Charles Herring, Ted Bryant, Bill Corcoran Cover the 1965 PNW Earthquake

   May 6, 2026

About this time in 1965 (April 29), a 6.7 earthquake rattled the Puget Sound area. Many of us remember where we were, what we were doing, when it hit at 8:28 a.m.

Charles Herring (Seattle’s first TV anchorman) and Assistant News Director Ted Bryant anchored KING’s coverage on the Early Edition that evening.

(Bill Taylor submitted the link to KING 5’s report.) As I recall, the damage to the dome of the Tacoma Union Station depot was major. In fact, the Olympian newspaper reported:

In Tacoma, 30 miles to the south, one of the main downtown streets, Pacific Avenue, was littered with bricks and debris. The Union Railroad station apparently suffered the worst damage. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge, successor to the famed “Galloping Gertie” which fell into Puget Sound during a windstorm nearly a quarter of a century ago, withstood the shock without serious damage. A toll taker said light standards vibrated “like fishpoles,” snapping off the glass fixtures. Traffic was halted for nearly an hour while broken glass was swept up and the bridge was checked.

From the News Tribune:

Jason Remington

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10 thoughts on “Charles Herring, Ted Bryant, Bill Corcoran Cover the 1965 PNW Earthquake”

  1. Disk Jockey Frosty Fowler was broadcasting from the Space Needle that day!

    BRUCE CAPLAN • May 11, 2026

    Frosty Fowler a Seattle radio legion was broadcasting from the Space Needle when all the shaking started. He was not shook up but the people on the needle were hysterically running towards the elevators as Frosty calmly broadcast what was happening on KING radio.
    Journalist Feliks Banel, years later, wrote an excellent description of what Frosty experienced.

    https://mynorthwest.com/local/frosty-fowler-space-needle-earthquake/1349937

    Reply

  2. To Steve's question

    Bill Taylor • May 10, 2026

    Bill Corcoran and wife Cheri hosted KING’s Kamera in the early- to mid-1950s. Bill was the solo host when the show launched, and Cheri joined him later. She added a “homey touch” to the program, and sometimes comedy relief. Once she asked some visiting entertainers, “How many are there in your quartet?”

    Reply

  3. KING TV...looking back

    Bill Taylor • May 9, 2026

    At the time, Charles Herring was the solo anchor of the Early Edition. Ted anchored the 11 p.m. World Today newscast.

    Reply

    1. 2-man team

      John Fortmeyer • May 12, 2026

      But there also was a brief time that both shared anchor duties. KING promoted it on billboards with “HB2”, standing for both Herring-Bryant and NBC’s Huntley-Brinkley.

      Reply

      1. Bryant Resigns

        Jason Remington • May 12, 2026

        January 1969-
        Veteran newsman refuses changes in process.

        Reply

        1. Jason Remington Similar to this---

          A reader notes: This past Sunday, 60 Minutes aired an interview with Benjamin Netanyahu — his first broadcast television interview since the war in Iran started. It was conducted by CBS News chief White House correspondent Major Garrett.

          However, Lesley Stahl had also been gunning for the interview but was upstaged by CBS News boss Bari Weiss, who booked Netanyahu herself and handed the interview to Garrett, who is notably not a ‘60 Minutes’ correspondent. The move sparked hostility and amplified the already strained relationship between Weiss and the 60 Minutres reporting team.

          A CBS spokesperson said: “It’s the editor in chief’s job to make decisions about bookings and interviews. Major is a world-class journalist and did a tough, fair, and newsmaking interview.”

          In March, Garrett did an interview with Pete Hegseth that also aired on “60 Minutes.”

          “The feeling inside the program was that Netanyahu had effectively gone around Stahl and the ‘60 Minutes’ team — and that Weiss had assisted him in doing so by finding an interviewer who was, for whatever reason, more agreeable to him.”
          — Oliver Darcy, Status

          Worth noting: It’s highly unusual for a non-’60 Minutes’ correspondent to conduct such high-profile sit-downs for the newsmagazine, let alone two in the span of just a couple months.

          Reply

  4. Bill Corcoran

    Steve • May 9, 2026

    I seem to recall that a Bill Corcoran with his wife, Sherry, hosted a movie program on KOMO during the 1950s. Am I correct?

    Reply

      1. Bill Corcoran

        Steve • May 10, 2026

        Thanks, Jason. It was on KING, as you say. I believed they showed a film. Channel 4, KOMO had Captain Puget.

        Reply

  5. What a memory for me!

    John Fortmeyer • May 8, 2026

    Amazing to see this footage. I not only remember vividly the quake, which I experienced as a 9-year-old, but I also remember Herring and Bryant teaming up to present the news each evening. Many years later, living in Oregon, I got to have a wonderful chat with Ted Bryant when he was working for Portland stations.

    Reply

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