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Hartford N. Gunn Jr.

Summary

Hartford N. Gunn Jr. (1927 – January 2, 1986) was the founding President of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).[1]

Hartford N. Gunn Jr.
Born1927
Port Washington, New York, US
DiedJanuary 2, 1986 (aged 59)
Boston, Massachusetts, US
EducationHarvard Business School (MBA)
Years active1969–1986
Known forFounding president of PBS

Early life and education edit

Gunn was born in 1927 in Port Washington, New York.[1] He studied at Harvard Business School and received his MBA in 1951.[1]

He served as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve, and was voted one of the outstanding men of the year in 1962 by the Boston Junior Chamber of Commerce.[2]

Career edit

After graduating from Harvard Business School in 1951, Gunn started working at Boston's WGBH-TV.[3] At the time he started, WGBH was an FM radio station and he expanded it to include a television station.[1][3][4]

Over the next five years, he had the role of director of operations before assuming the position of general manager in 1957.[3]

In 1969 as manager of WGBH-TV, Gunn invited Fred Rogers to accompany him and testify before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications in support of the full funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.[5]

In 1970 he was chosen as the first president of the Public Broadcasting Service, at least in part due to his "widely acknowledged success in the 1960s at the Boston television station WGBH".[1]

Gunn became vice-chairman of PBS in 1976. He was senior vice president and general manager of KCET, (at the time it was the public TV station in Los Angeles) from 1979 until 1983. Before his death he worked as a public television consultant in Annapolis, Maryland where he had lived.[1]

In 1964, he was the recipient of the Lamp of Knowledge Award for his contribution to educational television and radio. Gunn also received the third annual Ralph Lowell Medal for creative public broadcasting in 1973.[6]

Death edit

On January 2, 1986, Gunn died of multi-focal lucoencephalatrophy, a rare, cancer-related illness at Massachusetts General Hospital at the age of 59.[1][2]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Boyer, Peter J. (January 3, 1986). "HARTFORD N. GUNN JR. IS DEAD; PUBLIC BROADCASTING FOUNDER". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Hartford N. Gunn Jr., the first president of the..." UPI. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Folkart, Burt A. (January 3, 1986). "Hartford N. Gunn Jr.; PBS Pioneer, Ex-Chief at KCET". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  4. ^ Creshkoff, Larry (20 March 2000). "Hartford Gunn". Alumni Profiles. WGBH. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  5. ^ United States. (1969). Extension of authorizations under the Public broadcasting act of 1967. Hearings, Ninety-first Congress, first session, on S. 1242 ... April 30 and May 1, 1969. Washington: U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
  6. ^ By (1986-01-03). "H. GUNN, WAS FIRST PRESIDENT OF PBS". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved 2024-05-13.