Ron Stone (1936-2008)

Anyone who has a significant stake in Greater Houston, especially those who are native Houstonians such as yours truly can tell you of the prominence of an anchor named Ron Stone, who for 20 years graced the anchor desk at KPRC-TV (Channel 2/NBC), retiring in 1992 just as I was starting kindergarten. On Tuesday, Stone lost his battle with prostate cancer at the age of 72.

Granted, Stone was not a native Houstonian, for he was born north of the Red River in Oklahoma. But former CBS News anchorman Dan Rather later discovered Stone and brought him to KHOU-TV (Channel 11/CBS), where Rather was at the time the lead anchorman. Stone later succeeded Rather, went to a writing gig at NBC in 1967, and came back to Channel 11 a year later in 1968 before jumping ship to Channel 2 in 1972, and pairing with weatherman Doug Johnson and sportscaster Ron Franklin, who formed a dynamic trio at KPRC in the 70s and 80s. Stone would leave in 1992 to start his film company, Stonefilms of Texas, which has won a bevy of awards. His deep appreciation for his perspectives on the history of this region played a role in his honoring by the Sons of the Republic of Texas.

From his graceful delivery of the day's top stories to his work on The Eyes of Texas, Stone established himself as a standard bearer amongst local newsmen, and along with the venerable Dave Ward of KTRK-TV (Channel 13/ABC) and Channel 11's Steve Smith developed a true Houston news tradition: the long-tenured anchorman, a tradition that continues today with Ward, Bill Balleza (Stone's successor at Channel 2), and Greg Hurst (Channel 11), as well as 9 p.m. anchors Mike Barajas of KRIV (Fox 26) and Alan Hemberger of KHCW (CW 39), all of whom have served no less than eight years in their current gig...at their current station.

As a native Houstonian and product of northern transplants, my perception of Ron Stone is of a person who put what was in the best interests of viewers and those who value excellence in journalism ahead of what was best for the boardroom and, most infamous of all, the almighty dollar. Stone's journalistic prowess and razor-sharp clarity combined with his small-town charm displayed the generosity and camaraderie of the people of Greater Houston to the world, and also showed when he went outside of Houston to deliver some of our greatest international headlines, most notably the fall of the Berlin Wall back in 1989.

As for his legendary tenure at KPRC, Stone graced the evening newscasts on Channel 2 for many years until the late 1980s, when Stone ceded the 10 p.m news to Balleza and began hosting an afternoon show before its 5 p.m. news (Years later, I would discover that the afternoon show was in part, brought in to make up for Channel 2's unfortunate distinction of being the Houston purveyor for Geraldo Rivera's Trash TV landfill.) When he left Channel 2 in 1992, he anchored the 6 p.m. newscast. On his last newscast, Stone said this to viewers:

"I always figured that doing local television was a trust. So I never tried to lie to you, never tried to lead you down a false path. I spent 30 years working at two really fine television stations in one really fine town. I've been a very lucky man."

- Ron Stone

And a very lucky man Stone has been, indeed, to be a part of history, and also explain it as well, in the greatest city in the world. Ron Stone will be greatly missed, but along with other legends such as Sylvan Rodriguez and Marvin Zindler, he definitely will never be forgotten, and will forever live in the hearts and minds of the people who had the fortunate opportunity to experience Stone first hand, whether through the small screen or in person.

And so it is. To quote his nightly trademark sign-off, "Good night, neighbors."