Hello everyone. Today I will be writing about Fahey Flynn, a local newscaster in Chicago for over forty years. He started working in Wisconsin and later moved to Chicago in the early 1940s. He was on the radio for many years and on television in the early 1950s.

He began as a news anchor in 1953 at WBBM-TV Channel 2 until 1968. Fahey worked with P.J. Hoff, the chief meteorologist that magnificently drew the weather maps with remarkable drawings that were cartoonish and entertaining. Mr. Hoff undoubtedly had a very engaging personality and was beloved by television viewers in the 1950s and 1960s. Fahey left WBBM-TV in 1968 and went to WBKB-TV Channel 7, which promptly became WLS-TV in October of that year.

In 1968, he and Joel Daly were the first broadcasting team that received high ratings for many years. They were fabulously entertaining, informative, and trustworthy. I watched them all the time in the 1970s when I was a kid. On the odd occasion when I came home from school, I watched The 3:30 afternoon movie aired on Channel 7. After the movie was over, Eyewitness News aired at 5 o’clock. Fahey Flynn would begin saying his famous greeting to all the television viewers. “How do you do, ladies and gentlemen. I’m Fahey Flynn.” That was his trademark and the bow tie that he traditionally wore for his entire career in journalism. I think I saw him once on TV wearing a regular necktie on a television special. That seemed very odd to me at the time.

Fahey Flynn passed away on August 8, 1983, at the age of 67. His death was a complete shock to me and everyone in Chicago. His longtime colleagues at WLS-TV Channel 7 were devastated by the terrible news. It took a long time for me to get used to watching the local news without him. It wasn’t the same anymore. He was a true pioneer in the television industry and was a kind, wonderful man. We all miss him. Thank you. Pete Kastanes. Admin for Vanished Chicagoland Facebook Page.