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Longtime Detroit anchorman Bill Bonds dies

Sander Rabinowitz

Bill Bonds, an iconic Detroit broadcaster who also worked for ABC stations in New York and Los Angeles, has died.

His longtime employer, WXYZ-TV, reported that the former reporter and anchor died Saturday after suffering a heart attack.

Bonds had worked for the ABC affiliate from 1963 to 1968, then returned in 1971. The station terminated Bonds' multi-year contract in 1995 following a drunken driving arrest.

Born in 1933, Bonds was inducted in 2010 into the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Last year, the Michigan chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presented him with an award in recognition of his long WXYZ career.

The Bonds family released this statement.

"For us Bill was so much more than the face on TV, the talented anchorman.  He was a wonderful husband and father who cared deeply about his children and his family.  We will miss him greatly. 

Bill had a great passion for the news business. More than anything, he loved bringing the news to the people of Detroit. He believed we were a better community, if we were a well-informed community. 

We thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers during this difficult time."

You can see some old video of Bonds on the WXYZ website storyhere.

 

Vincent Duffy has been news director at Michigan Public since May 2007.