Bill Beutel, 75; Longtime Television News Anchor for New York’s WABC
Bill Beutel, 75, a longtime television news anchor and the first host of the show that became ABC’s “Good Morning America,” died Saturday at his home in Pinehurst, N.C., the network said.
The cause of death was not disclosed.
His trademark signoff, “Good luck and be well,” closed WABC’s nightly local newscast in New York City for more than 30 years.
He “proved you could be a tough newsman and a gentleman,” WABC President and General Manager Dave Davis said in a statement.
Beutel, who won several Emmys and a Peabody award, began as a radio reporter in his hometown of Cleveland. He started in television in 1962 as a reporter for ABC national news and an anchor for the WABC evening news.
After a stint as ABC’s London bureau chief, where he worked with a young Peter Jennings, Beutel returned to the New York station’s local anchor desk in 1970.
In 1975, he briefly hosted “AM America,” the national morning news show that became “Good Morning America.”
More to Read
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
