:29 is spot on about Richmond respecting the best colleagues he had at KTVU.
I heard Dennis and Leslie hooked up.
ReplyDeleteLittle known fact - just like our friend Rich prefers the sistas, Leslie likes the brothas.
DeleteI'm ruling out that Karel and Leslie hooked up
ReplyDeleteKarel, what an ugly mutt
DeleteIf you were good at your job, then Dennis had no problems with you--in fact, he respected the hell out of you. I remember there were a couple of photogs and editors whom Dennis really, really respected because they were damn good at shooting video...and editing video. Now, he wasn't buddies with them--he wouldn't hang out with them, or make small-talk. But he sure did respect them for their talent.
ReplyDeleteThat's because they could easily make him look bad.
DeleteAll very interesting. Over the years I'd heard about Richmond's offscreen manner.
ReplyDelete