Frank Somerville

Frank William Somerville (born March 19, 1958) is an American journalist.[1] He anchors the five-o'clock, six-o'clock, ten-o'clock, and eleven-o'clock news hours at KTVU in Oakland, California. Somerville has received three Emmy awards at KTVU, including one for best on-camera news anchor.[2][3][4]

Frank Somerville
Born (1958-03-19) March 19, 1958
San Luis Obispo, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materSan Francisco State University
OccupationJournalist, news anchor
Years active1991–present
TelevisionKTVU (1991–present)

Early life and education

Somerville was born on March 19, 1958 in San Luis Obispo, California, but raised in Berkeley, California, Alameda County, United States. He attended Berkeley High School and graduated in the class of 1976.[5] He attended San Francisco State University.[6] He was named after his father's childhood friend, Frank Patty, and his paternal grandfather, William Somerville.

Broadcast career

He was an intern at KTVU in 1981 while attending San Francisco State. After graduation he worked at local stations in Santa Rosa, California; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Providence, Rhode Island before returning to the Bay Area. He became co-anchor of the station's morning news program in 1992, and was the first anchor of the 5 pm newscast when it launched in 2005. In 2008 he was named co-anchor of the 6 pm and 10 pm newscasts, replacing 40-year veteran Dennis Richmond.[5]

In 2013, Somerville apologized for an incident in which racist pilot names were read out in a broadcast on Asiana Airlines Flight 214.[7]

Personal life

He is married to television producer, Donna Wright Somerville, and has two daughters. A picture of him styling his Black, adopted daughter's hair went viral on the Internet.[8][9][10][11]

Somerville has been a vegetarian since the age of 12. As a lark, he occasionally ate parts of dog biscuits until he was 14, when he realized they contained some meat.

He works out and practices the Israeli martial art of Krav Maga.[12]

References
  1. Ryeter, N. Sider. "Biography for Frank Somerville". imdb.com. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2013-06-23.
  2. "http://www.emmysf.tv/recipients-1999.html". Emmysf.tv. 1998-12-31. Archived from the original on 2013-11-12. Retrieved 2013-12-13. External link in |title= (help)
  3. "http://www.emmysf.tv/recipients-2002.html". Emmysf.tv. 2002-05-18. Archived from the original on 2013-11-12. Retrieved 2013-12-13. External link in |title= (help)
  4. "http://www.emmysf.tv/nominations-2003.html". Emmysf.tv. 2003-04-17. Archived from the original on 2014-12-05. Retrieved 2013-12-13. External link in |title= (help)
  5. Garofoli, Joe (2008-04-10). "Frank Somerville to replace Dennis Richmond". sfgate.com. SFGate. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  6. "KTVU's Somerville settling in as Richmond's replacement". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  7. "Asiana: Anchor says KTVU never sounded-out racist pilot names". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  8. Graff, Amy. "Image of Bay Area news anchor doing his daughter's hair touches people all over country - The Mommy Files". Blog.sfgate.com. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  9. "Tender photo of TV anchor un-braiding daughter's hair goes viral". msn.com. MSN. 2012-08-08. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  10. Dana Macario (2012-08-05). "A white dad does his black daughter's hair, and the Internet smiles". TODAY.com. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  11. Lieberman, Rich (2011-06-13). "10 Questions for Frank Somerville; Up Close and Personal with KTVU's Top Dog; And Something that may Surprise You". 415 Media. Retrieved 2013-06-23.
  12. "Day in the Life: Frank Somerville". emmysf.tv.
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