The Washington Post obituary was fascinating. The local Washington station and the NBC station are in the building. Vance frequently had lunch with the legendary David Brinkley, and Brinkley became a mentor.
The Post obituary contained a quote from a Vance interview in Washingtonian magazine.
“I learned that, I swear to God, from David Brinkley,” Mr. Vance added. “Brinkley’s notion was if somebody sees you on the street and you’re pleasant to that person, he’s going to tell 10 people that the encounter worked out well. If you’re unpleasant, he’s going to tell at least 25. It just mathematically works out for you to be a nice guy."
I really can see Brinkley saying that.
I grew up in a Walter Cronkite household. Brinkley was on NBC, and the local NBC station was viewed as the Wilkes-Barre station, so I didn't get in to Brinkley until he moved to ABC in 1981. However, I have watched a lot of old Brinkley stuff on YouTube. He is one of the all time greats.
Brinkley's last job at NBC was to anchor "NBC Magazine." It was opposite "Dallas" on Friday nights for much of its run, so no one watched. The show had one of the best themes ever. I'm amazed it wasn't recycled somewhere after "NBC Magazine" ended its run.
Keen observers will note the name Kathleen Ankers on the closing credits. She worked on David Letterman's morning and Late Night shows. She jumped to CBS when Letterman moved over there, and helped design the new look of the Ed Sullivan Theater.
So I got to thinking, have I been nice to everyone? No. Not by a long shot. I'm not a bad guy, but there are times people want to talk when I'm trying to get my story together or my mind is on something work related. I'm nice. Really. Tell a friend.
