Hartford N. Gunn Jr.

Hartford N. Gunn Jr. (1927- January 2, 1986) was the founding President of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).[1]

Hartford N. Gunn Jr.
Born1927
Port Washington, New York, US
DiedJanuary 2, 1986 (aged 59)
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Years active1969-1986
Known forfounding president of PBS

Early life and education

Gunn was born in 1927 in Port Washington, New York.

Career

In 1969 as manager of WGBH-TV, Gunn invited Fred Rogers to accompany him and testify before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications in support of the full funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.[2]

In 1970 he was chosen as the first president of the Public Broadcasting Service, at least in part due to his “widely acknowledged success in the 1960s at the Boston television station WGBH.” At the time he started (after receiving an MBA at the Harvard Business School in 1951),[3] WGBH was an FM radio station. He helped it add the television station there and became the general manager.[1] (Note: The LA Times reported he started in 1952, a year after he graduated)[4]

Gunn became vice-chairman of PBS in 1976. He was general manager of KCET, (at the time it was the public TV station in Los Angeles) from 1979 until 1983. Before his death he worked as a public television consultant in Annapolis, Maryland where he had lived.[1]

Death

On January 2, 1986, Gunn died of cancer at Massachusetts General Hospital at the age of 59.[1] He was survived by his mother Edith Arnold Gunn of Glen Cove and his cousin Dr. Albert E. Gunn of Houston.

See also

References
  1. Boyer, Peter J. (January 3, 1986). "HARTFORD N. GUNN JR. IS DEAD; PUBLIC BROADCASTING FOUNDER". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  2. United States. (1969). Extension of authorizations under the Public broadcasting act of 1967. Hearings, Ninety-first Congress, first session, on S. 1242 ... April 30 and May 1, 1969. Washington: U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
  3. Creshkoff, Larry (20 March 2000). "Hartford Gunn". Alumni Profiles. WGBH. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  4. Folkart, Burt A. (January 3, 1986). "Hartford N. Gunn Jr.; PBS Pioneer, Ex-Chief at KCET". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
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