page_title: Dave Garroway
section_title: Television
hierarchical_section_title: Dave Garroway / Career / Television
caption_attribution_description: English: Publicity photo of Dave Garroway for the television show, Wide, Wide World, 1957.
context_page_description: David Cunningham Garroway was an American television personality. He was the founding host and anchor of NBC's Today from 1952 to 1961. His easygoing and relaxing style belied a lifelong battle with depression. Garroway has been honored for his contributions to radio and television with a star for each on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as well as the St. Louis Walk of Fame, the city where he spent part of his teenage years and early adulthood.
context_section_description: Garroway was introduced to the national television audience when he hosted the experimental musical variety show Garroway at Large, telecast live from Chicago. It was carried by NBC from June 18, 1949, to June 24, 1951.
  Garroway's relaxed, informal style when on the air became part of his trademark. In 1960, reviewer Richard F. Shepard of The New York Times wrote, "He does not crash into the home with the false jollity and thunderous witticisms of a backslapper. He is pleasant, serious, scholarly looking and not obtrusively convivial." On television, Garroway was known for his signoff, saying "Peace" with an upraised palm.
  Along with Arthur Godfrey, Arlene Francis, Steve Allen and Jack Paar, Garroway was one of the pioneers of the television talk show. Television commentator Steven D. Stark traces the origins of the style to Chicago. Garroway, Studs Terkel, and Hugh Downs all hosted relaxed, garrulous, extemporaneous shows in that city in the early 1950s. Earlier radio and television voices spoke with an authoritative "announcer's" intonation, resembling public oration, often dropping about a musical fifth on the last word of a sentence. Garroway was one of the broadcasters who introduced conversational style and tone to television, beginning some broadcasts as though the viewer were sitting in the studio with him, as in this November 20, 1957, introduction for the Today show: "And how are you about the world today? Let's see what kind of shape it's in; there is a glimmer of hope."
  Pioneering NBC president Sylvester "Pat" Weaver chose Garroway as the host of his new morning news-and-entertainment experiment, the Today show, in 1951. He was joined by news editor Jim Fleming and announcer Jack Lescoulie when the show debuted on Monday, January 14, 1952. Though initially panned by critics, Garroway's style attracted a large audience that enjoyed his easygoing presence early in the morning. His familiar "cohost," a chimpanzee with the puckish name of J. Fred Muggs, did not hurt his genial manner, but his concurrent seriousness in dealing with news stories and ability to clearly explain abstract concepts earned him the nickname "The Communicator" and eventually won praise from critics and viewers alike.
  At the same time he did Today, Garroway also hosted a Friday night variety series, The Dave Garroway Show, from October 2, 1953, to June 25, 1954. On October 16, 1955, he began hosting NBC's live Sunday afternoon documentary Wide Wide World, continuing with that series until June 8, 1958. Another Friday evening variety show, Dave's Place, was on the air in 1960. He also hosted a radio show, Dial Dave Garroway, that went on the air as soon as Today wrapped up each morning.  Dial Dave Garroway had begun in 1946 when Garroway was still working for WMAQ in Chicago.
  Garroway took Today to various locations during his tenure: Paris in 1959 and Rome in 1960; car shows and technology expos; plays and movies; and aboard an Air Force B-52 for a practice bombing run.  Through television, Garroway gave viewers access to a variety of people that included politicians, writers, artists, scientists, economists, and musicians. In his role as Today host, Garroway acted as pitchman for several of the show's sponsors. Among them were Admiral television sets, Alcoa and Sergeant's dog food. Most of the appearances were in the form of print ads in newspapers and magazines. By 1960, there was also a board game called "Dave Garroway's Today Game".
  In 1961, Garroway hosted a special filmed program for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association that traced Billy Graham's crusades from 1949 to 1960.
  Garroway's relaxed demeanor on TV hid his depression. Toward the end of his professional career, he began to have disagreements with staff members; some days Garroway would disappear in the middle of the Today broadcast, leaving colleagues to finish the live program. When Garroway's second wife, Pamela, died of a prescription drug overdose on April 28, 1961, Garroway sank into a deeper emotional malaise. In late May 1961, Garroway resigned, announcing his inte
caption: Garroway as host of Wide Wide World (1957)
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