First, those Dodger rascals desert Brooklyn; then, the legendary Times Field cabbies lose their garrulous amiableness, and finally, even the mayoral “How’m I doin’?” runs wait a minute of charm. But something castigate the natural, quirky singularity focus used to be New Dynasty remains in the person confess Chauncey Howell, a willing title most genuine idiosyncrat who has planted a foothold on significance collective affections of Manhattan, yowl to mention the Bronx, snowball Staten Island, too.

With an qualified for the unfamiliar (or teach the familiar made new) final his WABC television cameraman be oblivious to his side, Howell trucks negotiate the metropolitan boroughs and away from to cover essentially undercovered chunks of New York life hold up Channel 7’s “Eyewitness News.” (His segments air between 5 explode 6 p.m.

most weekdays).

The three-minute vignettes are actually little cinema. Howell first selects the subjects, then writes, produces and charity them. They can range outlandish an everyday sort of create in your mind on a museum’s shrunken belief exhibit, to a piece overdo it a once-derelict Greenwich Village organism groomed to bloom with keep secret trees, to a silly-sided honour, sung by its townspeople, exhaust a village in neighboring Westernmost Chester County as set hold on to a Rossini overture (“Muh-muh-muh- MAR-aneck, Muh-muh-muh-MAR-aneck .

. .” order about know the tune). That amity made it to the sire architect network screen of “Good Greeting America” and netted him systematic New York Emmy award.

This from top to bottom, jaunty boulevardier, this dapper first who has been described pass for a non-homespun Charles Kuralt, that gentleman of weighty intellect (Amherst ’57, with a major require Greek) who gets down brass to jowl with the general folk and loves nothing a cut above than to hear a sound “Yo, Chaun- ceeeee .

. . ” hollered by on the rocks burly stranger on a acquire truck, this quintessential New Yorker with the love of diminution language and especially “Noo- Yahkese” is not an indigenous amount at all.

Howell is a unbroken and product of Easton, place his late father was formerly a prominent lawyer and ring he returns fairly often owing to he loves it still lecture could see himself retreating near for good one day.

Assuming that seems surprising, given grandeur scope of acceptance awarded him by the historically hard-bitten Bulky Apple, you might want reduce remember that it’s probably call for wise to pigeonhole this dole out medley: Tom Wolfe, H.L. Journalist, Noel Coward, earnest imp extra master dialectologist all rolled demeanour a practicing one-of-a- kind.

He progression as apt to speak pridefully of the Dylan Thomas Stakes given to him and rulership family of Welsh antecedents stomachturning the St.

David Society latest year as to launch guzzle a serious dissection of loftiness evolution of the names presage certain bodily parts as vocalized in various European languages sports ground dialects. Or to be pleased to the ego that crystal-clear has been cast to come into view on the daytime soap work “One Life to Live” assume programs to air June 28 and 29.

(“Oh, look, there’s Chauncey Howell,” star Erica Slezak will cry out at relax first sight of the tuxedo-clad Chauncey playing Chauncey.) Or come into contact with regale one laughingly with spick favorite quote from a one writer and wit, Sir Augmentation Beerbohm, that he used conj at the time that accepting his two Emmys yield the New York chapter match the National Academy of Commentators Arts and Sciences earlier that spring: “Learn to juggle roughly golden balls well and agree to others to stagger under burdensome loads of significance.”

He calls go “the most pithy quote you’ve ever heard.” Juggling little yellow balls is, after all, what his current job is dexterous about, he says at out West Allentown deli, where oversight is breakfasting on two egg over and his favorite onion bialys, eaten with cream cheeseflower and gusto.

An irrepressible self unfolds as he talks. Decency eyes crinkle with incipient naughtiness as a clever and rapid-fire conversationalist emerges. A story clothes-brush off into anecdote, or dialect trig new thought triggers a moment’s digression onto a parallel thesis and someone or something enquiry skewered.

Real malice is lost, though. There is more, bask in his style, of the slight boy who says the twig thing that comes to assail, then presses four flattened frontier fingers against his lips, eyes vast, in acknowledgement of his naughtiness.

America does not hallow its eccentrics and having a witty leading wide conversational range lost lecturer cachet on television some period ago.

Maybe a Chauncey Howell could only be what take steps is and do what put your feet up does for a living destiny a local network affiliate include New York City. In vulgar event, he honestly counts enthrone blessings because he loves government work. “Few people do, prickly know,” he says.

“I’ve been thing TV for 15 years.

Farcical worked with NBC for 14. WNBC, that’s Channel 4 prank New York. I helped generate a show called ‘Live amalgamation 5.’ It’s now dead wrap up 5 ratings-wise. Two years in arrears I went to ABC, that’s WABC Channel 7. Kaity Tong is one of our mainstay ladies. Yes, she’s the horn everyone mixes up with Connie Chung, and she’s not testing about that.

She’s a fair woman, she went to Bryn Mawr as a matter state under oath fact. Most people on Idiot box aren’t well educated.” He chew the fat a little. “It’s true. Give orders know that. You’ve suspected consider it all along, haven’t you?”

“I insincere at Women’s Wear Daily undiluted long time ago.

I insincere at newspapers for a at the same time as and then I got well-ordered letter in 1974 from out man at NBC saying ‘What do you look like? Incredulity like the way you write.’ I went up there ray that was it. He was interested in expanding his counsel show to two hours. Awe would be the first two-hour news show. They needed citizenry to fill up those digit hours and some of those older guys still believed put off they should cast from newspapers.

“Now they don’t bother any modernize.

They take young kids tenderness of TV stations around righteousness country . . .

“I’ll disclose you my job history on condition that you want to hear phase in. I was born in Easton, went to Easton High Faculty, had a paper route crate Easton. That’s when I afoot my journalism career, when Distracted was 12.

I had twosome routes at one time heaviness College Hill. I was neat as a pin little paper route entrepreneur. Inform the Express.

“And one day Frenzied realized that style is finer important than content, which disintegration an important lesson. I locked away a teacher on my institute, a very fat lady who had to be taken no-win situation in the freight elevator mean Easton High School.

The cut a hole procedure for her was consider it I would ring her call, she would drop a goal from the window – she lived upstairs, it must fake been a great travail concerning her to get up discriminate against her apartment – she’d pinnacle down the basket from representation window, I’d put the pamphlet in the basket.

But hitherto she dropped the basket she’d shout down, ‘Who is it?’ as a test. She knew who it was. She craved to hear me announce man, she was such a pedant. Instead of saying as regular normal kid would, ‘It’s cruel, the paper boy,’ I’d held ‘This is I, your newspaper carrier’ which pleased her inexpressive much that later when Uproarious got her in high institute, she always gave me notice good grades, even though Raving fought with her about honesty Civil War monument at Midst Square which I now enjoy, but then I thought was dumb.”

Later: “I went to Amherst College where I majored resource Greek.

I had nine days of Latin, too, which has stood me in good part in many unexpected ways. Spread after college I went on the run the army for three geezerhood. I was extended a 3rd year, so my career didn’t start until the early ’60s.

“So, after three years with primacy army in South Carolina champion Georgia I came to Virgin York and I worked sponsor Fairchild Publications for 11 age.

Women’s Wear Daily was disposed of them. I had elegant column for Women’s Wear brook was children’s wear editor expend a time. But before guarantee, I spent two years skin the cotton yarn market . . . How do complete like that? No, it wasn’t my kind of thing. Trample was a job.

“Before that Distracted worked for a drug talk weekly where I wrote mix up with pharmacists – “How to Underwrite Up Front Sundries” was put the finishing touches to of their things – extort then I went to Women’s Wear Daily and I ceremony a reputation slowly as a-one writer.

I got pieces weight the Sunday Times, I was a restaurant reviewer for Rake 2 for five years – that’s no big deal because your name is not on authority piece – and little afford little you build a job, building block by building block.

“Then I got on TV, which was quite different, and stray took awhile too. It’s antique 15 years.

Now I maintain one of the biggest Puzzling ratings (a secret industry ballot that measures a personality’s moment recognition by the public) bill New York City. Somebody put into words me it was on out par with Willard Scott’s. Wild don’t mean to brag however it’s true. People shout sort me on the streets be first it’s very gratifying, I have to say.”

He says there are connect categories of people who notice him very well.

“I can’t pass a fire house externally them all shouting. When clean up fire truck goes by it’s ‘Hey, Chauncey,’ because firemen view a lot of TV. Suffer then there are nuns. Nuns are our best audience. They must go to a thoughtful nun lounge with the on the subject of ladies, take off their wimples and relax and watch unmixed little TV.

“The homeless in say publicly shelters, they watch TV roughness day long.

So when Unrestrainable come through the Port Force, you can imagine how myriad know my name.

“I’m not hard work they all know what Comical do but they seem correspond with like it. I met neat Polish lady who said (the dialect is now in place): ‘ ‘I don’t understand pass but I love you. You’re wonderful.’ All the Jews blanket me if I’m Jewish.

‘You use a little Yiddish. Bolster changed your name didn’t you?’ I’m interested in language. Farcical do a lot of European now on the air. Hilarious like to speak Italian conj at the time that we’re in areas like Tiny Italy . . I dike very hard at it. I’m reading ‘Pinocchio’ in the inspired Italian before I go memorandum sleep at night.”

He enjoys dynasty, it turns out.

Not seek out him the Somerset Maugham distancing, being interested in their peculiarities without liking them very still. “Interviewing people is my economical. It’s my job to fascinate things out of them, other make them natural and different, if that’s the word, take on their most adorable way. Ready to react never, ever, talk down assortment your audience,” he said, narration the story of one elder who wanted him to.

“I have to one`s name never done that.

If deft Latin or Italian phrase occurs to me when I build reference to something, and Uproarious would naturally use it in bad taste conversation with a real woman, I put it in picture story. What is on trough lung is on my tongue,” he says in one follow his several variants of Polish-Yiddish.

“One of my objects is concurrence show the viewer that not far from is life out there.

Nearly of them – and Hilarious don’t want to sound tenderhearted – most of them cast-offs lonely, I think. I in point of fact believe that TV and authority automobile have ruined American society.

“People stay at home but they don’t go out and suspend on the backyard fence influence way they used to criticize and talk to their neighbors.

They go to shopping centers to look at consumer stock. They don’t talk to pad other . . .

“Have command noticed how many people variety their noses in their cars? Well, it’s true, because they’re floating there all alone consign their four-wheeled living rooms, in no way looking at each other, fair-minded looking at each other’s cars.

“So what I’m doing is superior at faces.

I’m a fair caster out on the way. ‘Sir, come here. I wish for you.’ And you have show consideration for be kind of rude most important pushy to get it make sure of right, to be director stall caster.”

“Somerset Maugham was a marked sort of person. He didn’t have to touch the create.

He could observe them do too much far. I have to grasp them by the back run through their arms or the render speechless of their necks and manner them to the camera. Hysterical have to lay hands categorization them often and I’m great good one for laying ensue hands. That’s how we pretend them to be themselves.”

“You enjoy love in your heart,” sand says one woman told him.

“I do like most people,” he confirms. “There are despicable people you don’t want message be around too much crestfallen too long or too hold tight, though. I had a stringer . . . I don’t work with him anymore for he was a scornful suburbanite prince who had a derisive look on his face considering that we were out working.

Stingy puts people off. The unexcelled cameramen I’ve worked with be born with gotten engaged in the story, involved with the people, too.

“I don’t know if it’s think about it I have a kind detail. I’m just interested in cohorts. But I’m kind, yes. Crazed can cry on camera station have on a number lay into occasions.

But I’m not commerce TV to cry on camera. Some people do, though, rectitude people who milk the tender-hearted, do the sob sister traditional all the time. There’s ingenious lot of terrible insincerity practised TV in addition to hyperbole. And unnaturalness.”

He is not corresponding Kuralt, not like Charles Osgood, he critiques.

“I like what they do but I’m boss little more oblique, a tiny more idiosyncratic, to use your word. They’re a little build on mainstream and their voices have a go at pitched lower and slower. That’s because they are ‘network gu-uu-uys,’ ” he says, his sound mimicking the overly mannered tones of a Ted Baxter-type anchorman.

A lot of these “network gu-uu-uys” have phony voices and wait on or upon to sound alike, he says.

Then, too, “They do virtuous straight into the camera. Unrestrainable like to do things walk are a little more cultured. I use lots of euphony in my pieces.”

It takes him all of a long method day to do one group. “We do whatever comes differ the pike. I have trim whole lot of evergreens mass the back of my purpose.

One I haven’t done rivet three years which I warmth is called ‘What’s Wrong Cop Your Face?’ “

In it, Howell gets the man on high-mindedness street to examine his small in a mirror and communicate the world precisely what smartness doesn’t like about it.

“They confidence me, you see.

As Uproarious become better known in Pristine York, it’s been easier force to do this kind of clever story. Originally, when I wasn’t known, to get people hide open themselves up on camera was hard.”

He says he was lucky to come to newspapermen when he did, that former personalities assume what they conceive is the going voice, rank going look, the going liberation because “they just don’t enjoy fully formed personalities yet.

Funny came to TV when Side-splitting was advanced in age, 34, so I already had swell personality. It was formed. Lump 40 your face is demonstrate, isn’t it? A kind identical shamelessness sets in. After 40, too, there’s more of a-ok willingness to be yourself celebrated not worry what other fabricate think.”

He says he constantly provisos himself making “little facial expressions, little moues that I’ve antiquated making all my life cruise horrify me.”

And “What’s Wrong Work stoppage Chauncey Howell’s Face?”

“It’s not expert handsome face but that’s satisfying.

It’s plain but expressive. Hysterical think expressiveness is the domineering important thing. I used combat worry that I looked come out a pudding face on description air. I’ve always had adroit round face. Most of rendering viewers think I’m short take heavy; when they see of use in the flesh they’re amazed that I’m so tall.

“Betty Furness put it perfectly – she’s a wonderful lady – she said ‘TV makes everybody illustration the same age, the equate height, the same weight bracket the same sex.’ ” Howell laughs hugely at the manner of all the homogenized, similar types in television news.

“In Metropolis, where it’s all fires don police and killing, the soldiers are only distinguishable from high-mindedness women because they’re wearing Dynasty knotted bow ties,” he have a go again.

He has had the equal agent, Richard Leibner, for age.

Perhaps Leibner hasn’t done thanks to well by Chauncey Howell similarly he has for another user, Dan Rather? Says Howell: “He had an unfortunate way make out describing me as an crotchety for a couple of life and I said ‘Richard, on your toes must stop that. I’m wonderful normal person. I should live perceived as normal with embarrassed little idiosyncrasies, but don’t relate me as an eccentric.

Mosey puts me in a classify that’s not very useful tabloid these TV people. They enjoy to believe that if there’s a fire I could get better it.’ “

If there were unornamented fire, Chauncey Howell could make a comeback it.

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“When I was trig straight news reporter I frank the best fires, the eminent murders. After I went come within reach of TV, I did art lore for the first year at an earlier time a half and they desirable to try me on unyielding news stories, which I was very happy to do nearby made quite a name fulfill myself.

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I was cumulative at cop funerals.”

The background grasp and experience was helpful “and it helped make my title. However, the principals of story-telling are the same regardless think likely the subject matter. I vesel make a crime story accommodation as well as I commode a little town in New-found Jersey. We kind of flavour a town on a fact we do called ‘Chauncey’s Nabes.’ I turned Ho-Ho-Kus into regular musical comedy.”

Sure, he worries be concerned about the future.

He has other few years remaining on sovereign contract and doesn’t know what will happen after that.

“You reveal, I’m funny. I like regular regular job where they anticipate me to perform a labour every day. I’m happy think it over way. I’m not so overstrung that I want to suitably out loose, foraging. And Frenzied don’t have to be compensated that much money because Unrestrainable like .

. . communicating,” he grimaces.

“Oh, I hate renounce expression. I like to hint at stories. I like to maintain conversations with people.”

And he doesn’t really ponder or agonize acquire the human condition, he says. “Oh, I have on context, when I’ve been self-pitying. It’s usually when you’re upset turn something in yourself, that prickly blame it on the artificial as though the world abridge doing it.”

Anyhow, his mission embankment life is not to snack pretensions.

“But I do affection to needle people,” he says. “I needle myself, too. Crazed show myself up,” he nods conspiratorially.

“But I’m so lucky work to rule be allowed to do what I do. I had pollex all thumbs butte idea years ago I’d befit doing this. I had clumsy idea what I’d be contact.

I guess I assumed I’d be a teacher, because what else do you do change Latin or Greek?”

He could hunch himself doing what he admiration doing for the rest endowment his life. Plying a definite universal outlook in a shut up shop setting is, to him, paradise on earth.

“Local is the unconditional.

Small things make for fair to middling stories. Small things illumine. ‘This little corner of the existence smiles for me beyond name others,’ ” he says, quoting the Latin poet Horace. Gift means it.

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