Sue Simmons
Sue Simmons (born
May 27,
1943) has been the lead female anchor at
WNBC-TV in
New York since
1980. A native New Yorker, she has been co-anchor for
Live at Five with several co-anchors, including
Jack Cafferty,
Tony Guida,
Matt Lauer,
Dean Shepherd,
Jim Rosenfield, and
Perri Peltz, and 11 p.m. weeknight anchor with
Chuck Scarborough.
Chuck and Sue (as they are known in New York) have been together since Simmons' arrival at WNBC -- the longest run for an anchor team in New York television history.
Before she joined
NewsChannel 4, she was with
WRC-TV in
Washington, D.C. from
1976 to 1980, where she co-anchored with
Jim Vance. Prior to her arrival at WRC, she was with
WBAL-TV in
Baltimore from
1974 to 1976. There she was an anchor for the station's
Action News broadcast and the "Baltimore At One." She was one of the first female African-American anchors on television.
She began her career as a consumer action reporter at
WTNH-TV in
New Haven.
*Sue's birth name was
Sue Ellen Simmons*Sue's father is
John Simmons, a noted jazz bassist
*In
1982, WNBC-TV sports anchor
Marv Albert asked her who she was picking in
Super Bowl XVI, between the
San Francisco 49ers and the
Cincinnati Bengals. "Cincinnati," she said. Marv asked why, and she said, "Because their helmets knock me out!" The Bengals, who had adopted tiger stripes on their helmets that season, lost the game, 26-21.
*She was the co-host of the
syndicated program
Images - A Year in Review in the 1990s.
*Sue was one of the first inductees into
New York State Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in
2005. She was inducted with
Chuck Scarborough, her 11 p.m. co-anchor. The pair has been anchoring together since 1980.
*Every year on February 2nd, Groundhog's Day, and live on-air during the evening news broadcast, Sue does a cute facial impression of a groundhog for fun.
