# Ralph Story
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{{Short description|American journalist (1920–2006)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ralph Story
| image = Ralph Story 1956.JPG
| alt = Ralph Story 1956
| caption = Story in 1956.
| birth_name = Ralph Bernard Snyder
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1920|8|19}}
| birth_place = [Kalamazoo, Michigan](/source/Kalamazoo%2C_Michigan), U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2006|9|26|1920|8|19}}
| death_place = [Santa Ynez, California](/source/Santa_Ynez%2C_California), U.S.
| resting_place =
| spouse = Diana (m. 1978)
| nationality =
| other_names =
| known_for =
| occupation = Broadcaster
}}
'''Ralph Story''' (born '''Ralph Bernard Snyder'''; August 19, 1920 – September 26, 2006)[{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-sep-27-me-story27-story.html |title=Ralph Story, 86; Veteran Radio and TV Personality Hosted Shows About L.A. |first=J. Michael |last=Kennedy |newspaper=[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times) |date=27 September 2006|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429205955/http://articles.latimes.com/2006/sep/27/local/me-story27 |archive-date=April 29, 2014 }}]
Story later moved into [network television](/source/network_television), where, in 1956, he began hosting the hugely popular [game show](/source/game_show), ''[The $64,000 Challenge](/source/The_%2464%2C000_Challenge)''. The [CBS](/source/Columbia_Broadcasting_System) show was canceled in 1958 while several networks were [embroiled in allegations](/source/quiz_show_scandals) that popular contestants were supplied with answers in advance.{{Citation needed |date=September 2023}}
===Television journalism===
Story, who was not implicated in the scandal, returned to local broadcasting in 1960. He returned to KNX, this time anchoring a news program and later joined ''The Big News'', one of the nation's first hour-long local TV newscasts, on [KNXT](/source/KCBS-TV)-TV (sister station to KNX radio, owned and operated by CBS). His regular feature, ''Human Predicament'', about people caught in unusual events and situations, became a popular segment. It developed into a local news magazine program about the people and places of Los Angeles called ''Ralph Story's Los Angeles''. It aired for six years.[{{Cite web|url=https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/collections/ralph-storys-los-angeles|title=Ralph Story's Los Angeles|work=UCLA Film & Television Archive}}]
''Ralph Story's Los Angeles'' aired from 1964 to 1970 on KNXT. Created by producer/director Dan Gingold, it featured the work of two writers, Jere Witter and Nate Kaplan.[{{Cite web|url=https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/2015/symposium-3|title=This is the City: Symposium Closing Night | UCLA Film & Television Archive}}] Wittily hosted by Story, the show examined interesting features, events and sites documenting the history and culture of Los Angeles. Generations of Angelenos developed a passion for their city as a result of this documentary-style show. Select episodes of Ralph Story's Los Angeles are housed at the [UCLA](/source/University_of_California%2C_Los_Angeles) Film & Television Archive and are available for public viewing by advance appointment via the Archive Research and Study Center located in Powell Library, room 46 on the UCLA campus.[{{cite web |url=https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/collections/ralph-storys-los-angeles |title=Ralph Story's Los Angeles |work=[UCLA Film and Television Archive](/source/UCLA_Film_and_Television_Archive) |accessdate=2 December 2014}}] In "Lucy Meets Ken Berry," a 1968 episode of ''[The Lucy Show](/source/The_Lucy_Show)'', Story played himself[https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/the-lucy-show/episodes-season-6/1030120866/ (season 6, episode 21)] as the host of ''Ralph Story's Los Angeles''.[''Lucille Ball FAQ: Everything Left to Know About America's Favorite Redhead'', by James Sheridan and Barry Monush, ©2011, Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, [Milwaukee](/source/Milwaukee), an imprint of Hal Leonard Corporation, [Montclair, NJ](/source/Montclair%2C_NJ); [https://books.google.com/books?id=vq2Zff8JZZ8C&dq=ralph+story+the+lucy+show&pg=PT620 google books link]]
Story joined [KABC-TV](/source/KABC-TV) in February 1971, co-hosting ''Ralph Story's A.M.'', a morning news show produced by Howard P. Campbell with [Stephanie Edwards](/source/Stephanie_Edwards_(TV_personality)) and newsman Bob Banfield that became the precursor to ''[Good Morning America](/source/Good_Morning_America)''. In one episode, they explored the way that a new [Baskin-Robbins](/source/Baskin-Robbins) ice cream flavor was developed by creating the Apricot Marmalade flavor (to match the "AM" initials).{{Citation needed |date=September 2023}}
When the program evolved into ''GMA'' and moved to New York City, Story stayed in Los Angeles, where he continued working as a writer, producer, and reporter for several TV stations. After a brief stint on [KNBC](/source/KNBC), he returned to KNXT (which later became KCBS-TV) in 1978 as an evening anchor for ''Channel 2 News'' alongside Marcia Brandwynne and later [Sandy Hill](/source/Sandy_Hill_(television_personality)). In 1985, Story retired and moved to [Santa Barbara County](/source/Santa_Barbara_County%2C_California)'s wine region, where he and his second wife, Diana, operated an art gallery in [Los Olivos](/source/Los_Olivos%2C_California). In 1989, Ralph appeared in the television film, ''Ernest Goes to Splash Mountain'' which was shot in [Disneyland](/source/Disneyland_Park_(Anaheim)). He volunteered for numerous civic groups, serving as a fundraiser for [public television](/source/public_television) stations, narrator for the [Hollywood Bowl](/source/Hollywood_Bowl) and judge of the [Rose Parade](/source/Tournament_of_Roses_Parade). In 1995, he wrote and hosted a program for [KCET](/source/KCET) about Los Angeles landmarks called ''Things That Aren't Here Anymore'',[{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3226554/|title=Things That Aren't Here Anymore|work=IMDb}}] following it up with a 1998 sequel entitled ''More Things That Aren't Here Anymore''.[{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0325841/|title=More Things That Aren't Here Anymore|work=IMDb}}]
==Death==
Story died on September 26, 2006, in Santa Ynez, California from complications due to [emphysema](/source/emphysema),[{{cite news |title=Ralph Story, 86, hosted quiz show in 1950s |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40451005/obituary_for_ralph_bernard_story_aged/ |accessdate=December 11, 2019 |work=News-Press |date=September 30, 2006 |location=Florida, Fort Myers |page=16|via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}] and was survived by his wife and one son from his first marriage.[{{cite web | title=Ralph Story Obituary (2006) - Los Angeles, CA | website=[Legacy.com](/source/Legacy.com) | url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/ralph-story-obituary?id=29744396 }}][{{cite web | title=Ralph Story, 86; Veteran Radio and TV Personality Hosted Shows About L.A. | website=[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times) | date=27 September 2006 | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-sep-27-me-story27-story.html }}]
==Awards==
In 1984, the [Academy of Television Arts & Sciences](/source/Academy_of_Television_Arts_%26_Sciences) honored him with its highest honor, the Governor's Award. After Story's death, Hollywood columnist [Rona Barrett](/source/Rona_Barrett) said that "no one told a story on television better than Ralph." Former colleague [Warren Olney](/source/Warren_Olney_(journalist)) described Ralph Story as "a master of the craft."