1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,160 Speaker 1: She was a talented, smart, beautiful, but troubled network news 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: star whose story inspired Will Ferrell to make the flick 3 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:11,039 Speaker 1: Anchorman the Legend of Ron Burgundy. But she had one 4 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: of the most infamous and watched on air meltdowns in 5 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:17,959 Speaker 1: the history of network news. I'm Patty Steele. Three weeks 6 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:20,759 Speaker 1: after that, Jessica Savage was dead at the age of 7 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:29,160 Speaker 1: thirty six. That's next on the backstory. The backstory is back. 8 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:33,280 Speaker 1: You know what, I finally realized self confidence has pretty 9 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 1: much nothing to do with how talented, smart, good looking, rich, 10 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:40,800 Speaker 1: or entitled you are in life. How sexy you are. Yeah, 11 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 1: maybe a little bit, just because self confidence can make 12 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 1: you sexy. But confidence is its own thing. Perfect example, 13 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:54,280 Speaker 1: the NBC News anchored Jessica Savage. She was beautiful, well educated, 14 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:58,640 Speaker 1: good journalist, network star, but riddled with self doubt, which 15 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:02,240 Speaker 1: led to coke addiction, terrible love affairs, and her career 16 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:06,600 Speaker 1: defining on air meltdown. Three weeks after that awful October 17 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:10,040 Speaker 1: primetime downfall, she was dead at the age of thirty six. 18 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:12,959 Speaker 1: No matter how much you have and how far you 19 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,279 Speaker 1: go in life, if you don't have the inner piece 20 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:18,679 Speaker 1: that comes from real self confidence. You're always trying to 21 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:21,920 Speaker 1: make the pain go away, you know. Jessica Savage was 22 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:25,520 Speaker 1: born in Wilmington, Delaware, in nineteen forty seven. Her mom 23 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:28,240 Speaker 1: was a Navy nurse and her dad at a clothing store, 24 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: but he died when she was twelve, and Jessica and 25 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:34,120 Speaker 1: her mother moved to the Jersey Shore, just south of 26 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:37,560 Speaker 1: Atlantic City. During high school, she got a job at 27 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:41,080 Speaker 1: a local radio station hosting a rock show, and pretty 28 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:44,480 Speaker 1: quickly was hired as a newsreader and regular disc jockey, 29 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 1: first female DJ in town. Jessica later said she was 30 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 1: hopelessly awkward as a teenager, but hearing her own voice 31 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 1: on the air gave her a sense of direction. After 32 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 1: she graduated from high school, Jessica went to Ithaca College, 33 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 1: majoring in communications. She was an announcer on the college 34 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: TV station, and she worked on the radio in nearby Rochester, 35 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 1: New York. As soon as she got out of college, 36 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:12,639 Speaker 1: she got an administrative job at CBS News Radio in 37 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:16,800 Speaker 1: New York, but without any professional experience, they said no 38 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 1: to an on air job for her. So despite her 39 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:25,160 Speaker 1: insecurities and lack of social skills, she was tremendously ambitious 40 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 1: and with the help of friends, she used a WCBSTV 41 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:32,760 Speaker 1: studio off hours to make a TV audition tape. She 42 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,200 Speaker 1: sent copies to hundreds of TV stations around the country 43 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,120 Speaker 1: looking for an on air job. She got fewer than 44 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:44,400 Speaker 1: a dozen responses and only one job interview. Amazingly, even 45 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 1: with no broadcast news experience, she was hired by a 46 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:52,639 Speaker 1: station in Houston, Texas as their first female reporter. A 47 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: few months later, they gave her a weekend anchor shift, 48 00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:58,480 Speaker 1: and one of her reports ran on the CBS Evening 49 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:02,280 Speaker 1: News with Walter Cronkite. She was on her way. Within 50 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:05,079 Speaker 1: a couple of years, Jessica was working as a reporter 51 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 1: and anchor in Philadelphia. She was part of a team 52 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:12,120 Speaker 1: there with two men, and they became wildly popular. But 53 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: she desperately wanted to be a network reporter, and in 54 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:19,919 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy seven she was hired at NBC News. Jessica 55 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:22,640 Speaker 1: said in her autobiography that when she first tried to 56 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:25,760 Speaker 1: get into TV news, she was told she couldn't because 57 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 1: she was a woman. Later, once she was in, she 58 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 1: said she was told she only got the job because 59 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: she's a woman. In fact, her relationships with men in 60 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:38,880 Speaker 1: the news business actually inspired Will Ferrell to make the 61 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: two thousand and four comedy anchorman The Legend of Ron Burgundy. 62 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: In order to counter snarky critics who said she was 63 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:50,080 Speaker 1: hired for her beautiful blonde looks and promoted ahead of 64 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 1: more seasoned mail journalists, NBC had her due reporting work 65 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: on top of anchoring. She was just NBC's second woman 66 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:02,280 Speaker 1: to anchor a weekend national newscast, and later the first 67 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: woman to anchor the weeknight edition of NBC Nightly News, 68 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:10,720 Speaker 1: filling in for anchors John Chancellor and David Brinkley. Over time, 69 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 1: she was a regular on Meet the Press and on 70 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: the news magazine Primetime. She also anchored sixty second news 71 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 1: updates between primetime TV shows, which got huge ratings. The 72 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:26,680 Speaker 1: more successful she became, the more self doubt she experienced. 73 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:29,839 Speaker 1: It's the impostor syndrome. You've heard of that, and that 74 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:34,560 Speaker 1: triggered her drive for perfection, which was never satisfied, driving 75 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:38,680 Speaker 1: herself and everybody around her nuts. She'd throw massive temper 76 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:42,279 Speaker 1: tantrums if things weren't done exactly her way. She was 77 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:45,920 Speaker 1: starting to unravel. It was becoming apparent that drug use 78 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:48,839 Speaker 1: was fueling both her drive to work around the clock 79 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:53,520 Speaker 1: and her tantrums. Cocaine was apparently her main drug of choice, 80 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 1: and it got so bad that coworker Linda Ellerby went 81 00:04:57,160 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 1: to their boss and said, you have to get this 82 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:03,440 Speaker 1: woman some help. She's in trouble, Ellerby said. The executive replied, 83 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:06,760 Speaker 1: we're afraid to do anything. We're afraid she'll kill herself 84 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:10,039 Speaker 1: on our time. Others said she was losing weight and 85 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:14,599 Speaker 1: her hands were regularly shaking. NBC big shots began to 86 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:18,360 Speaker 1: focus their attention on other female journalists, like Connie Chung. 87 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:22,240 Speaker 1: In the summer of nineteen eighty three, they removed Jessica 88 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,000 Speaker 1: as anchor of the Saturday Evening News and replaced her 89 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: with Chang. From then on, Jessica's only regular appearances on 90 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:34,000 Speaker 1: the network were on the NBC News Digest segments, and 91 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:38,920 Speaker 1: that drove her even deeper into emotional instability. During those years, 92 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:42,600 Speaker 1: Jessica also had a difficult romantic life. She dated a 93 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:46,640 Speaker 1: network exec who also had substance problems and abused her. 94 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:50,440 Speaker 1: In nineteen eighty she married an ad executive, who divorced 95 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 1: her eleven months later when he realized she had a 96 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:57,760 Speaker 1: serious drug problem. Within months, she married again. This time 97 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 1: she married her guynecologist, also a drug user, who five 98 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:05,919 Speaker 1: months after their wedding, wound up hanging himself in their apartment. 99 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:10,800 Speaker 1: Jessica found the body. Now it's October third, nineteen eighty three. 100 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:14,520 Speaker 1: Jessica is on air for her sixty second NBC News 101 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:19,200 Speaker 1: Digest segment. It's during a Johnny Carson primetime special, so 102 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:23,679 Speaker 1: there were millions of viewers. Jessica starts slurring her speech, 103 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:27,760 Speaker 1: pausing and even ad living her report it made no sense. 104 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:33,200 Speaker 1: Insiders blamed drugs, Jessica blamed a faulty teleprompter, and her 105 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:37,760 Speaker 1: agent blamed pain medss. He said she was on after surgery. Well, 106 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:40,280 Speaker 1: whatever it was, it was the death knell for her 107 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:44,240 Speaker 1: career at NBC, although she was also hosting Frontline, a 108 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:49,359 Speaker 1: new public affairs documentary on PBS. Fast forward three weeks 109 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,240 Speaker 1: before NBC knew what to do with her, and it's 110 00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:56,480 Speaker 1: October twenty third, nineteen eighty three. Jessica had just started 111 00:06:56,520 --> 00:07:00,200 Speaker 1: dating Martin Fishbein, vice president of the New York Post host. 112 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: They'd driven to New Hope in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, beautiful 113 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,760 Speaker 1: little old town. They'd had dinner at a romantic French 114 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:11,360 Speaker 1: restaurant after a day of going to galleries and antique shops. 115 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:15,200 Speaker 1: Jessica's dog, Chewy was along for the ride, too, great 116 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:19,000 Speaker 1: big husky. As they left the restaurant around seven point thirty, 117 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:22,200 Speaker 1: Fishbine was driving and Jessica was in the back seat 118 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:25,360 Speaker 1: with Chewi. It was a stormy night with heavy rain 119 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:29,840 Speaker 1: and fog. Fishbine apparently missed warning signs and drove out 120 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:33,000 Speaker 1: the wrong exit from the restaurant. They wound up on 121 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 1: the towpath of the Old Delaware Canal. Their car veered 122 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:40,200 Speaker 1: too far to the left and slid over the edge, 123 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:44,559 Speaker 1: going down fifteen feet into the canal, landing upside down 124 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: in five feet of water. Problem is the car sank 125 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:52,360 Speaker 1: into deep mud and that sealed the doors shut. They 126 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:56,360 Speaker 1: were trapped inside as water poured in. The wreck wasn't 127 00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 1: found for hours, but it was clear the pair had 128 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 1: struggled to get out before drowning, along with Chewy the dog. 129 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 1: Autopsies showed no drugs and very little alcohol in their bodies, 130 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:10,080 Speaker 1: just a bit of wine for each of them. In 131 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:13,680 Speaker 1: the ensuing forty years, books about her have been written, 132 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 1: and documentaries and movies have been made about her, including 133 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 1: of Course, the two thousand and four Will Ferrell comedy. 134 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 1: Everybody has their Achilles heel. For Jessica, never being satisfied 135 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:31,240 Speaker 1: with herself, her looks, her talent, her accomplishments made her 136 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:35,640 Speaker 1: very short life very sad. Hope you like the Backstory 137 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:38,520 Speaker 1: with Patty Steele. Please leave a review. I would love 138 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:41,600 Speaker 1: it if you'd subscribe or follow for free to get 139 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:45,079 Speaker 1: new episodes delivered automatically, and also feel free to dm 140 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:46,960 Speaker 1: me if you've got a story you'd like me to cover. 141 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:51,200 Speaker 1: On Facebook, It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. 142 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:57,600 Speaker 1: I'm Patty Steele. The Backstory is a production of iHeartMedia, 143 00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:01,760 Speaker 1: Premiere Networks, the Elvis duran Verroup, and Steel Trap Productions. 144 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,680 Speaker 1: Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. We 145 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:09,200 Speaker 1: have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to 146 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:12,200 Speaker 1: reach out to me with comments and even story suggestions 147 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:15,679 Speaker 1: on Instagram at Real Patty Steele and on Facebook at 148 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:19,320 Speaker 1: Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the Backstory with Patty Steele. 149 00:09:19,679 --> 00:09:22,600 Speaker 1: The pieces of history you didn't know you needed to 150 00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:22,760 Speaker 1: know