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TV Suicide, Chris Hubbock, 70's

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Dennis Matheson

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Jan 13, 1999, 3:00:00 AM1/13/99
to
Rob Partington wrote in message ...
>>snip<<
>---include---
>On the morning of July 15, 1974, Chris Hubbock, a news-anchor at
>Florida TV station WXLT-TV, announced,
>"In keeping with Channel 40's policy of bringing you the latest
>in blood and guts, and in living color, you are going
>to see another first: attempted suicide," and fired a pistol at
>her head. The show went out live. Hubbock died 14
>hours later. (Bizarre Magazine, August 1998 )
>---exclude---
>>snip<<
>The variation in dates and lack of information seems to suggest to
>me that the whole story might be dubious, but I can't find any
>reference to it, net-wise.
>
>Does anyone have any links or other information to confirm or deny
>the story?
>


I don't know about this story itself, but I do know that the "reporter
commits suicide on the air" idea was one of the major plot points of the
movie _Network_. (IMDB - http://us.imdb.com/Title?Network+%281976%29 )

Dennis "I'm mad as hell and... Oh? You've heard it?" Matheson
--
"There are no facts. There is no truth. Just data to be
manipulated." --- Don Henley

Dennis Matheson --- tans...@earthlink.net
http://home.earthlink.net/~tanstaafl


James Wallis

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Jan 13, 1999, 3:00:00 AM1/13/99
to
In article <77ijr4$7pr$1...@holly.prod.itd.earthlink.net>, Dennis Matheson
<tans...@earthlink.net> writes

>Rob Partington wrote in message ...
>>>snip<<
>>---include---
>>On the morning of July 15, 1974, Chris Hubbock, a news-anchor at
>>Florida TV station WXLT-TV, announced,
>>"In keeping with Channel 40's policy of bringing you the latest
>>in blood and guts, and in living color, you are going
>>to see another first: attempted suicide," and fired a pistol at
>>her head. The show went out live. Hubbock died 14
>>hours later. (Bizarre Magazine, August 1998 )
>>---exclude---
>>>snip<<
>>The variation in dates and lack of information seems to suggest to
>>me that the whole story might be dubious, but I can't find any
>>reference to it, net-wise.
>>
>>Does anyone have any links or other information to confirm or deny
>>the story?

I missed the original post, but since I wrote the Bizarre article that
you quoted from, I can probably help you out. What exactly was the
problem with it?

--
James Wallis (ja...@erstwhile.demon.co.uk)
"There is no such thing as adventure. There's no such thing as romance.
There's only trouble and desire" -- from Simple Men, a Hal Hartley film

Freddy Letrange

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Jan 14, 1999, 3:00:00 AM1/14/99
to
|>>On the morning of July 15, 1974, Chris Hubbock, a news-anchor at
|>>Florida TV station WXLT-TV, announced,
|>>"In keeping with Channel 40's policy of bringing you the latest
|>>in blood and guts, and in living color, you are going
|>>to see another first: attempted suicide,"
|>>>snip<<
|>>The variation in dates and lack of information seems to suggest to
|>>me that the whole story might be dubious, but I can't find any
|>>reference to it, net-wise.

My recollection was that her name was Chris Chubbuck, and this seems to be
borne out by a thread called "off yourself on live tv" in alt.fan.cecil-adams.
Look for it at http://www.dejanews.com -- specifically, for Scott Stephens's
first post of 1998/12/06 to that thread. And if you click the "view thread"
option there, you'll see that afu's own Charles Lieberman (1998/12/08) cites a
reference to Chubbuck in the book _...Or Not to Be: a Collection of Suicide
Notes_, edited by Marc Etkind (Riverside Books, 1997).

Web searches tell me, variously, that Chubbuck shot herself at 9:38am (8
minutes into WXLT Sarasota's "Suncoast Digest") on July 15, 1974
(above-referenced Stephens usenet post) or at 9:38am on July 25, 1974
<http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~ucurrent/2-tv.html> or that "Hubbock" shot
herself in 1970 <http://javanet.com/~drw/the_labs/modemcem.htm>;
<http://members.aol.com/WordPlays/dying.html>.
A search of Ancestry's Social Security Death Index at
<http://www.ancestry.com/ssdi/advanced.htm> yields this:

"Name CHRISTINE CHUBBUCK
Born 24 Aug 1944
Died Jul 1974 (No Location Given)..."

I also seem to recall from news accounts at the time that she promised "live
suicide" or "actual suicide," not "attempted suicide"; but I am Nexisless and
can't verify her words just now.

--
Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature
Are burnt and purg'd away, canst thou not
Send email to "Freddy" at oddfred the foul crimes done
@mindspring in my days of.nature com .

Ray Pfaff

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Jan 14, 1999, 3:00:00 AM1/14/99
to
oh_dee_dee_fred@em_eye_en_dee_spring.see_oh_em ("Freddy Letrange")
wrote:

>|>>On the morning of July 15, 1974, Chris Hubbock, a news-anchor at
>|>>Florida TV station WXLT-TV, announced,
>|>>"In keeping with Channel 40's policy of bringing you the latest
>|>>in blood and guts, and in living color, you are going
>|>>to see another first: attempted suicide,"
>|>>>snip<<
>|>>The variation in dates and lack of information seems to suggest to
>|>>me that the whole story might be dubious, but I can't find any
>|>>reference to it, net-wise.
>
>My recollection was that her name was Chris Chubbuck, and this seems to be
>borne out by a thread called "off yourself on live tv" in alt.fan.cecil-adams.
>

I lived in St. Petersbutg, Fl at the time and clearly remember this
happening (no, I didn't see it.) If anyone can do an archival search
of the St. Petersburg Times or Tampa Tribune around this period, you
should find something about it; it's not urban legend. The only urban
legend-"ish" thing about it was that it was rumored that WXLT
destroyed any recordings of it so that it couldn't be replayed.
To reply to me, replace "yar" with "ray

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