David Hartman (TV personality)
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David Downs Hartman (born May 19, 1935, Pawtucket, Rhode Island) is a well-known American actor and television personality. He is presently anchoring and hosting documentary programs on cable TV's "History Channel" and on PBS.
Hartman is best-known as the first and long running host of ABC's Good Morning America, from 1975-1987. Before Good Morning America, he gained his only acting popularity in the 1970s as a young resident, Dr. Paul Hunter, on The Bold Ones: The New Doctors.
Hartman attended Mount Hermon School (now Northfield Mount Hermon) and was actually geared toward professional baseball in high school. However, he turned down a baseball scholarship to attend Duke University where he majored in economics and became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. After college, he served three years active duty as an officer in the U.S. Air Force, Strategic Air Command.
David appeared as a performer in two Broadway shows: the original Hello Dolly in 1964, and the short-lived The Yearling (1965). After working in films such as The Ballad of Josie (1967) and Did You Hear the One About the Traveling Saleslady? (1968), he refocused on television, and won serious attention as a dedicated doctor on The Bold Ones: The New Doctors. He was also the main actor of the movie The Island at the Top of the World (1974). In 1973, Hartman did a popular remake of "Miracle on 34th Street", with Jane Alexander and Sebastian Cabot. On the 1974-75 NBC series Lucas Tanner, Hartman played a retired baseball player turned unconventional high school teacher. The cancellation of his series marked the end of his acting career.
Just a few months later, in November 1975, Hartman became the co-host of ABC's new show Good Morning America (1975-1987). During his 11 years as host, GMA became the highest rated morning news program. He conducted more than 12,000 interviews.
More recently, Mr. Hartman has been an anchor and host of a series of well-regarded documentaries on the Discovery Channel and PBS member station WNET in New York City.
Produced by James Nicoloro, the PBS documentaries are a series of "Walk Through" documentaries about various communities around New York City, which include A Walk Down 42nd Street (August 1998), A Walk Up Broadway (March 1999), A Walk Through Harlem (December 1999) ([1]), A Walk Around Brooklyn with David Hartman and Historian Barry Lewis (2000) ([2]), A Walk Through Greenwich Village (2001), A Walk Through Central Park (2001)([3]), A Walk Through Newark (2002) ([4]), A Walk Through Hoboken (2003) ([5], A Walk Through Queens (2004) ([6]), A Walk Through the Bronx (2005) ([7]) and A Walk Around Staten Island (2007) ([8]).
In North Carolina, Hartman is also heard on North Carolina Public Radio and WCPE-FM as the host of the North Carolina Symphony radio broadcasts.
[edit] Personal Life
Hartman was married to Maureen Downey from 1974 till her death on September 17, 1997. In 2001 he married Mary Clark Putman, a widowed homemaker.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ David Hartman's Relationship History on Famous Hookups.com
[edit] External Links
- David Hartman at the Internet Movie Database
- David Hartman's Farewell and Clips of Past Years
- David Hartman's Farewell and Good bye Speech
| Preceded by None |
Good Morning America co-host November 3, 1975–February 20, 1987 with Nancy Dussault from 1975 to 1977, with Sandy Hill from 1977 to 1980, and with Joan Lunden from 1980 to 1987 |
Succeeded by Charles Gibson and Joan Lunden |
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