Legendary Boston anchor Chet Curtis died Wednesday from pancreatic cancer. He was 74.
Curtis spent the majority of his career at ABC affiliate WCVB, anchoring the evening newscast alongside his then-wife, Natalie Jacobson(pictured, right). He worked at the station from the time they launched until 1972 until he and Jacobson divorced in 1999. When their first daughter was born, the pair, known as “Chet and Nat,” received 5,000 cards from viewers and the birth was the lead story on the 6 p.m. newscast, according to WCVB.
“Chet Curtis was much more than an extraordinary journalist. He was a generous mentor and sincere friend to so many here at WCVB,” WCVB general manager Bill Fine said in a statement.
In 2001, Curtis joined New England Cable News, where he anchored “The Chet Curtis Report” and anchored political programming.
“Chet had keen journalistic skills and a finely-honed talent for storytelling. His calming and reassuring presence, developed through decades at the helm of the biggest news stories in Boston and beyond, will be sorely missed in our newsroom,” NECN said in a statement. “He was without ego, and always took the time to teach and mentor younger reporters and anchors with enthusiasm, generosity, kindness and humor.”
Before he moved to Boston in 1968, Curtis worked at WTOP (now WUSA) in Washington, D.C. and WCBS in New York City. He was inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame last year.
Watch NECN’s tribute to the veteran anchor:
Chet Curtis was a Boston television legend, who we were proud to call part of the NECN family for more than 10 years. Chet had keen journalistic skills and a finely-honed talent for storytelling. His calming and reassuring presence, developed through decades at the helm of the biggest news stories in Boston and beyond, will be sorely missed in our newsroom. He was without ego, and always took the time to teach and mentor younger reporters and anchors with enthusiasm, generosity, kindness and humor. Our hearts go out to his three daughters and his entire family for their extraordinary loss.