David Horowitz (consumer advocate)
Encyclopedia
David Horowitz is an American consumer advocate and former reporter for KNBC-TV in Los Angeles
, whose Emmy-winning TV program Fight Back! would warn viewers about defective products, test advertised claims to see if they were true, and confront corporations about customer complaints. He is currently on the board of directors of the National Broadcast Editorial Conference, City of Hope
, and the American Cancer Society
.
. Horowitz was also a regular guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
(which also occasionally parodied
him as "David Howitzer
").
in Burbank, California
, as a guest of an employee on the set and took Horowitz hostage live on the air. With the gun pressed on his side, Horowitz calmly read the gunman's statements on camera. However, the unidentified man revealed at the end of his statement that the gun was fake, and later set the gun down on the newsdesk, at which point anchorman John Beard quickly confiscated it. It led Horowitz to start a successful campaign to help ban "look-alike" toy guns in several states, including California and New York.
(Class of June 1954). He was elected Student Body President in 1953. Always an outstanding student, David was an A student in Journalism and his teacher Benjamin Greenwald introduced him to his friend Irving R. Levine
the veteran newscaster for NBC who suggested to David that with his high intellect he might want to pursue a career in Journalism.
He was in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1954 to 1962.
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, whose Emmy-winning TV program Fight Back! would warn viewers about defective products, test advertised claims to see if they were true, and confront corporations about customer complaints. He is currently on the board of directors of the National Broadcast Editorial Conference, City of Hope
City of Hope National Medical Center
City of Hope National Medical Center, is a private, not-for-profit clinical research center, hospital and graduate medical school located in Duarte, California, United States...
, and the American Cancer Society
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...
.
Appearances
Horowitz made a guest appearance on the Super Mario Bros. Super Show! in 1989. He also appeared as himself on an episode of Silver SpoonsSilver Spoons
Silver Spoons is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982 to May 11, 1986 and in first-run syndication from September 15, 1986 to March 4, 1987...
. Horowitz was also a regular guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
(which also occasionally parodied
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
him as "David Howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
").
Hostage situation
On August 19, 1987, during KNBC's 4 p.m. newscast, a gun-wielding mental patient got into the NBC StudiosNBC Studios
The NBC Studios in New York, New York is located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the historic GE Building houses the headquarters of the NBC television network, its parent General Electric, and NBC's flagship station WNBC , as well as cable news channel MSNBC.When NBC Universal relocated,...
in Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
, as a guest of an employee on the set and took Horowitz hostage live on the air. With the gun pressed on his side, Horowitz calmly read the gunman's statements on camera. However, the unidentified man revealed at the end of his statement that the gun was fake, and later set the gun down on the newsdesk, at which point anchorman John Beard quickly confiscated it. It led Horowitz to start a successful campaign to help ban "look-alike" toy guns in several states, including California and New York.
Background
David Horowitz attended The New York School of PrintingHigh School of Graphic Communication Arts
The High School of Graphic Communication Arts is a vocational high school located in the Hell's Kitchen district of Manhattan...
(Class of June 1954). He was elected Student Body President in 1953. Always an outstanding student, David was an A student in Journalism and his teacher Benjamin Greenwald introduced him to his friend Irving R. Levine
Irving R. Levine
Irving Raskin Levine was an American journalist and longtime correspondent for NBC News. During his 45-year career, Levine reported from more than two dozen countries. He was the first American television correspondent to be accredited in the Soviet Union...
the veteran newscaster for NBC who suggested to David that with his high intellect he might want to pursue a career in Journalism.
He was in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1954 to 1962.
External links
- Detailed biographical information is available from FightBack.com