Inspired By The of One King’s Funeral, Shepard Smith Now Anchors Another’s

By Chris Ariens 

During coverage of Michael Jackson’s memorial service on Fox News, Shepard Smith recounted one of the reasons why he got into broadcast journalism — he was captivated by Elvis Presley’s funeral while watching it as a young boy growing up near Memphis.

“It was a hot August day in Memphis, I think it was August 16 of 1977 when Elvis died at 42 years old. And, live television events were relatively new to the nation; and, completely new to Memphis,” said Smith around 1:20 this afternoon. “That was the first, to my recollection…it was the first live mini cam that a local television station had ever used in this way. And, it was a fascinating thing to see.”

It’s a story Smith recounted in a recent Esquire profile: “I was watching Elvis’s funeral on Channel 5 in Memphis. I was fascinated as a 13-year-old by the fact that they could do live broadcasts from Memphis that I could see at the same time they were happening — in my house.”

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