43 Facts About Dave Garroway

David Cunningham Garroway was an American television personality.

Dave Garroway was the founding host and anchor of NBC's Today from 1952 to 1961.

Dave Garroway has been honored for his contributions to radio and television with a star for each on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the St Louis Walk of Fame, the city where he spent part of his teenaged years and early adulthood.

Dave Garroway began his broadcasting career at NBC as a page in 1938; he graduated 23rd in a class of 24 from NBC's school for announcers.

Dave Garroway's early reporting efforts earned Garroway a reputation for finding a good story, even in unusual places.

Over time, Garroway hosted a series of radio programs, such as The 11:60 Club, The Dave Garroway Show, and Reserved for Garroway.

One oddity Dave Garroway introduced on his radio shows was having the studio audience respond to a song number not by applauding, but by snapping their fingers.

Dave Garroway worked to organize jazz concerts, creating a "Jazz Circuit" of local clubs in 1947, bringing back interest in this music genre.

Dave Garroway was the first "communicator" on NBC Radio's Monitor when the program first aired on June 12,1955.

Dave Garroway continued as the Sunday-evening host of the news and music program from 1955 to 1961.

Dave Garroway worked on the air at WCBS radio in 1964 and briefly hosted the afternoon rush-hour shift at KFI in Los Angeles in late 1970 and early 1971.

Dave Garroway was introduced to the national television audience when he hosted the experimental musical variety show Dave Garroway at Large, telecast live from Chicago.

Dave Garroway's relaxed, informal style when on the air became part of his trademark.

Dave Garroway is pleasant, serious, scholarly looking, and not obtrusively convivial.

Dave Garroway was joined by news editor Jim Fleming and announcer Jack Lescoulie when the show debuted on Monday, January 14,1952.

Dave Garroway hosted a radio show, Dial Dave Garroway, that went on the air as soon as Today wrapped up each morning.

Dial Dave Garroway had begun in 1946 when Garroway was still working for WMAQ in Chicago.

Dave Garroway took Today to various locations during his tenure - Paris in 1959 and Rome in 1960; car shows and technology expos; plays and movies; and aboard an Air Force B-52 for a practice bombing run.

In 1961, Dave Garroway hosted a special filmed program for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association that traced Billy Graham's crusades from 1949 to 1960.

Toward the end of his professional career, he began to have disagreements with staff members; some days, Dave Garroway would disappear in the middle of the Today broadcast, leaving colleagues to finish the live program.

On June 16,1961, Dave Garroway left the morning show he helped pioneer.

Later, he went back to working in radio, doing "split-shift" shows called Dave Garroway AM and Dave Garroway PM for WCBS, New York.

Dave Garroway started a magazine, National FM-Radio; the venture was a costly failure, with Dave Garroway realizing he was not cut out to be a businessman.

Dave Garroway's attorney told him that he had done enough legal reading to pass the New York State bar exam.

Dave Garroway planned to re-enter the television world with a CBS summer replacement show, Newcomers, but the show never made it past the summer of 1971.

Dave Garroway appeared sporadically on other television programs without achieving the success and recognition levels he enjoyed on Today.

Dave Garroway largely remained out of the public eye for the rest of the 1960s and 1970s, although he did re-emerge for Today anniversaries.

Dave Garroway narrated a compilation of romantic songs performed by the Boston Pops Orchestra, Getting Friendly with Music, in 1956.

In 1960, Dave Garroway wrote Fun on Wheels, an activity book for children on road trips.

Toward the end of his life, Dave Garroway planned to write an autobiography.

Dave Garroway married former actress and ballerina Pamela Wilde in 1956.

Dave Garroway later adopted Wilde's son Michael from her first marriage.

Dave Garroway was very interested in astronomy, and during a tour of Russian telescopes, he met his third wife, astronomer Sarah Lee Lippincott.

Dave Garroway was an automobile enthusiast, and one of his hobbies was collecting and restoring vintage luxury and sports cars.

Dave Garroway was especially fond of his 1938 SS Jaguar 100, which he raced in his spare time.

Dave Garroway was featured in several automobile commercials, including the first Chevrolet Corvette in 1953, and the Ford Falcon in 1964.

In 1981, Dave Garroway underwent open-heart surgery, as a result of which he contracted a staph infection.

Dave Garroway, who had recently undergone drug rehabilitation for an amphetamine addiction, appeared to be cheerful and in good spirits during the show.

Dave Garroway indicated that he would be present for the show's 35th anniversary in 1987.

Dave Garroway spent some weeks in and out of hospitals and had an in-home nurse tending to him.

Dave Garroway is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

Dave Garroway's death was noted on NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw and Roger Mudd.

In Robert Redford's 1994 film Quiz Show, Dave Garroway was portrayed by Barry Levinson.