It's a small world......found out today that my current "BIG boss" at my part-time job at the Iowa Cubs stadium, Michael Gartner was president of NBC News (1988-1993) and responsible for Tim Russert's hiring. Here are some of his memories:
NOT HANDSOME ENOUGH? "Tim didn't think he'd be very good and, quite frankly, he told me he didn't think he was handsome enough to go on national television," said Gartner, Russert's boss when both worked at NBC.
QUOTE: "I told him he's not handsome, but that he didn't have to be handsome. He just had to be good, which he was. He was very good." Gartner spoke after learning Russert had died of a heart attack. "Not just one of the best, Tim was the best," Gartner said. "He was caring, what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of guy."
THEIR RELATIONSHIP: One of Russert's books includes a touching passage about Gartner's son, Christopher, who died of juvenile diabetes in 1994 at the age of 17. Russert sent Gartner a note when Christopher died, saying, in essence, that if God would have offered a deal to have a son for only 17 years or not at all, that Gartner would have taken the deal. "I lost a friend today," Gartner said. "I lost a great friend."
I was quite taken aback to find out that the man who always walks past and says "Hello" every game is Michael Gartner. It's a small world.........
Patty
"I'm not nice to any guitar!"
Joe Bonamassa 05-03-12
JBLP CHILD #184