Forty years ago, America was shocked by the erratic on-air behavior and subsequent tragic death of one of its most famous news anchors.
An incoherent NBC News program hosted by Jessica Savitch on October 3, 1983, sparked claims that the four-time Emmy winner went on the airwaves while high on cocaine use.
Just 20 days later, Savitch drowned after a car owned by his lover, New York Post Vice President Martin Fischbein, crashed into a canal, killing both of them.
The death appears to have been an accident – although the New York Post later claimed she may have been murdered for investigating an Italian banking scandal.
The twice-married Savitch, who had no children and reportedly suffered from a serious drug addiction, was just 36 years old.
The 40th anniversary of the shocking events has sparked fresh discussion online about Savitch’s difficult life and shocking death.
On October 3, 1983, Savitch aired during an NBC News Digest segment speaking incoherently. The presenter slurred and deviated during the report – leading many to suspect she had taken cocaine during the show
In 1988, five years after Savitch’s death, Gwenda Blair, in a glowing biography entitled Almost Golden, claimed Savitch was an “unstable and pathetic” sharp-armed egomaniac desperate for fame.
Another book about Savitch, Golden Girl, claims the newscaster, who makes $315,000 a year, snorted “heaps” of cocaine “from dawn to dusk.”
Author Alanna Nash wrote, “She was so paranoid at the time that sometimes she didn’t go to work.”
“But this was someone who had more than just a drug problem. She had a severe personality disorder.
“Just before she died, she was in a terrible physical condition. Her weight was low, her hair and nails were ragged, she had ulcers from the medication, and her hands were shaking.”
And it’s that alleged drug addiction that sparked Savitch’s most infamous moment, just weeks before her shocking death.
On October 3, 1983, during an NBC News Digest feature, Savitch was shown speaking incoherently, stumbling over her words in a bizarre singsong voice while discussing then-President Ronald Reagan and handgun laws.
She tragically died on October 23, 1983 after dining with a friend who accidentally drove into a canal during a torrential rainstorm
Her speech and intonation appeared normal later that same evening, and some speculated that the effects of any medication she may have been taking had worn off.
Savitch blamed a teleprompter malfunction for the problems. Her agent at the time offered another apology, claiming Savitch was feeling the effects of the painkillers she was taking — because she had to undergo facial reconstruction surgery after a boating accident.
But rumors of drug abuse lingered, and biographer Gwenda Blair claimed the incident virtually ended Savitch’s career, just a year after she was voted America’s Most Attractive Newscaster.
NBC correspondent Linda Ellerbee said she asked the network to step in: “You have to do something.” This woman [Savitch] is in trouble.’
Ellerbee said a network vice president responded, “We’re afraid to do anything.” “We’re afraid she’ll kill herself in our time.”
The charismatic journalist, 36, was named the country’s “sexiest” presenter in 1982 – and the fourth most trusted news anchor
She had arrived at NBC News in shock after colleagues from her old station – KYW in Philly – forwarded a recording of her throwing a violent tantrum over pages of her script being delivered out of order.
However, thanks to her sudden death, Savitch and her fans never knew what the future of her career would hold.
The news anchor and Fischbein, 34, who Savitch had been dating for two weeks, had enjoyed dinner at a restaurant called Chez Odette in New Hope, Pennsylvania.
They drove about 600 feet over a gravel and gravel surface and past two warning signs, with Fischbein taking a wrong turn and suddenly going off the road.
The car plunged 10 feet into the Delaware Canal and landed upside down.
There were indications that the couple had attempted to kick in the doors to escape the sinking vehicle. The rear window was smashed, revealing the horrific debris.
An autopsy revealed that both Miss Savitch and Mr Fishbein had suffocated by drowning. There were no drugs in her body – both had only drunk a small glass of wine that evening.
Investigators assumed that the driver may have mistaken the towpath for an exit road after leaving Chez Odette.
Walter Everett, the New Hope Police Chief, said at the time, “It was raining, the weather was bad.” “Visibility was very poor.”
A darker version of events was provided by New York private investigator William Callahan, who suspected Savitch might have been murdered.
He claimed her investigation into the death of Italian banker Robert Calvi put her life in danger.
Callahan says Calvi was murdered after costing his Milan-based bank $250 million and suspects Savitch caught the killer’s attention by delving into his life.
The local coroner dismissed the story, saying he had heard no such theory about Savitch’s death.
In the years leading up to her death, the station was plagued by personal tragedy.
Savitch at her Northwest Washington home with her dog, Chewy
After graduating from college, she held a variety of jobs—as a researcher for CBS radio, a reporter for KHOU-TV, and then a host for KYW-TV
An autopsy revealed that both Miss Savitch and Mr Fishbein had suffocated by drowning. There were no drugs in their systems
Born in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1947, Miss Savitch is said to have had a keen interest in watching the news with her father from the age of seven
Executive Producers: David Fanning and Jessica Savitch
American broadcast journalist Jessica Savitch of NBC News reports on the “great debate” between Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter in Pennsylvania
She divorced her first husband Mel Korn after just 11 months of marriage, allegedly after he found out about her drug problem – and then quickly remarried a gynecologist, Dr. Donald Payne.
Five months after their marriage, she found him hanged in their Washington DC townhouse.
Born in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1947, Miss Savitch is said to have had a keen interest in watching the news with her father from the age of seven.
She got her first job as a journalist while still in high school: she was a news anchor and DJ under the name “honeybee” at radio station WOND in Pleasantville, New Jersey.
She then studied communications at Ithaca College, graduating in 1968.
In 1977, she landed a job as a congressional correspondent at NBC for $500,000 a year. She was with the station until her death six years later
After graduating from college, she held a variety of jobs—as a researcher for CBS Radio, as a reporter for KHOU-TV in Houston, and then as a presenter for KYW-TV in Philadelphia.
In 1977 she landed a job as a congressional correspondent at NBC. She was with the station until her death six years later.
She has been praised throughout her broadcasting career, even when she has had to fill in gaps in the show. Her KYW producer Cliff Abromats once said, “You [Savitch] was very well on his feet.
“She could think quickly and ask the right questions, and she had the ability that many lacked of actually listening for the answer.”
“Jessica would never miss it if someone said something unexpected.”