Ron Hendren
Ron Hendren | |
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Hendren in 1995 | |
| Born | Ralph Connolly Hendren August 3, 1945 |
| Died | October 12, 2022 (aged 77) Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
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Ralph Connolly Hendren (August 3, 1945 – October 12, 2022) was an American journalist and television personality. He was best known as one of the original hosts of Entertainment Tonight, joining the syndicated television show at its debut in 1981.
Hendren had a brief career in politics, working for politicians that included Sargent Shriver, Stephen M. Young, and B. Everett Jordan. He transferred to a journalism career with a self-syndicated news column in 1972, which was subsequently picked up and distributed nationally as Ron Hendren In Washington by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. This led to a career as an on-air commentator and critic at the NBC owned and operated station WRC-TV in Washington D.C. During his tenure at WRC, Hendren was a visiting lecturer in journalism at the University of Maryland at College Park.
Hendren joined the Today Show in 1979, becoming the first on-air network television critic in the United States. He joined Entertainment Tonight in 1981 while at the same time continuing a daily local commentary on KNBC News. Hendren also hosted a nationally syndicated radio program, "TV Tonight with Ron Hendren." After leaving Entertainment Tonight in 1984, Hendren hosted nationally syndicated television programs including "All About Us" and "BreakThrough: Television's Journal of Science and Medicine."