NAMES IN THE NEWS : Chancellor Errs; Wallace Is Alive

NBC Nightly News commentator John Chancellor erroneously referred to former Gov. George C. Wallace as “the late governor,” but that didn’t bother Wallace, his spokesman said Wednesday.

“Newsmen have been making mistakes about George Wallace all of his life,” said spokesman Elvin Stanton. “It’s something he brushes off.”

During Chancellor’s commentary Tuesday night, he quoted Wallace as once saying governors were nothing more than “ornaments.” Chancellor then said, “Well, it’s too bad the late governor wasn’t here in Washington this week” for a national governor’s conference.

NBC spokeswoman Katherine McQuay said the mistake was corrected in subsequent feeds of the broadcast to later time zones. The NBC affiliate in Montgomery, WSFA-TV, carried a verbal apology from the network during its local broadcast.

Stanton said he did not call NBC because he knew enough people are aware Wallace is alive.

Wallace, who lives in Montgomery, has kept a low profile since leaving office in January, 1987, after four four-year terms, partly because of health problems stemming from a 1972 assassination attempt.