Nancy Dickerson
Nancy Dickerson | |
---|---|
Born | Nancy Conners Hanschman January 19, 1927 |
Died | October 18, 1997 New York City, US | (aged 70)
Nationality | American |
Other names | Nancy Dickerson Whitehead |
Known for | Radio and television journalist |
Spouses |
|
Children | 2 including John Dickerson |
Nancy Dickerson (January 19, 1927 – October 18, 1997) was an American radio and television journalist and researcher for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Famous as a celebrity and socialite (whereby she was sometimes called Nancy Dickerson Whitehead later in life) as well as her journalism, she later became an independent producer of documentaries.
Early career
Born Nancy Conners Hanschman in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee, Nancy Dickerson first attended Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa, for two years before transferring to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she earned a degree in education in 1948.
She worked as a junior high school teacher in West Allis (West Allis Historical Society records) before moving to
Pioneering newswoman
Although the field of television journalism was almost entirely dominated by men at the time, Dickerson got her break in 1954, when she was hired by CBS News's Washington bureau to produce a radio show called Capital Cloakroom. She would also become an associate producer of Face the Nation. In 1960, CBS made her its first female correspondent.
She reported for
Syndicated broadcaster
Dickerson left the network in 1971 to become an independent broadcaster and producer,
Personal
On February 22, 1962, she married industrialist C. Wyatt Dickerson and became stepmother to his three daughters from a prior marriage.[3] They had two sons together, Michael and John. They lived at "Merrywood",[4] a 46-acre estate in McLean, Virginia, throughout most of the marriage,[5] which ended in divorce.
In her 1976 memoir Among Those Present, she recalled that The Washington Daily News once offered her a job as women's editor, but she turned it down because "it seemed outlandish to try to change the world writing shopping and food columns." She appeared as a mystery guest on the game show What's My Line?
Dickerson moved to New York City in 1989. On February 25, 1989, she married former
Dickerson died in New York City on October 18, 1997, of complications from a stroke, aged 70.[7] She is buried at Arlington National Cemetery – Section 3, Grave# 1316-A-LH – alongside Whitehead, who had been a commander in the Navy.[8]
Her younger son, John Dickerson, is a journalist who previously hosted the CBS News program Face the Nation and co-hosted on CBS This Morning. He wrote a book, On Her Trail, about his mother's life.[9]
Legacy
- In 1979, the Supersisters trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Dickerson's name and picture.[10]
- Dickerson was a past vice president of the National Press Club. The Nancy Dickerson Whitehead Medallion is awarded annually by Clarke University to an outstanding professional in mass communication.[11]
References
- ^ "NBC Director Recalls Historic Coverage of JFK's Death". NBCWashington.com. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
A few years later, President Johnson told Schindler that he was watching TV before he stepped out of Air Force One. When the camera panned back to the plane, he saw it as his signal to come out and address the nation.
- ISBN 978-1977233400.
- ISBN 978-0-7432-8783-8.
- ^ Merrywood, from the Gilded Era.
- ^ Dickerson, John (2 November 2006). "Growing Up in a Glamorous Neverland". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
- ^ "Nancy Dickerson is Married". The New York Times. 26 February 1989. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
- ^ Smith, J. Y. (19 October 1997). "Newswoman Nancy Dickerson dies". The Washington Post. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
- ^ Dickerson, John (20 October 2006). "Googling My Mother". The Washington Post. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
- ^ "On Her Trail". Retrieved 6 November 2013.
- ^ Wulf, Steve (23 March 2015). "Supersisters: Original Roster". Espn.go.com. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ "Nancy Dickerson Whitehead Medallion". Archived from the original on 7 September 2006.
External links
- Nancy Dickerson's gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery.
- "On Her Trail: My Mother, Nancy Dickerson, TV News' First Woman Star. A book by her son, John Dickerson. Library of Congress.