NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — NewsChannel 5 is saying goodbye to a man who played a vital role in the history of this station. Former general manager Harold Crump ushered in a new era of broadcasting for Nashville and even gave us our name: WTVF.
Crump will also be known for his compassion.
Perhaps one of the best people to share Crump's story is someone who knew him well — longtime NewsChannel 5 anchor Chris Clark.
"Harold was the heart and soul and face of Channel 5 for years," Clark said. "He was, in my way of thinking, a real pioneer."
Crump started at 5 in 1956 as a local account executive. By the early 70s, he was station manager, while Clark was both anchor and news director. News was a different world then.
"The 6 o'clock news didn't have any visuals after 4 p.m. cause you had to process the film and edit it," Clark remembered.
Crump had — what was at the time — a very bold idea. He wanted his station to break out of whole broadcasts contained to news studios and report from the field live.
"That was a totally foreign concept," said Clark. "It was like speaking a foreign language. Harold understood the language. He wrote the language. Who would think of something like that? Harold would."
"You will see the strength of news reach far beyond your own walls," Crump told his staff in a video dating back to the mid-70s.
"A lot of people thought, 'what a gimmick. What a gimmick!'" Clark remembered of the reaction to Crump's plans. "It's not a gimmick. It's the standard for the world now. He came across the one camera that worked, made in Japan, got it for Channel 5 and Channel 5 became the first local station to broadcast live. This was a revolutionary moment."
The next years brought amazing memories for Crump and Clark. There was meeting Charlton Heston during a tennis tournament in Nashville.
"I was standing next to Oprah," Clark smiled. "He walked in. Oprah grabbed my arm and said, 'oh my God, Moses has come!'"
Nothing could have been more important to Crump than his work with the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Crump had a good friend whose son had muscular dystrophy. Crump wanted his station to help people with the disease. Clark started hosting local cut-ins to the national MDA telethons in the mid-70s. They caught the attention of Jerry Lewis.
"Jerry Lewis came down because Nashville became such a big market," Clark remembered. "He came down and personally promoted it. We had the first million-dollar telethon, and that was a real, real rush for me. [Harold] kept in the background, like directing a great orchestra. It all just came together under Harold's direction."
Crump left NewsChannel 5 in 1981. Muscular dystrophy remained an important cause for Clark as he volunteered at MDA Summer Camp.
"They were so sweet, and I knew what their future was going to be," Clark remembered of the summer camps. "Harold felt the same way, and to this day, it touches me in the way nothing else has. They were just great kids. They were my kids too."
Crump last paid NewsChannel 5 a visit about a year ago for an appearance on OpenLine. In it, he spoke about changing the station's call letters from the previous WLAC-TV to WTVF.
"I thought that would be a good way to promote it, Television Five. TV-Five," Crump explained.
With Crump's death, Clark tells us his friend leaves a legacy of both pushing a business forward and helping others.
"He was the man who put Channel 5 on the map as far as I'm concerned and made it the institution that it is today," said Clark.
Harold Crump also produced many syndicated shows including "Candid Camera" and "Hee Haw." He went on to serve on the MDA's National Board of Directors.
