STLMHF

Harold Koplar – 2006

When businessman Harold Koplar put his own TV station on the air in 1958, KPLR-TV was the nation’s fourth independent TV station, having no affiliation with a network. Relying on movies and filmed shows with an occasional live program thrown in, KPLR soon became the source of cult hits with shows like Wrestling At the Chase and Captain 11’s Showboat. Cameras were even moved from the studios in the Chase Hotel out into the lobby for variety programming, and some early news broadcasts were done beside the outdoor pool, where the announcer would float in an inner tube and technicians would improvise with microphones suspended from bamboo poles. Seen as a visionary by many in the industry, Koplar was able to use the station to promote the hotel, which he also owned.

Jerome “Jerry” Kleiman – 2008

Jerry Kleiman was one of the first television news camera operators in St. Louis. He worked for what was KSD-TV (Channel 5) first as a freelance camera operator, then worked for several years as the news station’s only full-time camera operator, on call every day. While at KSD-TV, Kleiman filmed Joseph Costello, one of the area’s best-known mobsters, local reactions to the John F. Kennedy assassination, the building of the Gateway Arch and a daylong riot at Menard State Prison in Chester, Ill.

Herb Humphries – 2011

His on-air image was larger than life, which was fitting for Herb Humphries. The 300-pound KMOX-TV/KMOV-TV reporter who showed up at crime scenes wearing cowboy boots and a Stetson hat quickly won the hearts of the viewing public in a love affair that lasted for 20 years. His nighttime reports were quickly dubbed “Nightside,” a franchise that gave Humphries almost blanket access to anyplace the news was happening. Humphries was appreciated in the newsroom for his sense of humor and his ability to quickly assess any news situation and quickly get his stories on the air. Having won national awards for his work prior to coming to St. Louis, and having initially been hired as Channel 4’s news director, Herb Humphries shined brightest doing what he most enjoyed, working as one of the market’s best-remembered street reporters.

Art Holliday – 2009

Art Holliday began his career at Channel 5 in 1979, serving as a sports anchor in his first ten years at the station. He then switched to news anchoring for morning programs and also served as the executive producer of the programs. He received many honors, including election to the Hall of Fame of the Greater St. Louis Association of Black Journalists and the Faculty-Alumni Award of the University of Missouri-Columbia. Holliday also received several St. Louis Emmy Awards and has been inducted into that organization’s Silver Circle. He pursued a passion for cinematography by producing several free-lance video documentaries. In 2021 he became the station’s news director.

Ray Hoffstetter – 2011

Ray Hoffstetter joined KSD-TV as a stagehand in February, 1948, when the station was only a year old.  He moved up through the positions of film crew sound man, film cameraman, video cameraman and creative services tape editor. His video of Lou Brock’s record-setting stolen base is used in the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown. Ray’s shooting assignments included Operation Desert Shield, riding on the Battleship Missouri to the Pearl Harbor 50th anniversary, Hurricane Camille, the Knoxville World’s Fair, Baseball and Football Hall of Fame inductions, and Presidential interviews. Even after retirement in 1992, Hoffstetter continued with KSDK working with the station’s video archives.

Keith Gunther – 2007

Keith Gunther began his broadcast career immediately after graduating from St. Louis University in 1940. After a short stint in New York and four years in the Navy, he moved to St. Louis to help put KSD-TV, the nation’s first post-war television station, on the air. He worked there as program buyer, production manager, public affairs director, and producer before being promoted to Program Manager, later becoming VP of Program Development for the Pulitzer stations. Gunther was a founding member of the St. Louis branch of NATAS, which later presented him with its Governor’s Award. He also received a national Emmy for the documentary “Operation Challenge.”