Edie Huggins
Encyclopedia
Edie Huggins was an American
television reporter, journalist
and broadcaster
. In 1966 Huggins became one of the first African American
women to report on television in Philadelphia, remaining a fixture on WCAU-TV for 42 years; the longest consecutive television run of any Philadelphia TV news reporter in history.
. She became known as Edie later in life. She graduated from Bartlett High School in St. Joseph in 1953. Huggins, who still went by her given name of Edith at the time, graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree
in science from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh
.
Huggins began her career by working as a registered nurse
in New York City
. She was employed by both Bellevue Hospital
and Flower-Fifth Avenue Hospital. Simultaneously, Huggins was hired as a consultant
for the NBC
daytime soap opera
, The Doctors, which began airing in 1963. Her consulting working soon led to acting
roles on the drama. Her other soap opera acting credits included Love of Life
and The Edge of Night
which were aired on CBS
. Huggins was also cast in the 1966 film
, A Man Called Adam opposite Sammy Davis Jr, Ossie Davis
, Frank Sinatra, Jr.
and Louis Armstrong
.
following a chance encounter with a broadcast
executive in a New York City restaurant. That executive was Bruce Bryan, the general manager
of WCAU-TV, or Channel 10, which was a CBS
network affiliate
at the time. Huggins, a single mother, arrived in Philadelphia for her new job with her two children and just 65 dollars.
In a 2006 interview
for her 40th anniversary
with WCAU, Huggins confided that she had been hired despite a lack on-air, live television
experience. She stated that the reason that she was hired was to compete against the then-local NBC affiliate, KYW-TV
, which had just hired its first African American woman reporter, Trudy Haynes. Huggins, herself, made history when she joined WCAU by becoming the station's first African American female reporter.
Following her success on WCAU, the management
of the television station gave Huggins her own show, Morning Side. Huggins also co-hosted a midday news show called What's Happening during the early 1970s with Herb Clarke, a now-retired WCAU weatherman
. Her other shows on WCAU included Horizons and Huggins' Heroes, which focused on ordinary local people who had accomplished notable achievements, especially for the benefit of the larger community. Huggins Heroes became a weekly profile feature on WCAU news broadcasts during the 1990s and 2000s, and highlighted Huggins's reputation as a reporter who focused on "unsung heroes" throughout the Philadelphia region.
In 2006, the Philadelphia City Council
honored Huggins on her 40th anniversary at WCAU (by then an NBC
affiliate) by proclaiming "Edie Huggins Day" in the city. "Edie Huggins Day" was officially proclaimed with a resolution
on March 30, 2006.
Huggins's other career honors included her induction into the Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame. She was also chosen by the Urban League of Philadelphia as one of the "Outstanding African American Philadelphians of the 20th century." She was also honored by the Philadelphia Chapter of American Women in Radio & Television as Communicator of the Year, awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists and earned an award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Huggins was a founding member of the National Association of Black Journalists
. Professionally, Huggins was often cited by colleagues as a mentor
and was affectionately referred to as "Miss Edie" by younger reporters and staff throughout the Philadelphia television news industry.
In 2006, Huggins was cast in the lead role in the independent film
, So Big
. The film debuted on May 3, 2008, at International House in Philadelphia.
on July 29, 2008, at the age of 72. She was survived by her two children, Hastings Edward Huggins and Laurie Linn. A memorial service held at Huggins's church, Bright Hope Baptist Church, in North Philadelphia was attended by many members of Philadelphia's media.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television reporter, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
. In 1966 Huggins became one of the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
women to report on television in Philadelphia, remaining a fixture on WCAU-TV for 42 years; the longest consecutive television run of any Philadelphia TV news reporter in history.
Early life and career
Huggins was born Edith "Eddie" Lou Thompson on August 14, 1935, in Saint Joseph, MissouriSaint Joseph, Missouri
Saint Joseph is the second largest city in northwest Missouri, only second to Kansas City in size, serving as the county seat for Buchanan County. As of the 2010 census, Saint Joseph had a total population of 76,780, making it the eighth largest city in the state. The St...
. She became known as Edie later in life. She graduated from Bartlett High School in St. Joseph in 1953. Huggins, who still went by her given name of Edith at the time, graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in science from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh
State University of New York at Plattsburgh
The State University of New York at Plattsburgh is a four-year, public liberal arts college in Plattsburgh, New York. The college was founded in 1889 and opened in 1890. The college is currently part of the State University of New York system and is accredited by the Middle States Association of...
.
Huggins began her career by working as a registered nurse
Registered nurse
A registered nurse is a nurse who has graduated from a nursing program at a university or college and has passed a national licensing exam. A registered nurse helps individuals, families, and groups to achieve health and prevent disease...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She was employed by both Bellevue Hospital
Bellevue Hospital Center
Bellevue Hospital Center, most often referred to as "Bellevue", was founded on March 31, 1736 and is the oldest public hospital in the United States. Located on First Avenue in the Kips Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, Bellevue is famous from many literary, film and television...
and Flower-Fifth Avenue Hospital. Simultaneously, Huggins was hired as a consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
for the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
daytime soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
, The Doctors, which began airing in 1963. Her consulting working soon led to acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
roles on the drama. Her other soap opera acting credits included Love of Life
Love of Life
Love of Life is an American soap opera which aired on CBS Daytime from September 24, 1951 to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation Search for Tomorrow had premiered three weeks before Love of Life, and who would go on to create The Secret Storm two and a half years...
and The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
which were aired on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. Huggins was also cast in the 1966 film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, A Man Called Adam opposite Sammy Davis Jr, Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis was an American film actor, director, poet, playwright, writer, and social activist.-Early years:...
, Frank Sinatra, Jr.
Frank Sinatra, Jr.
Franklin Wayne Sinatra , professionally known as Frank Sinatra, Jr., is an American singer, songwriter and conductor....
and Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
.
WCAU-TV
Huggins was initially hired as a features reporter at WCAU-TV of Philadelphia in 1966 for a show called The Big News Team with John FacendaJohn Facenda
John Thomas Ralph Augustine James Facenda was an American broadcaster and sports announcer. He was a fixture on Philadelphia radio and television for decades, and achieved national fame as a narrator for NFL Films and Football Follies...
following a chance encounter with a broadcast
Broadcast
Broadcast or Broadcasting may refer to:* Broadcasting, the transmission of audio and video signals* Broadcast, an individual television program or radio program* Broadcast , an English electronic music band...
executive in a New York City restaurant. That executive was Bruce Bryan, the general manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
of WCAU-TV, or Channel 10, which was a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
network affiliate
Network affiliate
In the broadcasting industry , a network affiliate is a local broadcaster which carries some or all of the television program or radio program line-up of a television or radio network, but is owned by a company other than the owner of the network...
at the time. Huggins, a single mother, arrived in Philadelphia for her new job with her two children and just 65 dollars.
In a 2006 interview
Interview
An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...
for her 40th anniversary
Anniversary
An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event...
with WCAU, Huggins confided that she had been hired despite a lack on-air, live television
Live television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...
experience. She stated that the reason that she was hired was to compete against the then-local NBC affiliate, KYW-TV
KYW-TV
KYW-TV, virtual channel 3, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. KYW-TV shares a studio facility with its sister station, CW flagship WPSG just north of Center City Philadelphia...
, which had just hired its first African American woman reporter, Trudy Haynes. Huggins, herself, made history when she joined WCAU by becoming the station's first African American female reporter.
Following her success on WCAU, the management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
of the television station gave Huggins her own show, Morning Side. Huggins also co-hosted a midday news show called What's Happening during the early 1970s with Herb Clarke, a now-retired WCAU weatherman
Weather forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...
. Her other shows on WCAU included Horizons and Huggins' Heroes, which focused on ordinary local people who had accomplished notable achievements, especially for the benefit of the larger community. Huggins Heroes became a weekly profile feature on WCAU news broadcasts during the 1990s and 2000s, and highlighted Huggins's reputation as a reporter who focused on "unsung heroes" throughout the Philadelphia region.
In 2006, the Philadelphia City Council
Philadelphia City Council
The Philadelphia City Council, the legislative body of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consists of ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large. The council president is elected by the members from among their number...
honored Huggins on her 40th anniversary at WCAU (by then an NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate) by proclaiming "Edie Huggins Day" in the city. "Edie Huggins Day" was officially proclaimed with a resolution
Resolution (law)
A resolution is a written motion adopted by a deliberative body. The substance of the resolution can be anything that can normally be proposed as a motion. For long or important motions, though, it is often better to have them written out so that discussion is easier or so that it can be...
on March 30, 2006.
Huggins's other career honors included her induction into the Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame. She was also chosen by the Urban League of Philadelphia as one of the "Outstanding African American Philadelphians of the 20th century." She was also honored by the Philadelphia Chapter of American Women in Radio & Television as Communicator of the Year, awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists and earned an award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Huggins was a founding member of the National Association of Black Journalists
National Association of Black Journalists
The National Association of Black Journalists is an organization of African American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 1975 in Washington, D.C...
. Professionally, Huggins was often cited by colleagues as a mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
and was affectionately referred to as "Miss Edie" by younger reporters and staff throughout the Philadelphia television news industry.
In 2006, Huggins was cast in the lead role in the independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
, So Big
So Big
So Big may refer to:*So Big , a 1924 novel written by Edna Ferber*So Big , a 1924 film adaptation directed by Charles Brabin*So Big! , a 1932 film adaptation starring Barbara Stanwyck...
. The film debuted on May 3, 2008, at International House in Philadelphia.
Death
Edie Huggins died of lung cancerLung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
on July 29, 2008, at the age of 72. She was survived by her two children, Hastings Edward Huggins and Laurie Linn. A memorial service held at Huggins's church, Bright Hope Baptist Church, in North Philadelphia was attended by many members of Philadelphia's media.