Lisa Howard (news personality)
Lisa Howard | |
---|---|
Born | Dorothy Jean Guggenheim April 24, 1926 Cambridge, Ohio, U.S. |
Died | July 4, 1965 East Hampton, Long Island, New York, U.S. | (aged 39)
Alma mater | Miami University |
Occupation(s) | Journalist, actress |
Years active | 17 |
Spouse(s) | Felix E. Feist (divorced) Walter Lowendahl |
Children | 2 |
Lisa Howard (née Dorothy Jean Guggenheim, April 24, 1926 – July 4, 1965) was an American journalist, writer, and television news anchor who previously had a career as an
Early years and acting career
Howard was born in Cambridge, Ohio.[2] Her family was Jewish.[3] She attended Miami University for a year before dropping out to pursue an acting career.[4] At the age of 18, Howard moved to
Journalism career
In the late 1950s, Howard decided to make a major career change. She began working as a
In 1963, ABC promoted her to be the first female anchor of a news broadcast geared toward housewives called Lisa Howard and News with the Woman's Touch.
According to her daughter, Fritzi, Howard became involved with Castro and viewed herself as a grand player on the stage of history. In an article for Politico detailing their relationship, Peter Kornbluh describes Howard's role as a liaison between the United States and Cuba as "intimate diplomacy", explaining that "her role as peacemaker was built on a complex, little-understood rapport she managed to forge with Castro himself – a relationship that was political and personal, intellectual and intimate."
In September 1964, Howard helped form a political organization called "Democrats for Keating"—a group of liberal Democrats that included Gore Vidal, who opposed Robert F. Kennedy's bid to become a U.S. senator representing the state of New York. ABC News warned her that her public partisan politics would lead to her dismissal. Howard nevertheless continued to work openly in support of Kennedy's Republican opponent, Kenneth Keating. In the fall of 1964, ABC fired Howard and named Marlene Sanders as the new anchor of News with the Woman's Touch, which would last until 1968.
Personal life
Howard was married twice and had two children. Her first marriage was to film director Felix E. Feist, with whom she had a daughter, Fritzi. The couple later divorced. Howard later married producer Walter Lowendahl, with whom she had a daughter, Anne.[8]
Death
Allegedly devastated by the loss of her career, Howard suffered a miscarriage in June 1965 and was hospitalized with depression. On July 4, 1965, while on an Independence Day vacation in the
Ex-husband Feist died 2 months later at age 55.
In popular culture
Julia Ormond portrayed Howard in the Steven Soderbergh film Che (2008).
Partial filmography
- Guilty of Treason (1950) – Soviet Official at School
- The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950) – Janet Cullen
- Donovan's Brain (1953) – Chloe Donovan
- Sabaka (1954) – Indria
- Mobs, Inc. (1956) – Ronnie Miles
Sources
- Lisa Howard page at Spartacus Educational
- Talbot, David (2007). Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years. New York: Free Press. pp. 224–232.
References
- ^ Kornbluh, Peter (April 2018). "'My Dearest Fidel': An ABC Journalist's Secret Liaison With Fidel Castro". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
- ^ "The Press: The Beaver". TIME magazine. July 25, 1961. Archived from the original on August 24, 2007. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
- ^ a b "'My Dearest Fidel': An ABC Journalist's Secret Liaison with Fidel Castro". Politico. 8 May 2020.
- ^ a b Carpozi, George Jr. (October 1965). "The Last Day of Lisa Howard's Life". TV Radio Mirror. 64 (5). New York City, New York: Macfadden-Bartell Corporation: 87.
- ^ a b c "'My Dearest Fidel': An ABC Journalist's Secret Liaison With Fidel Castro". Politico. 8 May 2020.
- ^ "Fidel Castro's famous interview with Lisa Howard - April 24, 1963". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12.
- ^ Peter Kornbluh, "JFK & Castro: The Secret Quest for Accommodation", in Cigar Aficionado, Oct. 1999
- ^ Carpozi, George Jr. (October 1965). "The Last Day of Lisa Howard's Life". TV Radio Mirror. 64 (5). New York City, New York: Macfadden-Bartell Corporation: 85.
- ^ Carpozi, George Jr. (October 1965). "The Last Day of Lisa Howard's Life". TV Radio Mirror. 64 (5). New York City, New York: Macfadden-Bartell Corporation: 39, 85–86.