John Cameron Swayze, a pioneering television journalist who later delivered the famous line "It takes a licking and keeps on ticking" in Timex commercials, is dead at 89.
The newscaster and announcer with the folksy voice died Tuesday at his home.After becoming host of the 15-minute "Camel News Caravan" on NBC in 1949, Swayze developed into one of the first popular TV personalities.
The show, sponsored by Camel cigarettes, was the forerunner of the modern newscast. It replaced a straight newsreel format with live shots, interviews and commentary.
Swayze, who was host for seven years, was known for the opening line "hopscotching the world for headlines."
"He managed to project a certain innocence, a feeling of promise, a genuine friendliness," said his son, John Cameron Swayze Jr. "His favorite signoff was, `That's the story, glad we could get together.' When he signed off `glad we could get together,' he really meant it, and I think people understood that he meant it."
Swayze also developed an identity because of his dressing habits. He usually wore casual slacks under his formal tie and blazer in the studio, which led to rumors that he read the news in his underpants.
During the 1950s, Swayze held other broadcasting jobs, serving as a panel member on the NBC quiz show "Who Said That?" and emcee of a children's educational show "Watch The World."
After Camel News folded in 1956, Swayze went to work for Timex and was featured in its commercials for 20 years.
The ads showed the watches being subjected to various kinds of abuse only to emerge intact. Elephants stomped on the watches in one commercial, and another showed a watch strapped to the pontoon of a plane landing in water.
A Wichita, Kan., native, Swayze began his career as a reporter with the Kansas City Journal Post. He later switched to radio, and moved to television as host of "Camel News Caravan."