Chuck Scarborough, the 81-year-old WNBC New York television anchor, is retiring.
“The time has come to pass the torch,” Scarborough told viewers at the conclusion of WNBC’s 6 p.m. broadcast Thursday. “50 years, eight months and 17 days after I walked in the door here at the headquarters of the national broadcasting company, I will step away from this anchor desk.”
The New York Post first reported on Scarborough’s departure, which he told colleagues during an afternoon meeting Thursday.
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Scarborough said on-air that his last broadcast will be Thursday Dec. 12, and he’ll have more to say about the matter then.
“For now, I’ll offer a simple, heartfelt thank you for allowing me into your living rooms and trusting us to bring you the news.”
Scarborough’s half-century at WNBC began in March 1974, when he anchored the station’s 5 p.m. broadcast. He would go on to earn 36 local Emmy awards, as well as a national Emmy and Edward R. Murrow award for his coverage of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
A recipient of the 2014 “Governor’s Award” for his prolific career, Scarborough is also an inductee in the New York State Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. Over the years, he filed stories from the Philippines, Russia, and the Middle East, among other places.
Prior to his impressive tenure at WNBC, Scarborough, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, worked at television stations in Mississippi, Georgia and Massachusetts.
Earlier this year, Scarborough celebrated his milestone at WNBC by participating in a ceremonial blue-and-gold lighting of the Empire State Building.
