JIM VANCE MUST have been a tough nut for his therapist to crack. None. I saw you do this or that. And after the meeting, some guys came over and said, Man, are we glad to see you. Its the Cadillac of motorcyclesthe bike Arnold Schwarzenegger rode in Terminator 2. He talked it over with several friends and his wife, Kathy McCampbell Vance, WRCs director of programming, the person whose advice he most values. I slunk to the back of the room as far as I could get and didnt open my mouth. He chafes at the changes he has seen at Channel 4, which has lost many of its most experienced reporters, writers, and producers in recent years. 1976), two grandsons and one granddaughter. And as nice a guy as you'll meet. She had to lie flat in a back brace for weeks. But I had to resolve how to be comfortable with what I was doing, and Jesus, was it ever a struggle. I mean, it was almost overnight. He was 75. But I played a lot of ball and sang a lot, so I felt comfortable around my white peers. Ive had to take some time off, but its not my own choosing, Vance told viewers on May 4 as he revealed the tragic news. He stayed in treatment for five weeks, and he came back that February determined to stay clean. Mostly, he says, he was sick and tired of being sick and tired. Twelve of Jims aunts and uncles graduated from Lower Merion High School, one of the best public schools in the country. Theyre dynamite people with their feet on the ground who anybody would be proud to have as neighbors., Vance sees a lot more of his aunts and uncles these days, too, after beng virtually estranged from them for many years. While Vance was away, Van Messel urged his friends to write to him, telling him why he needed to get well and come back. So Vance enrolled in Cheyney State, a black teachers college outside Philadelphia. And I pulled up at this building, and it looked so grungy. In 2011, the Washingtonian reported, A father of three, Vance has been married to former Channel 4 news producer Kathy McCampbell Vance for 24 years and lives in DCs Spring Valley.. She was a producer and consultant for WRC-TV in Washington D.C. (Vance's long-time station), for two years from 1998 to 2000. "Jim Vance inducted into NABJ Hall of Fame", Rich, Cindy, They had been married for 30 years at the time of his death.". They were a hard-working, self-reliant clan, looked up to by their neighbors. Jim has a smile and a howdy for everyone, and people feel free to drop by his office to schmooze, smoke, or bemoan the state of local news. But I share the up side with them, toowhat my life is like now, not only without the drugs, but without the psychological burdens that came with drug use. [3] who died from cirrhosis of the liver when Vance was nine years old. I think he wanted to make sure that when Vance came back, he and I were comfortable with each other, which we were. Powered by. Vance, 75, died on July 22 just over two months after revealing to viewers that he was battling cancer. So, I have been getting that treatment. In the meantime Im doing OK. Voice is a little weakI love what I do. I left town a couple of times because there were people looking for me who could hardly talk English, so there was no negotiating with them, if you know what l mean. I didnt know that I hated myself, that I spent all of those years trying to live down to my expectations of myself while at the same time trying to live up to everybody elses expectations for me. After having spent five years in therapy, he says, he finds it easier to open up. What hes doing now is making time for himself. I would go weeks, even months at a time, and then Id be gone for two days. No human being on this earth has ever done more to salvage a life than she did for me, says Vance. During the course of her more than twenty years there, she served as Writer, Producer, Executive Producer, and ultimately Director of Programming, Community Affairs and Broadcast Standards. To this day, I dont know why I didnt pull the trigger, but I dont believe it has much to do with me. VANCE THRIVED ON THE PACE, but it wasnt enough. At age 52, Vance still has his driving, restless energy. And they didnt ask me why. He doesnt hang out with buddies., Many a time, his wife says, they spend hours together without exchanging a word while Vance tinkers with something like his beloved fishing gear. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Then, as an ABC Network News correspondent, based in Los Angeles, she covered assignments as diverse as breaking news, presidential politics and the entertainment industry. I would make a couple of zip guns or zappers the same night I had done well on an SAT test. I thought I was dangerous. Checks can be mailed to:AAHHPO Box 413Chautauqua, NY 14722For more information about the AAHH and how you can support our mission, please contact:Erroll Daviserrolldavis@outlook.com, African American Heritage House at Chautauqua- 38 Clark Ave. Its patient. Farhi, Paul, "Jim & Doreen: NBC4's top-rated anchors are still leading the pack after 25 years". His eyes sparkle, his enthusiasm is infectious. I didnt love them for it then.. The largest part of my professional life was Vance. His expensive cars had been repossessed, and he barely had any decent clothes left. She was responsible for the production of a range of programs, including live broadcasts, awards shows, documentaries, weekly entertainment and childrens programs, as well as news, talk and other topical programs, some of which were broadcast nationally, internationally and in syndication. Currently, Karen is working on a memoir of her two grandfathers, Paul R. Williams, Architect, and civil rights leader, Dr. H. Claude Hudson. I had to take cash with me because we didnt have any credit. And there was no guarantee hed come back., One person who believed otherwise was Van Messel. The third time, Ill never forget. I remember the first time I saw him. I guess she saw something in me the others didnt, but I dont know how she knew. Ill never forget the pain and utter shame of looking people in the eye, which I forced myself to do, and saying good morning or good afternoon. And I knew exactly what Ed Bradley was talking about, but I was so full of denial, I acted like, What are you talking about? And then he went on to tell me what he had been hearing and the reason he was there. Or he may haul his bass boat down to the Potomac; he seems to know every inch of the river. This time, against the advice of everyone, he insisted that the public be told the truth. On July 22, Vances station announced that he had died. Written by Royal Kennedy Rodgers. Vances co-anchor, Dave Marash, especially his beard, was a third edge. Rescott, Jacqueline, "Vance Cites Drug Problem: WRC Anchor Takes Leave for Treatment Vance Cites Drug Problem". Once you know the kinds of things youve learned here, it will never be the same. And all three things she told me came right on down the line.. Join Facebook to connect with Kathy McCampbell Vance and others you may know. Its like the struggle I had being comfortable with becoming a reasonably successful black man. Whatcha gonna do?. At NBC she executive produced live event programs, as well as local and syndicated shows for national and international distribution. And I did, and I hated it.. Hes certainly not the best reader on TV; for 25 years producers have been trying to get him to put more energy into his delivery. But they knew.. And yes, it does appeal to whatever sense of macho I still have in me. I love funky bars. When Barry called that night, I had to ask somebody where his house was., On the way out the Southeast-Southwest Freeway, Vance was dreading the encounter, unable to think of what to say or do that might be helpful. The next day, it was like, I gotta get some dope. Facebook gives. Instinctively, Vance swung back, knocking him out. We want to do more than just a biopic, Kennedy Rodgers, who is the films co-director and co-producer, told the Los Angeles Times in 2020. But as a follower of a 12-step recovery program, he felt he had no choice. Her professional awards include a local Emmy, and recognition from the San Francisco State School of Journalism, as well as from the American Association of Trial Lawyers. Its not that I was trying to prove anything. I used to beat the hell out of myself for not being the best father that the world has ever known, but the proof that I didnt do that badly after all is the fact that I have some absolutely delightful kids. In 1978, he separated from Barbarathey didnt divorce until 1984and moved to an apartment on Columbia Road in Adams Morgan. EARLY IN JANUARY 1985, at the urging of Kathy and Van Messel, Vance agreed to go to the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California. The first Black member of the American Institute of Architects, he designed more than 2,000 buildings over the course of his career from private residences to his work on landmarks like the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Los Angeles International Airport. Bradfords July 22 statement began: We are heartbroken to announce that Jim Vance died this morning. Further details about the circumstances of his death were not revealed. It was miserable., Vance had been advised not to leave town for treatment, and it was hard. I was especially terrified of the Sunday Post. He was married to Margo L. Vance (deceased 2014) when he was 19 years old and has one daughter, Dawn, from that marriage. I went out and bought a book on drawing, some pastels, and a box that looks like his tackle box, she says. He also started sneaking down to the jazz clubs in Philadelphia, sipping Cokes, and listening to Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Lee Morgan. He made some remark about my kinship to lower animal forms and how they had higher auditory senses. If you put the tabs together for the walls, there wasnt enough space for the elevator to go up and down. Vance recalls how he agonized. And it just destroyed me., Partly because he disliked his teachers and partly because it wasnt cool to be too smart, he did just enough work to get by. He is estranged from his current wife, Kathy McCampbell Vance, a former WRC producer and news executive. And I really threw myself into my work.. True, they both frequented the smoky, late-night bars on Capitol Hill in the early 80s, places like the Gandy Dancer where people played backgammon till dawn and sometimes did cocaine. Jim Vance brought warmth and dignity to every newscast. But over the next 10 years, he experienced too much of everything else: too much money, too much adulation, too many women, too much fear, andmost hazardous for himtoo much success. Kathy McCampbell Vance is a multiple Emmy Award winning television producer, director, and former TV executive with experience in production, program development, syndication, community outreach and marketing. Vances death was a great loss to the D.C. community, where he served as the longest tenured anchor in its history, with more than 40 years on the air. Chellz paperchaser (@ChellyJelly86) July 22, 2017. Kathy McCampbell Vance is an Emmy Award winning television producer, specializing in news, entertainment, and documentary production. Currently an independent producer specializing in documentaries and short form productions, she spent most of her career at NBC4 Washington, an NBC Network Owned and Operated TV station. They could remember when abusing blacks was Saturday-night sport. His friends hustled him away, but later that night he heard a description of himself being broadcast on the radio. Sometimes he left at the end of the 6 oclock show and didnt come back at all. Among her other awards is recognition from the National Black Media coalition for her contributions as an African American journalist. At the same time he got his first taste of the news business, doing radio newscasts on weekends for a popular deejay known as the Mighty Burner., His real love was the Philadelphia Independent, a now-defunct black newspaper acquired by his father-in-laws partner. But I wanted them to want to come to see me, so I would go out and buy a whole bunch of foodbananas, oranges, apples, canteloupes, all sorts of things I dont even eat. Kathy McCampbell Vance is an Emmy Award winning television producer, specializing in news, entertainment, and documentary production. An honor to have known & worked with him. He hated to pick up the phone when she called. Jim Vance. And along with the fear, I was also trying to figure out how to get the money to get high again.. She worked as a Los Angeles-based correspondent for ABC Network News and was producer/correspondent for Chicago Tonight at WTTW, the PBS station in Chicago. Apart from my wife and my daughters, there is no one I love more., Michael is one of the few people at WRC who can claim to know Vance intimately. PAFF Co-directors Royal Kennedy Rodgers and Kathy McCampbell Vance's Hollywood's Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story is a nonfiction biopic about the African-American talent who rose to become. Kathy especially was a rock. And it was always accompanied by the feeling, Everyones got to see through me. Their most conspicuous luxuries are Vances 91 Mercedes convertible, his top-of-the-line Harley Davidson Fatboy motorcycle, and the kidney- shaped pool in the back yard. Flynn asked Vance what he wanted to do. In 2011, the Washingtonian reported, "A father of three, Vance has been married to former. Station management and the higher-ups in New York weighed cutting Vance loose, but Van Messel was adamant that he be given another chance. Prior to becoming an independent producer, Ms. McCampbell-Vance worked at . Margo dropped out of school to work while Vance continued to go to Cheyney. True, theres more salt than pepper in his mustache these days, and he has gotten a little jowly. That came later. They said I have cancer, and I need treatment. Gentzler decorates her side of their small, bland office at WRC's Nebraska Avenue NW . Quiet and strong, he could strap a bathtub on his back and carry it up a flight of steps when he was 75. [13], Vance also received multiple Emmy Awards for Outstanding News Anchor in 1987,[13] 1991,[14] 1997, 1999, and 2011. It was the same with that gang foolishness. And I was. . The Post reported that Vances father, James Jr., was an alcoholic who came home from World War II traumatized by combat. I know people who did take their lives. I guess he was about 3 or 4 before he got hold of himself.. Be the first to contribute! Currently an independent producer specializing in documentaries and short form productions, she spent most of her career at NBC4 Washington, serving as writer, producer, executive producer and ultimately director of programming, community affairs and broadcast standards. I kept repeating it, almost like a mantra Lord, make me a vessel. Menu. For the first two years, Vance tried on a variety of role models to see what fit. Now, all this time, in spite of everything they told me at Betty Ford about needing to reinforce my efforts at recovery by attending 12-step groups, I didnt want to bother going. 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