Sam Donaldson
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| Sam Donaldson | |
 Sam Donaldson in 1998.
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| Born | March 11, 1934 El Paso, Texas |
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| Occupation | panelist for ABC News Now |
| Spouse | Jan Smith |
Samuel Andrew "Sam" Donaldson (born March 11, 1934, El Paso, Texas) is a reporter and news anchor for ABC News, substitute anchoring the Sunday edition of World News Tonight for regular host Barry Serafin and later Carol Simpson, from dates in 1979 through the 1990s.
Donaldson attended New Mexico Military Institute as well as Texas Western College (now known as University of Texas at El Paso) where he served as station manager of KTEP, the campus radio station.[1] From 1956 to 1959, Donaldson was an artillery officer in the United States Army. In 1971, Donaldson submitted reports for ABC News from Vietnam.
He also appeared for a number of years as a panelist on the Sunday morning television talk show This Week with David Brinkley. After David Brinkley's retirement, Donaldson co-hosted the program for several years with Cokie Roberts. Donaldson's distinctive cadence and his persistence in questioning senior government officials up to, and including, the President of the United States as well as his penchant for remarkably sarcastuc political predictions have occasionally made him the target of satirists and media critics [2].
He currently serves as a panelist on This Week along with Cokie Roberts and George Will, and co-hosts Politics Live on ABC News Now. One popular feature on Politics Live is the "Stump Sam" feature, in which viewers send in presidential trivia questions for Donaldson to answer. If Donaldson is stumped, the viewer who "stumped Sam" wins a free orange cap.
Donaldson was one of the hosts that was part of ABC Radio's news/talk network with his own show when it launched in 2001. He left the show several months later due to political disagreements.
In 1995, Donaldson had a melanoma removed from a lymph node. Since then, he and his wife, Jan Smith, have both been active supporters of cancer research.
On July 7, 2004, three members of the family tending to Donaldson's ranch in Hondo, New Mexico were found murdered. Cody Posey, a 14-year-old and sole remaining survivor of the family, was arrested and charged with the murders and subsequently convicted.
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[edit] Bush Confrontation
On August 2, 2006, during the last White House Press conference in the briefing room before undergoing major renovations, Donaldson shouted, "Mr. President, should Mel Gibson be forgiven?", referencing reports of the actor/producer's alleged anti-Semitic remarks. Bush laughed and looked up to see who had asked the question. Bush joked, "Is that Sam Donaldson? jokingly he said, in reference to Donaldson being removed from both his key ABC News assignments ... I guess we could give a question to a 'has-been" [3]" [4] [5]
[edit] Cultural References
- The Animaniacs cartoon 'Broadcast Nuisance' features the Warners feuding with "Dan Anchorman," a caricature of Sam. In the cartoon, Dan Anchorman shares camera time on NewsTime Live with "DuAnne Sewer," a reference to his stint on Primetime Live in the 1990s with Diane Sawyer.
- In an episode of Road Rovers, when reporting from the United Nations, he and Blitz got into a fight after Blitz started chewing up Donaldson's toupee (which fell off his head), and refused to give it back.
- He also makes an appearance in Celebrity Deathmatch, where he was pitted against Johnny Gomez and Nick Diamond, the commentators of the show.
- Brian Dennehy, as police officer Frank Daly, in the 1990 movie "The Last of the Finest" refers to Sam Donaldson. Daly and two other officers are trying to gather evidence against one of the film's antagonists, Anthony Reece (Michael C. Gwynne) and gain entrance to a press conference by pick-pocketing a legitimate camera crew's press passes, and entering carrying a camcorder and microphone. Frank says, "Film at 11. I'll be Sam Donaldson".
- In the DVD release of Kung Pow, there is a deleted scene where Steve Oedekerk dubs over himself singing about Sam Donaldson.
[edit] Quotes
Quotes by Samuel Andrew Donaldson
- "A lot of people say there's a lot of ham in me."
- "They laughed at me. I couldn't get a job. I went and I made the rounds, I met every news director and they thought I was awful."
[edit] References
- Donaldson, Sam, Hold On, Mr. President! (Random House, 1987) ISBN 0-449-21520-2
- Schmitt, Mark, "Straight Line Projections", The Decembrist (March 2006)
[edit] References
- ^ KTEP history
- ^ Straight-Line Projections political commentary
- ^ 08/02/2006 White House Press Conference transcript
- ^ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2006/08/02/AR2006080201451.html# Loven, Jennifer. Bush Makes Last Call at Briefing Room. The Washington Post. 2006-08-02. Accessed: 2008-02-05. (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/5VNSyNPya)]
- ^ Donaldson, Sam. "RE: Your exchange with President Bush..." E-mail reply to Wikipedia user Mtp318. 5 Aug. 2006. (unpublished)
[edit] External links
- ABC Medianet Bio
- Foundation For Melanoma Research: Honorary Council
- NCCS Recognizes Leaders in Cancer Survivorship
- ABC News' "Time Tunnel" page containing clips of numerous newscasts on which Donaldson appeared
| Preceded by Unknown |
ABC News Chief White House Correspondent 1977 – 1989 |
Succeeded by Brit Hume |
| Preceded by John Donvan |
ABC News Chief White House Correspondent 1998 – 1999 |
Succeeded by Terry Moran |
| Preceded by David Brinkley |
This Week 1996 – 2002 |
Succeeded by George Stephanopoulos |
