Thursday, July 02, 2020

...Rolex Super Coolness... Hugh Downs







...Rolex Super Coolness...


Hugh Downs



Belongs To The Ages

1921-2020


Six Decades with Rolex Keeping the Time Of His Life




Hugh Downs passed away today at age 99. Hugh was a famous talk show host as well as being a pioneering game show host. I met Hugh Downs back in San Francisco when I was a boy in the late 1970s and had a great conversation with him and his wife at a restaurant on Union Street which was named Morty's. I remember the warmth of his gracious personality as well as his genial gentility.

Robert Kennedy with Hugh Downs

He starred on the TV show named Concentration (from 1958 to 1969), 


Hugh Downs 1961

Hugh Downs was a regular on the Today Show from 1962 to 1971. The photo below of Hugh Downs was taken in the early 1960s on the set of the Today Show.





Hugh Downs was also the announcer and sidekick for Jack Paar on Tonight Show from 1957 to 1962. In the photo below, we see Jack Paar, pictured on the far left also wearing a Rolex. On the far right, we see Jose Melis.


The photo above was taken in 1961 on the set of the TV show, Concentration. In this next photo, we see Hugh Downs in 1979 in a publicity photo when he was the Chairman of the U.S. Committee for UNICEF, and he hosted a two hour TV special named Celebrate The Children, which was a celebration of hope for children of the world. 



Hugh Downs 1979


Hugh Downs is probably best known for being one of the founding reporters with Barbara Walters on 20/20. Hugh starred on 20/20 from 1978 to 1999!!!



There were many famous correspondents who were part of the 20/20 team including Bob Brown, Tom Jerriel, Sylvia Chase, Giraldo Revera,  and John Stossel who are pictured below in the 1980s. Other famous 20/20 correspondents (not pictured) included Martin Bashir, Katie Couric, Chris Wallace, and Stone Phillips.


In the photo below we see Hugh Downs taken in 1992 wearing his yellow gold Rolex Day-






The photo below, taken on September 14, 1998, for the 40th anniversary of 20/20 show famous anchors including from left to right, Charles Gibson, San Donaldson, Diane Sawyers, Barbara Walters, Hugh Downs and Connie Chung.




In the next photo below we see Hugh Downs in 1989 celebrating the 50th Anniversary of his career in broadcasting, on the set of 20/20. His career began in May of 1939 as a radio announcer in Ohio.



Hugh Downs 1989


In the more recent photo below from 20/20 we see Hugh Downs sporting his Coke GMT Master. Notice his pose with his Rolex sticking out of his cuff is almost identical.

Hugh Downs 2001


In the two recent photos below, we see Hugh Downs pictured on the right, with NASA Apollo Astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Notice Hugh Downs is wearing his yellow gold Rolex Day-Date. Basically, as these photos stand testament to, Hugh Downs has been wearing Rolex watches for at least a half-century!!!