Television legend and longtime KSL host Dick Nourse dies at age 83 (2023)

The KSL family and the television news industry has lost a legend. Longtime presenter Dick Nourse has died at the age of 83.

From his first newscast in 1964 to his last in 2007, Nourse became the trusted voice of KSL 5 News for 43 years.

He survived cancer three times.

Golden voice

Born in 1940 in Grand Junction, Colorado, Richard Nourse was young and had it all: the look, the wit, the voice!

He began his radio career at KRAX Radio, serving western Colorado and eastern Utah, AM and FM in Grand Junction.

His foray into television began with a stop in Salt Lake City in 1964 to visit his brother. Nourse said he was on his way to work in Sacramento when KSL offered him the position, and the rest is history.

After just one year on the newsstand, KSL poached meteorologist Bob Welti and sportscaster Paul James from Channel 4, and one of the longest-running and most popular anchor teams of all time was born.

Promotions of this team were continuous.

"The most anticipated new programme. It's Channel 5's No.1 News with Nourse, Welti and James. In colour, weekdays at 6pm and 10pm. The number 1 reason more and more people are turning to Broadcast House and Channel 5!"

Nourse has also collaborated with Bruce Lindsay, Shelley Thomas, Carole Mikita, Ruth Todd and Deanie Wimmer.

First Mark Eubank and then Kevin Eubank anchored the weather forecast after Welti retired, and Jim Nantz, Craig Bolerjack and Tom Kirkland anchored sports with him.

In his 43 years as a reporter at KSL, he gave a conservative estimate of more than 20,000 news stories.

His first big story was the plane crash on November 11, 1965.

Nourse was the only TV reporter from Utah to go to Vietnam during the war, returning in 1997.

“When I left Vietnam in 1967, I had no idea I would ever come back,” Nourse recalls. In doing so, he said, he was able to find out what the Vietnamese thought about the Americans and our involvement there.

Other major stories he covered included the Ted Bundy murder case, the Ogden Hi-Fi murders, forgeries and murders of Mark Hofmann, fundamentalist/polygamist John Singer being shot by police and nine years later, his family's revenge attack.

Among the highlights of his career were two moments that came with the 2002 Winter Olympics. He and Wimmer traveled to Greece to carry the torch to Utah. And Nourse was one of those chosen to carry the torch in the relay. He was touched and honored.

"Good evening, I'm Dick Nourse"

Norse was the face and voice of the KSL team for viewers.

"One thing about news is that there's a lot of it. It comes at you every day like a freight train and here at Channel 5 we have a full-time press team to keep you informed of what happened and when, ” he said in a memorable promo.

In 2019, journalist Carole Mikita interviewed Nourse for the last time. There was the famous poster with his face with a serious expression.

"I think it probably captured what I was really feeling every night," Nourse said. "Ten seconds in the air, I probably had that look on my face."

Did he miss it?

"I really miss what I did, and the biggest part was the people I worked with," he said. He missed Welti and James the most. Both died in 2019.

They became a legendary group inducted into the Broadcast Hall of Fame.

Was he nervous when they came from the competition to escort him to KSL?

- Then I got scared! he grinned. "But everything went so well, so very well."

"There was never any question, you know, 'You're kind of hot, you're a lot younger than us, inexperienced.' They never, ever mentioned anything about that. It's been great, these two guys have become like brothers to me, Carol, they really are.”

He is remembered as someone who was demanding with every word of every script, every night. focus on words and details.

"This kind of comes out of OCD, but I didn't want to trip over anything. I always asked the reporter if I could move it, say this, cut that line, and it was usually yes. So that was the reason behind everything , I just wanted to do it right," he explained.

Survived cancer three times

His career almost ended in 1980 when Nourse received a devastating diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

"They found a tumor on the side of my neck, high up in my chest ... and they came and it was cancer and it had spread from my neck to my chest to my abdomen in three stages," said she.

Nurse underwent chemotherapy, lost 60 kilos and all her hair, but returned to work. Once again with tears in his eyes and clutching his throat, he told me, “I put on a wig and went back to work and everyone in KSL, I guess that's why I love these guys, we cried together and “Welcome back. Dick, it's not the same without you, we had to bring you back!'"

In an interview with his co-host, Thomas, during his recovery, he asked: "How are you feeling now, after everything you've been through? What's going through your head?"

"I think you understand the importance of life, more than anything else," Nourse said. "Because it's scary, you know, when someone says, 'Hey, you have cancer.' And I'm 40 years old, I just turned 40. I'm still young, I still have a lot of things I want to do. So I sat back and evaluated my life and said, “I have to lick it and I will. I mean, I see myself fighting cancer for other people."

And he fought this battle as he fought. For decades, Nourse has put her heart and soul into the fight for a cure for cancer. He encouraged hundreds of those who called him when they found out they had cancer. He even wore the little yellow shorts on the news the night the cancer happened because the viewer pledged to donate $50 more to the American Cancer Society.

"I have a lot to live for"

Then in 1996, Nourse again battled cancer, this time with prostate cancer.

Doctors caught it early, it didn't spread to his lymph nodes or surrounding tissue. The key was early detection, he told medical journalist Ed Yeates at the time, with a physical exam and blood antigen test.

"I think sometimes men don't want to talk, especially about prostate issues, because they feel like, 'I'm half a man,' when you have to go through some of that," he said in that interview. "And believe me, you're not. The doctor expects me to be in full control of my life like I was before."

Then, 17 years later, at the age of 72, the fight began again. After experiencing a painful sore throat four months ago, Noursa was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, caused by a virus.

"They found a tumor on the back of my tongue," Nourse said.

The man with the golden voice had throat cancer. This tumor was almost the size of a golf ball. The doctors took it out and what they couldn't get was treated with radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

"Thankfully, it sounds really bad, but this is the easiest thing to treat," he said.

Five days a week for six weeks, he climbed onto a table, donned a mask and was held still under a machine that blasted him 11 times with high-level X-rays. The operation was painless, but not the consequences.

"Your throat is constantly inflamed and burning, like a bad, bad sunburn," she said.

He said he was angry at first but learned more about himself.

"Well, I still think I had some fight left in me and something to live for," he said. And that included his wife, son, stepchildren and grandchildren, and countless friends.

His 30th and final radiation treatment at LDS Hospital in February 2013 lasted 15 minutes, and there were high fives and hugs everywhere, including from his radiation therapists.

With his wife Deb and son Dane by his side, Nourse rang the bells that cancer patients do after their last treatment.

He lost 20 pounds on a liquid diet and couldn't taste anything, but he was looking forward to some favorite foods.

"The first thing I want to do when I can try is get three kraut dogs and three chili dogs, man, and I'm doing it!"

We remember the pop legend

"I want to be remembered as someone who really cared about the oath I didn't take, but it seemed like I did." Nordisk said in 2019.

The silent promise he made to himself was that he would support high standards of journalism. Nothing bothered him more than how some in America consider journalism to be fake news.

"We are not enemies of the people, we never have been, and I will support anyone I know personally who holds that title of journalist. It is a highly respected profession," he said. "And you know, you take it very seriously in this country because you have freedom of the press. Journalism is a good profession and we will always be needed, regardless of technology. Someone has to find the answers for you and tell you, and that's what we do."

KSL 5 viewers trusted him to deliver the news and he did it with passion, but he also wanted to share his personal challenges to keep us all informed despite his "larger than life" image - he was one of us.

On November 28, 2007, KSL rolled out the red carpet for Nourse's latest news release.

Nourse, his wife and their son arrived at Broadcast House in a limousine the night he retired from the air after a long and distinguished career.

It defined who we were and still are: "Eyewitness News, it's more than our name, it's what we do!"

Dick Nourse was a television legend and a dear friend to many.

KSL-TV anchors Nadine Wimmer and Dick Nourse report the news on September 12, 2002.

Michael Brandy, Deseret News

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KSL-TV anchor Dick Nourse was honored by Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. on his 65th birthday. during a party at KSL's Broadcast House in Salt Lake City on March 8, 2005.

Jason Olson, Deseret News

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KSL-TV's Dick Nourse and Sam Penrod were live during the grand opening of the new Utah County News Office on September 16, 2004 in Orem. Deseret Morning News, KSL-TV, KSL Radio and NAC staff were in the office.

Stuart Johnson, Deseret News

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KSL-TV anchor Dick Nourse was honored by Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. on his 65th birthday. during a party at KSL's Broadcast House in Salt Lake City on March 8, 2005.

Jason Olson, Deseret News

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KSL-TV anchor Bruce Lindsay greets former KSL-TV anchor Dick Nourse during a retirement reception in Lindsay's honor on May 23, 2012 at the KSL Broadcast House in Salt Lake City.

Chuck Wing, Deseret News

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KSL-TV anchor Bruce Lindsay greets former KSL anchor Dick Nourse and his family during a retirement reception in Lindsay's honor on May 23, 2012 at the KSL Broadcast House in Salt Lake City.

Chuck Wing, Deseret News

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Dick Nourse greets Mitt Romney after a meeting with businessmen at Hire's Big H Drive-in, June 24, 2011, in Salt Lake City.

Ravell Call, Deseret News

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Former KSL host Dick Nourse with his wife Debi and youngest son Dayne, 7, in 2004.

Lisa Marie Miller, Deseret News

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Jay Leno laughs with local TV personalities Dick Nourse, Ruth Todd and Carol Mikita outside the UTA bus with a Leno mug.

Kristan Jacobsen, Associated Press

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KSL anchors Dick Nourse at his home in Bountiful. March 1, 2004.

Lisa Marie Miller, Deseret News

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KSL host Dick Nourse in his first PR photo. It is expected to be recorded around 1965.

Photo of the nurse's family

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KSL-TV anchor Dick Nourse, right, with former colleague Larry Finnegan, left, work together to cover the Vietnam War. On March 1, 2004.

Photo of the nurse's family

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Dick Nourse and Larry Finnegan of KSL prepare for a trip to Vietnam on May 11, 1967.

Photo of the nurse's family

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Former KSL anchor Paul James, right, is seen in this undated photo with former KSL-TV anchor Dick Nourse and meteorologist Bob Welti.

KSL-TV

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