Edie Huggins, beloved WCAU broadcaster, dies

Edie Huggins, a trailblazing reporter who became one of Philadelphia's most beloved broadcasters, died this morning after a lengthy illness.

Ms. Huggins, 72, was the first African-America woman to report on television in Philadelphia. She began her career as a broadcaster in 1966 as a features reporter on The Big News Team with John Facenda on WCAU-TV.

Her 42-year career at the station, now known as NBC10, included stints as anchor and presenter of numerous investigative series, said station spokeswoman Eva Blackwell.

"I remember being a communications student at Temple and watching Channel 10 when John Facenda brought her on. He always called her Edith," said Gerry Wilkinson, who heads the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia.

Younger reporters at the station called her "Miss Edie."

"I remember thinking this lady really has class. She's going to make it in this town," Wilkinson said. "Some people in this business are fake. Edie was real."

Her co-workers agreed. "When I got to the station in '91, Edie was one of the first people to reach out to me," said weeknight co-anchor Renee Chenault-Fattah. "Being an African American woman she felt the responsibility to take me under her wing. She took me to her church, introduced me to her family. I felt like I always had a friend in Edie."

"She was an icon," said Beverly Williams, the former KYW news anchor. "Edie was the nicest person. She was genuine. I'm devastated. I really am."

Bill Baldini, who retired last year from NBC10, remembered her not only as a "great lady" but as a "groundbreaker, as an African American woman in television."

"She was devastatingly beautiful with a sense of fairness," Baldini said. "She had that Midwestern value system that was really delightful."

A native of St. Joseph, Mo., Ms. Huggins worked as a registered nurse before launching her broadcast career.

She was hired as a consultant for the NBC soap opera "The Doctors" which led to acting parts on the daytime drama.

In the early 1970s Ms. Huggins co-hosted "What's Happening," a midday news program with Herb Clark.

Most recently, she created "Huggins' Hero," a weekly segment that profiled ordinary people who had done extraordinary deeds.

Chenault-Fattah said that Ms. Huggins "had been dealing with cancer for some time. . . . We had known for some time that Edie had a real battle on her hands. . . .

"We always though she would return. We knew the reality, but she was such a hard worker."

Ms. Huggins is survived by two adult children, Hastings Edward and Laurie Linn.

A memorial service is scheduled for next Wednesday at the Bright Hope Baptist Church.