He's the proverbial "800-pound gorilla" of local TV anchors and seems to have dominated the local TV newscape forever.
Dick Nourse has set the standard for longevity, and at age 59 has completed an unprecedented 35 years at KSL/Ch. 5.Following some radio work and a theater-arts education at Brigham Young University, a young, green, scared 23-year-old Nourse left his home in Grand Junction, Colo., to follow a television dream.
In TV, timing is everything, and Ch. 5 just happened to be looking for a weekend newscaster. After a successful audition, Nourse was hired by KSL and started March 1, 1964.
When the weeknight newscaster, John Willis, quit after eight months, Nourse got a crack at his job. About a year later, a worried KSL management recruited ratings-winning Ch. 4's popular weatherman, Bob Welti, and sports anchor, Paul James to join Nourse.
Ch. 5 even tried to lure Ch. 4's main anchor, but Roy Gibson preferred to stay at Ch. 4. And Nourse breathed a sigh of relief.
"I was just in the right place at the right time," says Nourse. With the help of Welti and James' transplanted audience, KSL took first place in the ratings. Eventually, Nourse's popularity even slightly surpassed that of Welti and James, and he remained the heavyweight of local anchors.
Nourse has great respect for his early competitors -- Gibson on Ch. 4 and Doug Mitchell on Ch. 2. "I hadn't been at KSL a week when Doug Mitchell walked into KSL, grabbed my hand and said, 'Welcome to Salt Lake. You're going to be just fine. Don't worry about a thing.'
"I thought, 'Wow, what a nice guy!' "
In spite of offers to anchor in other cities, Nourse has remained loyal to KSL. "I love it here, and the people have been super. During those two bouts I had with cancer, the viewers cared. They phoned, sent letters, lighted candles and put my name in the (LDS) temples. All those things are why I stayed."
It's no accident that many of Nourse's fans compare him to CBS's trusted Walter Cronkite. "During the days after the Kennedy assassination, Cronkite was just another American telling us about it. He didn't put himself up as an authority figure. That's the way it should be. If there was anyone I watched and admired and wanted to be like, it was Walter Cronkite."
A life-changing experience early in Nourse's career was his assignment to seek out Utahns in Vietnam in 1967. "I was so curious that I couldn't say no."
Nourse knew he was no expert on the war, and when he returned, he had more questions than before he left. "The country was so divided, but these young G.I.s were determined to do what they could for their country. It was a touching experience."
Following a divorce, Nourse married Deborah Peterson. They combined her three children with his daughter into a blended family, then together had a little boy, now 2 years old.
While his wife studies cosmetology part time, Nourse watches the "Teletubbies" on TV with his son. He goes to the gym twice a week to keep in shape.
Recently, Nourse started studying the bagpipes. "The lessons are more difficult than I thought, but I'll get through it. If I can learn to play 'Amazing Grace,' I'll quit. I want that played at my funeral, but I won't be around to play it, so maybe I'll record it."
Nourse usually arrives at the Triad Center about 4 p.m. He looks at each story and edits it to fit his personal, conversational style.
Nourse feels personally close to his co-anchors. While he was struggling with cancer, Shelley Thomas interviewed him at home.
"I had only worked with her for a few months," says Nourse, "and yet she was beside herself. The tears were flowing, and she could hardly finish the interview. I thought, 'What a wonderful person she is -- the concern and love is already there.' We hugged, and I thought how lucky I was that she felt what I felt."
In 1967, a still young Nourse was lecturing at Granger High School when a young high school junior approached him after class. "He was very interested in television and asked me lots of questions. When he walked away, he said, 'Who knows? I might be sitting next to you one of these days.' I said, 'Oh, yeah? What's your name?' He said, 'Bruce Lindsay.' "
Lindsay has been a co-anchor on the news with Nourse since 1979.
Nourse spends much of his spare time writing a book about his life in TV news. He continues to attend public events, give talks and spearhead fundraisers for worthy causes. No wonder he hasn't made a decision about retirement.
"I like my time away, but when I retire I'm going to miss it. Maybe I'll stay through the Olympics. I'd be 62 then. KSL wants me to stay now, and if they still do then, maybe I'll go until I'm 65. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm not rushing into it."