[Deathwatch] Jerry Dunphy, news anchor, 80

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

L.A. Newsman Jerry Dunphy, a Household Name, Dies 
Tue May 21, 5:41 PM ET 

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jerry Dunphy, one of the most recognized TV
news anchors in Los Angeles for 40 years who interviewed four
presidents and survived a gunshot wound, two heart attacks and triple
bypass surgery, has died at age 80, associates said on Tuesday. 

Dunphy, who was still anchoring the news until last week, when he
suffered a third heart attack, died on Monday night. 

The veteran newsman started his television career in 1953 and in 1960
became an anchorman at KNXT in Los Angeles. He would remain in the
anchor chair at a station in America's second-largest city until his
death. 

Dunphy was one of the first reporters to interview President Richard
Nixon after his resignation following the Watergate scandal and later
sat down with Presidents Ronald Reagan (news - web sites), Jimmy Carter
and Gerald Ford. 

In 1983 Dunphy was shot and wounded by would-be robbers as he returned
to his station for an 11 p.m. broadcast. At the time of his death, he
was working for local station KCAL-TV, where he was known for his
signature welcome to viewers "from the desert to the sea, to all of
southern California.