Courtney B. Vance, On-Camera Talent Royal Kennedy Rodgers, Director, Producer, Writer Kathy McCampbell Vance, Director, Producer George Artope, Editor John Simmons, Camera Niki Alilovic, Associate . Narrated by Courtney B. Vance. I was just going all over the place trying to figure out, what does an anchor sound like? On the air, they've been through a lot together. But I always took his side, right or wrong. July 1, 2021 issue Planning an Aryan Paradise. . I am going to that because I refuse to close my mind. Vance got arrested a couple of times and was lucky he didnt end up in jail when he punched a policeman who had waded into the middle of a fight and hit Vance in the nose with a two-foot-long flashlight. They would go riding up the sidewalks, down one-way streets the wrong way at 110 miles an hour, never stopping for red lightsI mean it was exciting to ride with those guys., The wreck-chasers, who wore fine clothes and drove fancy cars, would present themselves to the accident victims before the police or anyone else could get there. In the meantime Im doing OK. Voice is a little weakI love what I do. At the last moment, I didnt do it. Will they continue to get it from people like us? Our great News4 and community friend Jim Vance has died. With no money for babysitters, he used to take Dawn to school with him. That was soso nice.. On another level, as a black man, I was angry, embarrassed, ashamed, and hurtashamed because of what whites would think, and angry because I felt he was giving his enemies such a cheap shot., Contrary to widespread innuendo, Vance and Barry were never pals or fellow drug-users. [3] His grandparents and family raised him while his mother, Eleanor, lived and worked in Philadelphia. Whether he was reading a book or fixing his bike, he did not want any interference. Farhi, Paul, "Jim & Doreen: NBC4's top-rated anchors are still leading the pack after 25 years". They carried blackjacks and zip gunsJim made them them from materials filched from his unclesand fought in gang wars. When I was with him, I had the feeling of being loved and cherished and protected. ', AT FIRST, Vance redoubled his efforts at work, putting more time into his commentaries and stepping up his charity appearancesanything to hold on to the notion that I was still a worthwhile human being.. And if all kinds of people could let Vance into their homes, as they say about TV, for nearly a half-century no less, maybe we all had more in common than it often seemed. Beginning at NBC4 Washington as a trainee reporter, in her more than 20 years at NBC 4 Washington, she rose through the ranks as news writer, show producer, executive producer, and ultimately Director of . More often they cried and prayed together. But give him something to talk about that excites his curiosity or his passionhome rule, sports, black holes in the universeand he comes alive. She is the author of three books on her grandfather Paul R. Williams: A Legacy of Style; The Will and the Way, a biography for children; and Paul R. Williams: Classic Hollywood Style. Now Barry was on the phone. In a Washingtonian interview, George Michael described you both as family. Chellz paperchaser (@ChellyJelly86) July 22, 2017. The day before the show, the director decided that we should add some dance moves. Vance: One little amendmentDoreen wasnt allowed in. And along with the fear, I was also trying to figure out how to get the money to get high again.. But it didnt do me any good at all. I remember the first time I saw him. Kathy has 2 jobs listed on their profile. Kathy McCampbell Vance is an Emmy Award winning television producer, specializing in news, entertainment, and documentary production. I used to get together with him and Bruce Johnson, the veteran news anchor and reporter at WUSA-TV (Channel9), for lunch and commiserate over some of the more dispiriting aspects of our work in the news media. Then, as an ABC Network News correspondent, based in Los Angeles, she covered assignments as diverse as breaking news, presidential politics and the entertainment industry. I would drive in the parking lot, and the first thing Id look to see was if that light was on, because my notion was if the light is on at 9:30, hes up there trying to figure out a way to get rid of me. But not long after that, I was invited to speak to some guys in a recovery programit might have been on a Thursday night between showsand I went and did it. The hourlong documentary, written, directed, and produced by Royal Kennedy Rodgers and Kathy McCampbell Vance, features several of the architects private properties peppered around greater Los Angeles. Anyway, I walked up those stairs and walked into the room, and I remember the utter humiliation of being there. Doreen Gentzler prefers a normal bike; Jim Vance rides a Harley. I looked at Jimmy and we both were like, Ill be damned. Today, he says, hes happier and more at peace with himself than ever before. I would go weeks, even months at a time, and then Id be gone for two days. He had this air about him, says Ted Bucky Nickens, a classmate who is now a deputy chief of the civil-rights division at the Justice Department. Others mourned him almost as if he had died. "Jim Vance inducted into NABJ Hall of Fame", Rich, Cindy, They had been married for 30 years at the time of his death.". Co-directors Royal Kennedy Rodgers and Kathy McCampbell Vance's Hollywood's Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story is a nonfiction biopic about the African-American talent who rose to become . Vances station said he died after a brief battle with cancer., Ive had to take some time off, but its not my own choosing, Vance told viewers on May 4. Dont forget at that time, [Channel 9 anchorman] Max Robinson was still around. The Washington Post called Vance the dean of Washington news anchors.. But thats where it stops. My bike saves me thousands of dollars in shrink fees, he says. I wanted to be cool like everybody else., One night in 1966, when he was 24, a couple of wreck-chasers took him to a house in West Philadelphia to see a friend of theirsa convicted murderer who had been let out of prison that day. 1970). And now with an award-winning documentary from Royal Kennedy Rodgers and Kathy McCampbell Vance, his story is reaching an even wider audience. I did what everybody did in the 60s. True, theres more salt than pepper in his mustache these days, and he has gotten a little jowly. We were feeling that one like everybody else was: If Im here, wheres my wife? But his personal life was starting to unravel. Because I wouldnt have been able to look at them. And when the tears came, it was like 30-some years of tears I let loose. He and Michael were told to tone down their act. At that point, when I totally surrendered, is when I guess I began to have a chance.. One of the uncles took him to the hospital to get the cast off, and when they got home, Jim took hold of the railing and began dragging his bad leg up the steps. I had eschewed therapy for a long time, he says. He and Kathy like to play tennis, usually on the public courts on Van Ness Street, or go to a movie. During the course of her more than twenty years there, she served as Writer, Producer, Executive Producer, and ultimately Director of Programming, Community Affairs and Broadcast Standards. In the past he always had to be on the go, doing speeches, doing work, and what not. The phone call from Marion Barry threw Jim Vance into turmoil. Jim Vance won many awards during his lengthy career, including 19 Emmy awards. True, they both frequented the smoky, late-night bars on Capitol Hill in the early 80s, places like the Gandy Dancer where people played backgammon till dawn and sometimes did cocaine. Vance has become very mellow, very sweet, very gentle in the past few years, says Kathy McCampbell. Upon leaving that job, she continued to produce special news series and high profile interviews for NBC, for Black Entertainment Television and more. And I knew, because I had been there.. So, I have been getting that treatment. which holds his wigglers, rattlers, and a hundred other lures of every shape, size, and color, and hell take them all out and spend hours rearranging that box., In self-defense, McCampbell recently took up the piano and sketching. Royal Kennedy Rodgers is a producer, director, and writer with experience in local and network news, as well as public broadcasting television. Often he was moving, even poetic, but his commentaries on race and politics irritated many viewers. He would rather spend his free time reading a bookhe is a voracious reader of novels and talks about writing oneor doing something like laying tile on his sun porch. We were just sitting there, talking the usual homeboy shit, and somewhere between dinner and dessert, Bradley said, Vance, do you remember what Jim Brown said to Richard Pryor when he went to see him after Pryor set himself on fire [freebasing cocaine]? Shirlyn Cesar has over 10 years experience working in scripted television, in Los Angeles, New York and Atlanta, on programs such as Blue Bloods, Marvels Daredevil, and Seven Seconds. An honor to have known & worked with him. [3] "When my old man died, I was convinced that it was my fault. One of the things that he set out to do was to make sure that when you were at work, you felt at home, Vance explains. She comes to the news desk with extra notes and wire copy; Vance likes to wing it. It happens.Vance: We have been blessed to work with management who seem to get us, whove understood that we were not really to be boxed in too much. Lost Murals in Hollywood. In her documentary work, Shirlyns expertise is in finding and booking high-profile interviews as well as scheduling and coordinating video and film shoots. . The most overt discrimination he encountered was at the hands of other blacks. I dont tell them not to do drugs or not to drink. I still thought I was in control. . That night, I came back to the station, did the news, left at 11:30, and instead of turning right out of the parking light, I turned left and went straight to my dealer.. And he said, You gotta talk to this guy. The point is to manage them, to control them and not let them control you., IT TOOK A WHILE for Vance to regain his standing with the audience. And the whole point of staying clean is to help others stay clean. But I share the up side with them, toowhat my life is like now, not only without the drugs, but without the psychological burdens that came with drug use. I felt no shame. Architecture and design film festivals and events. Other speakers of note include Francis Kr, Glenn Murcutt, and producer Kathy McCampbell Vance, who will be discussing the legacy and impact of Paul Revere Williams after Hollywood's . Her professional awards include a local Emmy, and recognition from the San Francisco State School of Journalism, as well as from the American Association of Trial Lawyers. If I had seen George or Bob or Arch, I would have gone the other way. I used to walk through the house and somebody would inevitably do this he gets up to illustrate a swift slapping motion starting at the midriff and ending under the chin meaning, Straighten up. But now he has a lot to be happy about. I share with them my pain. Afterwards, we were eating water-ice and pretzels with mustard, fantasizing about the day we would make $15,000. Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. VANCE THRIVED ON THE PACE, but it wasnt enough. The hourlong documentary, written, directed, and produced by Royal Kennedy Rodgers and Kathy McCampbell Vance, features several of the architect's private properties peppered around greater Los . What hes doing now is making time for himself. I was so utterly, totally done, he says, that I could not conceive of living through another minute of this nightmare. All my life I had been taught that the most important thing in life was being in control. RIP and condolences to his family, friends & NBC4 family, Chris Kinard (@ChrisKinard) July 22, 2017, So sad to hear of Jim Vance's passing. And I remember people telling me I shouldnt go to the bars on 14th Street. See the complete profile on LinkedIn and discover Kathy . I was on the air all day. I did not know that. Kathy McCampbell Vance is an Emmy Award-winning television producer, director, and former TV executive with experience in production, program development, syndication, community outreach and marketing. According to her LinkedIn page, Kathy is president of Kamax Productions, LLC, a company for which she does television and video production and media consulting. Hollywood's Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story (Royal Kennedy Rodgers and Kathy McCampbell Vance, 2020). Jim Vance brought warmth and dignity to every newscast. So Vance enrolled in Cheyney State, a black teachers college outside Philadelphia. Im still the same asshole l always was, he cheerfully admits. Kathy McCampbell Vance, Director/Producer Share. Lester Holt (@LesterHoltNBC) July 22, 2017, Jim Vance was a legend. But she would not let me die. In the newsroom everyone was glad to see him, but the reception was low-key. If you put the tabs together for the walls, there wasnt enough space for the elevator to go up and down. The one bright spot in his life was Kathy McCampbell, who took over as producer of the 6 oclock news in 1978. It occurred to me that I might as well give up., I won, Gentzler reminds him. NINE YEARS AGO, Jim Vance was holding a shotgun to his mouth at Great Falls. There are places I have not been in seven yearsplaces I wont go again. Its one of the oldest 12-step programs in the city, and it has a reputation for attracting really hard-core addicts. She is currently an independent producer based in Washington, DC. . RIP and condolences to his family, friends & NBC4 family, Chris Kinard (@ChrisKinard) July 22, 2017, So sad to hear of Jim Vance's passing. To them, Vance was an angry, uppity black man. Mike Wise is a former senior writer and columnist at The Undefeated. Everyone Loved Jim Vance. One of the things you gotta do is get the money out of your hands. Bradley and Bucky were city kids, and they used to laugh at me for being country. But somehow, when they Jonesed on me, it didnt hurt my feelings. And that was the way it was with me. Except for English. Its patient. All the men in the family worked in the family plumbing business, James H. Vance & Sons. At age 5, he cleaned copper fittings and carried buckets for 25 cents a week. And I would try to get a ride back to someplace near where I lived. I try not to bullshit them with any blanket horror stories about what it will do to you if you drink a beer. He played bass guitar, sax, flute, and sang with a doo-wop group, the Joy-tones, that was in demand at parties. There was a time when anchors were all over the placeout in the street, writing, everything. In the literature, they say the disease is cunning, baffling, and powerful, and now theyve added a fourth one. He said yes, and they lit a spot on the front of the set where I could stand. Lets find Vance.. In 1978, he separated from Barbarathey didnt divorce until 1984and moved to an apartment on Columbia Road in Adams Morgan. Thats when I said, I dont know. I had never taken that position before. He died on July 22, 2017 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. LA CityView Media Group was the recipient of the 2021 Los Angeles Area Emmy Governors Award, for its three decades plus covering news critical to Angelenos and Southern Californians, with special recognition of its service providing Public Health Department pandemic updates throughout 2020 to all local area news outlets. What were the insulting things?Gentzler: Should I repeat the ones I already said on that tape? . Vance, who was married three times during his life, was married to a former television news producer for several decades. The episode frightened him enough that he quit the gang. In a 1994 Washingtonian cover story, you said you would be moving on in four or five years. Gentzler: He was the most loyal friend you will ever have. But after a year, I said wait a minute, I can do other stories, too. Vance, 69, rides a Harley, smokes after newscasts, and takes his 14-year-old grandson to the shooting range. Shortly afterwards, his mother moved back to Philadelphia. At a time when most African Americans worked as servants or laborers, Paul Williams was . And how wonderful it is not to feel that I have to be something I cant ever be. And that when I drank, it was because thats what the cool people were doing, and I really wanted to be cool. As Vance said, thats what local TV news does best.Vance: Any big snowstorm. I can certainly see it as arrogance now, but at the time, I really felt I was representing the entire race. We got thousands of angry letters, recalls Channel 4 operations manager Joel Albert. [Jim Vance, Washingtons longest-serving news anchor, dies]. I cried when I first heard that Marion was arrested. I was out of there. Vances death was a great loss to the D.C. community, where he served as the longest tenured anchor in its history, with more than 40 years on the air. His strength was that he designed for the client, [whereas] some architects have a design style and the clients adapt. Known for a suave personal style and natural eloquence, Williams convinced clients that he was capable of designing a residence fit for their uniquely luxurious lifestylebeyond the obvious talent he possessed, which many tried to ignore because of his race. Zodiac pool and pool house at Jay Paley home. The Vances lived in a working-class enclave in Ardmore, a suburb on Philadelphias Main Line.