Whatever
Happened To...
Ex-KGMB anchor Sevey
in retirement on mainlandQuestion: What ever happened to Bob Sevey, who was the longtime anchor at KGMB television station?
Answer: The veteran news anchor has been enjoying his retirement, playing lots of golf and relaxing at his home in Olympia, Wash.
"I've just been watching Puget Sound go by and enjoying the Northwest," Sevey said when he was reached by telephone yesterday.
While his home is on the mainland, Sevey returns to Hawaii every few years, mostly to visit old friends, he said. He was back in Honolulu last month to tape a television special celebrating the 50th anniversary of his former employer.
Phil Arnone, producer of the 90-minute special airing at 9 p.m. Thursday, said Sevey was sporting a beard before his recent trip to the islands but had to shave it off for the special so he'd be recognizable instantly.
The 74-year-old newsman retired in 1986 from KGMB and worked on former station owner Cec Heftel's unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 1987, before moving to Washington.
Known as "Hawaii's Walter Cronkite," Sevey's career mirrored the major events of the last half-century. He fondly recalled some of the highlights: covering the Kennedy assassination before satellite technology; island visits by presidents, generals and prime ministers during the Vietnam era; and the lunar landing of Apollo 11.
Sevey came to Hawaii from Phoenix in 1954 as a production manager to help get KULA-TV, which later became KHVH-TV, on the air.
From 1957 to 1959, he worked for an advertising agency, Holst and Male. In 1959, Sevey became station manager of KGMB-TV.
He then returned to Channel 4 (KHVH-TV), where he served as anchor from 1961 to 1965. He left for a short stint with advertising firm Fawcett McDermott, then returned to KGMB in 1966 where he remained until his retirement.
Sevey said he doesn't miss doing television news.
"The television news business has changed rather considerably," he said.
"It started changing really in the '80s when corporate owners discovered news could be a moneymaker rather than an image-maker -- image for the station, that is.
"It was a lot more fun when it was an image-maker," Sevey said.
"Now, there's much more of a formula than there used to be, and I'm not a great fan of that."
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