Bob Palmer, who was a fixture on Denver television newscasts for decades, died Tuesday night. He was 77.
The family said he died of natural causes and there will be a private service. A memorial with friends will be held later.
Palmer, who had two stints as an anchorman at Channel 4 and one at Channel 7, “was a phenomenon” in television because he spent his entire career in one market, according to Denver Post television columnist Joanne Ostrow.
He was “Mr. Credible” on local television, said Steve Keeney, who owns two local radio stations and worked at several stations over the years.
“He wasn’t excitable, and he owned the nightly news for a decade and a half,” until the mid-1980s, Keeney said.
Asked about his calm and steady delivery, Palmer told a Denver Post reporter several years ago: “I am unflappable. That’s because I’ve been in this business 22 years and everything that can go wrong has already happened.” He said that the weatherman on air with him one night stumbled and “fell on his face and that once the lights blew up over my head.”
“Bob was the model of stability and an excellent newsman,” said current KCNC-Channel 4 anchorman Jim Benemann.
Benemann was a reporter when Palmer was anchorman, and “he kind of took me under his wing. He was always very gracious” and never showed any temper if Benemann flubbed something.
“He would would diplomatically tell me how I could have done a better job,” Benemann said.
But Palmer did lose his temper on the golf course sometimes, telling a reporter that he got so upset at one round of golf “that I smashed all my golf clubs one at a time against a tree.”
Bob Palmer was born in Denver on March 28, 1931, attended West High School and moved to Lafayette with his family. There, while in high school, he had his first microphone experience, according to a Denver Post story: He broadcast sandlot baseball games.
He graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Palmer had his first radio job doing newscasts on KOA. He became an anchorman on Channel 4 in 1963 and stayed five years. He then went to Channel 7, where he worked 13 years. After he was removed from the 10 p.m. newscast there in 1982 he returned to Channel 4, where he finished his career.
Roger Ogden, who was general manager at the time, called Palmer “an extraordinarily talented writer and a terrific guy. He was the foundation of the success of the station.”
Palmer was inducted into the Broadcast Professionals of Colorado Hall of Fame in 2006.
His wife, Gloria, preceded him in death. They were married on Dec. 27, 1951.
He is survived by three children, Cheryl Palmer of Lakewood, Renee Palmer-Jones of Anthem, Ariz., and Roy Palmer of Highlands Ranch; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
