Former KSL-TV news reporter Richard Bingham died Tuesday, Feb. 11, 1997, at the age of 72.
Bingham is best remembered as Channel 5's government reporter, a position he held from 1976-89. A popular figure at the station, he was known to his colleagues as "Mr. B."But his career in broadcasting actually began much earlier when he was a Navy radio operator in the South Pacific during World War II.
After graduating from the University of Utah in 1949, he went to work for an Idaho radio station as a copy writer. In 1956, he made his television debut in Idaho, moving to KSL two years later.
During his first stint at Channel 5, Bingham did everything from live commercials to program announcements to parade commentary. He also had two brief stints as KSL's main news anchor, including a time in 1964 just before the station hired current anchor Dick Nourse.
In 1965, he moved to KIRO-TV in Seattle (at that time KSL's sister station), where he worked as a news reporter for 11 years before returning to Salt Lake City and KSL.
Funeral services are scheduled for Saturday at noon at the Woods Cross 4th Ward Chapel, 1450 S. 350 West, Bountiful.